transtrion

I might be a slightly religious man, but I bet most people get a spiritual feeling when entering a cathedral, or any other religious building for that matter. I guess people react to different feelings that a religious place provides, but I'm assuming it got something to do with the grandness and overall purity off the place. At least that was my first thought as we found our own cathedral while kayaking on the coast of Cat Ba.

We'd gotten our planed day trip cancelled, due to broken boat, and therefor had to rally for a new plan. Our amazing hotel manager and tour-guide, a Aussie by the name of Mr. Jim, had probably felt bad about our situation and loaned us a kayak each, so we headed out in the archipelago immediately.

We'd all experienced better weather, and better clothing, but no one could complain with the scenery around us. Massive rock-formations rose from a sea of jade, almost floating on the teal water as we paddled by. A slight mist covered the tops of some cliffs, as well as the distance ahead of us. A few fishing boats of braided leaves and tar were drifting around in the bays as we passed, with their fishermen working in a slow and steady pace.

We paddled on, entering a few caves and bays, with the curious and happy smile across our faces that only a beautiful view can provide. We passed a few floating cities that probably also worked with fishing, or possibly had a fish farm somewhere close. Every little floating shackle had at least one dog, and when the houses formed a smaller village was it more like a big, spread out wolf-pack.

We had lunch in a small harbor at noon and then headed out again. Energized by the rice and noodles, and the entertainment of a very playful four year old, did we head out from the coastline to the smaller islands around. Passing one of the bigger floating villages couldn't we help ourselves from greeting the first dog we saw and therefor starting a massive chain reaction as every dog in the bay answered his barking. With the echoes bouncing back and forth around us did we exit the bay, to find another small cave leading in through the cliff. It seemed to have an opening on the other side.

"It's like a cathedral..." Thomas had stopped paddling and entirely blacked out, by the looks of him impossible to contact. Victor had drifted off in his own direction, with his mouth slightly open. These reactions were understandable. The small cave had been a tunnel, a tunnel to a small lake surrounded by steep cliffs and mist. We couldn't see the top of the cliffs in most parts, they were so far up in the fog that created a kind of a roof. The rounded cliffs created a wall around us which bounced the occasional screech of a bird, and the floor was made of the magical jade water and had the size of about two football fields.

To be fair wouldn't I say that the jade water made the floor, we were more sort of floating a just on top of it. Just a meter below us could we see corals, even in the middle of the cathedral floor. They were all dying, apart from those who already had died. You could see them as you flew by, in the middle of the massive cathedral.

Looking up a bit as you came through the tunnel,on the tiniest of alcoves, could you see a pillar the size of a couple of people, or an elephant. It had, with some imagination, a remotely similar shape to something alive, possibly a human, but with that placement and size wouldn't it be anything less then a demigod. We named it Mochba, after agreeing that neither Victor, nor Nils, really had the potential or deep sound to it that a god at this place would need.

Thomas had been right, this really was like a cathedral, but not as like the ones at home. The grandness and purity was there, in some form, but this religion was dying. I can easily imagine people streaming in to this cave on canoes, floating on the sea of jade, just above the fields of coral in green and white and red. I can almost hear their chanting in deep voices as they pray to their god, who answers with an enormous echo that bounces against the wall with bone shaking force. I can see lights from torches lightening the green and grey walls, with shadows dancing around the sound of pray and drums. The mist, covering the cathedral from above, would absorb the outside world as this was all that was real at the moment.

I can imagine the spirituality, even if it was long ago since it was felt the last time. Luckily we brought it back for a little time.

//Nisse