“This cave is larger than the Grotta Azzurra and, in my opinion, a much better place to visit. Very few, if any, people know of this cave’s existence. I discovered it by accident. Bringing you here today, I tried to time it so that we might be here when the colors are brightest, and most intense.”
Impulsively, Sabrina stood and leaned over the back of Lorenzo’s kayak seat to peck him on the cheek as a thank you. “Lorenzo,” she called.
He turned. Caught by surprise at seeing Sabrina on her feet, Lorenzo reached to steady her. The awkward weight distribution caused the kayak to sway dangerously from side-to-side and turn over. Into the water they went.
Even with a wetsuit on, it was as if she had been submerged into a freezing ice bath. Sabrina’s body was on pins and needles. She kicked to the surface, frantically moving her body to try and warm it up. Lorenzo resurfaced a moment after her. They were both breathing hard. He swam with powerful freestyle strokes to the kayak and turned it right side up. He pulled himself out of the water and into the kayak.
Sabrina lingered in the background.
Foolish Sabrina. Look at what you’ve done now. Except what was in the storage locker, you’ve probably lost his backpack, your phone, and the paddles.
She dipped her head into the water and let out a muffled scream of frustration.
Lorenzo is going to be so angry with me.
“Sabrina?” Lorenzo’s voice called from the surface, full of concern.
She couldn’t hide forever. She had to face the music sooner rather than later. She exhaled and popped her head above the waterline. Her lips trembled. “I’m sorry.”
Lorenzo’s brows were knit together. “Never mind the apologies.” From his seat in the kayak, he extended his arm to her. “Are you hurt?”
She swam parallel to the kayak and clasped his hand. He tugged her out of the water. She sniffled. “All that’s hurt is my pride.”
Safely inside the kayak, she was unable to stop herself from shaking.
Lorenzo rubbed her arms. “You’re shivering. The wet suit should’ve helped. You need to be out in the sun to warm up. The water in the cave is a balmy eighteen degrees Celsius.”
What’s that in Fahrenheit? Sixty-six degrees?
She ignored him. “Do you need me to dive down and search for any items we lost when the kayak flipped over?” she sputtered.
Lorenzo picked up his paddle. “You’re very thoughtful, but no. I’ve flipped my kayak enough times to know that if an item falls out of the boat, there is little point to try and find it. In the two exploration dives I’ve made, I’ve never been able to reach the cave’s bottom. It’s more than one hundred feet deep. Anything in my backpack can be replaced.”
Like a windmill, Lorenzo whipped his paddle through the water with impressive precision. The kayak sped to the cave’s exit.
My phone was in a loose plastic bag. There is no way it survived the debacle. I’ve probably lost all the photos I’ve taken throughout this entire trip so far.
“You’ll have to crouch down as low as you can. The mouth of the exit is tiny. I would’ve preferred to exit the other end, but oh well.”
The level of the water within the cave’s chamber had risen significantly. The opening was only three feet high. Lorenzo folded his body forward as far as he could and cleared the top of the rock by millimeters. After being in a darkened space for an extended amount of time, the sunlight was so bright, Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut. She’d never been happier to be in the sun.
* * *
Resting on the warm sand of a protected nearby beach, Sabrina burrowed deeper into the confines of a fluffy red-and-white-striped microfiber towel. She took a sip from her coffee mug. To her back, the terraced hillside was covered with thriving grapevines. Before her, a pod of dolphins played one hundred yards from the shore.
“When I take the kayak back out to the next set of caves, don’t be shocked if the dolphins decide to appear right next to us. This pod is especially friendly.” Lorenzo crinkled the wrapper from his panini into a ball.
They listened to the sound of the dolphins expel air through their blowholes and exchange a sequence of high-pitched squeaks and clicks.
“I’ve never been this close to wild dolphins before. I wish I could take some photos.”
“Go right ahead. We aren’t on a schedule.”
Sabrina’s face warmed. She drew circles on the ends of the towel. “I can’t. I lost my phone in the cave.”
Coming to a stand, Lorenzo grunted. He strode over to the kayak and rummaged in the storage bin. When he returned, he carried the familiar plastic bag with her phone.
“Here you go. Snap away. I saw it floating and grabbed it.”
