My favorite beach is located on Bermuda’s South Shore.  Lounge chairs shaded by jaunty pink-striped umbrellas line the soft coral sand and graceful longtails fly back and forth from the cliffs that cup the serene bay.  High above the beach perches one of Bermuda’s most popular resorts, The Reefs.  

I have been a guest at The Reefs several times.  On one of my trips, I took this snapshot of the beach and later composed a photo essay inspired by my memories of Bermuda.

Beach at The Reefs (photo by L. Walkins, 2007)

The ocean glitters with sun pennies and the water slowly changes shades from indigo to turquoise until it becomes white foam at the shore.  The  Bermuda longtails float on the breeze in a graceful ballet, filling the early morning air with their distinctive whistling call.

Click. Standing in the powder soft sand, Miranda presses the shutter button on her digital camera.  Quickly, she checks the display screen and smiles at the image of the quiet beach scene.  Lowering the camera to her side, she gazes for a long moment at the water and listens to the rush of the waves.  A pair of the black and white tropic birds swoop across the horizon before returning to their nests in the cliffs that hug the tiny bay.

Finally, Miranda turns and pads slowly across the beach to the stairs leading to the hotel.  As she heads for the restaurant terrace  where Ted waits for her, she thinks about some of the other beautiful scenes captured on her memory card.  The views from the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.  The stained glass windows in the cathedral in Hamilton.  The sunset shots taken from their hotel balcony.  And her favorite photo of the dolphins playing in their pool at the Shipyard.

Miranda reaches the terrace and spots Ted, who is examining a menu at one of the umbrellaed tables.  A steaming cup of coffee sits at his elbow.  Raising her camera, she studies him through the viewfinder.  He glances up and she snaps his portrait just as he lifts his hand to wave.  The sun glints against the wide gold wedding band he wears.  She smooths her thumb against the unaccustomed ring adorning her own left hand and hurries to join her husband.