Friday August 9 – At Sea

We are still rocking in the Pacific Ocean with no land in sight.  Bill went to choir and to line dancing and I watched the movie, Second Act.  It was about a woman who got a top job through fake qualifications on face book.  Not bad.

The second of James talks was entitled, Rocking or Rolling.  This refers to the method used by the locals to move these enormous statues (Moai) that they carved.  Just as we try to build taller and taller buildings today, these people built bigger and bigger Moai, probably to impress.  The university of Hawaii have experimented to show that with ropes attached to the Moai, they could move it by rocking it the way we move a refrigerator.  However, it is thought that with ropes attached, the Moai could be rolled using tree trunks.  These statues were moved over long distances and rough terrain from where they were made to their final position looking away from the sea close to the coast.  The statues were carved over a period of 600 years and had an average weight of 80 tonnes.

Just before dinner, we saw a double rainbow that began and ended in the ocean.  How beautiful nature can be.  We are now looking for the pot of gold.

Tonight we enjoyed a concert by Kuba.  We have actually seen him perform the same show in the past but he is really worth watching a second time.  He plays unusual instruments such as the Vibraphone which is like a xylophone with metal keys.  He uses two, three or four mallets to play the instrument and he finished with the Flight of the Bumblebee using four mallets.  Very impressive.

He also played the thumb piano, which is the size of a small book.  Then he performed on the Theremin.  You do not touch this instrument but move your hands gently in front and to the sides of it. Evidently it uses magnetic resonance.

Gareth aka Tinkerbell

Lorentz and Emily

The lonely Pacific