Monday, 2/9/2009, sunny and clear. The sea is very smooth and glassy today. In the afternoon, the temperature was 33 degrees C. (91 F) For the time change last night, I did not even bother to change my watch. I just left it on CST. The ship was off the coast of Nicaragua this morning, but has been stopped since 1300. We are ahead of schedule, and marking time. Tonight, the ship will travel the rest of the way to Balboa, Panama, arriving late in the day. 1100 Land Ho! We could actually see land for a while, late this morning. Other than lights at night, it is the first land I have seen since Japan. Also saw another ship today. Did a load of colored laundry this morning. Seems like every time I dry my socks, they get a little smaller. I'm afraid they will be the size of baby booties by the time I get home. I finished reading "Pathfinders". I listed the author in an earlier post. Also finished reading "Stone Cold" by Baldacci. I have 2 more Baldacci books to read, "The Christmas Train", and "Simple Genius". They will stay behind. Tonight I will watch more of "Into the Wild". The instant decaf coffee and the dark chocolate are finished. The image today is a sea bird. There have been scores of these birds today. When they are not fishing, they rest on the Focsl rails or fore thwart. They left plenty of work for the deck crew. They fly over the water, looking for food, sometimes very low, riding the surface effect. Flying fish are the food. When the flying fish soar, the birds can catch them without getting wet, but will dive in if necessary. Sometimes the fish all jump at once, as if they are also being hunted from below. I'm very surprised that the birds aren't too fat to fly, because they were busy all day.
