Location: Les Saintes
It is hard to start off your morning in a better way than with the smell of a French bakery. The smell of warm baguettes and pastries baking was overwhelming as we joined the French masses to cue up in line. The tradition of getting fresh bread for morning breakfast is one of my favorite French customs. It starts the day off right every time! I didn’t think that the crew was able to smell the bakery from the boat, but they must have because, unlike most mornings, almost the entire crew was up and out of bed before wake-ups! They were going for swims, exercising and being active. It was shocking! Whether it was the smells of the bakery or something else that got the crew up and going early, I liked it. The rest of the morning was spent on shore for the crew to explore this sleepy French beach town. Everyone enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs and discover a new place.
After lunch ashore, the crew reconvened aboard for an afternoon of heated Oceanography debate! Students split into two groups and argued opposing sides of the Gaia Theory. In a nutshell, the Gaia Theory is the theory that the earth can be viewed as a vast, self-regulating organism. The debate went well, with both sides making valid arguments and counter-arguments and Laurie acting as the devil’s advocate to help kindle the debate. After class, the crew had a bit of relaxation before a delicious dinner of Mexican food whipped up by Tor. The evening followed up with more science with Matty and OCB. All in all, it was a very productive and relaxing day aboard Ocean Star, just the way we liked it!