February 7th: Pollywog to Shellback
The historical tradition of this transformation occurs when crossing the equator for the first time. It dates back to the 14th century from when it was discovered that the world was round. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers ventured further south and west without fear of sailing off the edge of the world. The excitement of sailing into the southern part of the world became a special event commemorated in a quasi religious/mythological ceremony including the dousing of pollywogs (first time crossers) with whatever liquid or muck was available on board. Then, they were tied by the ankles and submerged into the ocean. Obviously, the ceremony has been changed somewhat but the excitement remains. We are now official Shellbacks!
The cruise continues to be fun and our interests in painting, bridge, exercise and lectures continues. We’ve introduced the game of Mexican trains
to our travel partners and, yes Alec, it’s a hit just like in Belfast. We so enjoy reading your comments on our blog site and look forward to more of the same. At some point, we hope to catch up on transmitting pictures from our stops thus far. Love to all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
your trip sounds fantastic. glad to hear you are feeling better. are you posting any pictures? If so how do i download them?
keepum coming...John
I can't wait to become a shellback someday! Congratulations to you both on not falling off the world. Will you answer a question that's been plaguing me for years? Will you flush the toilet and tell me which way the water circles? Maybe it's different since you're on a ship, but I could swear it's supposed to be the opposite as the Northern Hemisphere. Please be sure to post it in your next blog or email me with the answer. It's the little things with me....heehee
Post a Comment