The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating  , but I couldn't believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures   had said. The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes. It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn't allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can't use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn't damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it. When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet--a real paradise  ! When the author first visited Port Cros,   _  .
it was very sunny there were few visitors there it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night