Crossing the Indian Ocean

Monday, December 14th - Wednesday, December 16th
Route of the Ancient Traders
Day 34 - Day 36
M/S Nautica
At Sea
Mostly Sunny - Low 80s

We enjoyed our final three days of luxury and leisure at sea, crossing the Indian Ocean. The seas gave us some pitch and roll from time to time, but the crossing was uneventful. I spent some time in the sun, but Tres stayed inside, and out of the humidity.

Dr. Doug Sturkey presented his last two lectures of the voyage:

"Sea Stories: Wreck of Batavia, Mayhem and Murder- Wholesale Murder Followed the Wreck of the Dutch Ship, Batavia, Off the Western Australian Coast."

and

"The Search for a Singapore - Raffles was Charged in the 19th-Century to Find a Place that Would Facilitate Britain's Asian Trade While Reducing Dutch Competition."

Doug's lectures, and his company aboard ship, have added a lot to the cruise experience. While each of these topics taken in isolation lacks context and a larger meaning, they have informed our travels and added some intellectual rigor to what has been a pretty cush trip. We are looking forward to reading his book when we get home, "The Limits of American Power: Prosecuting a Middle East Peace."

Tomorrow, we embark on the final leg of the cruise in Southeast Asia, then Hong Kong and the trip home.

Next Stop: Phuket, Thailand