My transformation from human to mermaid began in 2022, during a summer holiday in Sitges. My boyfriend and I had been there before – to enjoy the sun, the beach and the vibrant, open-minded LGBT nightlife.
Perhaps more importantly, I had always been drawn to the water. As a child, I loved swimming. Swimming felt like freedom. The smell of salt water on holidays in Denmark, the tingling sensation of salt on my skin – it was part of me. But as I got older, it slowly faded into the background. Until I joined Gay Swim Amsterdam in 2021, and my love for swimming came back in full force.
This time, we stayed in a hotel south of Sitges, just outside the municipal border, within walking distance of the famous nudist and gay beach Playa del Muerto. This beach has been a popular meeting place for the LGBTQ community since the 1930s, idyllically hidden between rocks and hills. You can only get there on foot or by bike; the most used route winds over a few hills and along the railway track – an adventure in itself.
Since it was quite a walk, we decided to have lunch first at a restaurant near our hotel. There we met a guy who was also on his way to the beach. We got to talking. He told me he was studying to be a vet, had previously worked as an animal keeper at a dolphinarium and… was a merman in his spare time. He even gave training in mermaid swimming. I had never heard of it before, but it sounded fantastic.
When he said he had his monofin with him and could show it off in the water, I was immediately excited. We decided to go to the beach together, where I saw him swim as a merman for the first time. We went into the water together – me as a human, him as a merman – and I watched in awe as he glided through the water like a fish. So smoothly, so gracefully… it was magical to see.
I knew right away: I want to do this too!
When we sat back on the warm sand, I was full of questions: where do you buy such a fin, how do you learn to swim with it, what do you need? He shared everything with pleasure.
Not long after that, I would buy my first own tail – and that was when the adventure really began.
➡️ Read in my next blog how I found my very first mermaid tail (and what happened next):