Pacific Odyssey - Leg 5

Skipper left early for Morioka, returning at 2030hrs tonight.  He had an
amazing visit.  He met with the mayor and a group of 10 other important
people; press and camera people, a translator who stayed with Skipper all
day, the person with whom Skipper has been communicating about the visit,
the ´Sister City´ representative etc.  They were very interested in the
SALTS program and some had researched the website previous to Skippers
arrival.  After the meeting and an exchanging of gifts, Skipper was treated
to a loosely organized afternoon of the most important sights of Morioka,
plus some time to fit in some of Skippers interests which he had gained by
reading the Morioka website the day before.  They were impressed with the
fact that he knew something about their city, also that he knew Mayor Cross
and that Mayor Cross had previously seen a SALTS vessel off on an offshore.
Skipper was shown the totem pole given to Morioka as a gift.  All in all it
was a fantastic visit and a wonderful exchange between sister cities.  I
spent the day with my 6 kids wandering through the Osaka Castle Gardens,
beautiful. The blossoms were in full bloom and the smell was heavenly.
Several groups of young Japanese girls wanted to take pictures of all the
kids, it was interesting.  A group of trainees went to Himeija to visit the
biggest castle in Japan.  It is still the original castle and one can go
inside.  Trainees said it was incredible.  They were able to obtain bikes
and cycle around the property.  The weather was the warmest it has been so
far.  Mornings and evenings are very cold, but by mid-day today we were
stripping down to T-shirts and Jacob was looking for a spot in the shade.
Jose returned from a good trip to Beijing via Korea and Jordan will return
tomorrow morning.  We had Sean´s birthday supper today on the ship, his
choice, Nachos with all the fixings. Caley and Robyn made iced brownies for
desert.  Sarah B. and her watch and anyone else who wanted, went out for
desert and an evening of fun.  There was a street entertainer from San
Francisco who spoke Japanese; he was very funny and had an excellent rapport
with his audience and ´played´ them artfully, they loved him.  Trainees are
slowly beginning to organize their things, getting ready to leave the ship.
It is a very big deal; we have all been a very close family for 79 days, it
is hard to leave that.  The group that is departing is quite big, only 5
trainees are continuing on with us. We are also saying good-bye to Karen who
has been the female watch officer and nurse since Victoria.  It is difficult
to see her go; we will miss her.  Karen and Sarah B. spent the day preparing
for tomorrows final dinner.  Sarah B. and Antony are putting together a
slide show that will also be shown tomorrow evening; it is always a
highlight.  I will write all about it in tomorrows log.  Until then,
good-night, Bonice.