Random Thoughts and Revelations

18 June – Off the coast of North America

Okay – traveling this way is not always exciting, but it has so far not been bereft of delights and epiphanies.

Mundane observation first – the standard greeting from the ship’s officers and crew members is “Good appetite” or something that sounds like “bon appetit”.  Wishes are continually expressed that we should enjoy our meals… from Filipino deck hands, the Chinese engineer, Romanian officers….coming and going. To be fair, we normally see the crew at meal time, but the greeting does provoke some thought.  Is this an acknowledgement that the food really isn’t very good, but hopefully you will find something to appreciate nonetheless?  Could it mean, “Well, if you can eat this stuff, then at least you’re not sea-sick”?  And is it a standard that exists across the ocean-going shipping industry, or is it simply a custom that arose on this particular ship or cargo line as a positive statement that can apply across cultural lines?  After all, who can argue with savoring one’s food, whether it’s hockey-puck roast beef or fish-heads for breakfast?

Going from the mundane to the sublime…… several nights ago when we were well away from the North America coastline, it was a perfectly clear night.  We went out on deck after dinner (eaten with all the appetite we could muster) and our evening’s entertainment (8th in a series of sleep-inducing oceanography lectures) to the kind of spangled heaven that most of us rarely see…. ever.  Our heads fell back, mouths gaped open, awe-struck “wows” whispered.  We briefly thought about sleeping out on deck, but the depth of the star-show, the sweep of the Milky Way were actually overwhelming after a while.  We crept to bed with the hope that we will be given the opportunity to witness the phenomenon again soon, and will be better prepared to cope with it.  (Sorry no pictures of this – impossible to capture with normal human media.)

As we approached Philadelphia, the port pilot leapt on board the ship, which is (for the uninitiated) quite a thrilling process.

Once he was on board, we journeyed with one of the crew (Jerry) to the very front point of the ship.  Watched hopefully, and – yes, there!  A dolphin surfacing in our path.  We didn’t see a lot of them, but a couple of times one leapt up just in front of the bow of the ship, apparently to show us the way.

Our approach in to Philadelphia was at least as extraordinary as our transit through the Houston ship channel.  The weather was pleasant and breezy, a lovely soft evening.  So fascinating to watch the shoreline change, to drift under many bridges and see the lights of the city pass by so closely.  (Here is a photo, but it does not even begin to capture the mood.)

We docked in the early morning hours; will disembark in the morning and spend the next 3 nights in the Philadelphia area.