Travessia al Port de Barcelona

As a farewell to San Francisco, I participated in a swimming event from Alcatraz to shore and then a run across Golden Gate Bridge and back. Upon arriving in Barcelona, I learned of a swimming event here in the port of Barcelona! It seemed like a perfect introduction to the city. There are a few differences between the San Francisco swim and the Barcelona swim... First of all, the Barcelona swim was free, whereas in SF I had to pay to subject myself to the open water. In San Francisco I had to pry myself out of bed at 5am to check in for the swim, while it was still dark outside, and waited for the ferry to take us out to the starting point while shivering in my wetsuit. I checked in for the Barcelona swim at a leisurly 9am and then hung out in the port, sitting in the sun, listening to music, wearing just a swim suit. The race was set to start at 11am, but ended up starting a little late, as is customary here, at 11:30am. In San Francisco I had to sign a waiver upon checking in, whereas in Barcelona I simply told them my name and they gave me my cap and number without even asking to see an id. Both events included a ferry ride to the starting point of the race. In San Francisco, the start was very organized, with 3 people jumping off the boat at a time, under the direction of event staff. In Barcelona, the whistle was blown and swimmers began jumping off the boat from every side, anywhere they could! In SF the water was cold with a 2mph current and plenty of waves, making it difficult to maintain a direct course. In Barcelona the water was warm and tranquil, with no current or waves. The Barcelona event was slightly longer at 3km versus 2.4km for Alcatraz (1.5 miles). In the end, both events were enjoyable yet challenging. Each seemed to have its own culture. On the ferry in Barcelona I met some of the local swimmers who told me about swim teams and swimming events in the area. The swim went well and I ended up getting 15^th place among the women (with a time of 51 minutes). Afterwards there was a party on the beach for all participants with free butifarra (traditional Catalan hotdog) and beer. It was an enjoyable event and exciting to see what swimming events are like in a different culture.