When you’re on a golden sea
You don’t need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

“Island in the Sun” by Weezer

An island in the sun – the phrase inspires images of deserted white sand beaches, swaying tropical palms and clear azure waters. From tiny outposts of rock inhabited only by birds to the mega island of Manhattan, home to six billion people, islands span the large to the miniscule, from urban scenes to wilderness and tend to harbour unique and hardy people, animals and landscapes.

(Header photo: the snow-white beaches of Espanola Island, Galapagos, Ecuador)

Floating islands of Uros, on Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

Whitsunday Island from the air, Australia

White Rock, an outpost in the waters around Airlie Beach, Australia

Offerings on long boats tethered to Kata Beach, Phuket Island, Thailand

Chilling on an island beach

Fire and snow on the island of Iceland

Sailboats on Hamilton Island, Australia

This post brought to you by A-Word-A-Week Challenge from A Word in Your Ear. Every week, Skinnywench will dip into her old Oxford English dictionary, and pick a random word to blog about – either a picture or a story that best captures the meaning of that word. This week’s word: “Island.”