Monday, June 23, 2008

Land Ho!

As I write we are passing the Orkney islands on the starboard side (if you look very closely you'll see a protrusion), which is an archipelago in northern Scotland. Hopefully we will also see the Shetland islands later today portside. Considering the percentage of humans who circumnavigate the globe are less than one percent, I feel a sense of undeserved entitlement to have joined the ranks of people like Sir Francis Drake. Even if I'm not at the helm of the bridge, I am still traveling from point to point. And when I really think about it, one of the most nonpareil attributes of traveling around the world by ship and not having to steer is getting to see parts of the world that hardly anyone will ever see from this vantage point: traveling through the panama canal and the Suez. Cruising by the Rock of Gibraltar. Trudging through the Bermuda triangle. Seeing the statue of liberty from the water. Witnessing the green flash as the sun sets over the northern horizon and staring out at islands that most never make it to. Even if my book never gets published, I think I can still say I've been pretty damn lucky.

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