Adventurers with artistic sensibilities and curious appetites board Antonio’s 54-foot sailboat; drifting somewhere along the Amalfi coast.

It’s a visceral voyage—sun rays bounce off the iconic jade-blue hues of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There are eight of us on deck. In a shared space, we unite as willing victims of foreign seductive charms: the joviality inherent in the sea, in the sun.

The hair on our limbs begin to prickle on our skin; raised by unmistakable warm-weather sensations. With closed eyes we succumb to the might of the sun—forceful and empowering, all at once—and its glowing light enhances the vibrancy of jagged landscapes afar. Rhythmic waves cascade beneath us. There’s a mutual understanding here.

We are all yearning for the same thing. We’re yearning to find our place under the sun.

Our days are spent exploring hidden fishing villages from our vantage point on the water. We wander through the cobblestone streets of Ischia and Procida. We envelop ourselves in Capri’s true Italian luxury. Layers of pretense and worry rinse off our bronzed, freckled bodies.

Exploration is one of the basic means of self-knowledge, as indispensable as poetry.

The Mediterranean possesses a higher salt content than we are accustomed to. The salt brings out the natural sweetness of the fish. Frutti di Mare—fresh squid, octopus, vongole veraci, cozze! Squash blossoms and freshly plucked lemons and herbs color our plates. We embrace the purity that comes from revelling in whole foods; foraged foods, balanced with the beautiful family estate wines of Campania.

Anaïs Nin once wrote, “Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”

We belong to a maritime community and our place in the sun is a vast one. It’s an unequivocal destination, a shimmering reality.

Our place under the sun is the sea.

~

Author: Peggy Markel

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photo: Author’s own