January 11-12th, 2012 – At Sea en route to Belem, Brazil
Day 6-7
The lectures have continued to be entertaining and informative. In addition to some very informative discussions on our upcoming Brazilian stops, we have enjoyed a discussion of hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons, and their relation to weather and wind movements around the earth. Fortunately, none are in our path on this voyage, at this time of year.
As I have mentioned we walk two miles on the deck every morning and have done so on cruises for years. Sometimes, based on the ship, it is on the promenade deck which is nice because it is covered, and sometimes it is on a designated track on a top deck. Either way, over the past few years I have made an observation concerning “counter walkers”. The great majority of the walkers go in one direction, counter clockwise or clockwise – sometimes indicated by a sign on the bulkhead, sometimes not. Invariably there are two or three persons out of the 50 or so walkers, going the other way. Why is this? Are they just folks who started walking, picked a direction and took off – instructions or not? Are they doing it for social reasons – they get to greet more people more often? Are they just stubborn folks who refuse to go with the herd? Do they merely enjoy being different. Speaking of the herd – why do we all go the same direction? Is it herd instinct, or are we, as I suspect, doing it for safety reasons to prevent collisions?
Someday, I may ask a counter walker why they do it – at the risk of a punch in the nose. In the past day or so, I have noticed the one or two counter walkers joined by a couple more – still not enough to challenge the majority, but the trend concerns me. Are they recruiting? Is the idea catching on spontaneously? Does it portend the end of civilization as we know it?
As you have probably observed by now, being at sea affords one the time and clarity of thought to probe life’s deeper issues.
I highly encourage you to inquire as to the motives. I wonder how many will be surprised to find that they are “going the wrong way”.
That reminds me of one of my favorite lines in a movie: Trains, Planes, and Automobiles. They are driving on the wrong side of the freeway at their imminent peril. A car on the right side rolls down their window, get their attention, and yell across with the guard rail whizzing between them “You’re going the wrong way!”. They good-naturedly humor the other driver, thank him, turn to each other, and making a coo-coo sign, say “How do they know where we’re going?”
I am growing quite concerned as the number of counter walkers increases – perhaps up to 5% currently. What will happen if they reverse the normal direction. We did cross the equator – could that be the cause? Like water going down a drain?