Sea going
captains also have bucket lists. Today the
Captain made a stop at Null Island to check that item off of his list. We are on our way to Ghana and as he mentioned
moving toward Null Island, put us out of range for any pirates looking at
the potential of capturing a cruise ship. It is difficult to spot as it is very
small. In fact it is located at zero
latitude and zero longitude and no actual land exists. It is said to have a weather buoy but we did
not see one. You can
sail over and see if you spot the Buoy. From Geographic oddities. It doesn’t seem
like much of a place to visit. Granted, I’ve never actually been there, but I
think I can imagine it: the vastness of ocean, overcast skies, a heavy humidity
in the air. No land in sight, with the only distinguishing feature being a
lonely buoy, bobbing up and down in the water. It almost seems like a
“non-place,” but it may surprise you to learn that this site is far from
anonymous. This spot is a hive of activity in the world of geographic
information systems (GIS). As far as digital geospatial data is concerned, it
may be one of the most visited places on Earth! This is Null Island.
When
crossing the equator navy ships have a pollywog ceremony making sailors shellbacks.
Cruise ships have adopted the tradition with their own ceremony. In honor of the tradition the cruise staff pollywogs
were initiated. King Neptune presides and the pollywogs are made to kiss a
fish, other silly exercises and then ordered into the “sea” AKA the Lido pool. Our
favorite service desk staff Ruben is in school in the Netherlands earning his degree
for travel and tourism and this voyage was his internship.
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