5th Day at Sea

5^th day at sea. We wondered if we would be bored to tears by now and the answer is NO! Time has included some naps (Betsy), reading (both) and playing Spite & Malice (Rick is winning by 5). But there have also been some excellent lectures by Bulent Atalay, a professor, writer, physicist and artist. He has written books, one of which is about the 2 Leonardos (Fibonnaci and Da Vinci) and is currently writing one about Beethoven, Newton and Leonardo. There has been much discussion about the Fibonnaci (sp?) sequence and perfect rectangle—things this math major hasn’t thought about in years. It brought back memories of teaching  8^th graders about the perfect proportion using the movie “Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land”. We haven’t been so excited about the guest lecturer, who discusses Naval History…..  We read downloaded newspapers in the library to keep up with things. The trip has been restful and enjoyable so far.

Big day today. Betsy is starting to wear shoes! I’m slowly weaning myself from the “boot” I’ve worn since my stress fracture was diagnosed. Of course they’re big old ugly sneakers, but my knee enjoys the lack of extra weight of the boot.

We’ve traveled 2200 miles and have 700 miles to go before we arrive in the Marquesas Islands day after tomorrow. Our first stop will be on the island of  Nuku Hiva. This afternoon we cross the equator and the temperatures are getting warmer—upper 70s. The water temperature is in the low 80s and, for the first time today, the sun is out. Life is good!