Eye of the Sea-Man

As the train crawling alongside of Lake Geneva, I was trying not to think about my futur. I came to Lausanne , Switzerland to attend university, a week ago. However, an obstacle has been planted in front of me like the Alps: the famine of accommodation in the city. I had to find a room, persuade the real estate agency and in a foreign country, far away from home, as 18 years old boy. I’ve spent my whole week to find a room, but I couldn’t , like hundreds of students. Finally, I gave up and decided to return and attend a local university. But before, I got the suggestion of my dad, who was an ex-adventurer (perhaps being a traveler is genetic), and decided to explore,without a worry, this hidden paradise which has became a nightmare to me for a week. That’s why I was watching the meeting of the summit of Mont Blanc region with clouds, from the train heading to Vevey, accross the other side of Lake Geneva separating France and Switzerland. In my hand, my best and the only travel partner, my camera… At Vevey, I preferred to walk alongside the water as I always did when I was sad. This lake remember me my home city, Izmir in Turkey, which is a port at the Aegean Sea. Taking a tour at the seaside and washing my face with a handful of water helped me refresh. I love so much the salty taste of seawater and it’s smell coming from iodine. I saw an ideal place to take this into action. A young couple was kissing on a group of stairs descending into the lake. There were two huge statues of Poseidon, at two sides of stairs. A gray stairway to crystal blue lake permitting to love under the God of seas… This must be the “Stairway to Heaven” that Led Zeppelin told about. I descended few stairs and crouched to take a handful of water. First, I took a deep breath as I did always. But this time there was neither smell nor taste . Then I washed my face but there wasn’t any refreshment as I expected. Finally, I realized that it was not seawater but lake water. So it didn’t contain iodine. I was dissapointed. All I wanted was just a handful of water which would refresh me after a disastrous week. Just a moment of touch the salty water with my face… Indeed, it’s a very commun fact that there isn’t iodine in lakes ,consequently, lake water is not salty. Of course, I known this chemical information as an engineer candidat but I’ve never experienced it. I learned that we can’t really know something without feeling it. Just 2 days later I felt the Aegean Sea on my face.