Monte Cristo:  blue, clear sky,  sea – brilliant and crystalline, but above all- a silence that I’ve never heard before. It almost seems illogical to use the verb “to hear” when you speak of silence, but it is accurate.  By now our ears are used to continuous sounds from the frantic life of the city and for me to be able to listen to total silence, interrupted only by the crashing of the waves in the distance and the songs of the seagulls, was a unique and unforgettable experience… exactly what has been demonstrated during this entire voyage.  In fact, we don’t have technology or books  that can teach us about other cultures in the same way that we discovered them during this trip. Besides the happiness to have had the opportunity to be here to help make a concrete change in the world,  I have enriched myself culturally  as well as personally during this journey.  This voyage is more than a trip in a sailboat.  It represents something more profound:  a trip inside myself that makes me understand I don’t need a life of constant stimulation in order to find the little moments of happiness. Above all, I see that with hard work and a good feelings toward everyone – despite nationality or race - we can reach brilliant results as a group.  Perhaps it is this that we should write at the end of the document that we’ll share with the leaders of our society and to the world. 

Melissa (center) with George & Anna