Crossing a Line

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way.
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small.
But it's as big as the promise - the promise of a comin' day.
     --Crosby Stills & Nash

(Luana:) We've now passed the half-way point of our journey in terms of how long we will be gone from home. We're now exactly half-way around the world, in a time zone 12 hours away from Canby, Oregon, so I guess it's only appropriate that now we are also in a different hemisphere. In the middle of the night last night we crossed the equator in the Indian Ocean, while sailing from India to Mauritius. This means we have been in all four hemispheres on the trip now -- East, West, North, South. Incidentally, we are so close to time for the Spring Equinox tomorrow, that we were told the sun was exactly overhead today at noon. I went up and took a picture; it looks like a flashbulb going off.

This weekend the ship will have Neptune Day, where exalted Shellbacks like Bob, who have already crossed, will initiate lowly Pollywogs like me into the Order of Neptune. I'm trying to decide which I'll choose: head-shaving or a bath in fish guts. I suspect vanity will rule. (Bob: The emphasis in that sentence should be on "exalted.")

Yesterday also marked my first real spotting of sea life. You'd think we would have seen plenty of dolphins and whales by now, but that hasn't been the case. The ocean has been vast and mysterious on this journey. Yesterday, though, I saw hundreds of flying fish. They're small and they fly close to the water, and they usually fly for only a couple of seconds. But I was beginning to think I would be the only person on the trip not to spot some, so I was thrilled to see so many all in the space of a half hour. It was a nice way to mark the half-way point. Who knows what other adventures lie in store?