iolanda andrade: The Myanmar discovery circuit - Day 9 (afternoon cont.) - The Inle Lake (cont) - On the way back to Nyaung Shwe; the leg-rowing fishermen

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I dozed off for a while as we were making our way back to where we had started very early in the morning but woke up in time to see the "real" one leg-rowing fishermen. We stopped close to one of them as we tok some photos and now that I lok at them again the peaceful moment surfaces as if no elapsed time had been able to erase it.

There he stood against that blue sky and blue lake waters with his net and his subtle moves, which ddn't differ much from the Burmes dancers I had been fascinated by in the many previous nights. Maybe subttlety of moves is the answer to quietness and peacefulness ...

Somewhere further along we came across other fishermen ... even the way the fishing pole with which they hit the water was carried out in a rather slow moving type of attitude ... What could he possibly be doing but calling out the fish!!! ... and reminding them of his presence ... his need !... From ime to time the noise of the motored canoes broke the stillness that we were surrounded by ... but just temporarily ..., and soon "peace" was restored ...

I dozed off again ...in a semi-dreaming -like sleep that rocked me back, as in a lullaby motion, to the canoe anchoring port ..., where the bustling activity was feeverish with people sitting on the ground eating and vendors of multi-coloured straw bags and hats standing by ...