Six and a Half Days of Nothing but Water

After leaving Funchal, Madeira, we had six and a half days at sea before reaching St. Maarten in the Caribbean. That’s a long time to be surrounded by nothing but water, and that’s pretty much what we saw.

Every now and then, another ship would appear on the horizon, giving us something different to look at for a little while. Otherwise, it was ocean in every direction. Blue water, changing skies, and a horizon that seemed to go on forever.

We took daily photos of the ship’s map to keep track of where we were. Looking at those maps, you could see us gradually making our way west across the Atlantic. It’s quite something to think about travelling roughly 2,800 nautical miles between Madeira and St. Maarten, even if most of the journey looks pretty much the same from the deck of a ship.

Of course, there’s a whole lot more to the Atlantic than what we could see from above. Beneath us was an enormous underwater landscape, with deep ocean basins, valleys and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a vast mountain range running down the middle of the ocean. In places, the water is several thousand metres deep. It’s strange to think about that hidden world below us while standing on deck looking at what appears to be an endless, flat expanse of water.

Fortunately, the weather was almost perfect for our crossing. The seas were calm, with just a little rain and a few windier moments along the way. This was our third Atlantic crossing, and so far, we’ve been lucky enough not to experience rough seas on any of them. I’m quite happy to keep that record going!

So, what do you do for six and a half days when there’s nowhere to go and nothing new to see outside?

As it turns out, quite a lot.

We spent time out on deck, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine when the weather cooperated. There were quieter spots around the ship where we could sit and relax, along with activities and lectures that caught our interest. We even gave the dry slides and racetrack a try.

And then there were our friends. We spent plenty of time chatting, playing cards, sharing meals and watching the shows in the evening. There was also a fair amount of eating going on. A cruise ship does make it rather easy to find your next meal, even when you’ve only just finished the last one!

We never found ourselves bored. There was no pressure to be anywhere or to make the most of every minute. We could do as much or as little as we felt like doing, which is one of the things we enjoyed about these sea days.

After days of looking out at the same endless stretch of blue, it felt good to see land again.

Our crossing is over, and we are now among the islands of the Caribbean.

Now we have six glorious days here before our cruise ends in Texas. After all those days at sea, I think we’ll be more than happy to spend a little time having our feet on dry land again.