At Sea
Cruising across the southern Baltic today, the wind was up just enough to let us know that we were at sea. The dark grey-green surface of the water was sprinkled with whitecaps that seemed to flash and twinkle under bright sunshine from a sky filled with cottonball cumulus clouds. Stabilizers out, the National Geographic Explorer rode the seas beautifully, making good speed and bringing us into a comfortable overnight anchorage in the Bay of Gdansk by late evening.
It was a day for mental exploration, contemplation and relaxation. A full program of presentations kept many of us busy, beginning with Karen Copeland’s excellent overview of the natural history of the Baltic region and continuing with an insightful discussion of the European Union from David Barnes. In the early afternoon Lindblad photographer Richard Mack initiated us all into the arcane (and very useful) mysteries of the histograms that our digital cameras use to graphically express exposure values. Finally, I rounded out the day’s series of talks with a program on the historic shipwrecks of the Baltic, discussing both the tools that are revolutionizing the science of marine archeology here in recent decades and some of the tragic, little-known stories of famous wrecks in this much-traveled inland sea.
Already, five countries lie behind us, with three more still ahead. Crisscrossing the Baltic this way presents us with a remarkable wealth of different cultures, languages, histories and interpretations thereof. As David, our historian, has told us, this is a complex region, one in which an expedition traveler must “enjoy the paradoxes and savor the contradictions.” A day at sea gives us a perfect opportunity for this kind of reflection, a chance to go over our recent experiences in our minds and fit them into the broader context of our explorations. Much of what we notice as we travel through the Baltic are the lovely little details. The patterns of light and dark in the rock of small island, the moment the sun breaks out after an afternoon shower, bright flowers by the side of a cobbled street or an architectural detail in a busy city, these scenes and brief moments attract our eyes and our attention and, later, are woven together into our memories of this rich and beautiful region.
David Cothran, Undersea Specialist
