1. Friday,September05, 2008
Latitude:05˚ 22.0S
Longitude:034˚ 54.9W
Destination:Salvador,Brazil
Meditation at Sea
What a wonderful being. The manyshadesof blue, somesmerizingwhenstared upon;Idon’t
knowwhatothershadescouldlookso beautiful insuchan abundance. Lookinguponourtraveled
pathwayfromthe stern,the destination-boundpropellerproducesmillionsof whitebubbles,leavingthe
traveledpatha beautiful aqua;encompassedbythe undisturbed deepblue. Furtherbeyond,asfaras
one can gaze,the deepblue meetsthe billowingwhites,creatingsuchaninfinite fine line thatone
cannot crossbut only by the ever-glowingball of fire ateachrise and at each set. The cottony clouds
populate the lightblue backdrop asthe bubblespopulate the deepblue fromthe collidingwaters. The
skyis crosseddailybythe beatingsun whichmingles withthe gaycloudsjustasthisvast shipvoyages
across the sea of blue. The travelingsun’sprogressseemsmuchmore accomplishable thanours;forit
onlytakesa single daytocross the sea. Our progresstakesan understandingof aharder perception. At
sunrise,one viewsthe same distance oneachside of the ship as at sunset. Outhere,itappearsas if we
are the centerof the oceanwhere the sunalways winsthe race to the otherside. The winnermakesit
seemasif we remainwithnoprogressionatall,leavingthe same observablescene. Itis of these passes
though, that we mayuse to estimate ourprogress. Todayaccounts forthe seventhcontest whichwe
are tiedrightnow,both the determinedsunandpowerfulpropeller beinghalfwayacrossthe elegant,
shimmeringsea. Eventhoughone assumeswe are infactslowlyapproachingourdestinationof
Salvador,Brazil,throughthe trustof ourcaptain and hiscrew,itisn’tuntil we spyland,anothership, an
aircraft, or turn to navigation thatone isreassuredthat we are not justa center-piece inahalf-full
bubble of blue liquid.
The very interestinglife underthe seaisso mysteriousandunknownfromabove the surface.
You neverknowhowmany glowinggills,ticklishtentacles,ordevouringteeth are justbelow the surface
far enoughtobe outof sight. One of those fancy underwaterfishfinderswouldbe areal treatto

2. Friday,September05, 2008
Latitude:05˚ 22.0S
Longitude:034˚ 54.9W
Destination:Salvador,Brazil
observe aswe journeydownthe Atlantic. Three daysago,I wassittingaboutthissame locationonthe
sixthdeckenjoyinglunchwithfriendsandanothercolleaguespottedawhale! SomyfriendsandIgot to
see the dorsal finand a small portionof itsback but thatwas it. Itssize didnot lookof more than
sixteenfeetinlength. Itisawesome thoughtothinkof the life of sucha creature. If there issuch a
thingas reincarnation,Iwantto be a cruisingblue whale thatisbarelybotheredandgetstoobserve the
infamousnumberof unique species, ora seaturtle that livesforseveral hundredyears. Itisdoubtfullya
shame thoughthat we do not carry our knowledge alongtobe able toappreciate suchwonders
containedwithinthe immeasurable being.