Off the beaten track

I am writing from the island of Zamami, in the Keramas group of islands, off the main island of Okinawa. 

There is an expression, Keramus Blue, for the colour of the water. It is true, it is a type of blue that has you weep with the beauty of it.

We spent 90 minutes snorkelling off a smaller island, just the two of us. It was spectacular. There was a patch that was completely covered in blue-tipped stag horn coral, like a giant spikey carpet.

At one point, I hovered over a coral bommie and had a school of the brightest of yellow little fish swim all around me, coming up to my outstretched hands, their curiosity clearly leading any fear. I spent a few minutes in delightful communion with these fish.

This morning, we are heading out on a dive. But the weather has turned. Typhoon Fung-wong is bringing its side effects. Rain and strong wind, and the potential of no exit off the island. 

We have chosen to err on the side of caution and leave on the midday boat. Two days early and with more options to eat and see than on an island where its main activity, diving and snorkelling, will not be available. And a connecting flight in two days, providing exit urgency.

The township of Zamami itself is so small that they make public announcements over the loudspeaker. 

Yet it is its beauty and isolation that make it so special. Once again, if it were on the well-worn travel track, it would be flooded with tourists seeking the kind of beauty it offers. 

The unworn travel track offers the basics. Yet minus the 5-star resorts and restaurants, and our usual daily privileges of morning coffee, and food suitable for non-meat eaters, the experience is 5-star. 

Our room is Japanese-style, with tatami mats and stowaway sleeping mats. 

My mind does the Western entrepreneurial thing. Imagine if we had this or that, here. A little business doing such-and-such. So much opportunity.

I recall the parable of the fishermen. Why not buy a boat? Why not employ some people? Why not make more money and then retire?

And the fisherman answers, if I did that, when I retire, I would go fishing. So why not just go fishing?

Our growth-based culture is so deeply baked into our bones. 

Off the beaten track restores some sanity and recalibrates what matters most in life.

Not more more more. It is the relational experiences.

The yellow fish and I. Bearing witness to Kerama blue. Meeting the turtle sleeping at the bottom of the sea. The time spent sharing these treasures with my beloved. It is our interconnectedness, and remembering this is more real than any human-constructed systems that say and perpetually reinforce that we are separate from nature.

Photo Taken November 10th 2025, Article published November 11th, 2025