Every journey has a story to tell and the story of one can sometimes become

the inspiration of another, the opportunity to see the world, perhaps, to live
the trip that will become the most beautiful of one's memories. However, only
a few journeys in a person's life change the way they see the world. One of
these occasions was my trip to Beni Belaid Island.
Last year, during the summer vacation, my family went to Jijel and we did not
miss the opportunity of visiting the famous Beni Belaid Island. After about an
hour-long car ride from the hotel we were staying at, we arrived at a small
forest where I could hear the sound of the birds chirping, filling the air,
bringing freedom and happiness to the mind. Beautiful flowers lounged happily
along the banks of small streams and the sound of leaves rustling when the
wind blew gently, bringing with it a feeling of peace and tranquility. We walk
deeper into the forest to find the sight of many boats decked onshore. The
boatman of our designated boat greeted us with a smile, a warm handshake
and a welcome aboard. The boat was quite spacious though not a very big one,
but all of us managed to clamber into it. As we were taking off with the
boatman steering the boat at quite a good speed, I had a lurking desire in my
heart to try to steer the boat myself and I was absolutely thrilled and my
pleasure knew no bounds when the captain offered us to try our hands at
steering the boat one by one.
The boat was moving speedily while everyone was taking turns steering. I
remember the gentle sea breeze blowing on my face, the aroma of the salty
air, and the sounds of crashing waves as they hit the boat making a sweet
murmuring sound. We did not immediately head for the island, instead the
boatman let us explore inside the glorious sea caves of all shapes and sizes
while telling us the stories they hid.
We approached our destination and, of course, the beach was the most
beautiful sight on the island. The water was clear, unlike any other body of
water I had ever seen. The waves were calm and peaceful. We beached our
boat on the shore and as we got off the boat, I took a deep breath and could
almost hear my lungs cheering, as if to say, this is the air they should be given,
not the musky air of the city. We settled for a spot beside a cliff and started to
set up our place for the day.
 I sat in a comfortable, white, beach lounge chair. As I laid on the chair, I took
in everything around me. The skies were clear except for an occasional cloud,
which appeared and vanished just as quickly. The water was a vivid aqua blue
color, great sand for sports and nice waves for surfing. Because the water was
so calm, I could see people playing in the sand and water, either building sand
castles or floating on tubes and kids running around throwing sand in each
other's faces and trampling the remains of sand castles. There were also
parasails and jet skis on the water. I recall walking on the beach, feeling the
soft pale sand touching my bare feet and noticing a plethora of shells all along
the shore and on the sand. I picked up a few shells that stood out from the rest
and felt their unique textures in my hands. I even decided to keep a few of
them as souvenirs.
I decided to explore the ocean. As soon as I put on my mask and fins, I dove
into the water. I felt goose bumps shiver up my entire body and looked around
to see a new blue world I had never seen before. I could hear the ocean,
muddled by the sound of my deep breathing. It was a very relaxing and
peaceful sound, and if I had not been so eager to see a glimpse of the
underwater world, I could have floated for hours with my eyes closed. There
were no coral reefs, just endless meters of sparkling beige sand and as I swam,
further I could see many schools of colorful tropical fish of all sizes swimming
peacefully. I returned to dry on the silky sand. As I laid my head I noticed the
sun was about to set and the sky was a beautiful shade of orange and yellow.
All I could think about was how beautiful and magical this place is and how
numerous aspects of the beach made it a relaxing and soothing environment.
The most noticeable objects were the sights and sounds, but most notably the
stunning landscape. What I enjoyed most about traveling to this island is
returning and seeing the magic that I brought back with me, knowing that this
journey has opened my eyes to a whole new world and sharing the experience
with others and reliving the memory that will last me a lifetime.