Day 2-3 (July 16-17, 2011): Sailing on Norwegian Jade at the Open Sea

Norwegian Jade 2011 (Val)At THE OPEN MEDITERRANEAN SEA THE SHIP IS SAILING, SAILING AND SAILING…

“Waters are calling me,

Seas are calling me.

All distances raise a bodily voice and call me,

And all seafaring ages felt out of the past are calling me.”

Alvaro de Campos, Ode Maritima.

We are gazing at the comparatively placid Mediterranean, meditating about what this sea originated from and when…

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost enclosed by land on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate body of water.

Masks, do you know the origin of the word “Mediterranean”?

“Yes, I do.” answered one mask. “This word originated from Latin “mediterraneus” meaning “inland’ or “in the middle of the earth” ( from medius-“middle” and terra “earth’), it covers an approximate area of 2,5 million square km (965,000 sq mi ), but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14 km (8,7 mi) wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.

Last summer we were in Malaga, South Spain, just close to Gibraltar. This year our itinerary is in the opposite direction.

We are far away from the coastline, sitting and watching waves crash in among cavernous rocks, awed by their power. “The Jade” is sailing and sailing, passing by the islands, we see surfers, scuba divers and underwater archaelogists on the quest for shipwrecks. Today, as an old truck pulls a fishing boat from the water, the beech is empty save for seagulls and one set of foot prints in the white-colored sand. In the mid-summer daytime temperatures here shoot up to the high 20’s and these beeches are packed with swimmers, surfers and sunbathers.

Now it’s sunset, time to go to the cabins after supper and have a rest.

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The next day, after having breakfast , we are hurrying up onto the open deck for sunbathing next to the swimming pool.

“How tall Gleb became since last year?! And changed a lot by face and build-up.”

But his habits are the same: passion for swimming, diving, socializing  with lively teens, tricks and jokes are the same. The character is a person.

“Are waters calling you, guys?” I asked the Mother and Son, a lovely couple.

“Oh, yes”, both responded affirmatively without hesitating. “This is why we are here.”

Impossible to describe the colors of water of the Mediterranean at the broad daylight: sparkling as if in rainbow, azure and gentle silver, an average depth of it is 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest point is in Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent people of the region- the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Iberian, Greek, Macedonian, Illyrian, Thracian, Leviathan, Gallic,Roman, Albanian, Armenian, Arabic, Berber, Jewish, Slavic and Turkish cultures.The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. “For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the uniting element and the center of World History”.

Our feelings and sensations are similar to those who are caught by the moment somewhere in the center of world history, surrounded by waters of the Mediterranean, and ship keeps on sailing and sailing, it seems waters never ever end…

Listen to: Eugenio Finardi- Extraterrestre

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