Masked Booby (Photo Credit: Kurt Cotoaga)
We will be at sea for the next two days and then some. What in heavens name does one blog about for two whole days when there’s nothing out there except an extensive supply of horizon?
Actually I do have one cool item. At 7 this morning I listed my first ever masked booby. For many people who will read this, this is not a major turn-on. Or even a minor one. But I’m jazzed. The bird coasted along on set wings slightly faster than the ship is going, which is 18 knots. It flapped a few times, zipped out ahead of the ship, and crossed her bow.
Boobies, the Sulidae, are pelagic birds shaped into points in all four directions. The head and neck are extended in flight and the bill is long and sharply pointed. Extending out back is a fairly long, sharply pointed tail. So far you have a double-ended pub dart. Like many other oceanic birds that are fast flyers, boobies have long, pointed wings. The ends of the wings, the face, and the tail are all black; the rest is white.
Most nature shows mentioning tropical seas show you footage of boobies. Usually it’s the red-footed booby with strikingly red webbed feet and short legs, or the blue-footed booby. A lovely sky blue. Masked boobies have black feet; I suppose, considering the mask, that these are the equivalent of argyle socks, and if you caught that vague reference, shame on you.
I have discovered the Commodores’ Lounge, clear up on deck 10 forward, with windows all around. What a great place to read with binoculars close at hand. From there I observed two more masked boobies who circled in front of the ship a few minutes before sailing onward.
Having already dispensed TMI on boobies, now what?
Random thoughts:
Cruise ships are cash cows for ports. They bring people spending money and then sweeps them away out of your hair. And moorage fees. It costs something like $115,000 for the Queen Victoria to tie up in San Juan for a day.
Nearly all the male servers on board are young and virile. Nearly all the male guests are, uh, er, not.
Other thoughts:
It is always darkest before the dawn unless the moon is passing third quarter.
Heroes never die, except in real life.
I wonder what I’ll blog about tomorrow.