Last thoughts

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Two days left. That’s it.

We had some great plans for the last few days, trying to fit in a few more samplings before it’s all over. But the CTD had other ideas. It broke down just before our 100^th cast, so we can’t sample the water like we used to. We do have on-deck experiments that need to be sampled, and we’ve pumped water from various depths and gave them a go, but it’s not the same. So yesterday was fairly quiet, and instead of starting to pack, we had a lazy afternoon, celebrating Yoav and Assaf’s birthday in ease.

I guess all endings make you think of the both the past and the future, and this one is no different. I’ve been thinking a lot about our experiences in the past month and in the year before it, that was spent preparing for this cruise both scientifically and logistically. Once a week we had what we called a "C3 meeting”, C3 being “coffee, cake and cruise”, although most times it ended up as a C2, as we all forgot to bring the cake. In these meetings we would discuss, plan, draw schemes and make lists upon lists of things to do. By the time we started the cruise we naively thought we knew exactly who was doing what, which experiments we would do on each day and what we wanted to achieve from every point. But nature had other plans. It took quite a few days to find the bloom, just to discover that what we used to call a bloom and what actually is a bloom are two different things. So, with the help of higher power and the good book (see pictures), we had to readjust, and I think we got it in the end. The past two weeks have been very successful, and although most of the samples are yet to be analyzed, I know that we did the absolute best we could and, scientifically at least, we “did good”.

If you read the previous posts, you probably know that for me this cruise was an exceptional experience. I can’t remember the last time that I learned so much in such a short time period. I met the most amazing people, did things I never thought I would do, and laughed like I haven’t laughed in a very long time. The atmosphere in the lab was unique, taking into account that a month ago we were strangers to each other, and we don’t have where to escape to.

Besides the scientific team, there is the crew of the Knorr. This is the most professional group of people you will find. The way they run this ship is awe inspiring; the day-to-day things like water supply, food, electricity and all other necessities seem as if they “just happen”, even though I know they’re hard at work making sure it does. In between all this they make it possible for us do what we came here to do – sample the water in all means possible. Just watching the team deploy and recover net traps (huge sack-like traps that catch particles on their way down to the ocean bed) is incredible.



After a whole month on the Knorr, it feels like home away from home and there are many things I’ll miss once this is all over. I will miss the fresh, clean air that makes your skin feel new (or is that the water?). I will miss the constant rocking of the ship that puts you to sleep in seconds. I will miss the ocean views and constantly anticipating the “whale call”. I will miss standing on deck at midnight in mid-July, wearing a coat and sunglasses, watching the sunset. I will miss waking up to see Justin in the lab already at 04:30, he’s the only other true morning person on board. I will miss splitting the traps with Jamie and Liti. I will even miss the midnight naps, sleeping no more than 3-4 hours a night and the “one handed face wash” at 04:20 in the morning (the taps in the rooms don’t stay on, you have to use one hand to keep the water running and the other to wash your face). I will miss life without phones, money, shopping and a full length mirror. I will miss blogging, and yes, I will even miss filtering.



But most of all I will miss the people. I will miss the Bidles, the Van Mooys, the DiTullios, Ana and the Coolens. I will miss seeing the joy on Yoav and Shlomit’s face as they learn a little bit more about what it means to me a marine microbiologist. I will definitely miss Liti, my roommate and partner in crime.

I will miss working so closely with Assaf, Miguel and Uri, one of the greater pleasures of the past month.

We should definitely do this again sometime.

Daniella



PS. Next week – a short vacation in Iceland! I might blog from there, I might not; who knows what the future holds.

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Photos

Birthday cake
even though birthdays at sea don't count, there is a cake