my dreams of maldives...

When people dream of the Maldives they think only of days filled with sun, sand and sea. They see themselves relaxing luxuriously sipping cocktails while tanning on lounge chairs in the sun.

I think they miss the best part. Anywhere (outside of England) can be sunny. There are beaches on nearly every coastline in the world (admittedly, my beach here is the best, although there are some lovely ones in New Zealand). For me the truly special part of the Maldives, the part that I will miss in my soul is the night.

On moonless nights the stars fill the sky and the milkyway is so thick that it brings to mind a trail of salt from an overturned shaker. Even without knowing the constellations you could play "connect the stars" and make up your own for hours on end. My favorite "constellation" is a stingray. Now, if you've studied astronomy you may be objecting as you read this...but if you just lived here and looked into the sky you'd see many such familiar sea creatures. Bears and hunters don't exist here and so would n ever be seen in the sky...sharks, rays, puffer fish and even the odd chicken would light up your sky. Perhaps if you were lucky you'd see a school of tuna to lead you to your evening's catch.

On moonless nights the water sparkles with its own stars: biophosphorescent plankton. When in a boat, look down at the water that is displaced as you cut through the water...it sparkles like diamonds with its own light. If you take a stroll along the beach the waves bring these "stars" to the shore and the shoreline appears have been dusted with fairy dust. Swim, and every move you make is lit up as if you are swimming amongst the stars. Upon leaving the water, don't be surprised to find yourself aglow.

Then there's the moon...
If you were inclined to write sonnets and love songs the moon in its many phases could easily provide all inspiration. The new moon is like a shy but incredibly beautiful veiled muslim woman. You can see nothing through her black veils save a small crescent that reveals her eyes...but oh, those eyes! That small glimpse of beauty fills the soul with song, lures men to their deaths and enslaves their hearts! As the moon slowling, tauntingly reveals herself each passing night, it reminds me of the "dance of the seven veils", so full of love, romance and yes, eroticism and beauty that it risks being forbidden. Indeed, there are many that flee to their beds without daring to cast their faces to its unearthly light.

Tonight she rose full...sensuously, curvaciously, lusciously golden over the horizon of a calm sea. As she rose higher she threw off her golden robes for her pale nightdress, shining like purity incarnate over the luminescent waters below. Her purity is her strength and her brightness lights the world below like the ghost of day. The stars pale in comparison and are lost in her glory. She gathers strength and leaves a beautiful silvery path to the heavens glistening like moonstones and diamonds...a trail that surely leads the way to heaven if only one could traverse its length before morning.

Bathing everything in richly in her pearly glow and yet taking nothing but sand as her due. The ocean rises to her call and steals away our silky white sand in her homage. How can one regret such a small payment for such beauty?

Yes, I will miss these nights. I will miss sitting on the open stern of a boat, feet dangling over the water as I sail through the night.