Tonight's picture was taken on July 29 of 2008. This was six days after Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. That day we took Mattie to Roosevelt Island to play by the water with his motorized toy boats. Peter and I were absolutely in shock during that time, but we tried very hard, ALWAYS, to make Mattie feel safe, secure, and to have hope that together we could do battle against his "bone bugs."
Facts of the Day: The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world, next only to the Pacific Ocean. The 'Atlantic' is derived from the
legendary island of 'Atlantis,' as described by Plato - one of the ancient writers. The Atlantic Ocean was the first ocean to be crossed by ship and airplane.
Hello from the coast of Portugal! Presently, we are still steaming south at about 25 miles an hour off the coast of Portugal coming almost even with Lisbon. We are 50 miles off shore so we cannot see land, but our course has us slowly turning to the southeast and eventually later today coming around to due east as we complete our turn towards Gibraltar, the mouth of the Mediterranean.
As I am writing this we have traveled just over 900 miles since we left Southampton and we have approximately 580 miles left to go until we reach Barcelona. It is really amazing the distances and the logistics involved in this cruise!
Yesterday’s weather calmed down late in the evening as the winds died down and the waves lost their energy. We are now in an area where the ocean is over 15,000 deep versus when we were traversing the Bay of Biscay where the average depth was about 500 feet. We are also approaching a high pressure system, which will mean clear blue skies and little wind, perfect for our cruise! It is presently 68 degrees with 81% humidity, so it is delightful outside and I plan to sit on the balcony later today and relax some.
This morning was one of those mornings when you could just simply sense the weather was improving and was going to improve as the day progressed. I snapped a few pictures of the water and the rising sun this morning after my workout in the gym.
Once I got back to the room after having had an egg white omelet prepared for me and hand delivered in the Horizon Court (the buffet restaurant topside), which by the way, I could very easily get used to that kind of service mind you, Vicki was already getting washed as she and her mother were heading to Zumba again. After yesterday’s experience, Vicki suggested I come to zumba with them and participate since she said the teacher was an extremely energetic and high energy instructor and that I would likely get a good workout. Mind you, zumba has always been a spectator sport for me, but I am looking to up my level of cardio activity, and since I was already in my workout clothes, I said what the heck and went to zumba class. In summary, this class kicked my you know what!
The instructor is indeed very energetic but he is also very athletic and capable. He can both dance like a professional and does so with the endurance of an Olympic athlete. From what I have seen, Zumba is largely dancing with the entire group doing the same routines by themselves, and although it takes energy to move around and dance, I have never seen it as an intense cardio workout. This class had me huffing and puffing after just the warm-up! After 50 minutes of the class, which by the way went by super-fast, I was a sweaty mess and felt good. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning physically, but I am going to do zumba as often as I can in addition to my morning workout.
Last night we went to one of the theater productions that the ship puts on during the cruise called “What a swell party” (I actually had to look-up the name when writing the blog, which is not a good sign…). The highlight of the show was the first six musical numbers performed by the Princess Cruises Performers and Dancers. The trope performed six Cole Porter numbers from the musical Anything Goes, a musical Vicki and I saw last month and loved, so that was enjoyable. The rest of the show reminded us of a Vegas-style show, which in general are not memorable. On a bright note though, since it was the last show of the evening, a few dozen crew members showed up to watch and cheer on their shipmates, so it was nice to see them supporting each other. In general, I think human beings both take for granted and undervalue the need for support, so it was touching to see these folks supporting each other.
The ocean today is much calmer and I have observed a few things that tell me we are traveling substantial distances. First of all, the sunset last night as it will be tonight is at 9:57pm! In Washington, DC, the latest the sun sets in late June and early July is almost 9pm, but now with the sun setting here at essentially 10pm, the dark of night is not upon us until almost 11pm, which throws off my sense of time. It is through this experience that I realize just how much I subconsciously rely on sunlight to help tell me, my brain and body what time it is and what I should be doing or preparing to do. As a result, Vicki and I did not get to sleep until almost 1am this morning. Second of all, the color of the water has changed (see below pictures). Yes, yes, I know water does not change color, so in reality, the quality, quantity and presence of the light around us has changed resulting in the ocean turning colors, much like a person! Much like I said yesterday that the ocean has many moods and its own personality, today’s ocean is transforming itself into “relaxed ocean” or “smooth-operator ocean”. The waves are few and tiny, the breezes light, the colors bright and calming, and it’s almost as if the ocean is chilling out and relaxing and we are seeing the reflections of that process!
I awoke during the night and peeked outside and saw that the moon was out and over the water, and with clear skies it was a gorgeous sight. It was also a reminder of Mattie as his nickname in preschool was Mattie Moon. Mattie and I used to look for the moon many nights, and when we found it, I taught Mattie to howl at the moon. I am sure we were quite a sight, and I still remember on several occasions howling at the moon with Mattie, sometimes with me carrying him, as well as me feeling silly, and young and loving having my son with me to share in our own little ritual, however crazy it might have seemed. So now wherever I look for the moon, I am doing so for different reasons and feeling differently when I do see it. To me this is another example of how Vicki and I have been changed fundamentally both within ourselves but also in how we deal and perceive the world. I wish this “transformation” on no one. I know these are pretty heavy thoughts in the middle of the night to be contemplating, so last night when I spied the moon, I tried quickly to put the topic out of my mind as I know had I dwelt on it, I would have been restless the remainder of the night.
Tomorrow is another day at sea, bringing us to day four of the cruise. Sometime tonight we will pass Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean, and then we’ll turn towards the northeast and follow the coast of Spain northeast to Barcelona where we arrive on Wednesday morning. Buenos noches mis amigos!
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