In the Heart of the Sea!

 Continues from A Walk into the Red Sea

I now feel that I’ll remember the third day at Farasan Islands forever. I was not aware of it as we started our sail from Farasan Island in a small boat to one of the strewn islands in the Red Sea.  Tired with the long drive, sightseeing and loss of appetite for the local food, I was getting impatient and angry. It was added up with my guilt feeling for the outbursts at Shreya.

Thanks to my friends, the boat was filled with juice cans, water bottles, Lays packets, noodles, a gas stove and small vessels. Since Shehnaz was in the same realm as me, we sat together behind the boat with the children. 

Yellow billed loon

 As we sat there, a yellow billed loon started floating just behind our boat.  With its contemplative stillness and idle floating, I first mistook it as a big rubber toy missed from a kid’s hand. Soon, the assistant in the boat pointed out the bird to all members. The loon continued floating careless of the attention it was getting.

All others in the boat cheered as the boat started its sail. The enthusiasm must have spread or the cool sea breeze calmed the nerves, I started to relax along with them. The water splashed from the sides of the boat that scissor through the crystal blue sea.

After fifteen minutes of sail that seemed to be moments, the boat stopped near an island.  The local fishermen and natives lived in that island where old forts still held their majestic heads. The forts glistened under the sun. The boatmen pointed huge pumps that dipped into the sea from the shore. Since there was a scarcity of drinking water in the island, authorities get the pure water through these pumps for the island inhabitants.

We steered our boat back soon. Silver foams splattered behind our boat as we headed into the heart of the sea. Though we were far away from our starting island, the scattered islands around gave the feeling that we were quite near to the land area. After some time, the boat stopped in the middle of the sea for fishing!

Continues in Spirituality of Fishing