different kinds of swimming

There is the type of swimming where you simply run out, strip down and take a large swig of cognac before diving headfirst into the lake where your grandfather lays his nets for trout and on which your mother used to go ice-skating in winter as a child. You swim out a bit and swaddle around in the shallow water, skin tightening into goose bumps as the various slimy unidentified plants caress your belly. Then stand up, sinking into the mud up to your knees, shivering; partly from the cold water, partly from exhilaration, and you scramble out to find your towel and pick off the odd leach that accompanied you onto the yellow grass banks.

There is also horseback swimming. When you stop your horse in the middle of the river and try to get him to change directions and follow the other riders instead of the herd, which has gone slightly off track. Your horse is reluctant and confused and starts breathing vigorously through his nostrils, spinning in circles and rearing until you ease off the reins and let him go his way. He follows the herd, dragging your legs through the water as he wades/swims across and then sinks into the muddy shore battling his way onto more solid ground until he stands panting on the other side with you mildly shivering but still safe on his back.

Then there is the type of swimming where you do your lengths in the swimming pool, stopping occasionally for a person to cross your lane, a sip of water or to wipe the fog from the inside of your goggles. Meanwhile a large group of elderly ladies (and a few lucky gentlemen) do their morning exercises in the shallow end, swaying and bending in slow motion to the rhythm of the water and the all-male choir echoing from the tall speakers the soothing melodies of their youth. As you walk back to the dressing rooms in the chill morning air, you look back and are overcome by a warm sensation at seeing them join hands in a big circle and dance, smiling and waving good bye to their instructor as he slowly disappears into the mist from the warm water.

yes
i like swimming