March 25, 2024

I shared in a previously post that “Many passengers clamor the arrival at the next port. Not me. It is rare that one has the opportunity to have a completely unobstructed view, yet with the exception of sighting flying fish and a school of dolphins only the grandeur of the endless horizon is your view on sea days. It makes me feel small and grand at the same time.”

For the next three days we will cruise through the Malacca Strait, the second busiest shipping lane in the world. It’s a narrow stretch of water, 500 hundred miles long and from 40 to 155 miles wide, located between the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest and the Malay Peninsula to the northeast, connecting the Andaman Sea with the Singapore Strait and the South China Sea.

Observing from my balcony on sea days, there are times when large cargo vessels seem way too close. Remember the Straits of Malacca provide the main access from China, Japan and Indonesia to the Indian Ocean and all those cargo ships I previously talked about built in China want to get their products to the world’s marketplace. I spoke to Captain Frisco what it was like navigating these waters and he replied in his Danish accent “No different that the New Jersy Turnpike”. (Captain Frisco lives in New Jersey with his wife Chantel when he is not the Master of the Zuiderdam.)

The Indian Ocean has long been a major trade network. From India flowed textiles and precious metals. Spices came from Indonesia. Silk from China and Zanzibar and Africa were a source of exotic animals, gold and ivory.

Unfortunately, also prevalent throughout the region was the trade and use of slaves.

What is utterly amazing to me is that early mariners only used the astrolabe to determine latitude at sea. Over the years it was replaced by the quadrant and then the sextant. But it was these basic instruments that supported European expansionism and eventually the discovery of the New World.

I am so happy that today the ship uses very sophisticated GPS systems to navigate the 22,977 nautical miles we have traveled so far.

I am equally as pleased that this world travel has afforded me some absolutely incredible views of sunrises and sunsets that I could never have accomplished sitting by my pool in Florida.

I swear I saw a sunset where I pictured a girl’s face appear before the sun set in front of me.

Another where the sun resembled the planet Saturn.

And one where the sun seemed to break into pieces before it fell into the horizon.

And still others where I feel God is taking the time to open the clouds just so He can shine down on me.

Now do you see why I love Sea Days.

Thanks for travelling with us…