Boxing Day Polar Bear Swim 2011

hello! i am back after a week long absence. it felt like i've been away for a million years, believe me. apart from being very busy preparing for christmas, (we had the in-laws over for dinner yesterday and i'll post some pics next time) i have been very worried about the state my city was and is currently in after that horrible typhoon. i decided to monitor the activities and developments as well as relief and rehabilitation efforts for my beloved people. the outpouring of love and support all over the world is just overwhelming!

now that i am pretty much confident everything is taken cared of by admirable and capable people, i can breathe easier and focus once more on the things at hand.

hence, the annual Boxing Day Polar Bear Swim.

i have been curious about this tradition since i came here so i dragged the mister to Caleta Bay and while we sipped coffee, we milled about feeling the energy. here you can see the crowd slowly build up...

lots of interesting characters were out and about and since this is called a polar bear swim, it wouldn't be right if there are no polar bears around wouldn't it?

i am wondering if what he's wearing is a onesie or a very trendy wet suit. if it is the latter, i would like one for myself!

we've been told that the water is FREEZING! now, what do you think is this guy thinking?

this elf is on the naughty list! see the ball of sand he has on his hand? he chased his friends around and then pelted them with that :P

look who's here! santa was present too and joined in the fun! can you spot baby spiderman?

here is a bunch of santa's helpers trying to get coffee before the "plunge"

and someone yelled "GO!"

...aaaaaand back they came again... the water really is FREEZING!

the doggies wanted some of the action too... but the water is too cold for their liking... they came back just as fast as they got in...

this gorgeous golden retriever couldn't drag his mom out fast enough!

this baby/elf/santa's little helper is having the time of his life too!

he was just crawling all over the place and stopping after a few crawls and just sort of dancing and waving his arms :) sooo adorable!

we saw some friends who participated and chatted with them a bit and took some more pics. after that, its another cup of coffee for me!