underway!

Latitude: 55 degrees 41.630 N

Longitude: 6 degrees 18.280E

Course: 30 degrees

Ship time: 20:05

I will say at the outset that Internet on this voyage is more challenging than it was in 2009. I'm not sure if it's actually worse, or if we have just become so accustomed to consistently good Internet that it seems more of an issue, but I am trying to find alternate ways of doing things. I may not be posting photos until we are in port with good wifi. It seems a small problem as I sit on our little balcony in the sun traveling the North Sea and watching the birds who follow the ship while I peck away on my iPad!

As we boarded on August 22nd it was exciting to see the ship once again, and the sounds and smells were pleasantly familiar. We were also lucky enough to see the Queen Mary 2 in port in Southampton. Our little MV Explorer was dwarfed by her presence! It would have been interesting to see them side by side. We have had a flurry of activity since boarding; John and other faculty have had loads of orientation meetings and all seem ready to get on with it and start teaching. It has been good getting to know our fellow travelers. The evening of the 23rd there was a reception for parents and other relatives of the students, though students were not invited. Many of the parents sailed themselves as students - this is, after all, the 50th anniversary year of the program. As with our last voyage, the energy changed with the embarkation of the students on August 24th. It's great to have them here - fewer in number than on our last voyage, 579 compared to 725, so the corridors are a bit less crowded even though the food lines seem just as long. Students were in orientation sessions all day today, and classes start tomorrow. 

We are looking forward to our first stop in St Petersburg the morning of August 29th with departure scheduled for the evening of September 1st. John has a student field activity there, so we haven't made other plans yet for that stop. The seas have been very calm since we left Southampton. We leave our balcony door open at night to hear the water and experience the fresh air as we get rocked to sleep.