We have been blessed to be able to travel quite a bit over the last few decades. To explore the world and see other places and how other people live has always been fascinating to us. But what is really the fascination? Is it the places we go to, or the people we meet in those diverse places?
It seems that every activity in my life has been filled with specific types of individuals. For instance, when I had horses in my youth, the type of kids I would be around at the horse shows were similar. We loved our horses, enjoyed wearing cowboy boots, jeans, and a western hat. Traveling is no different. The fellow travelers we meet are inquisitive people who love to explore and learn about other cultures. The majority are willing to try new foods and mix in with the locals as they participate in activities that are embedded in foreign cultures. When we were planning our trip to Italy some years back, we had to choose what cities we wanted to visit. I remember clearly not wanting to spend my time visiting Rome and looking at a bunch of stones. I had similar thoughts prior to going to Israel. Sure it will be nice to see the places where Jesus walked, but in reality it is all a bunch of walls and stones left from a time gone by. It just seems mundane to me to visit something that I can look at in a book or in a video. My consistent comment on our travels is that, though we go to some interesting and beautiful places, it is the people that I remember best.
For this trip, I will have to admit, that there is no way you can experience Antarctica through a book or video. The sense of heavy quiet that I experienced in Paradise Bay will never be know by most of the world. So in that respect, this trip is very much unique. But these observations do not diminish the overwhelming experience of meeting fellow travelers from all over the world who had the same desire that we did to see this world one port at a time. We have met some very interesting couples who have shared some of their story with us. Every leg of this journey brings new people to our dinner table. Our current table is shared not only with our long time friends, Doug and Margaret, but also a couple from Argentina who are math teachers Geralda and Carola, and Eric and Suzanna who though from the U.K., currently live in Rwanda. All this leads to some very interesting conversations.
As I am writing this, I am coming up on a deadline where I have to leave to meet with my favorite group of people that we have met on this ship, our Community Group. We started a Christian Community Group with 8 people. Over the weeks we have grown to over 25 people who meet on a weekly (more or less depending on sea days) basis to share our faith and to encourage and pray for one another. That always seems to be the one constant every where we travel. There are always other believers in Jesus Christ with whom we can find common purpose and enjoy time together. So in reality is truly about the people more than the ports!