The days upon the sea were long and bright the sky a dome of endless azure the water beneath us glittering with the light of the sun The wind filled the sails and the ship moved swift and sure upon the waves The gulls followed us their cries sharp and wild the dolphins leapt beside us their sleek bodies flashing in the light The air smelled of salt and sun and I felt the joy of the open sea the freedom of the wide horizon where the sky met the water and all the world seemed endless

At night the sea grew dark and deep the stars so many and so bright that it seemed the sky was filled with fire The ship rocked gently upon the waves and I lay upon the deck wrapped in my cloak listening to the song of the water the soft creak of the wood the low voices of the sailors as they kept their watch The moon rose silver and cold and cast a path upon the water a road of light that led into the unknown

At last we came among the islands their shapes rising from the sea like the backs of sleeping beasts their cliffs white against the blue their shores lined with small villages where the houses shone pale beneath the sun I left the ship and set foot upon one of these islands where the land rose steep and rocky from the sea where the olive groves climbed the slopes where the air was filled with the scent of thyme and salt and blossom

I walked the narrow paths that wound between stone walls where fig trees spread their branches wide where grapevines clung to the terraces carved into the hills I climbed to places where I could see far out over the sea where the islands lay scattered upon the water like jewels upon blue silk where the sails of small boats glided white and silent between them I watched the sun set in a blaze of gold and crimson and the sea darken beneath the coming night

The people of the islands lived close to the sea their lives shaped by its moods and gifts They welcomed me with kindness offering bread baked with olives fish fresh from the water wine dark and sweet and strong I shared their tables beneath the vines their fires upon the shore their songs that spoke of the sea of the wind of the stars above I listened as they spoke of storms that rose without warning of ships lost to the deep of fish that filled their nets of festivals that lit the night with flame and music

I stayed among the islands for many weeks walking their shores climbing their hills sitting beside their quiet coves where the water lapped soft upon the stones I watched the sea in all its moods gentle and blue beneath the sun wild and dark beneath the storm silver beneath the moon black as night beneath the clouded sky I learned the voice of the wind the scent of the rain the taste of the salt air

One day I stood upon a high place where the ruins of an ancient temple clung to the edge of the cliff its columns worn by wind and time its stones warm beneath the sun The sea spread wide below the sky endless above and I felt as if I stood between earth and heaven as if the world stretched without end in all directions The wind moved through the broken columns and I heard in it the song of the ages the voice of those who had stood there long before me the whisper of the gods that once had watched from that high place

At night I would sit beside my small fire upon the shore and watch the stars rise above the dark sea the waves shining with the light of the moon the world quiet and at peace I listened to the soft sound of the water to the crackle of the flame to the voice of the wind among the stones and I felt the weight of the journey behind me the promise of the road ahead the endless gift of the world’s beauty

Now as I write these words beside my fire at Lake Siljan I can smell the salt of the sea I can see the islands upon the blue I can hear the song of the wind upon the water and I am filled with longing and with gratitude

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