Sailing into the Sunset

Today I voyaged with Rosa and Dominik to Rossdohan Island.  We met seals, explored a castle ruin, wandered around the island and saw the only giant fern trees growing wild in Europe, had a picnic dinner on top of the castle, and let the boat drift in the ocean as we watched the sun set on the mountains.  It was a perfect day, and I was lucky enough to share it with two wonderful friends.  This is a short excerpt from my journal: My teeth chatter – but not in the unpleasant way like when it’s cold outside but in tandem with the lull of the boat as it skids softly across the water.  I tug the sleeve of my jacket up and push my hand into the waves forming under the base of the boat.  My eyes, not immediately adjusting, register the image as out of focus.  The blurriness fizzles into clarity, and I look up to bear witness to the majesty that is the mountains.  They rise and fall like the curves of a woman’s body and take refuge under the shadow of the clouds.  The powerful clouds bow down to no one, as they cloak the mountains and block the sun.  I cannot put into words the beauty surrounding me.  There is no way to describe the feeling of closing your eyes to smell the mist of the salty ocean mixing with the wind against your skin.  I inhale and exhale slowly, doing my best to enjoy this moment.  Rosa points her index finger to the left, and when I look, I see a clan of seals swimming towards us.  Their grey and white blubber shimmers in the sun, and their heads bob under the water and back out again.  I’ve never seen a seal in the wild.  I am wandering through their home.  I wish I could call the ocean my home, the place where I reside permanently, moving with the grace of a mermaid.  As the boat wades through the water and under the stone bridge, my eyes are lucky enough to see the most picturesque sight known to mankind.  I was unaware that such beauty was possible.  We dock the boat and slowly make our way on to island that Dominik affectionately calls Jurassic Park.  I climb the steps of a castle ruin and look out on a view unfit for a price tag.  I lay down, basking in the sunshine and feeling no hurry.