Wow, do I miss Okinawa. I had the privilege of living there for 11 years, and spent the majority of my free time trekking, swimming, snorkeling, or diving in the bath-water warm seas. It was an incredible experience. The people, the food, the culture, and of course, the beauty are just some of the things that compose everything that I miss about it. You can take ferries to the ‘outer’ islands, which are less populated, and where the people aren’t as impacted by ‘progress.’ Finding beaches with no one else on them was an easy thing to do. Being the only person (well, people, I was usually with friends) on a beach was absolutely prodigious. My dad fought on those same beaches in WWII. I wish that he was able to come visit me before he died. I know he wanted to. It just never worked out. Anyway…

I hope I captured at least a little of Okinawa’s essence. It’s difficult to be an accurate judge of that because I can’t separate the memories from the photos.