Seascapes and Skyscapes: When viewed from the deck of a cruise ship, the sky can be a living theatre.  Celestial, meteorological, and marine phenomena visible at sea include mirages, rainbows, fiery sunsets, waterspouts, the legendary green flash, coronas, sun dogs, and other endlessly changing displays of light and color.

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Songs of the Sea: Shanties, Ballads and Hymns:  Sea songs were an essential part of shipboard life during the great age of sail.  Sea shanties originated as work songs that coordinated teamwork and relieved the boredom of long weeks at sea.  Ballads told stories of love, adventure, and the constant longing for home.  Nautical hymns metaphorically described sea journeys in religious terms and asked for Divine protection for sailors at sea.

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The Nautical Origin of Everyday Phrases:  Many common phrases have their origins in nautical history and tradition.  Colorful expression such as “fly by night”, chew the fat”, “as the crow flies”, “spic and span”, “let the cat out of the bag”, and “the whole nine yards” not only provide interesting insight into seafaring life but they continue to enrich our daily communications with each other.

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The Northern Sky:  From nacreous clouds to the aurora borealis, the northern sky contains many unusual meteorological and astronomical phenomena.  Many of these fascinating displays of light and color can be seen only in the higher latitudes of the far north.

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The Southern Sky:  According to one astronomer, all “the good stuff” is in the Southern sky.  Although many objects in the southern sky cannot be seen from the northern hemisphere, they are easily visible from cruise ships sailing south of the equator.  This description of southern sky objects is accompanied by a narrated viewing of the heavens on clear nights.

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The Hidden Beauty of Sand:  The world of sand is extraordinarily beautiful.  Individual grains come in many colors: red, green, purple, yellow, orange, black, pink, and even blue.  Sand grains also have unique shapes, varying from irregular to round, egg shaped, and star shaped.  See these shapes and colors in dozens of samples from the speaker’s private collection.   Watch sand dunes march across the desert; listen to sand dunes “barking” underfoot or “singing” in the night air; meet interesting ocean and land animals that make their home in the sand and browse through an eclectic gallery of sand sculptures.  You will never look at sand the same way again.

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Maps: The World as You Have Never Seen It:   Maps are visual representations of the world around us.  They help us describe and understand the physical, political, and social spaces in which we live.  Some maps improve our understanding of the world by showing us views of a world that never existed.  Each map is unique, and some maps even distort geography to help us find our way around the world.

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