The last team gathering from the Theme Division at Automattic took place on the island of Kauai, in Hawaii. As usual, it was a great time—full with conversations and good friends. (And good meals.)

For a scenery that is more or less present in our collective mind, it was captivating. What made the biggest impression on me was how deep and full the star field looked at night. The fact you could see stars reaching far away where the ocean meets the sky was remarkable. It gives a sense of depth that’s inspiring. Sadly, it’s something you can’t experience anymore near big cities—even when you go to the more remote places.

The sound also took me by surprise. We get so used to how the place we live in sounds, that we incorporate it into what we perceive as silence. Yet, this was a particular kind of silence—the absolute lack of any distant background noise. And you can clearly hear the difference.