4 January 2012
Today was a quiet day for those of us aboard this vessel and as a result we’ve not much to report that would necessitate you taking time away from more interesting pursuits to follow along.
Morning saw us farther down the river toward our goal of the Atlantic Ocean . We moved past bucolic villages, were raced by young men in canoes, saw the pink dolphins once more and for the most part enjoyed a day of idle musing. We had a 3 hour breakfast with a British banker and his wife followed by a not-so-traditional English pub lunch though there were mushy peas on the plate and our English friends kept trying to defend those as a genuine foodstuff. We remained aloof.
The rains were back with us today, lashing the ship and making us northerners feel it must have cooled off – until we stepped outside and realized that no, it was still hot – just more humid. The rainforest would disappear completely in heavy sheets of rain and then reappear wreathed in steam and newly washed. Below is a turkey vulture cooling itself by holding its wings outspread.
I made yet another landmark in this journey of life as we just crossed the equator. Dale crossed the equator aboard the HMCS Mackenzie many years ago. There is a long and rich maritime history steeped in ritual about crossing that imaginary line by sea and all are tried in King Neptune’s court to be found worthy or not of the honour of moving from slimy, low polliwog to honest-to-goodness Shellback. So we are both now Shellbacks and Leatherbacks (rounded Cape Horn by ship) and while it is truly nothing compared to those who did it centuries ago in wooden ships, it is still king of neat!
Dale is actually ahead of me in the “reading wars”. He brought with him five books and has read them all already. He is now dipping into the onboard library. I am well behind with only 3 under my belt but then, I must have been doing other things…
Tonight we reach the ocean and head north to French Guyana on the North East coast of South America . I am looking forward to some wave action! This river is amazing but I do love to get rocked to sleep by the ocean.
A floating bar and convenience store
A friend tells me there are glitches when she tries to make comments – so we will quit thinking nobody is there and just assume you are technically challenged like us! Feel free to email any questions or comments you might have – we are checking now and again.
Until the next day dawns -
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