Over the drop, a luminous pond lay below them like a pale magic lantern. It was as if the moon had plummeted into the water and smashed open. Engulfed in darkness, with only a scatter of stars above, the place felt like a bright secret – something ancient and precious. – On Starlit Seas

The jungle is alive. It’s dangerous as a living nightmare and brimful of hostility. – On Starlit Seas

The smell of roasting meat rose from the street stalls in a sizzle and a fiddle player begged for coin as he rasped a haunting melody. Life could not be more perfect. – On Starlit Seas

The daily chocolate left Will in high spirits, so that some days he believed he could wheel with the gulls that fished the foaming water close to shore. Now that he felt so free, it came to him that the corner of England, which up till now had been his whole universe, was in fact only a scrap of a boundless realm. – On Starlit Seas

A journey is an achievement, Maria, just as much as a mathematical proof. – On Starlit Seas

She enjoyed the sights and sounds of the dockside – ports were places of freedom. – On Starlit Seas