We woke to calm seas and a very gentle swell rolling in from the south. Today we leave the Northern Cook Islands behind us and move on across the central Pacific toward the Southern Line Islands, the easternmost part of the nation of Kirabati. The sunrise was gentle and beautiful, filtered through a layer of small, separate cumulus clouds in a layer low over the sea, like fluffy sheep grazing in the blue meadow of the sky.
The day began to warm up as we had our breakfast in the outdoor café, but the light sea breezes made it a perfect time to be out in the sea air, gazing over the ocean as we sipped our coffee and discussed the past days’ adventures with our friends.
Photography was the theme of the day, with a workshop on organizing and improving our images on our computers, a presentation from Rikki on the many ways to use and enjoy our photos after we return home, and an exciting talk from Flip Nicklin, our National Geographic photographer, describing his long career creating stories for the magazine. But we started with a presentation in an entirely different vein, an invitation to expand our view to encompass the whole Pacific and consider the biogeography of this great ocean – the processes and patterns by which plants, birds, corals and other living things have colonized these tiny, remote specks of land.
Mike and Richard, joined occasionally by a few of us, kept a keen lookout from the bridge and the foredeck and spotted several large schools of tuna, a few spinner dolphins, a nice procession of different sea birds and a rare view of a beaked whale.
Working on our photos, working on our memories or simply enjoying a good book and watching the sea go by, the day fell away slowly and happily. Before too long the sun set below the western horizon and it was time to gather in the dining room for a fabulous seven course gourmet dinner created for us by Chef Lothar Greiner.
