13 Dec |
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Waking up late on Saturday morning my wife and I decided that the perfect way to wash away the post-2010-street-party cobwebs would be to head down to Fish Hoek for a swim. The first swim of summer in fact. Sunny, nice and warm, not too windy; the perfect Cape Town day to hit the beach. Into a bag went just the bare basics: sunglasses, driver's licence, sun lotion, ice-cream money. No cellphones, wallets or cameras. Down to Fish Hoek, make friends with a fellow sunbather, leave the bag in their care and head into the water. We swam, we dived, we washed away the cobwebs... out of the water; no bag! Now before you jump to the obvious conclusion, the lady who was looking after it was equally mortified that she hadn’t noticed someone walk by and swipe it, but it’s easy to get distracted on a busy summer beach. To cut a long story short, our quick trip to the beach ended in an epic excursion involving tow-trucks, police and insurance companies. Were we too trusting? Perhaps, but years of doing the same on regular summer swims had never given us reason to think we would be caught short. And that, dear readers, is the valuable lesson. Hit the beaches this summer, by all means, but even if you've never had trouble before remember that you simply can’t be too careful. If you don't have someone you trust to look after your belongings, see if there is a municipal bag lock-up you can use. I also discovered that the local beach constable's office (who were incredibly helpful, by the way) are usually happy to look after car keys and valuables while you’re in the water. If you have a waterproof car key that you can take swimming, lock anything valuable in the boot and just take a towel, water and sunscreen onto the beach. I've learnt my lesson the hard — and expensive — way. Take the above to heart and hopefully you won't have to do the same this summer. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites            |