Life on board of the ship is not all deploying OBS instruments and testing equipment. Of course, this is the main purpose of the expedition but five weeks is a long time and, as the chief mate Élio told us during the briefing, like in everyday life you have to find distractions from time to time. So, today we will investigate what can be done on a moderately sized ship.

First of all, let’s start by listing a few things you cannot do. A quick stroll in the park? Not possible – they did not install a park on board. Leaving your workplace for a few minutes to clear your mind? Nope – everything is ship, everything is workplace.

That being said, there are many things one can do. We might not be able to pop down to the local bakery or café, but we have an excellent canteen that also serves as a place to rest and have a cup of tea or coffee — and good cake, you might already have read about that. It’s also a place to meet various people and have conversations because even though it is a not a big ship, there are multiple workplaces. Especially after over a year of home office and online meetings, seeing people around you is an unexpected but very welcome change.

If you’re like me, you sneak your little midi keyboard in and record a short song every evening to sum up the day as a sort of musical diary. With the often excellent weather conditions it was even possible to bring the setup to the deck right next to the water and enjoy the sunset while playing.

But on top of that, we have a gym on board, in case you feel like you didn’t already work out enough to compensate for the constant motion of the vessel. There is a cinema room, which we already “tested” and considered excellent. You can read books, either the ones you brought, or one of the many this ship has standing around on various shelves, but the constant motion might make it hard to concentrate.

Also, the unstable internet connection (that for a while liked to drop out every time the ship went in any other direction then west), made us to enjoy the disconnected hours by spending the time outside, sometimes spotting dolphins and whales and (in our more crazy moments) eating fish and ships.

And then, of course, there is the sea. Do you know the feeling of staring into a fireplace and even though not much might be happening it’s still entirely captivating? The same is true for the sea. Sometimes it’s rough with waves that rock the boat to the point where you wonder how we are not losing equipment by the minute. And sometimes it’s so calm that you think you’re just sitting in the middle of a small pond or on a mirror. But it does not get boring to watch. You start to recognise differences in the water quality. Different temperatures and compositions due to currents and weather conditions affect the colour and overall behaviour of the water. And every sunrise and sunset is different and every one of them is worth observing – but we leave the details of all of that for another time. Until then, we will leave you with a task: try to find a spot (it doesn’t have to be on water) to observe a sunrise yourself. Don’t take too many things to distract you, just enjoy that moment. It will make you feel better for the rest of the day.

• More by David Schlaphorst