Viking prides itself on being the cruise line for thinking people. Now I do not think of myself as a great thinker. People seldom accuse me of having profound thoughts. However, I do enjoy learning new things. Viking is very good about providing opportunities to learn, especially on days like today when we are at sea. No chance to get off the ship and stroll through an interesting city. Our next chance to do that is five days away.
Meanwhile, our educational opportunities today included a lecture about James Cook who traveled around the world for years. What interested me most, while looking at a map of his trips, was how he got to the orient from England. Being from the US, I envisioned him sailing west from England, down the east coast of South America, around the Horn, then off into the Pacific. Instead, according to the map, he sailed south from England, along the west coast of Africa, around the southern tip, then east into the great Pacific. He visited sites from Australia north, all the way to the west coast of Canada and Alaska. Fun fact, he made his crew members eat sauerkraut to keep from getting Scurvy. Not so fun, he had a fiery temper and ended up being beaten to death by a group of indigenous people on a remote island.
He did keep meticulous records and is credited with creating, or having created, very accurate maps of the Canadian, Alaska coastline. Meanwhile, back in the eastern part of America a little scuffle we refer to as the Revolutionary War was going on. Isn't history interesting?
No comments:
Post a Comment