Whatever Floats Your Boat

« Nous ramons tous sur le même bateau. »

– Zénobios

Boats! Birds! The wide, pristine blue seas spread endlessly underneath a startlingly blue sky! Even though I’ve spent a few years growing up in several coastal cities such as Colombo, Accra, Conakry, and Perth, the sea still mesmerizes me. Most unfortunately, despite living close to the coast of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, our family didn’t grab much opportunity to indulge in the beachy lifestyle (besides consuming fresh tiger prawns and lobsters at an alarming rate), which makes me still an awkward stranger to the ocean.

After coming across Ed’s Sunday Stills Challenge with ‘Boats’ as the theme this week however, I thought I should publish something which honors this spectacular nautical invention which has done much to change the course of our history. Without boats, the intrepid adventurers I grew up reading about such as Ibn Battuta and Christopher Columbus would’ve had entirely different biographies today, which would be such a shame as their lives were all about crossing oceans and trying to reach the other side of the shore.

I have much to learn from these adventurers, the first of which is courage — the courage to leave these shores to reach The Other Side, and delve into The Unknown. And second: learn how to sail, find out how to travel by sea rather than by air or land. I’ve decided going sailing at least once in my life should definitely be in my Bucket List.

Without further ado, I present to you boats I’ve seen from around the world:

Croatia

Spalato / Split

Bol, Brač Island

Bol, Brač Island

Australia

Matilda Bay, Perth

Matilda Bay, Perth

Mandurah

Qatar

Souq Waqif, Doha

Spain

Port Olimpic, Barcelona

Port Olimpic, Barcelona

Málaga

Málaga

Italy

Venezia / Venice

Venezia / Venice

Venezia / Venice