Travel Diary: Amsterdam Asia Pacific Cruise 2012
Day 6, Thursday (9/27/2012)
That was no typo. There was no Wednesday this week—no
September 26 at all. We crossed
the International Date Line this morning.
This is how it was explained to us on the personalized certificate
prepared for each of us individually:
“The International Date Line is
the imaginary line on the Earth that separates two consecutive calendar
days. That is the date in the
Eastern hemisphere, to the left of the line, which is always one day ahead of
the date in the Western hemisphere.
It has been recognized as a matter of convenience and has no force in
international law.
Without the International Date
Line travelers going westward would discover that when they returned home, one
day more than they thought had passed, even though they had kept careful tally
of the days. This first happened
to Magellan’s crew after the first circumnavigation of the globe. Likewise, a person traveling eastward
would find that one few days had elapsed than he had recorded, as happened to
Phileas Fogg in ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ by Jules Verne.
The International Date Line can
be anywhere on the globe. But it
is most convenient to be 180 degrees away from the defining meridian that goes
through Greenwich, England. It
also is fortunate that this area is covered, mainly, by empty ocean. However, there have always been zigs
and zags in it to allow for local circumstances. Over the years, the position of the International Date Line
has changed several times. The
most recent change in the line was in 1995 when Kiribati moved a large segment
of it to the east, so that the entire nation would be on the same side of the
International Date Line. As with
all other changes in the International Date Line, the change was made by a
government with local interests.
As a result, the line is as far East as 150 degrees, farther east than
Honolulu. The position given on
most maps is the line drawn by the British Admiralty in 1921.”
So it is a week, now since we
left Seattle, although we have not been travelling more than six days. Our first visit ashore will be in four
more days, on October 1 and I think I will be ready. I am grateful for all this time and attention to
adjust. Today I took it easy
again, walking around the ship more easily with the calmer seas. I made healthy choices again for meals,
attended a lecture on Russia, started a new scarf in the stitching group, made
an omiyage bag in arts and crafts, caught up with my friend Roberta, passed on
dessert at dinner, and got to know several new friends onboard the
Amsterdam. “Snow White and the Huntsman”
is playing in the Wajang Theater tonight, but I think I will turn in early and
try for an early start tomorrow.
One more interesting thing
happened today: While I was in the
lecture this morning our ship passed almost over an earthquake. It was something like 6.8 on the Richter
scale, but because we were on water, we only experienced a vibration through
the water. We were very safe. We had been experiencing Rock and Roll
to one degree or another for a few days, so most of us didn’t notice, but
experienced sailors noticed the difference. Those who feared tsunami were reassured that on the water
was absolutely the safest place to be in an earthquake.
Oh, and the sun was out and there
were rainbows in the spray from the waves.
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