Imagine waking up by bright warm light reaching through the closed eyelids. There is a gentle swinging motion that wraps around you as if you are a fetus in the womb. Sounds of water begin to reach your eardrum, so does cries of seagulls in the distance.
Your skin is slightly moist from the warmth of the air. You open your eyes and walk out through the hatch on the ceiling and you are surrounded by the endless surface of turquoise, and ancient structure by the shore makes you ask yourself, “Am I still dreaming?”
Moon over Corfu’s old fortress, as viewed from the sea near the medieval port of Mandraki.
This was my favorite moment when Sailing on Lady Stardust. I loved to jump right in the water upon waking up, and this experience of immediate immersion in nature is breathtaking(literally) but at the same time feels so natural.
How did I live without this every day?
It has been always assumed that when one wants the experience of nature, one has to sacrifice comfort. But quite unbelievably, it’s not the case of the sailing experience on Lady Stardust. Even during a couple of days in the storm on our trip, we never missed our coffee and breakfast with fresh fruits and yogurt, thanks to our fantastic skipper and first mate.
There are places you can reach only through the water and with a knowledgable skipper, and there are countless secret beaches, caves, and islands in the Ionian Archipelago that impressed us with its unmatching beauties. As we landed at each location, climbed the rocks with mars like formations, and swam through the caves, we felt that we were the explorers to the new world, and when a group of dolphins joined us on the way to Paxos, swam around us playfully, the feeling of recognition from these wild creature was deeply touching.
There are places you can reach only through the water and with a knowledgable skipper, and there are countless secret beaches, caves, and islands in the Ionian Archipelago that impressed us with its unmatching beauties.
Every evening, we were back in the boat, exhausted and satisfied fully with our engagements with nature, we celebrated each day with ouzo, and wines, either on the boat anchored in the middle of the sea or in an authentic tavern in one of the small villages which you want to put in your notebook and carry with you.
Those villages, each one unique on its own authenticity, were full of life and you can eat and drink like the evening never ends and tomorrow never come.
When someone plays bouzouki, you dance Syrtaki.
Each night finished with lots of laughter and a full belly, and you cannot help but think that life could stop at that moment.
Can life get better than this?
It’s been a few days since I left the boat and came back home, the world around me is still swinging gently and the salty smell of the see is lingering at the end of each breath.
The experience on Lady Stardust was a collective dream that we shared, a little utopia.
Moo Kim
