Tranquility By The Sea.

I was born under the Tatra Mountains in the heart of Europe. Therefore, during my childhood, the sight of a large body of water was an unusual one.

The word "sea" brought at all times exotic pictures of far away lands to my mind. We did travel to the Mediterranean when I was small, or rather to the Adriatic Sea. The most intense moment of all, on those trips, was when we drove around the final bend and could feast our eyes on the endless alloy of sapphire blue and emerald green waters of the warm, tropical sea, lined only by the misty horizon.

Upon our immigration to Sweden, the sight of the ocean became a common one. We lived in a port city on the west shores of the Baltic Sea. This ocean has very little resemblance with the calm waters of the Mediterranean; at times azure blue, it is pristine, but wild and free. Predominantly the colour of steel, it invokes respect and awe. We lived in close proximity of a strait and I could hear fog horns late in the night, when I sat hunched over school books, or early in the morning, when the whole city lay still.

When I lived inland in North Carolina, I missed the sea. After a decade of seeing it almost every day, I found the endless land oppressive and I longed for the carefree feeling, which gazing at the open waters will offer at all times.

I love everything about the ocean; I love the fact that it is different every single day. Its colours and moods change with the seasons and even with the weather. The clarity of the air above and around it varies as well, offering almost a mirage-like sight of rocky islands and freighter ships, which seem to be almost within a reach on a clear day, just to become invisible when enveloped by heavy mist or fog on the next.
Still, even now, I take the longer drive to work, only to be able to see the ocean every day.

This past Sunday, I took a walk on a nearby beach with my parents. I do visit this particular spot frequently, mostly during the summer months. However, I have rarely seen the ocean of the colour captured on the pictures and the movie clip below. The clouds in the sky gave the sea an almost tropical feel. The beach was deserted and tranquil, as if secluded in a lonely bay, on a forgotten island in the tropics. The lack of easterly winds made the waters lay still, with an occasional wave hitting the shore, creating a harmony in sound and sight.

It was one of these rare, memorable experiences - all I wanted was for that moment in time to last forever.