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Skinny Dipping for the First Time
on an island in the middle of nowhere, BC
There is this magical place, called Cortes Island, off the coast of Vancouver. This place housed some of the most beautiful moments of my life. I facilitated retreats and trainings for a company pre-Covid and was able to travel to the most idyllic of places. This place was my favorite.
It is a small island, surrounded by others. There are snow-capped mountains in the distance, yet the water is warm. The grebes dance on the water in early morning, the dolphins swim by, and the whales breach the surface with their spouting water, signaling their presence. The forests are full of conifers, the trails are soft enough to walk barefoot, and the naturalist, Bill, is not only fluent in plant life, but in opera. I just might have fallen in love with that man a little as we listened to the Met one Saturday afternoon. Pagliacci, it was. He was impressed that I knew…I was floored that he knew. Funny moment, tbs.
Otherwise, I spent my “off work” moments alone. I walked the beaches in the morning, enjoying the low tide, playing with the bladderwrack and mollusks. I especially enjoyed the ones that dug themselves into the sand to survive the low tide. The bubbles they made were entertaining.
One morning, as I was sitting on a large rock on the beach, a woman emerged from the water…
