The 10 Best Places to Swim in the World, According to Me

[elleng]

By LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III

'This summer I went swimming, this summer I might have drowned

But I held my breath and I kicked my feet and I moved my arms around

This summer I swam in the ocean and I swam in a swimming pool

Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes, I’m a self-destructive fool

— “The Swimming Song”

I wrote those lyrics in 1974. For 50 years I’ve been traveling around the world performing, and along with my guitar I always pack a bathing suit and goggles. From the beginning, a lot of my life has been about me in the water, and it’s stayed that way for decades, in pools, ponds, reservoirs, rivers, oceans and bays.

My father, growing up on Long Island and spending summers in Rhode Island and Maine, was a superb swimmer. When sufficiently lubricated, he could be graceful on the country club dance floor, but on dry land he was, for the most part, an awkward and hesitant biped.

Watching him swim was to witness a metamorphosis. He became a boy again, seemingly shedding not only decades, but also anxieties and doubts. His Australian crawl was not so much a crawl as a glide, his strokes propelling him forward in quick little lurches, allowing him to cut through the water the way a rowing shell does.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/opinion/sunday/best-places-swim-world.html?

[greymattermom]

1. Coney Island pool

in Cincinnati.
http://coneyislandpark.com/attraction/sunlite-water-adventure/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island_(Cincinnati,_Ohio)

[Hoyt]

2. Wainwright describes a cold swim perfectly, "plunging into the scrotum-tightening sea."

Enjoyed that article.

[Kali]

3. great article

currently my favorite place to swim is right out in the yard . it is a small 18 foot diameter bag of water on sticks (soft sided Intex pool) that was a gift from MFM the summer before he died. it has literally saved my life.

[elleng]

4. So good you have a pool from MFM, Kali!

[Kali]

5. yeah, he faked me out good

asked me for advice on a pool for his landlady (used to have a Sears above ground), then had this sent to me. I think he had just got his disability approved and they backdated the payments. I swim about 50 circles daily from warmer days in April to the end of October, also great for just cooling off on really hot days.