The crossing of the lake is a rite of passage for some. Like for my dear athlete of a husband :) that is. We have heard about it before, and finally JB took part in it, and made it. He was a teeny bit worried that he'd end up miles away from the course as there are no lines to follow, as his style is crawl, not the rana (frog) where you bop out and can keep the target in line of sight. So this is exactly what happened. He had tried to make it to Italy, but the organizers of the crossing have luckily predicted this little possibility so they sent kayaks repeatedly (4 times) to show him the errors of his ways, and point him in the vague direction of the finish line. I am ever so endebted to them for bringing me back my prodigal husband! The crossing is supposed to be 2 and a half kilometers, though adding the zigzagging way that he used to arrive, his crossing was more like 3 kilometers, but he made it in the end after 1 hour 20 minutes 55 seconds, and even though he looked ever so slightly tired, he ran to me to give me a kiss before he allowed himself to be taken away for the other things. The first swimmer arrived to the finish line in only half an hour after the start, the last one was fished out after 3 and a half hours, when the organisers couldn't wait any more and wanted to go home, as did most of the athletes, and the crowds of spectators... The day has proven to be very special, and will be remembered for ever, or at least until the next year, when I have agreed to join the score of crazy swimmers, and will probably the one who is fished out last from the lake...
For now we will enjoy watching the water fun photos from Traversata 2009.
