The brave ladies

The two brave ladies, Anja and Paula are winter swimmers. They are both over 60 years old and they look like they'd be in the 50's. Both of them has been winter swimming for several years, twice a week. In this photo we see Anja.

Winter swimming is very popular in Finland. I haven't tryed it myself but my aunt Kate have been doing it for years. There is a winter swimming spot at Matinkylä beach (there are several places in Helsinki and Espoo) where I went to blip today.

The sea is covered with ice, but at the swimming place the water is kept open with a pump. The pump moves the water all the time so that the water doesn't freeze. Today the air temperature was -10°C and the water was about +2°C to +4°C.

Helsingin Sanomat, the daily paper of Helsinki, has a site for their readers' shots. Here the both ladies, Paula and Anja are swimming together.