We are at sea again headed across the Atlantic Ocean to Recife, Brazil. The captain said we are almost to the Doldrums and will pass the equator about 10 PM tonight. I looked it up (of course), and the “Doldrums” is a low pressure area from 5°N to 5°S of the equator. Winds are famously calm there, with prevailing breeze disappearing altogether at times, making it extremely difficult to navigate through. Back when there were only sailboats, this band of windless, hot and humid weather near the equator could stall sailing ships for weeks, driving the crew to distraction, and resulting in them running out of food and water. So that’s what the Ancient Mariner was talking about! His ship was stuck in the Doldrums.
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Lines 111-122, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
I love the painted ship metaphor. Exciting, right? Well, these sea days are long and I have plenty of time to ponder.
Not much good eavesdropping going on lately. A lady fell flat in the dining room yesterday, and that was scary. Poor thing. She was carrying a plate of food and it made the most horrendous crash when she fell. They called a code “Alpha” and the paramedics came and checked her out. She seemed to be all in one piece, but will more than likely be pretty bruised. I thought I should Google codes on cruises just to make sure I know when something goes totally south. An “Alpha” is a medical emergency, a “Bravo” is a fire a “Kilo” is a request for all personnel to report to their emergency posts which happens in the event of, say, a necessary evacuation. “Echo,” is called if the ship is starting to drift and “Oscar,” when someone’s gone overboard. A PVI is a public vomiting incident. I pretty much could have done without this knowledge, because most of is a bit disturbing.
We actually had a fairly decent Thanksgiving dinner on the ship on Thursday, which surprised me. It seems like they use a lot of weird spices in their food, but this was just your usual Thanksgiving dinner. That is, except for the Anise Butternut Squash soup. Anise tastes like licorice, right? So, why would I want that anywhere near my soup?
A photo from last night on the ship:
A. Roam of My Own: Travels With Annie 
That’s interesting about the codes. Kilo sounds like they are looking for drugs. 😂
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Yeah, I thought Kilo was a bit off for a code. I already knew that Alpha was a medical emergency, because man, that lady fell hard.
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What a beautiful sunset! And ick on the anise. 😬
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Pretty icky soup, for sure. My issue is that I like soup with substance, like beans, or potatoes, or corn. All of the soup on the ship is pureed. It is kind of like baby food. 🤢
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Did they say anything about the horse latitudes?
I’m a fair weather sailor. The codes would have me freaking out with all that water everywhere.
Anise should be banned from being used in any food dish.
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The captain mentioned the horse latitudes a couple of days ago. Aren’t they drier as opposed to the doldrums, which are wetter? Yes, the codes are pretty scary. I just hope we don’t hear one!
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