Journey or destination?

What’s most important, the journey or the destination? It's a question way older then me. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "It's not the destination, it's the journey,"and at sea, that sentiment takes on a very real meaning. The comforts I usually take for granted on land are no longer a sure thing. You can’t simply demand what you want, you have to ask for permission. Things can be restricted or even taken away as a form of punishment. The work hours are brutal, and the exhaustion sometimes feels endless. The journey doesn’t sound particularly great.

So, it must be the destination then, the destination must be so incredible that all the hardship along the way becomes worth it.
But even here, I would argue that the destination isn’t the most important part either. Our trip starts in a foreign country and ends only when we finally make it home. If it had been the other way around, setting out from home toward an unknown land perhaps the destination would have carried more weight.

Despite all these hardships, I would still reckon the trip to be worth it. I would even go as far as to call it enjoyable. And it’s not because of the place we’re heading to, or even the idea of finishing the journey, it’s thanks to the amazing company on the boat. I realized this during one seemingly ordinary moment in the middle of a lecture, when suddenly all the students rushed out onto the deck to catch a glimpse of huge dolphins hitching a ride on the boat’s waves. I wasn’t all that amazed by the dolphins themselves, what truly moved me was how everyone acted.

First, someone spotted the dolphins. Then, without hesitation, someone sprinted down to the lecture hall just to shout, “Why the f**k isn’t Vidar on deck?” The Vidar in question isn’t me, but why was he the one they called for above everyone else? It’s simple: expertise. Vidar is almost legendary among us for his deep knowledge of species and identification. Whenever something new and exciting is spotted in the water, Vidar is the first person summoned, trusted to know what others can only guess at.

When you're confined to such a small space as a boat for as long as we have been, you learn things about each other that would otherwise remain hidden. Little by little, a deep familiarity forms, a knowing of one another that builds a stronger, tighter group connection.
This connection transforms the experience. It’s not just a bunch of people traveling together; it’s something far more profound. It's a shared journey where the bonds we forge become as important, if not more so, than the places we visit or the challenges we overcome.

This is the company I so praise. It's not just about having people along for the ride, it's about the deeper connections we create along the way. And maybe, just maybe, that's what Emerson really meant. The journey isn’t defined by the hardships or the landscape rushing past; it’s defined by the people walking or sailing beside you.

Vidar Kruse