Skimming Over Glass

Lat 4 degrees, 32 minutes N; Long 80 degrees 15.5 E; Course 42 degrees; Time 21:24
Temperature of air & sea- mid 80’s

This evening at 5:30, we had our second wine & cheese party in our cabin. We are working our way through the faculty and their spouses/partners and so had about 14 guests. Once again the hotel services catered and we had a mixture of hot and cold canapés, spring rolls and small quiches. It is so easy to entertain when you don’t have to shop and prepare. All I had to do was straighten up which took all of 2 minutes because our cabin is so small. The most difficult part is finding Stefan in his office. He is the officer in charge of the dining facilities.

The temperature was very comfortable and so we moved the party onto the deck. The ocean is again like glass tonight…very slick, no wind and it almost looks as if there is a fine layer of oil on the surface of the water. I cannot even begin to describe the reflected colors that occur when there is no wind. During the party someone noticed some very small fish frolicking off the side of the ship, very near our deck. They looked like dolphin but they were so small. They were dwarf spinner dolphin and behaved just like our Atlantic dolphin….just a miniature version. There were also fishermen in small boats. We are very, very far from land, off shore from Sri Lanka. Of course our first thought when we saw them was pirates. Still I was surprised at how small their boats were.

Some Indian students came on board in South Africa and they are our interport students. Tonight they gave a cultural preport presentation. We learned about the festivals and the Hindu wedding ceremony. We found out where to shop in Chennai and what and where to eat. They demonstrated how to wrap a sari and how to draw a decoration on the floor using rice flour. I think I am going to love India. I already love the food and I am enchanted by all the brilliant colors, flowers and interesting celebrations. They have a Festival of Colors in which they throw colors on each other. I am not sure what form the colors take but it sounds pretty enchanting.

Tonight is another dark night on the ship. But unlike last night there is not a cloud in the sky. We will go out for star gazing on Deck 8. In fact I can hear the students out there as I write. The lights are out.