• 2 of 2 Sea Days to LA

    7. januar 2024, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ -4 °C

    Sailing the South Pacific Ocean it is getting too cool to eat outside for breakfast snd lunch.
    When Ferdinand Magellan crossed the Pacific Ocean almost 500 years ago, he dubbed it Mar Pacífico, meaning "peaceful sea." The name has remained, though those who have sailed these waters have not always brought peace. Soon after Magellan's sailing and as Europeans continued to expand their reach, five Spanish galleons carrying some 400 explorers pioneered a westward crossing, establishing one of the longest trade routes in history, which operated for 250 years. With trade came settlement and conflict whose ripple effects are still felt today. More recently, in 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed this ocean on a balsa raft he built himself in
    order to prove that ancient civilizations could have done the same.
    The Spanish Empire in the 18th Century was the largest in the world. Rulers Ferdinand and Isabella enlisted Columbus to find a westward tour to the East Indies. In 1492 he reached the Bahamas which launched an endless tide of Spanish voyages to the New World with Catholic clergy and Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits accompanied for spiritual guidance to the troops and spread their religion around the world. Teachers, doctors, scribes and cartographers also provided supporting roles to document, heal and teach along the way. Natives alliances were forged and locals mere enslaved, enlisted or killed. Settlements were established in North, South and what is now Central Americas.
    We went to the gym, played Baggo with the Red team and Trivia with our Aussie friends before lunch in the World Cafe. Paula is still sea sick - the sea is very active this leg to be sure. We will have our hull inspected and cleaned in LA as Australia and New Zealand. We have gone 5,000 nautical miles to get to LA.
    Les mer