The Mediterranean Sea
Today was spent at sea, steaming east along the southern coast of Spain towards the Balearic Islands, across the deep blue waters of the western Mediterranean. Time at sea presented opportunities to educate ourselves further, as our series of presentations continued with a talk from one of our Photo Expedition team, Rikki Swenson. With so many of our number sporting new digital cameras, her talk on the new possibilities that the digital age has offered the photographer was much appreciated!
Later in the morning we heard from our National Geographic guest speaker, Bob Hohlfelder, on his exploits pushing the final frontier of Archaeology, discovering secrets hidden in deep waters such as those we were sailing through. Using Remotely Operated Vehicles (R.O.V.’s) similar to that which we carry aboard the National Geographic Endeavour, as well as deep-diving submersibles, his team has been searching for ancient shipwrecks which may reveal more about past civilisations.
The open decks were a popular place after lunch, with many occupying their time with a siesta or good book in a deckchair, as we settled into the relaxed pace of life at sea. Our final presentation of the day was from historian Robyn Woodward, preparing us for the archaeological sites we would visit the following day. Her talk on “Taulas, Talayots, Nuraghi and Giant Tombs”, described the megalithic monuments built by the mysterious late Bronze Age peoples of the Western Mediterranean islands.
Dinner this evening was a special treat, as the previous morning our Hotel Manager and Chefs had visited the market in Montril. There, they had purchased a magnificent array of local foods, which were presented to us during a special Tapas dinner on deck. We ate this delightful meal with the sun sinking slowly towards the horizon astern of us, a beautiful sunset marking the end of another day savouring the flavours of the Mediterranean.
Today was spent at sea, steaming east along the southern coast of Spain towards the Balearic Islands, across the deep blue waters of the western Mediterranean. Time at sea presented opportunities to educate ourselves further, as our series of presentations continued with a talk from one of our Photo Expedition team, Rikki Swenson. With so many of our number sporting new digital cameras, her talk on the new possibilities that the digital age has offered the photographer was much appreciated!
Later in the morning we heard from our National Geographic guest speaker, Bob Hohlfelder, on his exploits pushing the final frontier of Archaeology, discovering secrets hidden in deep waters such as those we were sailing through. Using Remotely Operated Vehicles (R.O.V.’s) similar to that which we carry aboard the National Geographic Endeavour, as well as deep-diving submersibles, his team has been searching for ancient shipwrecks which may reveal more about past civilisations.
The open decks were a popular place after lunch, with many occupying their time with a siesta or good book in a deckchair, as we settled into the relaxed pace of life at sea. Our final presentation of the day was from historian Robyn Woodward, preparing us for the archaeological sites we would visit the following day. Her talk on “Taulas, Talayots, Nuraghi and Giant Tombs”, described the megalithic monuments built by the mysterious late Bronze Age peoples of the Western Mediterranean islands.
Dinner this evening was a special treat, as the previous morning our Hotel Manager and Chefs had visited the market in Montril. There, they had purchased a magnificent array of local foods, which were presented to us during a special Tapas dinner on deck. We ate this delightful meal with the sun sinking slowly towards the horizon astern of us, a beautiful sunset marking the end of another day savouring the flavours of the Mediterranean.
