At Sea
Today was momentous in several ways, the most important of which was our opportunity to make a short unscheduled stop at a small group of rocks in the middle of the Atlantic which sit right on the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ridge is the site at which the Atlantic Ocean is spreading, separating the Americas from Europe and Africa. These rocks, Sts. Peter and Paul Rocks, are famous among geologists because material from deep within the earth’s interior, the mantel, comes to the surface here. They are one of the very few places on earth where one can seen this mantel material, a rock comprised entirely of olivine and called dunite can be found. I was able to take a zodiac ashore with Suzana Machado D’Oliveira, our Brazilian Ambassadoress, and collect some specimens which we distributed to our guests.
After we left the rocks, we set our course at 180°, headed straight for the equator. We were soon boarded by a rather rough gang of pirates who demanded that the ship stop and undergo inspection by the ruler of the ocean realm, King Neptune and his beautiful queen. The king and his court reviewed our papers, provided by the captain. Those that had not crossed the line by sea before were inoculated by Neptune’s court physician, treated by the court hairdresser and then baptized in the ship’s pool (insert). Finally, after these important formalities, the king allowed us to cross into the Southern Hemisphere and we once again sailed happily along toward Brazil.
Today was momentous in several ways, the most important of which was our opportunity to make a short unscheduled stop at a small group of rocks in the middle of the Atlantic which sit right on the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ridge is the site at which the Atlantic Ocean is spreading, separating the Americas from Europe and Africa. These rocks, Sts. Peter and Paul Rocks, are famous among geologists because material from deep within the earth’s interior, the mantel, comes to the surface here. They are one of the very few places on earth where one can seen this mantel material, a rock comprised entirely of olivine and called dunite can be found. I was able to take a zodiac ashore with Suzana Machado D’Oliveira, our Brazilian Ambassadoress, and collect some specimens which we distributed to our guests.
After we left the rocks, we set our course at 180°, headed straight for the equator. We were soon boarded by a rather rough gang of pirates who demanded that the ship stop and undergo inspection by the ruler of the ocean realm, King Neptune and his beautiful queen. The king and his court reviewed our papers, provided by the captain. Those that had not crossed the line by sea before were inoculated by Neptune’s court physician, treated by the court hairdresser and then baptized in the ship’s pool (insert). Finally, after these important formalities, the king allowed us to cross into the Southern Hemisphere and we once again sailed happily along toward Brazil.
