At sea between Vanuatu and Fiji
After days filled with activities, a respite of cruising northeastward was enjoyed by everyone. But it was not a day without events and activities that could be attended. Some of the staff kept a vigil on the bridge wings searching for marine life. Not large numbers but a good variety of seabirds were spotted. In the afternoon a brown booby decided to take a rest on the awning of the bridge wing. It produced a photo opportunity for many and a chance to see the beautiful blue face coloration found on the males of this subspecies. We made good speed with calm winds, the surface of the sea a mirror. The only disturbances were light ripples from some very distant breeze and also the erratic flights of flying fish escaping unseen predators. A number of the photographers onboard tried their hands at getting images of these quick "flying” fish.
During the day we learned more about an array of topics from the ship’s staff. Rikki Swenson started the day by giving us a huge variety of ideas on what we could do with some of the many images that were captured during the trip. Then Bob Tonkinson discussed the ways that aboriginal people were changed by the arrival of westerners during the war in the Pacific. In the afternoon we were introduced to the Fiji culture and natural history by Mike Greenfelder.
At the end of the day there was mayhem in the lounge as a larger number of laptops were arranged around the room and various guests shared their finest images they had captured. People rotated around the room watching the scrolling photos and commenting on their memories of the events. Before dinner we had our regular recap, which also included images that David Doubilet had captured during the underwater scuba dives. As a closure to a relatively relaxing day at sea, the sun set with a dramatic splash of color and light.
After days filled with activities, a respite of cruising northeastward was enjoyed by everyone. But it was not a day without events and activities that could be attended. Some of the staff kept a vigil on the bridge wings searching for marine life. Not large numbers but a good variety of seabirds were spotted. In the afternoon a brown booby decided to take a rest on the awning of the bridge wing. It produced a photo opportunity for many and a chance to see the beautiful blue face coloration found on the males of this subspecies. We made good speed with calm winds, the surface of the sea a mirror. The only disturbances were light ripples from some very distant breeze and also the erratic flights of flying fish escaping unseen predators. A number of the photographers onboard tried their hands at getting images of these quick "flying” fish.
During the day we learned more about an array of topics from the ship’s staff. Rikki Swenson started the day by giving us a huge variety of ideas on what we could do with some of the many images that were captured during the trip. Then Bob Tonkinson discussed the ways that aboriginal people were changed by the arrival of westerners during the war in the Pacific. In the afternoon we were introduced to the Fiji culture and natural history by Mike Greenfelder.
At the end of the day there was mayhem in the lounge as a larger number of laptops were arranged around the room and various guests shared their finest images they had captured. People rotated around the room watching the scrolling photos and commenting on their memories of the events. Before dinner we had our regular recap, which also included images that David Doubilet had captured during the underwater scuba dives. As a closure to a relatively relaxing day at sea, the sun set with a dramatic splash of color and light.
