We have been sailing for five days, and I am loving it! I spent a couple hours on deck this morning, just soaking in the calm. I've discovered that the open sea smells different from the beach. It's crisp and wet and sweet. Standing on the deck reminds me of Disney movies, particularly The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan. The lines that keep repeating in my head: "Mermaid off the port bow! Ariel! How you doin' kid?...Whoa, what a swim!" and of course the most romantic line, "Grimm, I lost her once. I'm not gonna lose her again!"
Anyway...
I never doubted I would enjoy sailing because a cruise has been one of my favorite ways to vacation for years. As much as I've enjoyed cruises in the past, they don't compare to sailing on the Africa Mercy. Our ship is a renovated rail ferry, much smaller than a cruise liner. While cruise liners are large enough to provide a very smooth ride, we rock constantly from side to side. Today at lunch I watched my spoon slide across the table with the salt shaker. Workout videos are far more interesting than usual. I go to sleep really easily, but I also wake up in the middle of the night as if my body has suddenly realized it shouldn't be moving so much.
Another difference between the Africa Mercy and a cruise liner is the entertainment. On a cruise, there is a packed calendar of events guaranteed to keep you busy from sunrise to well past midnight. On the Africa Mercy, we have time to notice things like this:
a "water spout," basically a tornado over the water
dolphins
sperm whales (You can only see the spray from his blow hole.)
more whales, possibly Orcas
amazing sunsets
I just love it. :)
*All pictures were pirated from our network transfer drive. (pun intended shamelessly)
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