It takes 3 days to cross from Brazil to the Gambia. There is a traditional ceremony when you sail across the Equator for the first time. On the Rotterdam this trip there were about 20 crew members initiated from being "pollywogs" to "mariners". King Neptune made an appearance and he commanded that each of them kiss a fish- 100 lb snappers on the pool deck. Then they were slathered with gooey slime and floured and judged by the Captain and the crowd whether to be dunked in the pool or "spared". It was very funny- luckily one passenger volunteered for all the rest of us and we were all pardoned.
We spent the 3 days reading, talking with other passengers, attending lectures, etc. It is a wonderful peaceful way to live. We crossed the actual Equator-0 latitude- at 12:30 AM April 10. Bert and I went out on deck to see if there was actually a line- kidding! There was a lady however who pulled out a cell phone and called someone at home to share the event. Imagine calling home from the Equator in the middle of the ocean. Each of the 3 nights at sea we move the clocks ahead an hour so we are having 23 hour days. An easy way to avoid jet lag but it messes up my circadian rhythm. Im a 24 hour a day girl.
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