Often I am asked – don’t you feel confined in that little boat? And my answer always is – not at all! Because where else can you live every day, all day, with a 360 degree view of the horizon and a hemispheric dome of sky overhead?
Immersed in open nature this way, one finds oneself in the world of other creatures inhabiting the same space. We’ve had tiny shrimp, squid, and flying fish all come aboard, as well as what looked to me like a baby Portuguese Man-of-War. Groups of dolphins have escorted us.
Albatross & Sunset
And in the sky, we’ve had stormy petrels, terns, and the enormous Albatross, a bird that almost never flaps its wings, but just soars and glides on the wind and its updrafts and downdrafts over waves. Plus a myriad of other birds that I can’t identify, my knowledge being inadequate.
For all of those creatures, this is their natural environment. For me, it’s not my natural environment, I am the intruder – or the guest – in their domain. Of course we must respect that domain by not polluting, but we must also appreciate it for its diversity and astonishing accomplishments. Look at all the things that those creatures can do that I cannot do! They are amazing! How did the albatross learn to fly like that?! How did the flying fish ever figure out to leap out of the water and glide on their fins as wings for 100 meters to escape predators?!
No, this is not confinement. This is good fortune to be here and to see all of it.