Travel Blogging XVII

At Sea, mid-Atlantic Ocean: We’ve sailed across the Atlantic Ocean three times, always from east to west. We’ve sailed across the Pacific Ocean one and a half times; once from Seattle to Sydney, and again from Tahiti back to the States.

Crossing oceans makes crystal clear that most of the globe is covered with water, a fact that is easy for many people to overlook as their entire lives are spent ashore. This is a wet planet; we inhabit the dry remainder.

In contrast to the virtual congestion of marine traffic off the east coast of Spain, out here in mid-Atlantic you see almost no ships. Hour after hour this giant luxury hotel lumbers along at roughly 20 mph, covering nearly 500 miles a day, and we see no other ships.

This is about as lonely as it is possible for most people to be. We (and 5000 strangers who are temporary traveling companions) are as isolated as if we were in mid-Sahara, perhaps more so. If we need a cardio-vascular or thoracic surgeon to save our life here, we’re dead. Even so, the average age of the passengers is probably near 70. Cruising is a fascinating phenomenon.