We changed our plans and stopped early on the second day of the QCT. Panga Cove was just too beautiful to pass up. There was also a cafe with coffee and tasty chips, always a much appreciated luxury. The man who worked there, who we named the Red-bearded Man or just the Red Man, said he was having a bad day and asked me to play him something on the fiddle to cheer him up. I think he was more or less joking and was pleasantly surprised when I actually followed through. That earned his friendship and the suggestion that we stay the night rather than pushing on to the next campsite because there was phosphorescent plankton in the ocean which would light up when you swim in it.
That clinched it, and we stayed at that idyllic spot. The water was turquoise and the sky cloudless and sunny. We met a friendly Austrian girl named Julie who and passed the time chatting, playing/listening to music, and swimming. She was lean and sporty with an adventurous 'do my own thing' attitude towards traveling.
As night fell, we prepared for our cold nighttime swim. I brought with me to the pier my swimsuit, towel, pajamas, jacket, and hat. We had invited our camp neighbors, a Dutch and a German, to join us, but I don't think they really believed how amazing it would be because neither brought their swimsuits.
First I tried throwing rocks into the water to see the effect and to decide if I really wanted to make the icy plunge. It didn't do much, so I swished my hand through the water. The prolonged movement succeeded in triggering the proper reaction and tiny spots of light illuminated my hand. At this point, Marvin, the German, decided it was an experience not to be missed and ran back to camp to get his togs. Bethany and I were swishing our feet off the pier when I realized there was only way to do this. Before my mind could fully think through what was about to happen, I hurled my body off the pier into the luminescent water. Tiny lights pinpricked across my skin when I moved slowly and when I swam, the water around me glowed faintly green. I spent most of my time clinging to the wharf and holding my upper body out of the water and watching the lights play across my legs.
It was truly magical, looking down and seeing sparks of light in the water then looking up and seeing the thousand stars twinkling only as they do in the mountains far from ambient light.
That clinched it, and we stayed at that idyllic spot. The water was turquoise and the sky cloudless and sunny. We met a friendly Austrian girl named Julie who and passed the time chatting, playing/listening to music, and swimming. She was lean and sporty with an adventurous 'do my own thing' attitude towards traveling.
As night fell, we prepared for our cold nighttime swim. I brought with me to the pier my swimsuit, towel, pajamas, jacket, and hat. We had invited our camp neighbors, a Dutch and a German, to join us, but I don't think they really believed how amazing it would be because neither brought their swimsuits.
First I tried throwing rocks into the water to see the effect and to decide if I really wanted to make the icy plunge. It didn't do much, so I swished my hand through the water. The prolonged movement succeeded in triggering the proper reaction and tiny spots of light illuminated my hand. At this point, Marvin, the German, decided it was an experience not to be missed and ran back to camp to get his togs. Bethany and I were swishing our feet off the pier when I realized there was only way to do this. Before my mind could fully think through what was about to happen, I hurled my body off the pier into the luminescent water. Tiny lights pinpricked across my skin when I moved slowly and when I swam, the water around me glowed faintly green. I spent most of my time clinging to the wharf and holding my upper body out of the water and watching the lights play across my legs.
It was truly magical, looking down and seeing sparks of light in the water then looking up and seeing the thousand stars twinkling only as they do in the mountains far from ambient light.