Nostalgic Ocean Shots

Approaching Monrovia, Liberia

I loved coming into Liberia by ship. It is such a dramatic experience compared with what is often a sterile airport arrival. As ship crew we were all out on deck to watch the approach of Monrovia (Liberia's capital) early Tuesday morning. The atmosphere was humid and hazy and all the pictures that I shot appear black and white (although they are full colour). It looked and felt like olden days where inter continental travel was done by ship and sometimes took weeks to reach a destination. There was no feeling of immediate arrival or of immediate escape or departure.

Here we are approaching the dock that Liberia allows us almost exclusive use of. Liberia (liberty) is Africa's oldest republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighbouring Sierra Leone (along with destabilizing much of Western Africa). Although founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is mostly made up of indigenous Africans, with the slaves' descendants comprising 5% of the population. The American freed slaves modelled Liberia after the United States, including their flag (right). The Monrovia port is filled with sunken ships and I have been told is quite a steering maneuver to get a ship to the dock in such shallow waters with obstacles. Here is a picture of a half emerged ship that sits near the dock we occupy.

Entering the Equatorial Zone

As we were 5 days at sea we basked in a wonderful air conditioned atomospere inside the ship. But as we neared the equator something unexpected happened. It grew hazy outside. Now I was expecting heat but I did not expect humidity so thick you could literally see it in the air. If you went out on deck for a time you would actually become damp. It was magical.
It was hard to take pictures as my camera kept fogging up.At night Nigel and I would go up on deck and look at all the stars. It was amazing to be out on the ocean with no land mass in sight (and no light pollution) and be able to see the bright stars. We spent a late 2 hour shift on pirate watch. It was equally fascinated by the dark corners people hid in order to get a private spot on the upper most deck in the dark. Quarters are tight on the ship.
These are some of my friends from the galley. They keep the kitchen bilingual (they are from French speaking Guinea). They are the nicest people to work with. I have never seen anyone scrub 20 large oily bacon pans and still have a smile on thier face! Unfortunately for me they are only in the galley for the sail...their real jobs are land based projects that the Mercy Ships do in Liberia. Did I mention there are a lot of nurses in the kitchen at the moment too?

Ocean Voyage

We had a smooth sail. 5 days at sea. It took a day or two to get my "sea legs". Before that I was walking into walls as the ship tilted.
To avoid sea sickness Nigel decided we would take advantage of the drugs available for crew on board. There was a small white pill for the days and a larger yellow one for nights. The difference apparently was the large pill had more of a sleeping effect. We took a day pill and the same evening took a night one. We slept 10 hours and could barely drag ourselves out of bed in the morning for breakfast. We were so drugged that we went straight back to bed for several more hours. We remained half conscious until a day and a half later. I swore I wouldn't take anymore.
Which brings me to my the astonishing array of drugs I am now taking since being married to an anaesthetist. Me: anti drug and au natural! I am on steroids, anti-malarial, anti side effects for the anti-malarial, sea sickness, and vitamin deficiency.