To my fellow passengers

Yes, we are in Athens, still.  An Athens still in the midst of a civil uprising.  We have now met many of our French and Norwegian and Greek and Spanish and Swedish comerades, likewise getting ready to sail.

And we have been spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other and learning to trust each other.  Pivotal, with the oncoming trip and its challenges.  We have transitioned from our first exuberance, through a stretch of anxiety, having learned of the delays, and back into optimism.  An optimism now more sober, but crucially grounded no only in our continuing conviction that our cause is just, but also in having come to recognize the outstanding individuals among us.  The courage, the passion, the compassion which we are discovering in each other daily, hourly.  The wisdom and the experience.  The effort and the commitment...

Fifty are many people to come to know in such a short period of time, and I am sure the list will grow, but this is (in no particular order), with deep affection and awe, to Linda, Debra, Regina, Brad and Lisa.  To Anne.  To Richard Lo., and to Kit and to Hedi, and Ann, and Gail, and Ken and Gabe, and Max, and Gale, and to Donna and Libor.   To Kathy and to Kathy.... To So many, so unique, so people!