We're off of the coast of Portugal, and the engines are back on, but we enjoyed a pleasant sail yesterday.  The weather is warming, and the sea is in a much more pleasant mood than what we had just a couple of days ago in the Bay of Biscay.  We don't have a thermometer on any of the sea water intakes, but the water that washes over my feet when I go on deck is pleasant now rather than numbing.  I also notice other signs of warming, like the watermaker making potable water slightly faster because the tiny pores in the membrane open up as the sea water temperature increases.  This allows me to fill our water tanks in less time, but at the expense of slightly saltier water.  The minute amount of extra salt isn't detectable by taste.  While at sea we are still enjoying better drinking water than we would get if we bought bottled water.

Last night was clear and dark.  It was great for stargazing, and I stayed up late enjoying the view.  Venus was bright enough to cast a path on the calm water, and there were a few bright shooting stars to give me even more reason to keep my eyes turned skyward.

On nights like that I can't help but think about how many people live their whole lives in cities and never get to see the natural beauty of a dark, starry night.  I am always disappointed to go outside on a clear night in a brightly lit town or city and look up only to see a few dim points of light in a black sky.  Those who only ever seen such a view must be terribly unimpressed by the sky at night, and probably don't give a thought to what they are missing.  I know a few people who couldn't care less about ever seeing a really great view of the stars.  They were brought up with 24-hour lighting in the streets and buildings that they have always been surrounded by.  They are used to it, and aren't impressed by descriptions of what the heavens look like when the soft light of the stars isn't overpowered by nearby high voltage area lighting.  Compared to seeing the latest movie or going to a club taking the time to look at the stars just doesn't seem very exciting to them.

A lot of the beauty of nature is easily overlooked.  It seems almost like a screening test to me- a condition of admission.  If you're not ready to appreciate something like a starry night, then it won't be a moving experience.  If you're not looking for it, you can easily miss the delicate shades of green in a clear sunset between where the golds and peaches fade into deeper and darker blues, the first stars as they come out, or the smudges of light from the billions of stars more distant than those that are close enough to be distinguishable from each other.  Being out on the ocean on a small boat surrounded by the beauty of nature we have a greater opportunity to witness these things, but it is still possible to overlook the subtle details that really make them spectacular.

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