Homeward Bound

Today we are at sea, heading for port at Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. It is the first opportunity for R & R (rest and reflection) since 12/31 as we have been in one port or another for six days straight. I have been too busy, unable to gather my thoughts for blog postings. Your understanding is appreciated. Here is sunrise off Roseau, Dominica as compensation.

The Caribbean is quiet and smooth this morning, the Explorer making rapid (~27 knots) pace. By this evening I expect most of what we brought aboard will be packed and we will have figured out what to do with all the stuff we bought. We might even have figured out our US customs paperwork.

Sometime next week I will probably post a blog or two about this voyage. Thoughts must be collected first. I did the best I could posting a few photos to Flickr; I hope they were sufficient for a thumbnail narrative of our past three weeks. Anita has done a better job on her blog.

The Amazon and Caribbean defy a few clever phrases, even mine. I will never be able to look at a teaspoon of sugar again without thinking of its cost in human lives over the years. I will not soon forget the exceptionally wonderful and professional Semester-at-Sea staff - and MV Explorer crew - who made this voyage possible. The blue waters, the marvelous tastes of local fruits, the resilience of the descendants of the slaves and indentured servants who live in the places we visited, all of these will be remembered.

Next hurricane season I will respond differently as the Weather Channel describes the paths and destruction of storms through places I have seen, harbors where I have slept.

It is a cliche that the world is getting smaller. It is also not true. We are getting larger, as individuals, as societies. Travel has always done that, electronic technology now has speeded up the process. The Amazon and the Caribbean are part of me now, and I am the larger and better for it.