Day 45

From Norfolk to Charleston: Weathering the Storm

The journey from Norfolk, Virginia, to Charleston, South Carolina, was a bit more challenging than expected due to the unforeseen nor’easter storm that dumped a tonne of rain on this beautiful city. Undeterred we donned our rain gear and toured the flooded streets of this low lying historical town. We also took this opportunity to upgrade Calum's camera (hence the great new photos) and found a local spot to sample the famed she-crab soup.

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Exploring the Everglades

Luckily, the weather broke as we arrived in Ft Lauderdale Florida. Here we were thrilled to explore Everglades National Park by airboat! In the park we came across Great Egrets, Blue Herons, yellow-bellied slider turtles and of course, mucho alligators! After the tour we dined in a local diner where we munched on catfish, frog-legs and gator bites. Keeping it Keto!

Chilling Out in Cozumel

Our next stop was the beautiful island of Cozumel just off the coast of Cancun Mexico. This island was settled by the Maya over 2000 years ago. Most of the passengers who got off the ship explored the deep Mayan cultural roots here but not us. Calum decided to spend the day scuba diving in these crystal clear waters and exploring an ongoing reef restoration project. Myself, I found a local cantina and sampled some mezcal and sopas.

Seasonal Southern Bird Migration

We are currently sailing just off the coast of Nicaragua. The bird life we have seen from the ship has been incredible. At this time of year, hundreds of millions of birds are migrating towards South America and apparently, our ship Octantis, is a well known rest top! We have three resident Peregrine Falcons that constantly circle the ship at sea watching for unsuspecting song birds. The boobies are out now too! No, not those kind. Masked, Brown and Red Footed Boobies travelling along side us scooping up flying fish from the ship's wake. Yesterday, we were amazed to see a rare Green Heron perched on the stern for nearly two hours. Calum and I initially dreaded the doldrums of these days at sea but as it turns out, the sea days keep us very entertained. We've even set up a WhatsApp group with our fellow "polesters" to alert each other of wildlife sightings from the ship! Never a dull moment.

We are looking forward to tomorrow where we will enter the Panama Canal and venture from the Atlantic to the Pacific as we sail towards the equator and beyond!

Stay tuned!