Beyond Daydreams
“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
Jhumpa Lahiri, “The Namesake”
I’ve been an avid reader for almost as long as I can remember. I was the child at school with a book hidden inside the textbook, pretending to be studying. At first it was mainly fiction, but when an English teacher gave us a reading list which included non-fiction like “The Kon-tiki Expedition” by Thor Heyerdahl, “The Southern Stars” by Patrick Moore and “The Silent World” by Jacques Cousteau, my imagination was fired to explore wondrous places that I had never been to. Ever since, I have been an avid reader of exploration non-fiction and have enjoyed the adventures of the authors without having to leave the comfort of my armchair. Then I married Tom.
Tom was a true scientist with an inquiring mind. He was not content with book learning alone but wanted to be out in the field, observing the natural world for himself. (It is not that he didn’t read about it. We have books galore on all kinds of topics – astronomy, ancient history, archaeology, botany, ichthyology – to name a few.) In our first year of marriage, with Tom as my guide, I went on my first archaeological dig, had a flight to see Halley’s Comet, looked through a 30-inch telescope and learned to snorkel dive.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?”
Job 12: 7-9
Bennet’s Butterfly fish 
Copper-banded butterfly-fish
When a bachelor, Tom would spend part of his holiday snorkel diving in tropical seas. He had been to the Seychelles and the Comoros Islands and now he suggested that we go to Mauritius, an easy flight from Durban in South Africa. Although I enjoyed swimming in the sea, I always made sure that I didn’t get out of my depth. Now I had to learn to snorkel dive. I had my first lesson at Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town but it was a complete failure because as soon as I went under water, I couldn’t see a thing thanks to the waves churning up the sand. However, while Tom was away observing (i.e. star-gazing), I went to stay with my brother near Durban and taught myself to snorkel dive in their swimming pool. Tom joined me there and we flew on to Mauritius.
All of Jacques Cousteau’s books did not prepare me for the excitement of seeing small tropical fish swimming in the shallow reef at the hotel. I couldn’t wait to swim to the outer reef to see the abundance of beautifully coloured fish swimming amongst the coral. From that moment, I was hooked. Once the children had learned to swim, we took them to Mauritius to experience the magic of the tropical sea. We had a second family holiday on Mauritius before we left South Africa. After moving to Scotland, we had family holidays both on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and the Red Sea off Egypt. Daughter enjoyed it so much that she took a gap year in Australia where she gained her Dive Master qualification!
Moray eel 
Trunk fish
We live on an amazing planet, with so much to enjoy. Tom taught me to look closely and to wonder in amazement. Without Tom by my side, I have gone back to the comfort of armchair traveling. But, hopefully, I have not lost a sense of wonder at the natural world in which we live. There is much to give delight right where I am – the full moon, the sunset, the wildflowers, the shiny beetle, the variety of birds at the feeder. These are all things which daily give me cause to give thanks for our beautiful world.
“How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number- living things both large and small.”
Psalms 104:24-25
Yellow-dot Emperor fish and one three-band Demoiselle 
Racoon Butterfly fish
Wow Marlene – nice life! If I were the envious type I would be envious.
Very happy memories, Mary!