The Old Man and the Sea

(Xiaoliuqiu, 14/16)

I don’t know the story of this old gentleman, but I imagine he started his life as a young and athletic sailor, getting up early in the morning to sail the seas around Xiaoliuqiu. The fishing industry has made place for the tourism industry, many of its hunting grounds around the corals now under protection. And the fishermen became snorkeling instructors and exchanged their fisher boats for diving barges, their harpoons for pink safety buoys.

I wonder what he thinks when he looks out on the sea. He seems contempt to me, caring for the visitors under his guard. Maybe he too likes the idea of the corals healing and the fish swimming peacefully in their shade.