The Aegean Sea

We are now in the realm of Odysseus, and much like the “man of twists and
turns” the ship is going on its own odyssey through the famed Aegean.

We have already passed our anchorage and Andros, and now we are going to
be circling islands. All of the ones I have seen have been very rugged,
very mountainous, and many are covered with windmill farms. Generally
speaking, everything thus far has been very scenic.

Everybody is looking forward to Greece (except for those who won’t be able
to leave the ship) and now I’m having a constant march of students coming
in asking for information about the port. Also, two students (much to my
delight) have asked for a copy of Homer’s “Odyssey” and I have found (much
to my dismay), that the copy that we *had* had been lost in the River
Styx.

One of the things I have noticed is that our students have an intense
curiosity about where we are going – not just for the recreational stuff –
but they also want to learn more about the history of the ports and
countries that we are visiting. There is something beautiful about taking
two weeks to get to a port since it allows time for curiosity to build.
Also, without the distractions of the information barrage that we normally
get when we are in the land-based universe – the students read more, and
will do research on their own. I just wish I had a massive library here
so I can give them everything they want. I have been very pleased with
those that I have interacted with. They have all been very pleasant,
polite, and also remarkably grateful for any information I can lead them
to.

Today has been a relatively normal day, although I keep expecting a boat
drill. We are due for one. My new duty, during boat drills is to play
videos to different section on boat safety while the drill is going on –
so I am excused duty! Now of course, if there happens to be a real
emergency, I should *not* got down into the library, but rather head over
to my lifeboat number 8.

The problem, as you have no doubt guessed, is *how* do I know that it is a
real emergency?

I have decided to get the answer (in the spirit of the ancients) through
the use of prophecy and omen. Therefore, I need to keep a sharp eye out
for white whales and albatrosses and watch their behavior. At the end of
the day, we must remember to allow nature to tell us how screwed up we
are.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe