No, No, Noparrat – Erich

In Krabi, there is a beach called Noparrat. There are a few of the limestone islands out in the water, and we are told that during low tide, one can almost walk to them, and can certainly swim to them.

So, naturally, we decided to try. Now, it wasn't exactly low tide when we made the attempt, but it was lowish tide. And I was able to walk a long way toward the island. Eventually I couldn't touch bottom anymore, but no problem, we could swim.

Syarra and I were out front, with Carver and Alrica making the second line. We were doing pretty well, probably three-quarters of the way out to the island.

But weather in Thailand during the rainy season is a fickle thing. With a surprising suddenness, our beautiful sunny day became dark, overcast, and windy. A storm decided it was time to strike.

The wind made swimming hard. First it was blowing against us, and second it was really making the waves much more vigorous.

It soon became apparent that Syarra and I were in some trouble. It was the moment to turn back and we did.

It's funny how much our bodies respond to solidness under our feet. For several minutes there as Syarra and I swam hard to get back to shore, we had no ability to feel that. Alrica was making her way to help us and Carver was following orders to get himself back to shore. Though he wasn't in too deep, we were hearing thunder. We knew that getting out of the water was the right thing to do.

There is a panic that goes through you. I mean, I know how to swim. And while my arms were tired, it wasn't as though I was out of steam. I also could float on my back to rest if needed. I knew I had learned the proper skills for the situation. I knew Syarra had learned them too. And yet, there is still a creeping fear that infiltrates your rational mind in situations like this.

It would be overstating it to say I was sure I was going to die. I had no intention of dying. But it was a time that I thought to myself “you have these ideas sometimes that get you into pretty dangerous situations!”

Let me say, Syarra was a little engine. She never stopped swimming and she did great. We all made it back alive, obviously. It wasn't even a near death experience. But it was a good adrenaline rush and a reminder that nature can be pretty capricious.

So we must admit we never made it out to the islands of Noparrat. No Noparrat for us.