One thing you adjust to in this line of work is the quick change in climate that comes with the inevitable change in location. It’s a similar thing to the constant readjusting of time that occurs as we travel ever westward; every so often we gain an hour, eventually your system begins to just shrug off such changes and move on. The ship’s time after all, is whatever the Captain decides it is; technically he could decide it was 2pm in the middle of the night if he wanted to torture all of us.
But I was talking about climate.
In this case, the transition from the high heat of the Middle East to the slight (though beautifully refreshing) chill of the Mediterranean was even more sudden that we anticipated. It’s as if someone turned a massive switch over when we were half-way through the Suez Canal yesterday afternoon. Four days ago, we were hiking about in Jordon, dripping perspiration as we took in the wonders of the desert. Yesterday, three quarters of the population of the ship was experiencing the warmth of the Holy Land, this morning when we lined up to run our morning obstacle course contest, most of the team did so while wearing windbreakers and jackets to cut the chill of the sudden breeze that’s kicked up of the grey-blue expanse of the Med.
Europe, here we come.