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Dartmouth Men's Swimming and Diving |  |
Following is an account by Eric Rettberg, a freshman freestyler from Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
Friday, December 10, 1999
Today was a long but exciting day of traveling. After our 4 AM wake-up calls, we
stumbled over to Alumni Gym with our luggage. Because our trip entailed
traveling in both the warm Mexican climate for two weeks and the unbalmy winter
climate of many of our hometowns, most of us carried gargantuan suitcases and
duffel bags. Strangely enough, however, Joe Perez ’01 carried only a
relatively minuscule carry-on-capable suitcase. “I like to travel light,” he
claimed. We would discover just how light he was traveling later on in the trip.
After arriving at Logan Airport, we boarded our flight to Dallas, flew there,
had a small stopover, and then were on our way out of the country to Mexico
City.
Once we arrived at the Mexico City airport, we had to wait what seemed like hours to pick up our luggage and go through customs. I was lucky enough to get an angry, bitter customs agent, who repeatedly mocked me by speaking to me in a rapid Spanish that she knew I couldn’t understand and then pointing at my last name like I was some kind of an international criminal. She finally gave me a disgusted look and waved me on. I couldn’t help but notice that she was pointing and laughing as I shamefully sauntered away.
The next ordeal of the day was finding the bus that was to drive us to Oaxtepec, our final destination. After about five minutes of searching inside the customs area for any sign that might give us some indication of which bus was ours or where we were supposed to go, the eerily puzzled look on Coach Jim Wilson’s face led Joe, a native Spanish speaker, to ask a security guard where the bus terminal might be. We finally wandered around enough to discover the luxury coach awaiting us in the smoggy Mexico City air. As we headed off for the two-and-a-half hour journey to Oaxtepec, we peered out of our windows and took in a little bit of the Mexican cityscape, though by about the fifteen-minute point in the trip, most of us had fallen asleep. Those who stayed awake enjoyed the scenery and discussed the bus driver’s eclectic collection of videos with him.
Soon enough, however, our bus was creeping through the narrow streets of Oaxtepec searching for the Centro Vaccacional, the “resort” area where we were staying. Once we arrived, we checked in, dropped off our luggage in the three six-person rooms that we were staying in, and met outside at the pool to discuss the thirteen remaining days (ominous sounding, isn’t it?) to come. The pool was impressive, as it was an alternate training venue for the 1968 Olympic Games. We went into the Centro’s own restaurant and ate our first meal before retiring to bed, exhausted from a long day of traveling.
Saturday, December 11, 1999
We woke up for our first morning practice at 7:15 today and were in the water by
7:30, getting used to the long-course swimming that we will be doing for the
next two weeks. Practice wasn’t easy; it came as a hard burst of reality to
many of us. After workout and upon finding out that it was Louis Fidel ‘03’s
first meters workout ever, Jim asked, “So what did you think?” Louis curtly
responded “What do you think I thought?”
After morning workout, we walked directly to the restaurant to eat our breakfast. It consisted of beans and a strange, red-colored egg-like substance. Though it didn’t look entirely appetizing at first, the team managed to quickly devour the concoction. The fresh-squeezed orange juice and café con leche were definite team favorites. As soon as our breakfast was finished, we went back to our rooms, picked up our things, and walked about a half mile to the cabanas, our new accommodations for the rest of the week in Oaxtepec. The cabanas made the first night’s living arrangement look like a state penitentiary; we were four to a cabana, and we had a generous amount of space to lounge about and relax. Each room even had its own private miniature swimming pool in front, though these pools got little use considering the amount of swimming we were doing in the 50-meter pool.
This afternoon, most of us walked into the town of Oaxtepec to explore our surroundings. We first visited the town market, where we were able to observe the Mexican culture firsthand. After a while, we decided that we needed to eat, and we found a nice little restaurant whose specialty was barbecued ram meat. We loaded up tortillas with the succulent ram and salsas of varying degrees of spiciness. The ram was actually quite tasty, and we managed to polish off the full kilogram that we had ordered in no time.
We managed to load seven of us into a compact taxi for the ride back to the Centro Vaccacional for afternoon workout. I’ve never felt so close to my teammates in my life; it would be hard not to feel close, considering that my head was jammed between the door and Scott Gabbard ‘02’s upper arm. After arriving back at the Centro, we did the vicious dryland routine for the first time and then hopped into the water for afternoon workout. After a good but quick dinner, most of us were so tired that we just headed back to the cabanas and collapsed onto our beds to rest up for the practices ahead.
Sunday, December 12, 1999
Today will live in infamy as the day that Jim unleashed the wrath of the
terrifying “1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-6-4-2” set upon us. When he announced that
“this is the last set of the workout” about fifteen minutes into the
practice, we knew we were in trouble. What followed were 4800 long meters of
intense freestyle. The workout even left Jaime Houston ’02 (one of our
distance freestylers) convulsing in pain on the deck. We made it through the
set, though, and no one can deny that the feeling of completing such a difficult
set is really gratifying.
After practice, we were presented with yet another mysterious egg mixture with beans for our eating pleasure. The food isn’t bad. Even if it were I probably wouldn’t notice because the workouts leave me so hungry. Today was one of those days when many of us just headed back to the cabanas to rest before evening practice. Others played hearts, the favored card game of this year’s training trip. By the time evening practice rolled around, most of us were ready for the dryland routine and difficult practice that followed.
We had dinner at the restaurant yet again, and many of us headed into town to buy snacks for between workouts. The most notable discovery was that of nectar de durazno, a deliciously syrupy peach juice. After a short walk, we were back at the cabanas and ready for bed, knowing that tomorrow will be an exciting day of sightseeing.
Monday, December 13, 1999
Because the first two complete days of training trip had been so intensely
difficult, Jim had mercy on our poor souls and gave us a relatively relaxed kick
workout this morning. We were out and eating a fantastic breakfast of pancakes
earlier than normal. Jim made the surprise announcement that we wouldn’t be
having afternoon workout and would be able to explore the nearby city of
Cuernavaca all day instead. By eleven o’clock, we were on a bus on the way to
the city, with Jim already touting the virtues of Cuernavaca’s expansive
market.
Once we arrived in the city, we were overjoyed to spot those always-reassuring symbols of good ol’ American quality, the golden arches. We had a veritable fast food feast; Quarter Pounders, Chicken McNuggets, and even the no-longer-available-in-the-U.S. traditional McChicken sandwich were a nice break from the Mexican fare that we have been enjoying all trip.
After lunch, we roamed the city until we found the monstrous market. Nearly anything imaginable was available for sale, from severed pigs’ heads to Mexican handicrafts to Christmas decorations to the largest selection of car stereos that I’ve ever seen. Many members of the team reaped the benefits of the Mexican bargaining culture in purchasing their trinkets. Andrew Westgate ’03 got himself an obnoxiously gaudy straw sombrero that had Viva México emblazoned on its rim. Mike “Vuc” Vucovich ’00 discovered a real find: a Hanson “mmmmBop!” T-shirt that he knew would look stellar with his prominent nasal jewelry. Others searched for gifts for the not-too-far-off Secret Santa gift exchange. Overall, the team enjoyed the excursion; it provided a nice dose of the modern amenities we missed while expanding upon the cultural experience that we were going through.
We took the last bus back to Oaxtepec because we had enjoyed being in the city so much. After a quick dinner at our favorite Centro Vaccacional restaurant, we headed back to the rooms and retired to bed soon after a short frenzy of hearts games.
Tuesday, December 14, 1999
Today, we began one of the longest, hardest stretches of the trip. For three
days in a row, we will have two strenuous workouts a day. It’s going to be
hard, but I believe that the team is now ready for it. Morning practice was
fairly hard this morning. Afterward we were ready for a long nap. Since we
didn’t do all that much during the day today, I’ll clear up a few odds and
ends that I notice I haven’t mentioned yet, but I feel have been notable parts
of our trip.
Because many serious competitive swimmers haven’t used the pool for a while, it lacks some of the modern conveniences that we are used to. First, there are no pace clocks on deck. To remedy the situation, Jim picked up a couple of bright red clocks in town. At first, it was hard to get used to the change, but now we’re dealing with it.
Another way that this pool is very different from what we are used to is the lane lines. Though the pool is fifty meters long, the lane lines must be close to sixty, judging from how loose they generally are (don’t worry, that is an exaggeration). Nathan Fidel ’02 has been working hard with Jim trying to devise ways to tighten them, and they’re certainly better than they were when we arrived. We’ve gotten used to swimming in small parabolic arcs, and I think that most of us are fine with it.
The third major issue with the pool is its temperature. Although this is Mexico, we are at a high elevation, so the morning weather is far from scalding. It’s a little bit chilly, but many of us like it that way. On the other hand, there are those who don’t. Andrew, for example, well known as the whitest kid to grace the United States since that guy from Powder, becomes an eerie translucent-purplish color as soon as he dives into the cool depths in the morning. Louis Trotman ’03 also faces issues with the water; he shakes uncontrollably for up to a half-hour after workout.
Apart from these small issues, however, the pool is a beautiful facility, and I am enjoying swimming in it. It’s much better now that the weekend crowd is gone and they no longer give us dirty looks when we have our pool time. I think that’s about enough for today; it’s time for me to go to bed, because we’ve got another day of doubles tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 15, 1999
Today was another swim, sleep, and read day, so I’ve got another chance to
expand on some of less obvious aspects of the trip. Do you remember how I told
you on the first day about Joe’s light packing job? Well, the team is quickly
discovering just how light it was. Apparently, Joe completely ignored personal
hygiene as he placed his possessions into his small suitcase. He’s got about
three T-shirts that he changes every few days, which hardly leads to a pleasant
odor. In addition, he brought absolutely no toiletries. So far, Taylor French
’02 has loaned him shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, a razor, aftershave,
and cologne. Joe went so far as to make the bold request of Taylor’s
toothbrush. Needless to say, that request was denied.
The food in Oaxtepec has gotten better, especially since Jim asked Joe, Luis Barrera ’02, and Jorge Montalvo ’02, the three fluent Spanish speakers of the group, to bargain with the cooking staff. Now, we get pancakes every single morning if we’d like. I think I speak for the whole team when I say, “Hallelujah.”
Thursday, December 16, 1999
Jim announced at morning workout today that he would have two surprises for us
in the afternoon. We spent the day in anticipation of whatever these surprises
might be. We were very pleased when we found out.
First, there was the relay workout. We did a long warm-up then divided into three teams; even Jim decided to hop into the pool for this one. Then we did a variety of relays, including the basic four strokes, an underwater-with-one-breath relay, the one-legged relay, the feet-first relay, and the hands-in-the-pants relay. The teams received points for first, second, and third place, and in the end, each team received varying numbers of a different kind of points–-points that could be used to take breaks of one-hundred meters during particularly difficult sets for the rest of the trip. Most everyone left the pool happy, because all the teams received some points.
The second surprise was a nice buffet dinner at a local hotel. Great-tasting soup, good chicken, and amazing beef-filled tortillas were enough to satisfy our demanding hungers. We left for the cabanas in very high spirits as we came closer and closer to the beach resort Acapulco, deemed “the happy place” by Vuc.
Friday, December 17, 1999
Aaron “Muff” Dewitt ‘02’s
“it’s-somebody’s-birthday-and-it’s-time-for-a-get-out-swim” dance paid
off today. Yesterday was Louis Fidel’s birthday, and tomorrow will be
Jorge’s, so Jim gave them the chance to save the team from his wrath tomorrow
morning. Jorge had to do a 50 in 30 seconds, and Louis had to do a 100 in a
minute. Both of the birthday kids swam fantastically and managed to get us out
of a workout, leaving tomorrow completely open for us to do whatever we like.
Following that was an awesome road trip for the entire team. The “minibus” that picked us up was nothing too spectacular; in fact, it was downright dangerous. The first passenger seat gave new meaning to the phrase “suicide seat”; it was situated about three feet from the windshield and lacked a seatbelt. The other seats were slightly uncomfortable, but once we arrived at Teotihuacan, we were happy we made the journey. The two massive pyramids of the sun and the moon were truly amazing. As we climbed them, we marveled at the construction ability of long-dead civilizations. And unlike last year’s Giant Buddha in Hong Kong, these pyramids weren’t constructed in 1995. Once we reached the top, we snapped the obligatory photographs and took in the amazing views. Climbing these pyramids was an experience that I’ll never forget.
We decided to take a detour on the way home and head into Mexico City for dinner. Our driver Alvaro served as an excellent tour guide. He took us to a restaurant where we could sample truly authentic Mexican cuisine. After completing their meals, some members of the team decided that it was their duty to abide strictly to Jim’s order-what-you-want, eat-what-you-order policy. They began to eat, one-by-one, the suicidally hot jalapeño peppers that were left on their plates. Apparently, this wasn’t a good plan, as the peppers became hotter after time, and the participant’s throats burned like crazy. Vuc, Luis, Paul Schned ’03, and Peter “Costanza” Augello ’02 were a few of the brave chili-consumers.
After dinner and a slight detour to “window-shop” at some of the more interesting businesses on the street, we hopped back into the minibus and visited the square at which the Mariachis hang out. An inebriated Mariachi continued consuming tequila and amused us all for a while, until we decided that this may have been the sketchiest place we had been to in our lives. A private citizen was blocking the door to the public restrooms and collecting “tolls,” and there were all sorts of non-wholesome types around. But, it was still very interesting, and we all escaped the situation with our lives.
The trip back to Oaxtepec was long because traffic was treacherous. Most of us managed to fall asleep. Jim, on the other hand, sat in the suicide seat, experiencing a wide-eyed terror that will undoubtedly haunt him for the rest of his life.
Saturday, December 18, 1999
Today was our only entirely free day of the trip. Most of us used our extra time
to go back to Cuernavaca to shop around in the market and purchase more
trinkets. Only a few days remain in the trip, so everyone is rushing to finalize
his or her Secret Santa gifts. We were able eat at our favorite restaurant in
Mexico, McDonalds, for lunch yet again. Jorge, on this, his birthday, was even
brave enough to get a two-dollar haircut. He clams that it turned out better
than most cuts he gets in the States.
The real treat came in the evening, however. Jim took us to an incredible restaurant, Las Meñanitas. Jim told us that it was rated one of the world’s top ten restaurants. I don’t think that anyone on the team is inclined to disbelieve him after experiencing what it had to offer. The restaurant featured a beautiful open-air courtyard that had rare birds waltzing around. We were treated like kings. The menus came as large chalkboards by candlelight, and we had our choice of a number of enticing entrees. Many members of the team were disappointed that the baked calf’s brains were unavailable, but they dealt with the rest of the fantastic menu choices. I can vouch for the tortilla soup and the Mexican selection platter; they were some of the finest food I’ve ever tasted. The desserts were an added bonus that everyone enjoyed, most notably Jesse Jones ’03. He savored every bite with a brief pause of closed-eye ecstasy that only the most amazing desserts in the world could bring about. The meal lasted a long time, and we didn’t get back to Oaxtepec until one in the morning, so we quickly went to bed before a long day of traveling and swimming.
Sunday, December 19, 1999
After our morning workout today, many of us decided to try going off the
ten-meter diving platform. All but a few dutifully lined up and too the
terrorizing plunge. My feet hurt for hours afterward from the impact. We quickly
ate our breakfast (hotcakes, of course), packed our belongings, and boarded a
coach bus for the long trip to Acapulco. Along the way, we watched a bootlegged
copy of The Matrix. After a while, we arrived at Taxco, where we would stop for
two hours. Taxco is the self-proclaimed “silver capital of the world.” It
seems that a shop selling silver jewelry and trinkets occupies almost every
storefront in the town. We were able to enjoy nice lunches at decent restaurants
while we were visiting Taxco, and many members of the team visited the town’s
beautiful cathedral. Some were even able to feed our blitz addictions with a
stop at the local web café. Most, though, just browsed around, looking at the
beautiful silver products. The stop in Taxco was an enjoyable but brief
experience.
Soon enough, we were on the road to Acapulco again. Once there, almost everyone was in shock at the contrast between Acapulco and Oaxtepec. “It’s strange going from nothing being there to everything being there,” said team captain Ryan Utsumi ’01. And everything there was. For a long distance. And even after the “everything” stopped, we continued driving and driving.
We weren’t quite in the middle of Acapulco, but our hotel, the Hotel Las Hamacas, was very nice, even though Jim predicted it would be “a dump.” The rooms were kept at around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and the thermostats made no difference in the temperature. Soon after our arrival, we went to bed in preparation for the following morning’s workout.
Monday, December 20, 1999
This morning’s workout may have been one of the most surreal experiences of my
life. Because we started at 6 AM, there was no sunlight for about half of
practice. To add to the blind confusion, the lane lines were not in because of a
scheduled pool cleaning. I spent most of practice traveling between lanes 3 and
5 and 6 and back to 3. In fact, I may have traversed the entire width of the
pool during that practice. Once workout was over, I climbed out of the pool and
was able to finally see what a beautiful pool we were actually swimming in. It
was nearly ten full lanes, the temperature was perfect, and the water was clean.
I decided that I would be much more enthusiastic about swimming in it once the
lane lines were in.
After practice, the team discovered the Commercial Mexicana, much like a Mexican K-Mart. We could get anything and everything there. We loaded up on peanut butter and jelly and other such provisions. After we picked up Slurpees from the snack counter, we were ready to head back to the hotel for a short nap before going to the beach. The beaches in Acapulco are undeniably beautiful, and I was happy just to walk along the shore. The far more industrious Paul and the Fidel brothers went to work constructing a sandcastle. Others just sat on the beach, absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Afternoon workout was interesting today; Jim let us do our dryland on the beach, so we sometimes got mouthfuls of sand during medicine ball exercises. The pool was perfect in the afternoon, however. The lane lines were much better than in Oaxtepec. We couldn’t have argued for better swimming conditions.
Tonight, people engaged in a variety of activities. Some went out to experience the Acapulco nightlife, while others just satisfied themselves with meandering along Acapulco’s main street. Everyone ended up in a solid sleep after a busy day.
Tuesday, December 21, 1999
Jim gave us the afternoon off today so that we could try to experience Acapulco
as much as possible. Many of us decided to try our hands at deep-sea fishing.
Jim sent Jorge, Andrew, Jesse, and myself off on a boat with a fishing crew to
try to catch some big fish. As we got farther out from the harbor, the pleasant
vibrations of the boat’s motors pulled most of us into a deep sleep. But as
soon as we heard the crew jubilantly run to the stern of the boat, we all got up
pretty quickly. We took turns reeling in our catch. We caught a seven-foot
(maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depending on who you’re talking to
and when) sailfish that sparkled with a beautiful deep blue sheen. It was an
incredible experience. The crew tried to talk us into the $700 taxidermy option,
but we just didn’t have that kind of loose change sitting around anywhere.
After we landed back on the dock, we took pictures with the hoisted fish and
left the beast to the crew.
During the afternoon, many of us did the standard beach routine. After having lunch at Planet Hollywood in celebration of our marvelous catch, Jorge, Jesse, and I walked the two miles along the beach all the way back to the hotel. We pretended that we couldn’t read Spanish and ignored the explicit warning signs about the rocks we climbed, but there’s no need to tell Jim about that (whoops). After we arrived back, we had dinner and fell asleep after the long day.
Wednesday, December 22, 1999
We can’t believe that we’re already on our second-to-last day here. After
this morning’s workout, we went back to the hotel for short naps. During the
afternoon, many of us decided to check out one of Acapulco’s most famous
tourist attractions, the cliff divers. The divers plunged more than thirty
meters into fairly shallow, wavy water. It was incredible.
We headed back to our hotel for dryland and afternoon workout. We did a half dryland, and swam around a buoy in the ocean for our warm-up today. Then we walked to the pool and completed the main set, which was one of the less harsh of the trip.
This evening, we finally exchanged our Secret Santa gifts at Christmas dinner. Different people on the team received a record four leopard-skin Speedos in addition to all sorts of interesting presents. Louis Trotman presented Louis Fidel with a well-dressed mannequin. Aaron gave Jim a bullwhip as a symbol of the pain he continually inflicts on us. Chris Wilson presented Taylor with some interesting Mexican literature. Overall, the gift exchange was an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Thursday, December 23, 1999
Well, the last day of training trip. Only one more thing to do. The culmination
of the trip, that which brings terror to the minds of countless Dartmouth
College swimmers…the legendary hundred hundreds set. As I plodded through the
one hundred swims, the visions of O’Hare Airport dancing through my head kept
me going. When we were finally done, everyone waited for the last guys to finish
and gave them a final cheer…we had made it through training trip.
We headed back to the hotel, packed up our stuff, and departed for the airport, excited to be finally heading home.
Friday, December 24, 1999
Funny thing how once you think something’s over, it might not really be at
all. You see, after we landed in Dallas today, the flight carrying four of our
team to Chicago was canceled, and we were only able to get another flight two
hours later. We made good time on that flight, and landed at O’Hare around
10:30 PM yesterday.
And yet, it’s now Christmas Eve, and I’m still sitting on the runway of O’Hare Airport. Merry Christmas everyone. Apparently, they didn’t hire enough people to de-ice the planes, so all the gates are blocked. Hello??!! This is Chicago; it gets really cold here.
As much fun as our winter training trip has been, I’m ready to get home and get ready for Christmas day tomorrow. I wonder what exotic location we’ll be traveling to next year. For now though, I’ll just settle for my own bed.