The Trekking the Planet team of Darren and Sandy Van Soye began their journey around the world on January 28, and have now posted some updates. I have been anxiously watching their Google Live Tracker on the Trekking the Planet website and today - there they are! 

You can read the interesting story of their luggage being questioned as they boarded their ship in this post from January 31, and also see some beautiful views of San Diego as they left the mainland USA behind. My only experience on a ship was a whale watching excursion out of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and I had a seasick child to contend with. I wonder if there is less seasickness on such a large vessel as the Princess cruise ship the Van Soyes are on. 

Here is Sandy's recap of the first few days at sea and her impression of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.

They have also released Education Module #4 for Week One of the journey. This module is all about the Pacific Ocean. Did you know that there are over 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean? And that if Mount Everest were placed into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific, it would totally fit under water? The ocean voyage from San Diego, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, takes five days. They will spend a day in Honolulu and another day on the island of Kaua'i. You can appreciate the size of the world's largest ocean by realizing that it is taking their ship five days to sail from point A to point B on the globe at the left. 

In the map of the Hawaiian Islands at the right, the island with the most red is the most populated island, O'ahu. This is where the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu, is located. Slightly to the north and west of Oahu is the island of Kaua'i. We are likely to be learning more about the Hawaiian Islands from the Van Soyes.

UPDATE: February 6 - The Week 2 Module is out -Learn More About Hawaii - (I didn't know that the Hawaiian alphabet only uses 12 letters!)

You can find out even more about the Pacific Ocean from the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. For example: Did you know that it is because of the depth of the Pacific Ocean that tsunamis can reach speeds of up to 750 kilometers per hour ( as fast as a jet plane)? Or that there are 17 nations located in the Pacific Ocean? Or that the area of the Pacific Ocean is larger than all the land on Earth put together? Wow!

In my one and only trip to California I had a chance to dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean. I hope I get to see more of it someday. Have you sailed on the Pacific or seen it from the shore? Do you live in one of the Pacific nations? We have had a number of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and even Japan. Perhaps they wonder about the Atlantic Ocean the way those of us in the Eastern USA wonder about the Pacific. What a great opportunity Trekking the Planet is offering us to learn more about parts of the world we may have never seen!

Map images from CIA World Factbook.