Flâneurie 101: Sailing on the Bay

On an island in the sun
we'll be playing and having fun
and it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain

Island in the Sun. Weezer


Anchors aweigh! This time I had the opportunity to with a group of friends to a vacation island (I needed it already after long exams and essays -ugh). Don't get me wrong, I am very excited about the sea! It's just about abandoning the dock and we were sailing in the coastal ocean!

I was quite happy to know that in the island there was the perfect setting for a wonderful, quiet and peaceful retreat. On the go, I was talking with friends (I don't get to see them too often) about what were the plans once we arrive. As the motorboat increased it speed, I moved towards the back to appreciate waves (Environmental Fluid Dynamics!). My inquisitive mind was nurtured by local rainbows on the sides (by the way, they form when light strikes at 42° in the water droplet), as well as geometrically intricate waves and eddies. This is part of my scientific flâneurie, to analytically explore my surroundings.

Aren't engines the best? The excitement of abandoning the city in order to arrive to an incognito place is unparalleled, people need to literally take a boat to reach me!. Buildings, lighthouses, industries, small islands are just small parts of a collage I loved.

I cannot believe we passed over the submarine wall... it was built as a trap for pirate ships in the past (and may I add another nerdy factoid, it's the clearest application of the continuity equation).

With the next picture we were out of sight of the city, and we passed the wall strait. Actually if we navigate nonstop in that direction we'd reach some place in Central America (very far, but not impossible).

As pirates would say, We're in sea o' no return! (well, not that dramatically), but we were already very far from home. Absolutely worth it! Meaningful interaction with breaks for my retreats (I asked for them -this makes me proud) surfing, food, sunset watching, late night games, pool, dinner, geology, oceanography, math talk, looking for coral fossils and rocks! Unforgettable holidays in the sun.