Rough seas

March 3

We are still catching up on describing our time in South Africa; more posts will be coming over the next several days. Right now, we're on the Indian Ocean, headed to Mauritius, where we will stop for a day, and then on to Kochi, India, for close to a week.

Most of the rhythms of shipboard life have become familiar. What's been dominating our passage over the last three days, however, have been some of the roughest seas to date. We've been lucky; everyone in the group has stayed free of seasickness, something that cannot be said for many on the ship. But the heavy going still takes its toll in tiredness and a general sense of struggle, as every move needs to be calculated; it's just harder to do anything.

We're also learning, though, that there are a wide variety of ways in which the seas can pose challenges.  And it also matters where you are on the ship. Sometimes, the ship is rocking side-to-side, and you feel that more on the upper decks. Most recently, over the last 48 hours or so, the ship has been heading into fairly big swells (how big I'm not sure--at least 10 feet, probably more sometimes), and the front of the ship has been lifting high up and then crashing down.  Since our cabins are in the front of the ship, we feel that a great deal. It's a lot like riding a roller coaster--a slow ascent up, and then a swift descent, ending in a crash, sending spray up past our windows. And you get the same where-did-my-stomach-go feel as on a roller coaster.  All night long.  Looking forward to calmer seas--or land!