It's the Cape of cold water

I learnt the secret to swimming in the icy Atlantic Ocean from one of my grandfather's many sisters, Aunty Esther, who was the most vibrant, outlandish and independent of the six girls who made up most of his 11 siblings. Born into a family of Russian horse thieves, or so the legend goes, Esther was the only one who made her home on the golden mile of Cape Town's Atlantic beachfront after escaping the cold Russian winters.

She grew to love the frigid waters above which her apartment block towered and amazed my cousin and me by being able to stay in the water for hours well into her 60s. The secret, she said is to get unbearably hot and then inch your body into the lapping waves, allowing your blood to become accustomed to the cold water little by little.

It works. It may take a while to immerse yourself completely - the final and most extreme shock being the submerging of your head - but, once the "ice-cream headache" has subsided, you will be able to stay in for hours and emerge with a tinglingly, fresh sensation that will keep you cool for the rest of the day.

Getting unbearably hot is the fun part I discovered during a stay at the Radisson Blu in Cape Town a few weeks ago. On the edge of the Atlantic, with Table Mountain on one side and the harbour, Robben Island and endless blue ocean views on the other, the Radisson Blu is in the perfect position to access some of Cape Town's finest beaches for an icy dunk.

Though the hotel has a heated infinity pool from which you can gaze across the Atlantic waters while sipping a cocktail , I was on a mission to revive the swimming methods of my old great-aunt.

Knowing that I had a spa massage treatment booked at the hotel's Quantum Spa the next morning that would revive my stiff muscles, my plan was to run the length of Mouille Point at sunset to get really hot before braving the cold at Queen's Beach at the other end of Sea Point.

But relaxing on the private balcony of my marine-styled suite, watching the boats sail across my view of the endless Atlantic, I was tempted to give up my afternoon exertion in favour of enjoying the great facilities of the hotel.

I had plans with friends for dinner at the Radisson Blu's Tobago restaurant, a favourite cocktail venue of locals and international visitors, and only had a few hours to spare.

Then the memory of spunky Aunty Esther had me tying the laces of my running shoes and hitting the asphalt. As the sky turned orange, then golden, then lilac and pink, the Rollerbladers, dog walkers, hand-holding lovers and camera-wielding tourists crowded the Mouille Point promenade. I made slow progress, stopping to capture the light show on the water that I would soon be edging myself into.

At the end of the promenade that extends from the V&A Waterfront to the end of Sea Point, with the sun almost completely disappeared, I dipped my toes into the water at Queen's Beach, got in slowly up to my waist and then lost my nerve and ran back to the hotel for a few laps in the heated infinity swimming pool.

FACT FILE

Address: Beach Road, Granger Bay, Cape Town

Rates: from R3310 for a standard non sea-facing room to R9735 for a suite. All rates, except entry level, include breakfast.

Website: www.radissonblu.com

Telephone number: +27 021-441-3000

e-mail: capetown.info@radissonblu.com