Walking on the Floor of the Sea

Along the North Sea coast there is a strange and wonderful place called the Wattenmeer. Twice every day the sea slips away from the land, retreating for kilometres and leaving the seabed open to the sky. What was deep water in the morning becomes a wide, shining plain by afternoon. Walkers gather at the edge, take off their shoes, and step out onto the floor of the sea.

Kando ya pwani ya Bahari ya Kaskazini kuna mahali pa ajabu na pazuri paitwapo Wattenmeer. Mara mbili kila siku, bahari hujiondoa kutoka nchi kavu, ikirudi nyuma kwa kilomita nyingi na kuacha sakafu ya bahari wazi kuelekea angani. Kilichokuwa maji marefu asubuhi hugeuka kuwa uwanda mpana, unaong'aa, kufikia alasiri. Watembezi hukusanyika ukingoni, huvua viatu vyao, na kutembea moja kwa moja kwenye sakafu ya bahari.

The mud is soft and cool under bare feet, and it presses up between the toes. The flats are not empty. They are full of tiny life: small shells, little crabs, and the curling casts left by worms under the ground. A guide leads the group toward a distant island, watching the time with care, because the open seabed is only borrowed from the sea.

Tope ni laini na baridi chini ya miguu isiyo na viatu, na hujaa kati ya vidole. Uwanda huo si tupu. Umejaa maisha madogo: makombe madogo, kaa wadogo, na michoro iliyojikunja iliyoachwa na minyoo chini ya ardhi. Kiongozi huelekeza kundi kuelekea kisiwa cha mbali, akiangalia saa kwa makini, kwa sababu sakafu ya bahari iliyo wazi imekopwa tu kutoka kwa bahari.

Then the tide turns. The water comes back fast, much faster than people expect, racing in silver lines across the flats. This is why no one walks here alone. The guide knows the safe paths and the right hours, so the group reaches firm land again before the sea takes back its floor.

Kisha wimbi hubadilika. Maji hurudi haraka, haraka zaidi kuliko watu wanavyotarajia, yakikimbia kwa mistari ya fedha juu ya uwanda huo. Ndiyo maana hakuna anayetembea hapa peke yake. Kiongozi anajua njia salama na masaa sahihi, ili kundi lifike tena nchi kavu imara kabla bahari haijarejesha sakafu yake.