On my last day in Ceylon, I walked down to a place where a small river reaches the sea; its silt has formed a broad fan of shallows with a sandy bottom. Here the fishermen bring their boats to unload, clean with fresh water, mend, and wait for the proper time and tides to put to sea again. I flew away that evening at sunset and walked across the runway to the plane just as great, boiling, dark clouds parted, and the sun came out. When the plane took off, it banked sharply, and tilted over to my side of the aircraft. I looked down and saw the same catamarans, their sails and crews, small figures scattered across the sparkling water in the inlet below.

C8. Fishing Boats

North of Colombo, Ceylon, 1981, 35 mm Nikon F2, Nikkor lens, Ektachrome film,
Dye Transfer print 1994, ŠLuke Powell, 1996.

This is the last picture in Ceylon, In the Clouds. The next set is called The Way to Zanscar.