It was a beach day. We hadn’t planned for it, but my little cousin Eva and I happened to catch an earlier bus (since splitting up was a normal thing now) and arrived at our new guesthouse before the rest of the family. As we left our luggage and left to go explore, we realized we were just a five-minute walk from the shore.
Now, this hasn’t come up yet, but I’ve been very hyped about my Vessis — the only pair of shoes I brought on this trip. This isn’t sponsored or anything (though if anyone from Vessi is reading this, I wouldn’t mind some free money), but they’ve been a game-changer.
Well, ever since I put insoles in for the flat feet that after 22 years of existence I just discovered I have.
But back to Vessis — comfortable, good-looking, and best of all — waterproof. I’d already enjoyed this unique perk once on the trip when everyone else’s shoes got soaked, and today, I was so looking forward to avoiding the usual pain of cleaning wet, sandy feet after being in the water. I might sound a little uptight describing all this now (and future me — i.e., present me — realizes this), but at the time, I was perfectly content keeping my shoes on.
Sure, watching people surfing made me want to try it out. But that wasn’t a realistic option at the time, and short of that, I had no interest in simply getting my feet wet. We had other things to do anyway, and it just wasn’t worth it for 5 minutes in the water.
Eva, unlike me, loves the water and was the first one in, quickly followed by my mom and uncles. Mami hesitated — like me, she hadn’t planned on getting wet and didn’t think it was worth the trouble. My shoes were touching the water at that point, but my feet stayed dry. The family tried hard to persuade us, and we tried just as hard to resist.
A few more minutes passed though, and these guys were still in the water and we were still just walking along the coast. It began to seem like nobody was leaving anytime soon. As time passed and FOMO crept in, I caved.
There was something magical in that cold sea water. I instantly started enjoying myself 10x more, and I realized why the rest of the fam didn’t want to leave. The sea has a strange way of making you want to stick around. A little while later, Mami gave in too. Everyone hates being told ‘I told you so’, but in that moment I doubt I would’ve minded.
We walked a long way along that shore before settling by the stone pier with our feet dangling in the rising tide, snacking on cherry tomatoes we’d bought earlier.
Amidst bustling city life, this was a perfect escape. It was peace. And it was definitely worth getting my feet dirty for.