Over the ridge

Something is different in the morning. We've been used to the increasing humidity, but this air really smells like rain. The temperature has dropped by a few degrees, the deck is wet. We are in the area of isolated rainfalls, tells us the captain. Hm, doesn't look like it yet.

But just you wait: In the course of the day the clouds shift and soon we can see pillars of grey connect the clouds with the surface of the sea. The rain must be really, really heavy there, looks like a celestial brush sweeping the crumbs off the water table, very impressive.

This is typical for the heart of the Atlantic; we're in the middle of it, just above the mid-ocean ridge, the gigantic spreading zone, opening the Atlantic wider and wider. So the distance to Buenos Aires is actually increasing. But no need to speed up, it is a process as slow as the growth of toenails…

The clouds are pure magic, they change incessantly, seem to sit right on the horizon. No need to do much today, this is a day of scenery.

And of visitors: After dark, a apparently exhausted red-footed Booby (John, believe it or not - I found a bird's name in a book…! Why are they called red-footed…?!) settled on the foredeck for a little while. We gave him slack and retreated, and a little later he was gone.

Maybe we meet again...

Out in the Open

There is a difference in the movement of the ship, clearly to be felt after waking up: Instead of the short, rather erratic rolling there is a slow, gentle heaving, like riding on the back of a very large dinosaur.

This can mean only one thing: we have left the passage between the Cape Verde Islands and are now "really" on the high seas of the Atlantic. This is the swell coming from the other side, the old stuff, not trying to impress us with the short, adolescent waves but treats us to a mature, slightly sedate dance, which is really, really soothing.

Still, we have some activities going on. In the morning we join on the bridge, where Captain Rune gives an extensive introduction to the ship's instruments and specifications.

For those who need it deeper, our Navigation officer Clyde welcomes a little later for lesson #1 of his crash course on ship's systems and navigation.

Some brave guests even volunteered to help with the "dungeon task", heaving piles of boxes around, and so we got done with it in record time. Thank you!!!

After the tea hour in the Panorama-lounge the next specialist invites: Chef Jimmy starts his Galley Cooking Class, today with smoked salmon and cauliflower soup.

And of course the Games!

Lots and lots of giggles, cheers and laughter to be heard on deck 7 in the evening, as the disciplines tabletop soccer, darts, and table tennis were on the way, a little less noisy but very enthusiastic over the chess boards.

A great evening after a great day.

Follow the dot!

Although it feels like being out in the middle of the ocean, revealing this morning's position comes as surprise for many: Still very close to land we are in the "narrows" between the Capverde Islands and Senegal. But what looks tiny on the map is a stretch of water so wide that not even a Guinnes-Book-worthy visibility would permit the slightest view on either of them. The closest we go by the Capverde Archipelago is 75 nautical miles. Standing on the very top of FRAM you might see as far as 30 miles tops. 

So, open water all around, but the thought is thrilling that as of this night we are finally turning away from land and head for the middle of the vastness. And if we maintain speed we will reach the Equator within three days.

In the meantime there are works to be done, and I'm not counting the lectures, which are rather a pleasure to do. No: one particularly nasty task is getting the "Deep Store" organized (remember the first day?), where we store all the blue jackets that are handed out to our guests. It is basically a dark and hot cave, crammed with an stunning amount of pointy boxes that are forming hills and valleys which you have to brave with the means of the normal cave explorer, headlamp, solid shoes and sturdy clothes, that is.

So, if you dig spelunking in a sauna-hot place (35-40 degrees and so sticky that we have to measure the oxygen contents with a probe before going "in"), not bothered by scrambling over dirty boxes while other cartons are plummeting down on your head - well, then this is your place…

But it's not only work here, there is the usual leisure tea at 4pm, this time with live piano music, plus the occasional sunbath in blaming 29 degrees, watching flying fish go by.

In the evening the tension rises - the preparations for FRAM's Atlantic games are coming along full throttle. Tonight the first eliminations will already start tonight.

But this is something to be continued...

Eating Miles - and other things...

The countdown has begun: in 24 hours we traveled 5 full degrees further South. Considering that every degree latitude equals 60 nautical miles (everywhere, as opposed to degrees longitude), we are already 300 miles closer to the Equator. And the temperature is rising, rising, 25 degrees (77 Fahrenheit) in the morning, water even a little warmer than that. Not that we went swimming to find out, all this is part of the basic information shown on the bridges displays. Barometric pressure, dew point, tendency, all you need to create a homemade forecast, which says pretty stable for the rest of the day. The wind, however, has picked up a bit, a fresh breeze has come up, but fortunately from the right direction. 

So FRAM still moves gently across the waves, while on board life goes on in a tranquil fashion; lecture in the morning (on just this topic, latitudes and longitudes), tea time in the afternoon, and outside barbecue in the evening breeze. 

Our chef Jimmy really sees to it that we are not going to loose any weight, no matter how hard we work out...

Meanwhile, the crew and staff are arranging things for the Antarctic season, be it the counting of material for the board shop or the trying of snow shoes. These are going to be our newest achievement, next season is tryout season for those.
as a highlight, the Philipino Crew invites for Karaoke in the evening. Everybody is welcome. And in the darkness of the lower latitudes the light effects are coming out real nice...

Getting used to our home

Now, imagine you go on holiday in a hotel and you decide not to leave a single time for a whole vacation. Being happy or feeling confined then depends entirely how much you like the premises, what state of mind they bring you into.

Same here, FRAM has a lot to offer, but of course you should know it. So the first two full hours of the day were spent on an extended guided tour through all the decks of our 114m long vessel. And there is so much to see: From the expedition/car deck with its multitude of Polar Cirkel Boats and expedition gear into the rather unknown recesses of the ships bowels, from the incinerator room to the engine workshop, the electronics department, the huge array of fridges to even those hidden spots like the deep store which is only accessible through a very heavy hatch that looks like the entrance to a submarine.

Even those who have been many a time with us were awed and came away with a brand-new feeling for the ship.

Well, and certainly the key difference between a crossing and a hotel stay is the fact that we are moving. I'm not referring here to the gentle rocking that is sooooo soothing and inducing a meditational state of mind, but rather to our barely perceptible progress on the map: Already this morning we were at 25 degrees North, so the countdown to the equator has certainly begun. Works are being carried out at a slightly slower pace, with no landings there is even the chance for a short break here and there.

And although if there is just water all around us, there are things happening, be it a school of dolphins suddenly popping up next to the vessel, or the slow encounter with the occasional freight liner.

Enough to talk about at tea time, where there is a casual meeting upstairs with cookies and hot drinks and friendly chatter.
And it's getting warmer, notably. The evening is so gentle that we move dinner outside, into the sunset. Now, that is something!
And all of a sudden the first full sea day is over...

Significant Moments

Many people have that dream, to go across the Atlantic once in their life. The vast expanse of water, home to countless aquatic beings, known and hidden, location of the most daring endeavors in history, source of life, birthplace of storms and all kinds of weather, has fascinated mankind since the times when Earth was flat. It is the unknown, the myths and mysteries, the danger, the beauty - but most of all it is the shear size, the unimaginable amount of water that we find intriguing. 

So today is a remarkable day, nothing shall be left behind, nothing should be forgotten, because for 18 full days we will be out at sea, a microscopic dot on a large blue screen, until eventually on November the 3rd we will reach Buenos Aires on the other side. A lot is to be done: We have to take in fuel (fill up nicely, that is, as we have 4700 nautical miles to go), loads of vegetables, fruit and fresh stuff are stored in our giant coolers, pieces of equipment are delivered and last cosmetics on the hull are done - we want to be a pretty ship even if there is no stop.

And after the emergency exercise (with our expedition leader Karin ticking off people herself), the gangway is closed, the engines start to move (can't call it rumble, really, as they are so very silent). And after dark: The very moment - the lines are cast, and the first inches of space between FRAM and pier are visible. This is it. No return. Bye, bye Europe, next stop Buenos Aires! This is a significant moment, truly.

Arrecife

Our journey goes to an end... and the crew wishes all the passengers all the best...

We are now having  our last full day on this tour with MV Fram. We are in Arrecife, Lanzarote. Tomorrow morning our passengers will leave the ship in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

This morning there were lectures about the Canary Islands, so our passengers are well prepared for these two last days of our journey. Som have learned even more, by going on one of our excurcions. One group had the excursion "Lanzarote - Yesterday & today", getting to know the "real" Lanzarote...

Another group went to the southern part of the island, visiting the Timanfaya National Park, and even had a camel ride! A bit shaking...

This evening we will have a barbeque out on deck, ejoying the warm air here in Arrecife. Since we are leaving quite late tonight, we both had the fantastic Crew show and the captains farewell coctail yesterday evening.

Agadir

As we did not reach port in Agadir before noon, there were lectures this morning in our lecture halls. Interested in Moorish architecture? The original polar vessel "Fram"? Cartography? The Golf Stream?
Well, today all passengers had a chance to learn more about it.

The city of Agadir was quiet and nearly all shops closed today, due to the celebration of AID AL-ADHA. But we were offered an adjusted city-tour, those of us who chose not to go to the beach or visit the city centre on our own.

The city-tour included a folklore show, with horses, snakes, acrobats, musicians, dancers, singers... and of course: The mint tea. Typical Morroco!

The tour also took us to an Argan Oil Co-operative, where mainly women work to extract the precious oil. 

Casablanca

"You must remember this
a kiss is just a kiss.."

Casablanca! This city which is remembered because of the film, and the song "As time goes by".
We were there today.
From now on we will also remember the city for the huge Hassan II Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world.!


Today there were just a few groups visiting the mosque, which was getting prepared for tomorrow. Then one of the most important religious holidays celebrated by Muslims - the AID AL-ADHA - will start and the moscue and the square in front will be crowded. The mosque itself can take 25.000 visitors , and the square outside 80.000. Seeing Hildes photographs from today with nearly no people, makes this quite hard to imagine.

Also the Central Market ( the souk) will be remembered!

The excursions today were the Casablanca city tour, the drive to the Imperial city of Rabat and the full day excursion with overnight in Marracech. We will meet the passengers on this tour to Marracech again in Agadir tomorrow.

Portimao

Our last port in Portugal on our tour «Migrating south», was Portimao.

After visiting the large and busy city of Lisbon, to come to this small town, was really different.

Many of our passengers had a relaxing day walking around in the small streets in town. Some enjoyed swimming, sun-bathing or a drink at the beach «Praia da Rocha», not far away from our pier.

There were also excursions for those who wanted to see more of the Algarve area. The excursions

« Scenic Western Algarve», «Jeep Countryside Adventure» and «Carvoeiro & Portimao Museum» were carried out in the morning before lunch.

We have now left Portimao, and tomorrow we will be on a new continent!  

A wonderful day in the capital of Portugal

The Monument of Discoveries could easily be seen as we were proceeding Lisbon this morning. Many of the passengers of MV Fram also went back to take a better look on this landmark on the bank of the river Tagus, after leaving the ship for the day. This sunday there was a big bicycle-race in the area, which made some trouble for the buses. But on foot, there was no problem.

Lisbon has a lot of places of interest, and today you could meet people from the ship all over the city: In the Monestary, the Cathedral, the Basilica de Estrela, the Tile museum, in the narrow and steep streets of Alfama, on the trams, on the funicular and in the city centre.

Even outside Lisbon, in the Tagus Estuary Nature Reserve, a group of our passengers could be seen bird-watching.

We are now really feeling that we are in the South of Europe: Nice, warm and sunny. Just what many of us have longed for...