At Sea Enroute to the Cook Islands
"A journey is a person in itself, no two are alike and all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us." -John Steinbeck
The itinerary says that we were scheduled to explore the western Society Islands today, but because of political issues, our permission was revoked. So this journey westward across the central South Pacific has already taken on its own life, its own persona. Instead, we were at sea all last night, today and on through tonight and will be able to increase our stay to an entire day at Atiu Island in the Cook Island group tomorrow.
What to do with a day at sea? Well, I see it as a gift; as a time to relax and enjoy the expanse of the South Seas, to enjoy the company of shipmates and to learn more about the places we will be visiting along the way. It was, indeed, the perfect day for cruising: a gentle swell, a very light breeze and a lovely temperature out on deck and in the pool. Jim Kelley began the day’s programs with a fascinating talk on Charles Darwin’s considerable geological contributions to our knowledge of coral atoll formation. Jim, a geologist, claims Darwin as a geological colleague, but we biologists still claim him as one of our own for his enormous contributions to our understanding of life and life forces on this beautiful planet of ours. In mid-afternoon, Jon Bowermaster gave us a delightful talk on his work with National Geographic, filled with stories and anecdotes captured over the past 20 years of his association with the Society. Finally, the natural history staff gave brief talks on subjects of interest including the recent earthquake near Tonga and the subsequent tsunami alert, seabirds of the South Pacific, pre-European history of Polynesia and the three expeditions of Captain Cook. The hotel staff followed the talks with sunset drinks on the foredeck, and just before darkness descended, the call came from the starboard side that a whale had breached nearby. It turned out to be an exuberant Minke whale, perhaps heading toward some unknown wintering ground from a summer of feeding in the Antarctic.
Thus ended the second day of our voyage of exploration from Tahiti through the Cook Islands to Rarotonga.
"A journey is a person in itself, no two are alike and all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us." -John Steinbeck
The itinerary says that we were scheduled to explore the western Society Islands today, but because of political issues, our permission was revoked. So this journey westward across the central South Pacific has already taken on its own life, its own persona. Instead, we were at sea all last night, today and on through tonight and will be able to increase our stay to an entire day at Atiu Island in the Cook Island group tomorrow.
What to do with a day at sea? Well, I see it as a gift; as a time to relax and enjoy the expanse of the South Seas, to enjoy the company of shipmates and to learn more about the places we will be visiting along the way. It was, indeed, the perfect day for cruising: a gentle swell, a very light breeze and a lovely temperature out on deck and in the pool. Jim Kelley began the day’s programs with a fascinating talk on Charles Darwin’s considerable geological contributions to our knowledge of coral atoll formation. Jim, a geologist, claims Darwin as a geological colleague, but we biologists still claim him as one of our own for his enormous contributions to our understanding of life and life forces on this beautiful planet of ours. In mid-afternoon, Jon Bowermaster gave us a delightful talk on his work with National Geographic, filled with stories and anecdotes captured over the past 20 years of his association with the Society. Finally, the natural history staff gave brief talks on subjects of interest including the recent earthquake near Tonga and the subsequent tsunami alert, seabirds of the South Pacific, pre-European history of Polynesia and the three expeditions of Captain Cook. The hotel staff followed the talks with sunset drinks on the foredeck, and just before darkness descended, the call came from the starboard side that a whale had breached nearby. It turned out to be an exuberant Minke whale, perhaps heading toward some unknown wintering ground from a summer of feeding in the Antarctic.
Thus ended the second day of our voyage of exploration from Tahiti through the Cook Islands to Rarotonga.
