At Sea
Today was a day for transitions.
With a day at sea, new guests were adjusting to a relaxing day after a long flight from the US. We all adjusted to a new time zone as we headed west across the Fiji Basin and in the vernacular of the ship we "retarded our clocks."
We left behind the friendly Fijians and their kava, their “bulas” and their wonderful smiles and headed deeper into Melanesia. We saw the last of some birds like the spectacularly colored Fiji Parrotfinch (see photo) and looked forward to the increasing diversity of wildlife as we headed west.
We listened to Wade Davis, the National Geographic Explorer-in-residence, describe his experiences with native cultures around the world. In a time when cultures are being transformed, some to the point of extinction, there is great sadness for those that have disappeared. As we learn the ways of cultures that survive and teach ourselves the significance of their fundamental human relationships, it is a time filled with hope.
We left behind the more sparsely scattered islands of the Cooks, Tonga and Fiji and entered an area of an increasing number of islands in Vanuatu and the Solomons. In the afternoon, Bob Tonkinson talked about the variation in the cultures that we would experience as we headed west. More transitions were in store for us in the days ahead.
We welcomed guests who we had traveled with before and learned the names of new friends. Some new staff arrived and warm greetings were exchanged. It was a relaxing and heartwarming day.
Wade Davis’s description of the special relationship found in cultures around the world are found in our small community on the National Geographic Explorer and we spent a welcome day at sea looking for wildlife, listening to lectures and building the bonds that make travel fun and intellectually stimulating.
However, when the day was nearly done, we spotted dolphins and disturbed an otherwise relaxing day. We rushed to the bow to find that there were not just one species of dolphins but two. Just ahead were Fraser’s dolphins; but this time, unlike yesterday, they were joined by melon-headed whales, a species few aboard had seen before. In the end one never knows what will interrupt the tranquility.
Today was a day for transitions.
With a day at sea, new guests were adjusting to a relaxing day after a long flight from the US. We all adjusted to a new time zone as we headed west across the Fiji Basin and in the vernacular of the ship we "retarded our clocks."
We left behind the friendly Fijians and their kava, their “bulas” and their wonderful smiles and headed deeper into Melanesia. We saw the last of some birds like the spectacularly colored Fiji Parrotfinch (see photo) and looked forward to the increasing diversity of wildlife as we headed west.
We listened to Wade Davis, the National Geographic Explorer-in-residence, describe his experiences with native cultures around the world. In a time when cultures are being transformed, some to the point of extinction, there is great sadness for those that have disappeared. As we learn the ways of cultures that survive and teach ourselves the significance of their fundamental human relationships, it is a time filled with hope.
We left behind the more sparsely scattered islands of the Cooks, Tonga and Fiji and entered an area of an increasing number of islands in Vanuatu and the Solomons. In the afternoon, Bob Tonkinson talked about the variation in the cultures that we would experience as we headed west. More transitions were in store for us in the days ahead.
We welcomed guests who we had traveled with before and learned the names of new friends. Some new staff arrived and warm greetings were exchanged. It was a relaxing and heartwarming day.
Wade Davis’s description of the special relationship found in cultures around the world are found in our small community on the National Geographic Explorer and we spent a welcome day at sea looking for wildlife, listening to lectures and building the bonds that make travel fun and intellectually stimulating.
However, when the day was nearly done, we spotted dolphins and disturbed an otherwise relaxing day. We rushed to the bow to find that there were not just one species of dolphins but two. Just ahead were Fraser’s dolphins; but this time, unlike yesterday, they were joined by melon-headed whales, a species few aboard had seen before. In the end one never knows what will interrupt the tranquility.
