Position: 42 degrees, 21 minutes north; 154 degrees, 55 minutes west 127 nm day
Waves, rolling down from somewhere beyond. Once set in motion, now unstoppable. One, then another, then the next times thousands rolling under us, hour after hour, day after day. In the distance something breaks this symmetry.
The albatross.
At once recognizable for its soaring grace. Great, narrow wings sculptured by nature seeking perfection through the generations. Toward us it sails. Great sweeping tracks as it soars down into the valleys between waves, gaining energy from wind and water. Then with a tilt of its head it flows to the top of a crest and with an imperceptible command instantly tips astonishingly on its side – wings now vertical – one delicately poised at the wave top, feathers caressing the rippled water, the other reaching to the sky. A pirouette! A bridge between sea and sky! Then as seamlessly as before, perhaps laughing with the joy of such pure flight, the albatross effortlessly levels its huge wings and soars off down the next wave and is gone as suddenly as it appeared.
The ocean rolls on.
And, in other news today…we saw a spectacular “green flash” at sunset. Possibly the best and most distinct one either of us has ever seen. The sun had fully set when back up came the flash of bright green. Most spectacular.