Beach hikes are the best because there is no elevation. I can walk for miles, barefooted, sand between my toes and shells strewn along the way. Waves repeating melody cancels the cares of the world, healing power of sound and saltwater.
Except in some beaches of Portugal where the hike to the small beach among rugged cliffs is near impossible. A road leads down, the surf pounds and beware of being pulled under.
In Crete the road winds along sharp curves, narrow, sometimes one lane, for miles going down until finally, there is an expanse of beach, pink sand and clear water.
in any season
this offering to the land
brought by the sea
wordshophop 
Lovely! I like the different beaches, but the ocean bringing it all together.
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Sometimes it is the journey… and other times it is the destination. Very good haibun!
Dwight
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💜🌊💜
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A leisurely stroll on the beach can require a grueling commitment to undertake, eh Jane. But the most remote beaches can be the most beautiful, and certainly private. Several beaches along the Oregon Coast require a significant hike up and over a small coastal foothill, through a stretch of coastal old-growth forest, and carefully down a significant and breathtaking coastal cliff. But the destination is pristinely gorgeous, and incredible private! Love your haiku! Beaches are a wondrous gift of the ocean. 🙂
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I think that the road leading to the beach can be just as wonderful… being rewarded with a barefoot stroll before having to go back up again.
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The joy of beach hikes, a pleasant gift of summer months. Well told!
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I love the sound of that path in Crete that finally reaches the water. Sounds so wonderful.
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I used to do several beach hikes a day with our dog when we lived on the coast and I agree that they are the best – flat enough to roll a stone or a ball for the dog and you can just keep going. I love the stones, shells, driftwood, ‘waves repeating melody’ and the ‘healing power of sound and saltwater’. But the beaches on the North Norfolk coast are nothing like the ones in Portugal or Greece – ours are usually cold and windy.
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