First Land Spotting

The MV Explorer's captain graciously (and slightly) diverted the ship so everyone aboard could view land--the first siting since Semester at Sea (SAS) departed Halifax on June 16!

By 7 p.m. shipboard time (19h00), the islands of Corvo and Flores were in clear view. An added bonus was a quick lesson about the islands from SAS's geology teacher Dan Horns:

• These two islands are volcanic and part of the Azores, a Portugese archipelago in the Atlantic.
• The islands sit aside the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a submarine ridge that separates the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

So, upon viewing and passing the islands, Semester at Sea's summer 2009 voyage officially entered Europe.