Hello readers, whoever you might be at this time. It’s been a year since we set sail so we thought we’d add a postscript. Memories of the trip are still vivid & a significant memory aid is Facebook. Many who sailed with us are still posting & updating their photos. We’re not writing to promote FB but it has been the best way to stay in touch with the SAS Spring 2009 community. We’ve enjoyed seeing SAS friends here in Philadelphia and also in Potsdam NY, Seattle WA and Charlottesville VA. We hope to have more reunions in 2010.
Talking about the trip with friends & relatives is sometimes awkward. On one hand, we had the good fortune to be able to go while many to whom we have spoken may never get to do the same. On the other hand, it is clear to us that travel is a high priority for us, while not so with many others. We continue to enjoy telling our many travel stories to interested listeners.
The great majority asks what your favorite thing was or where did you like best. A fair & friendly question that is impossible to answer. My stock response has become how do you compare being 2 meters from 2 male lions with seeing the Taj Mahal. Every stop had something unique that remains a special recollection. The next question often asked is where you would like to return. This one is much easier to answer but the answer is never just one place & the answer varies depending on your current mood. There were 2 unique questions: 1 person asked if we understand more about why people are the way they are while another asked what was the most important thing you learned. Both are great questions & very hard to answer but greatly appreciated.
I continue to be awed by time. We spent 60 days at sea (and 48 on land) & during those 60 days we went through 26 time changes; on 25 occasions the ship’s clock was advanced 1 hour & on 1 occasion the ship’s clock was retarded 1 hour. We celebrated Neptune Day, the day the voyage crossed the equator the 1st time, on a day that fit the academic calendar, not the actual day we crossed. We repeated a date when we crossed the international dateline, again on a convenient day, not the actual day. Clearly we had to stay in step with the rest of the world but on the ship, we were in our own world. We had to conform when arriving & departing ports but while at sea we were on our own calendar.
At sea, we didn’t have Sunday, Monday, etc.; we had A & B days to mark the class schedule with an occasional holiday. Even on land, the days of the week lost their significance; we just weren’t on an adventure that needed them.
We could observe sunrise, sunset, noon, stars, sun, moon & planets. We saw how vast the oceans are. Our longest stretch between ports was 9 days, cruising at about 21 knots. I often thought of those who ventured with only wind power & no reliable clocks. What a dangerous & unpredictable life!
We look forward to future travel opportunities. Thanks for reading!
