Down Time

Trying to keep active on a ship that is only 450 feet from end to end is a challenge. Even when we're busy with science, there's lots of sitting and inactivity. Right now the ship is just off the coast of Gough Island, and will be for at least a week while helicopter and fueling operations take place. The small science party took two days to ourselves, each staying in our respective rooms watching movies and reading books, seeing each other only at meal times. But now we're a bit restless. Chief Scientist Tahlia Henry has been at sea often enough to know that we'll need distractions in order to stay in good spirits during this down time. Movie nights are being organized, as well as game nights and other events to get us out of our staterooms.

"Feel like the toes are buds ready to blossom in spring,"
is (no joke) the narration of this moment.

Before they left for the island, some of the women in the Gough science party were doing yoga sessions using the projectors in the auditorium. I copied a few files, but running south in rough weather wasn't really the right time. Today, though, it is calm. So in order to get blood flowing and bodies stretched, a few of us gathered and tried to keep up with a really flexible guy named Rodney. Despite my body's protest at a rapid (at least for yoga) series of lunges and planks, I was immediately calmed by the video, as it was filmed in Joshua Tree National Park, which is only a few hours from my house and one of my favorite places.

Keeping up with all the instructions was tricky though, as the narrator made sure we softened the eyes (huh?) and felt the rhythm of the earth below us (ironic). I tried not to stress about being told to exhale more often than inhale. After the session, Caitlin and I sat in the ship's sauna for as long as we could stand it. I've been on only one other ship with a sauna, so it still feels like a bit of an extravagance. Agulhas II was built in Finland and I get the impression that even if it had not been in the original designs, the Finnish shipbuilders would have installed a sauna anyway. There's an amusing series of sign posts in the room just outside, extolling the wonder that is Finland (see a few examples in the picture below).

So at least for today I can say I left my room for a reason other than food, and walked farther than just the dining room and back a few times. Tonight's organized activity is a game of Cards Against Humanity. Perhaps not quite as zen as yoga, but likely a lot of fun.

Now you know.