Exotic travels

We flew in a a little 12 seater plane, full of locals and tourists eager to be away on their weekend and get on with their plans. It creaked alarmingly as we turned into the runway and a little voice in the back of my head asked if this was quite wise.

But what a trip! As we flew, above a few low lying clouds but largely in a clear blue sky, I could see the plane's shadow on the the sparkling blue waters below. It looked like a dragonfly, zipping over the waves, out on a great adventure on the open sea. The breaking waves looked like fish jumping, or perhaps even mermaids, out in the deep ocean. As we approached land, they turned into sea horses, wildly rushing into shore.

The sky and the sea were so blue in the bright sunshine that I couldn't distinguish where one ended and the other started as I peered out my little window. It gave me a sense of looking into eternity.

The green lush land of the island appeared below us, cleared for cultivation here, still bearing the tangle of jungle there. So different, so fascinating, so remote.

Our drive through the island only reinforced this first impression. Chickens and cows loose on the road I was used to. Mud houses weren't necessarily anything new either. Somehow the landscape it was all set in made it appear more exotic than I had thought it before. There were so few cars on the road that everyone we passed stopped to stare.

When we reached the forest area I could barely believe that this was to get more impressive. But this untouched, virginal forest with sunlight dappling through the upper canopy thrilled my very soul. Monkey cries and bird calls echoed through it as we trundled along the narrow track. Finally we burst through into blinding sunlight again to find the waves pounding on the rocky shore in front of our home for the next two nights.

Sometimes you can't ignore the wonder of the world.