We are anchored out in a large lagoon. Boats are scattered around the water with their mooring lights on. It looks like a lit forest of skinny trees all topped with a Christmas star. The moon rises over the horizon early in the evening just as the sun had set. It was one of those spectacular blood-red moons so brilliant that I had to take a picture of it. Later that night I am looking up at the sky and the moon had completely changed. It was very faint in the sky, almost like I was looking at it through a veil of clouds. But the evening sky was crystal clear with stars cut like diamonds shimmering all around. I checked on the moon a half hour later, and finally it all made sense. Because this time, half the moon was glowing brightly and the other half was still dull. Yeah, I didn't realize it, but I was watching a spectacular eclipse.
Since we are not so connected to the news, the event took us totally by surprise. It made me feel like an ancient Greek who was unaware of the predictability of such things. I just finished a very interesting book on Greek naval power during the Hellenistic period and was already feeling a bit of a connection as we visit many of the ancient islands where these historic battles took place. This experience was just another nudge in understanding what life must have been like a thousand and a half years ago.
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