'the sea

I used to be a sailor:

As a child, I spent seven years sailing the seven seas. My father is a boatbuilder and it was his dream to take my Mother and I on a journey to places we could only dream of.

Adventures we had. Our first journey from Kinsale, Ireland to Gibraltar led to us being fired at by Portuguese pirates aboard an unmarked fishing trawler. I stayed below deck watching anxiously from the porthole while my Dad ducked under bullets and fired flares back at them. Our 42 foot steel bilge keeled boat had a fast turning circle, and we span on the spot deflecting their attacks. Eventually their engines burned out and we skulked away turning off our lights. At seven years old I became suddenly aware of my own mortality and what it meant to be a tiny vessel in a vast ocean.

I’ve been traveling around the Greek islands a week now. I sail, I savor every new acquaintance, I feel the love for my friends grow bigger and stronger, I explore the deep blue sea; my senses devour colors and voices, I fall in love passionately and, sometimes, with sublime innocence. I, supposedly the most energetic, the most fearless and dynamic (the epitome of adventure!) of all my friends, had never done scuba diving before in my life.