At 8:42 a.m. today we crossed the equator and are now back in the northern hemisphere (barely!) There is a time-honored seafaring tradition that recognizes that King Neptune oversees the equator. On many cruise ships, there is a festive ceremony honoring him to ensure safe passage and smooth seas. King Neptune arrives with his symbol of power, his trident. He uses it to shatter rocks and subdue seas. There has to be a “sacrifice” to appease him.
I’ve been part of one before when we were on the Amazon, but this one was even better. Passengers are not allowed to be part of it anymore, so it was just for some of the crew, but most of the passengers came to watch and take pictures. And pictures best describe it:
King Neptune (with his trident) and his queen entering the ceremony.
Each person to be sacrificed is captured by the pirate and has to kiss a fish!
The sacrifice continues with having other staff members dump “gook” all over you.
Finally, the officers of the ship decide the fate and give the thumbs up or down – you are either thrown in the pool or seated in the hot sun.
It was a great deal of fun, and every passenger received a certificate with a picture of the ship’s GPS showing the exact time of the crossing.
Bridge followed and then Doug and I met to hear the astronomer’s last lecture about Total Cosmic Awareness. It was mind-boggling with the vastness of it all. And he said that the universe is expanding. Most interesting subject.
After lunch, Doug and I read during the afternoon. For dinner we joined Diane and Craig (the couple we had dined with at the Captain’s dinner) at their table. It was another enjoyable dinner and we were the last to leave the dining room.
Doug went to the ship’s show to hear the guitar player he had missed. He also saw the British magician/comedian who had the audience in great laughter again. I wanted to see the movie The Blind Side that was showing in the ship’s theater. It was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. CNN was back on, so we caught up on some news and then went to bed around midnight. Too tired to do more star gazing!
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