At Sea
The jewel blue of the tropical Atlantic now surrounds us. Hard to believe that only ten days ago we were bundled up against the bitter winds blowing down off the glacier in Drygalski Fiord. Even at our ship’s 12 knot pace, a speed roughly that of a bicycle journey, the miles seem to melt away and the days fall astern one by one. Joseph Conrad wrote:
“Nowhere else than upon the sea do the days, weeks and months fall away quicker into the past. They seem to be left astern as easily as the light air-bubbles in the swirls of the ship’s wake.”
There is much to keep us busy. The galley continues to produce an astounding array of culinary delights. It is apparent that a very large portion of the ship must be given over to storage of delicate lettuces, fresh fruits, an amazing variety of meats and nearly enough heavy cream to sink us!
Of course the series of presentations from the staff continues, with talks covering seabirds, geology, orbital mechanics and Napoleonic history in just the past few days. Many good books are being devoured in great chunks and many pieces of knitwear and needlepoint are showing impressive progress.
And we can find many excellent subjects for our cameras. Guided by Mike and Kent, we shoot sunrises and sunsets, sometimes even the green flash, an optical phenomenon that we have all become quite familiar with under Jim’s tutelage. Then there is the flying fish challenge. These remarkable creatures seem to be by far the most common wildlife in these blue desert latitudes and several of us have taken up the difficult task of capturing them with a shutter. We have encountered three species in recent days, some hard to photograph and others nearly impossible.
Tomorrow we will arrive at Saint Helena. It will be difficult, but perhaps we can take some time from our busy schedule to go ashore.
The jewel blue of the tropical Atlantic now surrounds us. Hard to believe that only ten days ago we were bundled up against the bitter winds blowing down off the glacier in Drygalski Fiord. Even at our ship’s 12 knot pace, a speed roughly that of a bicycle journey, the miles seem to melt away and the days fall astern one by one. Joseph Conrad wrote:
“Nowhere else than upon the sea do the days, weeks and months fall away quicker into the past. They seem to be left astern as easily as the light air-bubbles in the swirls of the ship’s wake.”
There is much to keep us busy. The galley continues to produce an astounding array of culinary delights. It is apparent that a very large portion of the ship must be given over to storage of delicate lettuces, fresh fruits, an amazing variety of meats and nearly enough heavy cream to sink us!
Of course the series of presentations from the staff continues, with talks covering seabirds, geology, orbital mechanics and Napoleonic history in just the past few days. Many good books are being devoured in great chunks and many pieces of knitwear and needlepoint are showing impressive progress.
And we can find many excellent subjects for our cameras. Guided by Mike and Kent, we shoot sunrises and sunsets, sometimes even the green flash, an optical phenomenon that we have all become quite familiar with under Jim’s tutelage. Then there is the flying fish challenge. These remarkable creatures seem to be by far the most common wildlife in these blue desert latitudes and several of us have taken up the difficult task of capturing them with a shutter. We have encountered three species in recent days, some hard to photograph and others nearly impossible.
Tomorrow we will arrive at Saint Helena. It will be difficult, but perhaps we can take some time from our busy schedule to go ashore.
