The Sea Rewarded my Stillness 🌊✨

I went on a trip to Gokarna without any plan. I didn’t even decide how many days I would stay. My days were simple: exploring in the morning, working through the day and after work either exploring again or just sitting quietly by the beach with the friends I made there. My stay was right in front of the beach so I liked sitting there late at night.

One night I was sitting on the beach with a friend just talking and absentmindedly drawing patterns in the sand with my finger. For some time I didn’t notice anything but after a while I saw that the sand was slightly changing color when I was drawing. I started drawing faster and saw the color changing even more and the glow grew stronger. When I brushed my palm across the sand I saw a glowing electric blue color appear.

I had no idea what it was. I had seen pictures and videos before but I never expected that something like this would happen to me so suddenly. I was so surprised to see that blue glittery sand. So I went back to my stay and asked the staff what it was. They told me it’s called phytoplankton also known as bioluminescence. They said it appears during the winter season and glows when it feels any kind of movement or disturbance. It glows the most in the sea waves and if you want to see it clearly you can go towards the sea around midnight.

I sat there for a long time just watching the waves light up and I thought maybe if I had traveled in a rush ticking off bucket list spots I would’ve missed this. That night reminded me that slow travel has its own kind of magic, the kind that finds you when you least expect it. I can never forget that magical night.

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