DOMINICA, WEST INDIES

Dominica, officially known as the Commonwealth of Dominica, is a small island nation at the northern end of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea. A paradise known for its unspoiled natural beauty, the island of Dominica features volcanic peaks; dense, primordial rainforest; waterfalls and lakes; and numerous rivers. It is home to many rare plant, animal, and bird species.

Dominica gets an extraordinary amount of rain. A Dominican rainstorm is like being in the middle of a painting, drenched in water and color. Clouds mix with sky as they merge and dance across the horizon, soaking up water from the many rivers and hovering around the highest peaks, obscuring views and shrouding the island in a luminescent mist.

ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND

The Isle of Skye, also known as the Eilean a’ Cheo (Gaelic for “island of mist”), lies off the west coast of Scotland. At the base of the Cullin Hills, a craggy mountain range that dominates the landscape of the small harbor of Portree, I sit for a while and take in the quality of light and color. Bright light sparkles off the blazing blues of the curved harbor. The tide stretches back into the choppy water of the sea, laying bare a long and rocky stretch of sand. In this fresh August morning in the northern latitudes beneath this blend of cool mist and warm sun, I feel somehow closer to the sky.

The Isle of Skye is a mixture of azure blue sky, white and violet clouds, and silver mist over the greens and browns of heather.