A small cargo-passenger ship” Kasatka” (“Killer Whale”) took the passengers aboard and reached the Danube expanses leaving the “Bazarchuk” Vilkovo backwater. Having welcomed all over the speakerphone, the Captain headed for the Zmeiny Island.
   Vividly, the tourists took most comfortable places along sideboard, and the Danube River photo shoot began.
I liked the metaphor used by a Vilkovo fisherman: he called Danube “a stately gray-haired old man.” A good comparison. Childhood, adolescence and maturity of this river pass along its course, so, at the Vilkovo town the Danube enters the last phase of its “career”. Danube water, washing the town’s streets, said goodbye to their river water status and a few kilometers downstream they become a part of the sea.
   The “Kasatka” greeting with hoarse whistles the other ships heading on, carried us through the summer Danube waters down to the Black Sea. The photo session ended as quickly as it had begun. People, never paying attention to each other, with acute fascination admired the surrounding natural beauty. All become engrossed into the world of the primeval existence.
   Just a lyrics? Not at all. Rather, this is a desire to convey a state of mind, realizing the spiritual and natural beauty of the Danube Delta.

“Stroke down-waters of the father, the quiet Danube
From the edge to the edge, dear friends to the heavenly paradise”

   These are the words of the Ancient Slavonic epic songs. For Slavonians, the Danube was not just a river, but the river having a sacred significance. In Slavonic folklore a journey along the Danube “edge to edge”, that does mean from the source to the delta, was considered a divine one. And in the end of the voyage there was a heavenly paradise. Not an earthly Eden but the Heaven!
   I wonder what geographical object our ancestors could associate with the Heavenly Paradise?
   Skeptics have the right to say, “Well, you should not cling to the words. Eventually our ancestors called the place on “the edge” of the Danube a “heavenly paradise” either for lyrical beauty, or for the sake of the rhyme”.
   But no, not so random are those words of Heavenly Paradise on the Danubian “edge”. The ancient Greeks also, describing the Danube, called sacred the main channel of its delta. And the Zmeiny Island, resting just against that riverbed, was characterized with such epithets as the “sacred”, “divine” and “mysterious.”
   Two thousand years ago namely through the Holy channel the Greek gellers passed from the Danube to the Black Sea. Our “Kasatka” too, reached the sea somewhere geographically next to the old riverbed. An instance later the watery waste and sea gulls friendly admired the tourists.
   People moved to the bow of the ship, everyone wanted to become the first who will see the mysterious island amidst sea horizon.
   The Greek geographer Pseudo-Scimn gave a poetic description of the world (about 90 BC) where speaking about the Zmeiny (Snake) Island, said that the island “represents a majestic sight for visitors.”
   These words date back for more than two thousand years, but nowadays also they do accurately and succinctly express what we can see. The island is really “a majestic sight for visitors.”
   Appearing on the horizon just as a grey stripe, he regally grows out of the blue sea water as you approach it. At some point, when the blue sea background allows the whole island to be seen, it seems that the island is slowly moving forward.
   Closer approached to the island, you can never retract eyes of abruptly billowing rocky shore, having a look as if they would be of man-made stone blocks.
   But the real scale of the island greatness is felt when you step onto ground. Twenty meters altitude and lack of vegetation allows you, standing at one point, to see all sides of the horizon. The island does hover over the sea!
   After the first tour of the island, you’ll be surprised to note that this small piece of land is living a full life. Everything is present here, just as on the mainland; modern buildings, neat footpaths, people busily passing by, a shop, a post office and even a branch of the Savings Bank. Suddenly we heard a car horn behind us, it was the “UAZ”, driven by border guards transporting of the ship some cargo dispatched for them.
“Zmeiny” (“Snake”) is the island’s geographical name and therein was built the Bely village (“White” village) with all infrastructure required. There is even a street the Cossack one. Tourists have a unique opportunity of walk down the only street, located in the open waters of the Black Sea!
   And yet the Bely village has a rare White administrative feature, it, like Alaska in the United States and the city of Kaliningrad in Russia, “is cut off” from the main territory. This village relates to the Vilkovo community area being subordinate to Vilkovo Town Council. The distance from Vilkovo town to the island makes 52 kilometers of water space.
   A beacon is considered the main attraction of the island it can be called unique one. This facility uniqueness relates to… human ignorance. Yes, we can never say, otherwise: you’re your own judgment: this lighthouse has been built from the remains of an ancient Greek temple. The destroyed temple erection, upon history scientists’ assessment, dates the VIIth century BC. It’s a shame. Should we be a bit reassured with that the ignorance has been manifested a long time ago, from 1837 to 1843, i.e. during the period of lighthouse construction.
   In compensation for the destroyed temple, tourists are allowed to climb the steep stairs to the top of the lighthouse, reaching a big light that blink at night. Climbing the lighthouse can be considered a remarkable act. Having ascended the lighthouse, you, consecutively, were at the highest point of the Black Sea. It is the only lighthouse, located in the open sea.
   Secluded and sat down on the rocky coast of the island, you can mentally travel back in 1788 (then the island was called Fidonisi). Here, within sight distance, took place the famous Fidonisi battle. A Russian squadron of 20 ships headed by a vanguard young commander Fyodor Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet in the amount of 50 vessels. To visualize this battle, remember Aivazovsky’s painting “The Battle of Fidonisi.”
   Provided the thoughts of Fidonisi battle does not add up, you can think about the name of the island. Do you remember the phrase from the movie “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”: “Georgy aka Gogha, aka Gosha…”. A similar metamorphosis occurred with our island, it was called with such different names: Leuka, Bely, Makaroni, Achillia, Philoxenus, Fidonisi and also Zmeiny, i.e. Snake Island.
   There is a museum on the island. The own one. We can’t say that it is rich in artefacts, but it is plenty of the two thousand years’-long atmosphere. The main is that museum’s existence, and eventually after a short period of time, this museum will become globally famous. The assumption of the museum’s possible worldwide fame is quite justified. A great interest to the island is shown by various scientists: archaeologists, biologists, geologists, astronomers, oceanographers, and many other specialized professionals.    Though small, this island represents the matter of a great scientific interest. And in deference, the island bestows science with new and new discoveries. These recent years, scientists recorded here some anomalous phenomena.    Anomaly that does mean some inexplicably fact, what science can never explain.
   Those wishing to visit the Zmeiny island must know that the main attraction of the island, can’t be seen. But it can be felt spiritually. For that reasoned is to remember such knowledge that for the ancient Greeks, this island was a divine territory, allowed to visit only for sacrifices. Ordinary people, on pain of death, were not allowed not only to live on the island, but even to stay there overnight. Only priests used the privilege of living on the island.
   And yet the ancient Greeks did geographically position the island “at the entrance to the realm of the dead.” At first glance, such a definition can be classified as related to mythology. But well aware of the Black Sea characteristics, you understand that the island is situated really near the realm of the dead. The Black Sea maximum depth is 2212 meters, average one being 1290 meters. Starting from the depth of 150 meters and up to the bottom, sea water is saturated with hydrogen sulphide. In such a liquid substance no living creatures can exist, only bacteria producing hydrogen sulfide live here. This is the realm of the dead, the kingdom of darkness and cold. So true the ancient Greeks’ opinion. The word “ancient” we, contemporary, modern age people do associate with ignorance, but it turns out that they knew a lot, and some aspects of their knowledge exceeded the our one.
   Those ancient Greeks left the mythological heritage of the soul of Achilles allegedly living on the divine island Leuka.
   All the mythological heritage of the island, as well as historical and archaeological researches are associated with the name of the Greek hero Achilles. Therefore, in different periods of time the island in parallel with other toponyms was called the island of Achilles, and the temple, therein built, was called the temple of Achilles. And this is a mystery.
   We don’t known accurately whether the gods lifted the prohibition for the mere mortals living on the island, but the administration of the Bely village allows tourists to stay here for the night.
   Could we describe the night starry sky, moon and stars reflected in the surface of the sea? Silence. Smell. Stars. Moon. Sea. And the feeling that all that and you also alloyed into an integral and indivisible union. Both space and time aligned…
   Full of nature impressions, some tourists did not go to bed until morning. They roamed the island, hoping to meet with the bright soul of Achilles. Whether that meeting took place? Still unknown. In the morning, no one told about. Sure, there was not time for talks when all admired the sunrise.
   The mankind does not know clearly what criteria should be used to determine the divine beauty, but nobody can give another name to the sunrise above the sea. The Divine Beauty!
   The “Kasatka” sailed farther and farther from the island. People stood on the deck and silently, with a sense of sadness, bid farewell to the divine and mysterious island.
   This island kept its secret undiscovered.