Location: 02,20.98 N; 44,15.80 W
It’s crazy to think that we have made it this far and are only a week out from Barbados where the island hopping will begin! Snacks are running low, and the bartering has begun. On the Argo, you can buy a pack of ramen for five lollipops and a caramel candy for two hugs. As the days underway pass by and the sleep deprivation grows from the ever-changing sleep cycles, so does the crew’s excitement. Parents, you wouldn’t believe how excited a group of 20-year-olds could be to do their laundry, given how rarely it gets done back home. Now that we have made it halfway through our journey and crossed 4800 nautical miles, life at sea has become second nature, just another day in paradise.
Today began with a stunning sunrise, filling the sky with vibrant pinks and oranges reflecting on the ocean, which was so calm and flat, there wasn’t a single white cap in sight. Along with the sunrise came a slight drizzle that illuminated a DOUBLE rainbow in the sky. Its crazy that mornings like these are almost a normal occurrence on board. The cook today was the lovely Benazir who cheffed up quite the meal for lunch, delicious fried rice which she made with the help of her sous chefs, Kate and Tim. After our meal came the routine cleanup and class. Today we had oceanography and seamanship. However, most of Seamanship was replaced with an Emma, Smash, and Allie investigation, attempting to crack the cold case of the mysterious midnight prancer. According to Emma, last night, while she was doing her 12 am boat check, she saw figure prance across the hall from the starboard six-man bunks to the port six-man bunks and has been determined to solve it ever since. Although the whole class was spent deciphering who it could be and interrogating our fellow mates, no progress has been made, and Emma can neither confirm nor deny that it might have just been the door swinging open in the dark. Either way, it was extremely entertaining for us all. After class, we had the usual deck showers and another great meal by Benz and her team: french toast and french fries. Quite the french cuisine :).
Finally, we ended the day with another round of squeeze with a beautiful sunset in the background making the sky look like cotton candy and a surprise visit from a pod of spinner dolphins as we all went around saying our appreciation. Ahh, just another day in paradise.