En route to Grenada

I hadn't planned to post today, but thought you would like to know all is well by the Lord's mercies.

The suip has not had a new case of the virus for 2 or 3 days, so have lifted the stringent measures dictated by "Code Red". We know of none who had the virus.

There was an extremely interesting lecture on the Amazon Basin compared to other major river systems in the world. I would like to obtain a DVD of the lecture but likely won't be able to obtain it from the lecturer. He has two additional lectures with more details on the river system itself. I may try to video the next two lectures.

They have traced the source of the Amazon to a point in the Andes in Peru just 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean. By the time it reaches the Atlantic Ocean the flow rate is over 750,000,000 cu. ft/second, the largest flow of any river system by a significant margin. The length of the Amazon is computed to be 4,250 miles. In comparison, the Nile is about 4,150 miles in length.

The captain just told us a huge weather system is blanketing the entire Caribean area including where we are located. The seas are relatively calm, but there has been near fog like conditions with scattered lightning and thunder along with showers. He said the system is headed North and West some 300 miles from us. Our heading is about 09 degrees, slightly east of north, so the storm system and we are parting ways. This system may affect the weather for the next 36 hours, but we should encounter no severe conditions.

I attended a short lecture preceding the Amazon lecture conducted by a cruise consultant. She gave good information about selecting cruised, cabin type and location, which we may never have opportunity to implement. Next to me was an older lady (not Ruth, since she wasn't with me at the time) that I found out was a true believer in the Lord Jesus. She and her husband had spent early years of their marriage in missionary work in varous parts of the world, including Afghan. Later he returned to school to specialize in anesthesiology and ended up in San Diego where they raised their family. About 17 years ago a drunk driver killed her husband at which time she returned to Canada and settled in Victoria. It was a real pleasure meeting a believer and talking with her. She said the Lord Jesus was her constant companion.

The Captain is disembarking in Grenada tomorrow morning for a three months leave and will rejoin the Veendam in January 2009. He chose to get off at Grenada as it is one of his favorite places to visit. The replacement Captain came aboard in Aruba and is spending 2 or 3 days having the command transferred to him. The outgoing Captain is English and has been very informative in his daily updates. The new Captain is Dutch, which probably means we won't understand well his implementation of English.

Currently the seas are calm, the air is very hazy. and the barometer is rising. Our position is12 degrees 18.81' N and 66 degrees 06.89 W. The next sunrise is at 6:30 AM and the next sunset is at 6:23 PM. The current temperature is 77 degrees.