Hello!
This past weekend, I and a bunch of my friends went camping by the Plateliai lake (wiki). That lake and the whole Plateliai town (wiki) is a very special place for all the members of the swimming community, which I and most of my friends are a part of. 34 years ago, the first open water swimming marathon in my country was organized in that particular lake. There is only one person, who is still alive, and who has swam in all of the marathons to date.
The first time, I and my family went to Plateliai was in 2004. Back then, I was only 7 years old and couldn’t swim, but my dad was a veteran swimmer, so he participated in the marathon. Since then, my family has been going to that event every year, and I participated in my first Platelee marathon in 2010.
Plateliai swimming marathon is also very huge party for teenager/young adult swimmers. It is a whole weekend of partying with your closest friends, doing craziest things without any consequences.
The weather this year was quite terrible, air temperature reached only around 20 degrees Celsius (68 F), while the water temperature was even lower – 15 or 16 degrees Celsius(59 to 61 F) . My whole body froze while competing in a 1.8 km distance. My friends swam the longer 3.5 km distance and was freezing even more by the time she finished. The wind was also really strong, so there were massive waves in the lake. Around 140 swimmers didn’t allow the cold weather and water to stop them from swimming and participated in the event.
All of the swimmers received a commemorative T-Shirt (like always), a sticker with the marathon logo and a medal, intricately carved from wood. (Photos below).
Although, I am not a social person and kinda hate partying, I’m really glad that I attended Platelee marathon and stayed for all the crazy after-party and pre-party stuff. Now, I just need to sleep for a few days to get myself back in shape. Also, I need to wash a lot of clothes and dry out my sleeping bag – during the night from Saturday from Sunday the rain was pouring non-stop, so we were practically sleeping in a pool of water. However, a really cute cat woke me up in the morning by touching my nose with her pawn. Gladly, she didn’t have her nails out. One of my friends told me that the cat sneaked into the tent through the crack and, since all of us were sleeping, that friend didn’t want to risk waking others up by shooing the cat or yelling. So, we just had a per stay over for a night.
Even if you are not a swimmer and just a regular tourist, Plateliai town and lake is still an amazing place to visit. I have always enjoyed sitting on a footbridge and reading a book or just watching the boats and yachts pass by. The lake is also full of unexplored islands which you can reach by hiring a boat or taking a ride on a water-bicycle. In addition, there is a plethora of cozy little hotels to spend the night in, if you are not a type of person who likes camping.
Anyway, I hope you had a great weekend like I did. This past 4 days have been a highlight of my summer. You can find last years coverage of this swimming marathon here. More photos from the marathon are on Facebook.
Bye!
