We started off the day tired from the eventful day before. However, it wasn’t long before all of us were awoken by the cheerful greeting of a kind woman who had come to our inn to give us half a watermelon as a thank you gift for yesterday.

After promptly getting ready, the boys went to help tidy up at Matchāre while the girls went to Anchor to clean up the place. After all that, we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day. I followed the girls to the bakery, butcher and supermarket to buy ingredients and ready-made food for our lavish lunch and dinner.

After lunch, all of us (save one) played the card games we had brought. This lasted for two hours or so before we got ready to go swim in the ocean. One of the other members who were staying in the inn had brought a SUP so we all enjoyed floating on top of the pristine water.

After getting soaked wet by our water play, we clean up for our night boat tour that started at about 8:00pm. We ended up being a tad bit late and had to run to the docks. I had left the house in my flip flops because that was the recommended footwear for the tour which made it hard to run down the steep hills or to just run in general. However we were all able to reach the docks in a record time of 4 minutes and board the boat that would take us out into the ocean.

The tour really started to take shape when the crew turned the lights on the boat off. We were able to see the galaxy very clearly. Some of us started identifying constellations and teaching the others how to identify them. We were a bit sceptical when the crew told us to stop looking at the stars and try to see below the boat as that would be even better. However we were not disappointed as we saw bioluminescent plankton every time the boat hit the ocean. It was a great shame that we weren’t able to capture any of those wonders on camera as it was too dark.

When the crew put the lights back on, I could hear a collective groan as everyone had to adjust their eyes to the new brightness. However, it was not for nothing as we started seeing flying fish (or the Cypselurus agoo). This was another challenge in itself to film as the fish were very fast. Thankfully one member had captured it on film.

When the boat started making its way back to the docks, I thought to myself how this may have been one of the greatest displays of Mother Nature I had ever seen. And I am sure that all my fellow volunteers felt the same sentiment.

The walk back to the inn was relaxed as we all talked with each other about mundane things. Our dinner consisted of some sōmen and chicken which were both very delicious.

On a final note, I hope to speak for all of my fellow members in saying that this was one of the most breathtaking days as of yet.

筆者：柳瀬舞香