As we leave Darwin Harbor so has the sun set on our adventure in Australia. We are at sea today in the Timor Sea; a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Trench marks the deepest point of the Timor Sea with a depth of more than 3300 meters (over two miles), separating the continents of Oceania in the southeast and Asia to the northwest and north. The Timor Sea is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis north of the Sunda Trench, due to its location on the Ring of Fire as well as volcanic activity and can experience major cyclones, due to the proximity from the Equator. But, not today thankfully. The sea is relatively calm and we are experiencing intermittent showers and sun.
Today we tended to some things at home (mail) via a video chat with Taylor, who is holding down the fort in Minnesota. He has been a prince in looking after our home and our dog, Remi. When he has found the need to travel to shows away from home, TJ has pitched in to watch the dog. Thanks to both of you for your support while we adventure. We also had another round of trivia and today our team was a stinker. We did not have our best round but, the next sea day we are told we can wager our points to move up in the standings. We may have to go in double or nothing to compete for the top spot. Today’s winners were the Crazy Cruisers.
I’m including a picture today of a pilot boat that appears as we reach each destination. For those of you who don’t know, this is a vessel and pilot that determine the course and speed of the cruise ship depending on currents, water depths, weather. local winds and tides. Aside from steering the cruise ship, they may also serve in the position of docking master when arriving at various harbors and ports. The Captain of the ship hands over the controls to the pilot who is familiar with the port. The attached photo was taken outside our balcony as the pilot boarded the ship so we had a bird’s eye view. I was unaware that this happens in nearly every port. The Captain typically “warns” the passengers onboard that this is happening so that we are not alarmed by the fact that a vessel is adjacent to the ship.
Fun fact for today: A picture of Australia superimposed over the United States and a bit of Canada to show the size of Australia. Seen on a map it was hard for us to envision its size before visiting. It has taken us 13 days to travel from Sydney, near the bottom right of the picture to Darwin located around the pointy tip at the top and onto the other side of the outcropping in the middle of the map. In essence, we have traveled (by ship) from east of Georgia, all the way into the top of Ontario, Canada and over to deep into the north of Manitoba, Canada, as you can see. What a surprise that was to us! The education we are getting is equally as important as the sights we have seen.
Tomorrow, we will dock in Dili, Timor-Leste. We are still undecided about our adventure there but…stay tuned. Our immigration papers were delivered to our room this morning and we will fill out that paperwork prior to arrival. Tonight is a formal attire evening so out comes the tuxedo and gown for tonight’s dinner.
