Water Memories

Each of us has experience with WATER. From baptism to (perhaps) the dispersion of his ashes in the sea. In addition to rain, ice and snow TO SWIM has always touched me deeply emotionally. Snorkel and dive in the warm waters of the Adriatic Sea from Dubrovnik. Rivers crossing as the Rhine …

Dare to swim with Tor Soro!
Originally uploaded by B℮n
Ben Visbeek, Amsterdam,
his own comment:
We were really surprise by the number
of fish at the waterfall. At first
we were afraid to go into the water
but step by step we get used to
these friendly creatures. Since it’s a
National park it’s not allowed
to go fishing.
This is a photo of my son Bie Jee
swimming together with the
Tor Soro fishes, taken in Thailand
at the Phliu Waterfall. A left turn
at Km. 346 on Highway No. 3
nearby Trat.

Each of us has experience with WATER. From baptism to (perhaps) the dispersion of his ashes in the sea. In addition to rain, ice and snow TO SWIM has always touched me deeply emotionally. Snorkel and dive in the warm waters of the Adriatic Sea from Dubrovnik. Rivers crossing as the Rhine, the Ruhr, the river Saale. In lakes and reservoirs swum at night, or during the day – but dangerous with black, threatening thunderstorm.

There have been frightening situations, particularly in my teenager time. I brought into dangerous situations even my girlfriend (and now wife), because I made to difficult goals – for example crossing a lake, three kilometers distance at night, water too cold. One can not master everything, although I was challenged by this. But sometimes me (and us) maybe the love God graciously treated us and helped us to survive. 13 different times I myself have saved children in mortal danger from the base, 3-4 feet deep, of swimming pools, sometimes wedged together, moved them up, fetched them back in the saving air.

There was also the comforting moments with water: to teach our own daughters diving – in the bathtub. To enjoy together with our large bobtail named Sarah, the North Sea off Holland. To watch my mother in the waters of the Baltic Sea at the coastal line of their beloved island of Ruegen. Water can be very comforting …
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for to translate the German part into English
I’ve added an html-code (only google-machine):
translate good German to bad English

Tailing the unique Irrawaddy dolphins
by B℮n Visbeek

Jeder von uns hat seine Erlebnisse mit WASSER. Von der Taufe bis (vielleicht) zur Zerstreuung seiner Asche im Meer. Neben Regen, Eis und Schnee hat mich immer das Schwimmen zutiefst emotional berührt. Getaucht und geschnorchelt im warmen Wasser der Adria vor Dubrovnik. Flüsse durchquert wie den Rhein, die Ruhr, das Flüsschen Saale. In Seen und Talsperren geschwommen, nachts, oder tags – aber bei drohend aufziehendem schwarzen Gewitter.

Beängstigende Situationen hat es da gegeben, besonders zu meiner Jugend-Zeit. Selbst meine Freundin (und heutige Ehefrau) habe ich dabei mitgefährdet, in dem ich die Ziele (eine nächtliche See-Durch-Querung) zu hoch ansetzte. Man kann nicht alles meistern, obwohl mich das herausgefordert hat. Aber manchmal hat mich (und uns) vielleicht doch der liebe Gott gnädiglich behandelt und überleben lassen. 13 verschiedene Male habe ich selbst Kinder in Lebensgefahr vom Grund, 3-4 Meter tief, von Schwimmbädern, manchmal ineinander verkeilt, nach oben an die rettende Luft geholt.

Es gab auch die tröstlichen Momente mit Wasser: den eigenen Töchtern in der Badewanne das Tauchen beibringen. Zusammen mit unserem großen Bobtail namens Sarah die Nordsee vor Holland genießen. Meiner Mutter zusehen, wie sie im Wasser der Ostsee vor ihrer geliebten Insel Rügen schwimmt. Wasser kann sehr tröstlich sein…

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• Breaking the Sphere of Solitude in Dubrovnik (bootsnall.com)
• Borders and The Black Cauldron – Dubrovnik, Croatia (travelpod.com)

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The fluke of a whale as it dives Originally uploaded by B℮n Visbeek, Amsterdam
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title=”Sinking” by Brian Tomlinson, on Flickr
P.S.:
The photo above – “Sinking” by Brian Tomlinson – remembered me, how I once tried to teach my mother, how to drive a car. She did not have a driver’s license. Though it has been 1965, I still can remember very well, how she drove my Volkswagen into a little lake, leaving a wooden bridge in the forest. In seconds the water reach to my chin. But thanks to God not higher, because the lake was not very deep at that specific location.
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countless hours I’ve spent in public baths …

About Didi van Frits

writer, photographer, guitarist, painter

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