Io goes for a swim (5)

The continuing adventures of me and a Greek goddess

I phoned the kids, told them I was home.” Worn out but recovering” I sort of lied. When asked about my guest, I promised they would meet her soon as soon as our body clocks were back to normal. Based on our recent performance, that would not be for some time. So the very next day with the sun behaving itself with temperatures still in the 90’s rather than the scorching 100’s I suggested we go down to the beach. I put the beach bag in the car with the towels and slipped my bathers on with a mortals usual disdain to having to explain to a goddess such things as the need for a one piece costume or bikini at the beach. I just thought she would work it out like her breezing through immigration and customs the other day.

We could have walked to the beach but I wanted to go a little further down to avoid the cafes and life guard patrols. So we settled ourselves under the rocks facing west with a wide expanse of beach before us and the sea barely rippling a tide with mini breakers that suited me down to the ground. I stripped off my tee shirt, stood up and started to walk toward the water to test its temperature. I heard Io come running after me and turned to see her happily skipping on the sand without a stitch on. I looked at her in horror. Rushed back to our things grabbed a towel and raced back to wrap it round her. I tied it just above her breasts and got her to sit down at the water’s edge while I explained that naiad or not, everyone had to wear a bathing costume on this beach. She looked at me in puzzlement as I led her back to our things. “It is my fault Io. But here there are places where you can bathe naked and others where you cannot. I thought you might guess you needed a bathing costume. Sorry, but we will go and get one for you this afternoon.”

She thought about this for a bit with a sad face. “Is there nowhere I can bathe naked?”

I finally agreed there was a nudist beach about 35 miles from there. She looked at me quizzically “How far is that?” I tried to remember ancient Greek distances. ”In stadiums, I mean stadia?” She nodded. Was a stadium a furlong? If it was, that would make it between 250 to 300 stadia. I suddenly stopped my calculations. It just didn’t matter.

“We will drive down there now. It is not 300 stadia so it should take an hour.”

She seemed very pleased. I think she liked driving in my chariot. So we drove down through all the southern beach suburbs of Adelaide with the sea on our right. When we got to Maslins Beach I had to decide whether we would park at the top of the cliff and walk downhill to the nudist beach or park at the lower car park by the conventional clothed beach and walk along. I chose the lower one because at my age I didn’t relish clambering down the cliff then back up again afterwards. So we parked the car and took some beach towels, bottles of water and some snacks and walked along under the cliffs until we passed the signs warning us we were entering an unclad bathing area.

It was deserted on this early midweek morning. We found a place to make camp and look out to sea. There was more movement in the water and a slight breeze here but Io stripped off regardless and ran towards the surf. She was beautiful to watch, so natural in the water, unafraid, splashing and diving with all the freedom of a fur seal that occasionally can be seen in these waters. So I too stripped down and took my pale freak like body down to the water’s edge and waded tentatively in with her. The delight on her face was a joy to see. She was in her element. Once or twice she came up to me gave me a hug and then went off again splashing and diving in the water, disappearing from view only to emerge far away from where she went in. She came back often, realising that I was not a strong swimmer to tell of what she could see in the water. She told of a ray skimming on the bed of the ocean, of the shoals of whiting feeding in the sea grasses, of the scuttling crabs and the solitary shark just cruising by; contented but not hungry she said. Apparently it was that he just had to keep moving or else he would drown. When she finally emerged she wore a garland of seaweed and carried an empty shell which she held in her hand. “Listen to what I heard down there” she said” and she placed it to my ear as if I would receive a telephone call from Poseidon himself.

I ran back to get a towel for her which she spurned. Instead she danced on the sand drying herself in the sun and I watched entranced as she ran up and down in front of me with her arms stretched out. Then she would spin around with her hair all streaming about with such a beautiful look of ecstasy on her face. Eventually she slowed down and allowed me to lead her back to our spot under the cliff face. She glowed with such satisfaction and exhilaration that she proved quite clearly that she was a true naiad, but best of all she was all mine. She accepted a bottle of water and we both drank looking into each others eyes. Hers were laughing and mine…well I couldn’t see them but I think I may have been crying to have such beauty belong to me…for now. I patted her hair dry with a towel and removed the tiny slivers of shells and sea grasses from her body secretly touching her flawless skin in admiration.

There were a few more people coming on to the beach now and jealous of having to share that beauty I suggested we leave and find somewhere to have lunch. She agreed readily and after the long walk along the beach to the car, stopped before the warning sign to don our clothes again. The car was so hot that I opened all the windows then turned the engine on and got the air conditioner going gradually closing each window as the heat was excluded. Io didn’t seem to notice this but found instead the mirror above her visor and looked with interest at herself; brushing the remaining grains of sand from herself onto the floor.

“What?” She said as I checked her seat belt and stole a kiss as I did so. The kiss was returned with enthusiasm but the query clearly meant she was reading my mind.

“Just where are you taking me, Io?”

“You are taking me to lunch. Perhaps we can talk then.”