This summer, I went to Aalborg, in northern Jutland, to spend a few days at a friend's house.
I started swimming in May, and since then, it has become one of my main physical activities. Not wanting to stop, I realized I could swim in Denmark. The problem was that I had never been there, and swimming alone in an unfamiliar place didn't seem like a great idea. I thought about joining a group.
I searched online and found the Egholm Tour, a crossing of the Limfjord to a nearby island. I sent a message to the organizer, Johnni, explaining that I was coming from Portugal and had been swimming for a few months, and asked if I could join.
He replied that same day: Sure, it was possible! He explained that it was a meet-up involving a two-kilometer swim and that the choice of whether to wear a wetsuit was up to me, since the water temperature was 20 degrees.
On Saturday morning, we were a large group at the Lindholm pier. A brightly colored swim buoy and cap were mandatory, and we handed our clothes over to a boat that would transport them to the other side. I wore my Swim4fun cap and explained that it was from a club in Cascais, Portugal. I was the only Portuguese person among the crowd. There was also a German man on vacation who had decided to join in; he later told me he would be visiting Portugal in October, and I challenged him to swim with us while he was there.
The water wasn't 20 degrees. It was much colder, and I felt it right from the first few meters. Many people were wearing wetsuits, but many weren't, and that’s what struck me the most. Nordic people really handle the cold much better than we do. It remains my big worry for the winter: how am I going to swim when it's all that cold?
The start was lively. We were given safety instructions and set off, accompanied by kayaks and SUPs. There were people moving at very different paces, but I managed to find a good rhythm right from the start.
About 500 meters from the island, we were told to stop. The ferry connecting Aalborg and Egholm was crossing right across our path. The SUPs and kayaks all gathered into a group, and we just floated there, waiting for the boat to pass. A strange experience, to say the least.
I was enjoying it so much that I didn't even notice the distance. When I got out of the water and checked my watch, I saw I had covered 2.7 kilometers. I had never swum three kilometers before. If I had known the distance was close to that, I would have hesitated to join the group.
The arrival was excellent. The weather was fantastic, and we waited for the groups that were still on their way. Everyone spoke to me in English, and they welcomed and included me in everything.
Lunch was at the island restaurant, where I tried stjerneskud, a Danish open-faced sandwich with plaice, shrimp, and asparagus. They gave us commemorative medals featuring the outline of the island and its name, Egholm—mementos I will cherish forever.
On the other side of the comfort zone
That group swims together all winter, but in the summer, everyone swims on their own. The Tour de Egholm is the only time of year they all get together. I happened to be in Aalborg that Saturday, sent a message to a stranger, and they welcomed me as if I had been part of the group for years.
I’ve stayed in touch with Johnni and other swimmers, and they’ve already invited me to next year’s crossing, for which a date has already been set. I hope to bring more colleagues from Swim4fun and, who knows, start a new tradition.
On the ferry back, I realized that there really are friends everywhere, and that on the other side of one's comfort zone lie experiences that last a lifetime.
Maria Ribeiro Soares