Ships and Ferries

Tenerife, 16 May, 2007: 1433. Less than two hours until I stand my next watch... and I'm spending it blogging. It is noteworthy that now is siesta time, so I'm not sacrificing time in paradise for blogging.

The sail from Rotterdam to the Canary Islands is over and the Africa Mercy is in one piece, barely. Things proved by this trip (I was already aware of these things, but I'm only a little indian, and I came around a little to late to influence any decissions...):

1. This ship is a ferry.
2. Ferries are made for coastal operation.
3. Ships sail the high seas.
4. Ferries do NOT sail the high seas.

We had to cross the Bay of Biscay, a notoriously rough section of sea just south-east of the English Channel on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. When we did, we were very fortunate to encounter only moderate weather, and the ship actually handled a bit better than I had expected. However, most of the offices were totally wrecked, two tables bolted to the deck in the mess room broke free, and about 2/3 of the crew weren't seen for a few days. I can only assume that it was because they were white-knuckling the porcelin rim. But we're here, and I seriously doubt that this ferry will ever go above 40 degrees north again (well I doubt that it should. It probably will, due to the absolute vitality of public relations...)

Tenerife has been great, eating outside, climbing small mountains that over look oceans and small villages and the ship... I could probably live here. My Spanish would definately get a lot better. To my supprise, it is pretty good already. I haven't had much trouble at all finding things, getting what I want for a meal, getting directions. We're leaving here tomorrow and that's okay with me because I am ready to get to Africa. I'm looking forward to it a lot. There is a lot of work for me on the ship, but when (or should I say if...) things quite down onboard, I hope to get to spend a fair amount of time ashore working with locals. I think it would be great to get to work with community development services and with the outreach department. Dig some wells, talk to people about Jesus... that just sounds right up my alley. I've got about six months left before I come back to the states, I think that I've settled on a job, but I'm not going to let everyone know what it is yet, because I'm not totally sure. I've been discussing it with a few people onboard, and I think that I'm making the right move.

Well, its 1457, I'm going to do something else for a half hour before watch.

See ya.