At Sea, Between Greece & Sicily
Today was a day of transition, moving from Greece across the Ionian Sea to Sicily. We sailed westward all day with fairly smooth seas and sunny skies. The water was a deep blue color, signaling the lack of nutrients in this part of the Mediterranean. With over 10,000 feet of water below us and mostly level bottom topography, we weren't expecting much in the way of wildlife, but we did come upon a few groups of striped dolphins. These normally oceanic dolphins have a strong population in the Mediterranean and number perhaps as many as 100,000. This is probably the species depicted in many ancient frescoes including as far back as 4,000+ years ago in the Minoan culture of Crete. One group came in for a bit of fun, bowriding on the wave we push out in front of us.
Today was also a day of transitioning from the Greek culture to the Sicilian, and is there a better way to explore it than in the food department? Our guest chef, Joyce Goldstein, gave us an explanation of Sicilian cooking followed by a demonstration and best of all, a tasting of delicious Sicilian food. This day was perfect for recharging our batteries after many fantastic explorations in Greece, and preparation for our next focus of Sicily.
Today was a day of transition, moving from Greece across the Ionian Sea to Sicily. We sailed westward all day with fairly smooth seas and sunny skies. The water was a deep blue color, signaling the lack of nutrients in this part of the Mediterranean. With over 10,000 feet of water below us and mostly level bottom topography, we weren't expecting much in the way of wildlife, but we did come upon a few groups of striped dolphins. These normally oceanic dolphins have a strong population in the Mediterranean and number perhaps as many as 100,000. This is probably the species depicted in many ancient frescoes including as far back as 4,000+ years ago in the Minoan culture of Crete. One group came in for a bit of fun, bowriding on the wave we push out in front of us.
Today was also a day of transitioning from the Greek culture to the Sicilian, and is there a better way to explore it than in the food department? Our guest chef, Joyce Goldstein, gave us an explanation of Sicilian cooking followed by a demonstration and best of all, a tasting of delicious Sicilian food. This day was perfect for recharging our batteries after many fantastic explorations in Greece, and preparation for our next focus of Sicily.
