Riding the Waves

It happened on a bright,sunny day that started with a pile of pancakes oozing chocolate on velvet strawberries, and ended with heady red wine served with hot calamari that melted in your mouth. In the midst of that day, I found the path that led to myself.
So when I first saw the sky kissing the brilliant blue sea in the Andaman islands, my heart leaped. The white sand tenderly caressed my bare feet like a faithful lover, and it all seemed surreal.
The islands were just that- surreal, a land of fantasy. If not seen personally, one would be tempted to discard them as urban legend. My only regret was that I spent just a week in the islands, hardly doing justice to this dreamer's paradise.
The Andamans are overwhelming; scarcely populated, endless beaches and sparkling waters merging into varying hues of blue. Island food is heaven, fresh prawn with the right blend of flavor and texture in simmering curries with rice. Then were tarts the size of dinner plates with luscious tangy strawberries and a hint of cream.
The greatest adventure of the islands- Scuba diving, beckoned to us! There is truly nothing that makes you feel more alive than walking into the jaws of potential death. The fact that one equipment malfunction could leave you gasping for air miles under the sea, that hour of listening to yourself perform the critical albeit assumed function of breathing, touching your feet to the sea bed and looking up to find an entire ocean above you- it puts a lot into perspective.
Shortly after this emotionally stirring experience, I set off on a solitary walk down the beach. The past few months had been rough on me. Extreme romantic disappointment and consequent depression had gnawed at my core; I was evading my mistakes and running away from reality, and worse, from myself.
In that moment of nirvana, as I sat on a tree branch, the ocean below me and not a soul in sight, I found that this moment was my reality. And it was so magical, there was nothing to run away from. The breath-taking vista that my eyes were soaking seeped into my mind and led me to seek that same beauty within myself. It was then that I reclaimed myself, forgave my mistakes and made peace with my past.
In the Andamans, scuba diving brings you preciously close to your very existence, and in that spiritual window of a few days, search for yourself, within. Reflect on your reality, listen to the silence, match the rhythm of the waves with your heartbeat. You'll be surprised at what you find!