My Elafonissi is a mirror space
I started writing about Elafonissi many times without succeeding, the place is so deeply rooted in my soul that it is difficult to get it out to narrate it.
I always thought that this summary of perfumes, colors, beauty must have a female connotation; my Elafonissi is a mirror space, which changes according to who looks at it.
The perception goes beyond the striking expanse of white sand with small flowered coves and pink rocks here and there. Beyond the dunes, spotted with pancrazi di mare flowers that surround the beach, the entrance to the entirely sandy territory of the island. It is something impalpable and indefinable, a luminous aura that surrounds every step, every breath, when I am there.
And every time I go there something special happens.
This time I arrive at sunset, the water mirrors the intense red color of the sky shading in purple and blue, the black silhouettes of the people, subjugated by the enchantment that suddenly envelops them, move with an unusual freedom, someone runs with great leaps in the water, someone else twirls in the shallow water, stirring up splashes, you could say, of red paint.
Nobody is immune to the magic of the moment and as time passes, the red loses its purples and everything turns into a sacred fire that imposes introspection and silence.
I photograph a young girl, sitting in the shallow water, she seems to be gathered in prayer, the spirituality that I see in her is the same I am experiencing right now inside me.
This morning I climbed the highest dune, at the beginning of the beach, from that observation point Elafonissi shows its spectacular landform, rightly protected for its uniqueness and beauty, and also because offshore its waters hold an archaeological treasure to be safeguarded.
Someone told me that among the endemic fauna of Elafonissi, there are also snakes, remembering that I crossed the island half-naked, enjoying that very fine sand under bare feet, I prove once again that my love for the island is reciprocal. Turning my gaze from the transparency of the water of my favorite color, to the body of sand that lies south, to the lentisco and juniper bushes, to the lagoon that fills and empties following the moon phases, I can swear that my love for Elafonissi is forever.
I go down and find a small, deserted cove, time passes quickly sunbathing, swimming and diving.
I stay there until sunset, tonight the colors are pastel, the sand turns from white to pink and the water from transparent to pale blue, the rocks are black silhouettes.
Leave me here forever.
======
All Images and Original Text copyright Solo Moles - Travel One 2019
Contact solomoles@gmail.com
Scroll down to leave a comment
Thank you for sharing. I did feel the same, it was summer 1990’. I kept dreaming about it several times. I was already ready for a downshifting.
Amazing how you convey your emotions
Bravo!