17 March 1998
We left Cape Town at 5 pm, getting a lift with Paddy (in a combi filled with kids). The trip to the airport was really very uneventful. The only excitement was Paddy and his very erratic driving dispersed with his non stop chatter about his job and his caravan.

Our plane was leaving for Heathrow at 21h30 so we had a bit of a wait in the airport. Gavin and I must have had the worst two seats in the entire airplane, 40 E and 40 F. That is at the back, the middle two seats in the centre row--ugh. To top it off Gavin sat next to a urine and body odour smelly old man. I was not much better, with the "tallest" man in the plane sitting in front of me, i.e. the movie screen was completely blocked from any hope of seeing a movie.

The plane took off and our journey finally began. All the usual things happened, with all the safety instructions, etc. For supper we both had what was meant to be chicken lasagna. Gavin and I swapped seats so that I could watch the movie and he slept. I finally tried to get a little sleep myself only to be rudely awoken by a set of gnarly fingers groping my leg and stealing my blanket--you guessed it, the old man.

I didn't sleep much, so I ended up watching the second movie too. Gavin got up to walk around so I stole my old seat back (away from the smelly, gropy old man). For breakfast we were served a "pancake" sah foot, that was just some soggy crumbles of flour and bread crumbs. I didn't eat much of the breakfast--only the stuff I could recognise, e.g. the yoghurt and the bread roll.

We landed at Heathrow at 07h00, almost exactly 11 hours after we had left Cape Town. We then started our tour of the airport trying to find the terminal and the Scandinavian airline desk to fetch our tickets. A long walk later we found where we were meant to be. Once we had checked our bags in we had some breakfast and looked in all the extremely expensive shops and of course bought nothing.

Our next plane left at 10h15 for a town called Stavanger. We were served lunch on this plane, at last something decent. We had shrimps and salmon - wow. There was nothing to see out the window as it was very overcast. We landed at Stavanger at about 1pm. We were met there by the ship's agent and taken to a little town called Kvinesdal (about 2 hrs drive). Norway is covered in a thin layer of the last of their snow. It is a very beautiful, mountainous country.

Kvinesdal has just one berth, apparently many places are the same. The ship has to come up the fjord to dock and off load its cargo. We arrived on Sunday, the ship had not yet arrived. This meant we had a night in the local hotel. And what a hotel. It was like being in Faulty Towers, a really strange little place run by a not-so-friendly man. But none of this mattered, all we wanted was to be able to sleep on a bed after the 24 hours of travelling we had just endured. Being a Sunday nothing was open so we just walked around looking in the shop windows. I must add that it is freezing here (about 5 degrees at its warmest), but it has not snowed since we have been here.

On Monday we looked in every shop in the village before lunch. Being a small place there isn't much to buy and it seems rather expensive. We did buy Dafydd two flies for his fishing. Norway is quite big on its fly-fishing. I have even seen the holes cut in the ice for winter fishing. We have been told that there are many salmon farms in the fjords and lots of trout too.

The ship arrived here at 5pm. We boarded and had to spend the night in the owner's cabin with just a very narrow single bed - a rather squashy night we had. The chief that Gavin is relieving has retired and left about three hours ago (today being Tuesday). We moved into our own cabin and I have unpacked all our stuff into the cupboards. I am the only woman on the ship and will be for the whole trip. According to the old chief and the captain everyone is very pleasant, I will just have to wait and see. We are meant to be leaving this evening, which is a pity. I was hoping to leave in the daylight so I could watch the cliff sides of these very narrow fjords drift by and maybe get some photos. We are going to another similar port here in Norway and should be there for about three days. I hope the town is not as far as this one. I would like to go and see what it has to offer. After that port we are sailing down the North Sea to Hamburg (should be there for about 5 days) and then through the Mediterranean Sea to Turkey (also about five days). After that no one knows.

18 March 1998
It is now 8 am and the ship is rocking all over the place. We finally left at 2 pm last night. I didn't know that we had left until the engines had started. The journey out of the fjord felt like we were floating very smoothly. But now that we are in the sea we are rocking and rolling all over the place. It almost feels like a very, very rough plane ride only with a great deal more rolling. I have not been sick yet but am now beginning to feel a little queezy. Gavin says the ship always feels like this but that the sea is a little rough.

It is now 12h30. I have slept most of the morning away, feeling very sick. I have not actually vomited but have certainly felt like it at times. I have just spent the last hour on the bridge, we have just got the pilot on board and are preparing to go into the next fjord. The movement of the ship has improved and I am feeling a bit better. While I was on the bridge I thought it was snowing but it turned out to be hail, never mind it was great to be in the fresh, freezing air.

Much later again (16h30) and at last the ship has stopped rolling as we have just gone into the fjord. The captain says we will probably dock at midnight. It is now only 2 degrees outside and I am sure it is going to get a lot colder as we are within the arctic circle. Tomorrow I am going to go into the town of Tyssedal to buy some snacks for Gav and me. The next leg of our journey probably will also be really uncomfortable as the holds will be empty. We are collecting scrap in Hamburg. There is the possibility of going through the Suez after Turkey. I am hoping so for the unique experience. Gavin is hoping not, he says that this is where he has seen the grappling hooks being thrown onto the deck (in a place called Port Said).

There is an exercise bike on the ship. I tried to find it a little earlier with no luck, so I will have to wait for Gavin to show me where it is. At the moment he is in the engine room and I don't know when he'll be back.

19 March 1998
We went into Tyssedal today. Absolutely nothing to see. Only about two shops with nothing special in them, so all we bought were some snacks for the ship. Looking out the window (port hole) I can see it is snowing and there are mountains on either side of the fjord, a photo opportunity I think.

20 March 1998
Today we are being taken to the hotel for lunch. Apparently the place is world famous for its food. I hope it is as good as I am told. Today I have spent the morning cleaning the cabin. I haven't finished yet. I am giving a top to bottom scrub, I am sure the place has never been cleaned properly. The steward has given me cleaning stuff and now our cabin is my job to clean. I am also going to sort out the library-come-video room sometime.

21 March 1998
The captain got the agent to post all my thank you letters, I hope that they all reach the right people. We have now left Tyssedal (about 30 minutes ago) and are on our way back down the fjord. At least one conciliation is that we will be in the North Sea while I am sleeping. At any rate the weather apparently is good so I have nothing to worry about.

Our lunch yesterday (in the famous restaurant) was fabulous. I had a shrimp salad and grilled salmon. I don't think I have ever eaten such beautiful fish in my entire life. It literally melted in my mouth. Gavin and I also bought a very ugly troll as a menstoe (memento). I have been racking my brains trying to remember all the things that are unique to Norway.

Apparently trolls are very much part of Norwegian legend, etc. The roads here are also very strange. The country is extremely mountainous and so they have hundreds of tunnels. These tunnels are just raw holes with no supporting concrete inside. As an example, in the 6 km drive to Tyssedal we went through two tunnels, one must have been all of 2km long. All the houses are made of slats of wood, no burglar bars and no crime. Apparently there is only a 3 percent unemployment rate and if you have worked for at least 10 years the state will look after you. Water is free and electricity very cheap, the reason being the country has so much water and all their electricity is produced through hydroelectric power.

The pushing and pulling of the tugs cannot be felt at all. At the moment the whole cabin is shaking and vibrating because the engine is now moving us along. When we are at sea everything slides around if it is not tied down. That includes humans. For clumsy people like me it is quite hard just to keep standing up let alone walking or trying to aim a tapestry needle into the right hole. But then again I don't have much experience of calm sea.

24 March 1998
We are now in Hamburg. The journey here was excellent (hardly even a swell). It seems strange to be in Hamburg, which isn't even near the sea. It took us about 5 hours from the river (Elbe) mouth to the harbour. As you sail up the river a band plays the national anthem of the ship, mostly for the people on the beach I think. The houses along the river are huge, probably holiday homes. But in my imagination I thought of them as the summer houses of the Nazi militia. The harbour is the biggest I have ever seen. There must be at least 200 berths. We arrived here yesterday evening and so haven't seen the city yet. Gavin and I are hoping to go this afternoon. He is going to take me to the Reeperbahn (the red light district). Apparently it is really not what it used to be what with aids having wiped out all the "red lights." It is still very cold, it went to -6 last night. But there is no snow here and the sun is shining outside. I would hate to live in such a cold place because you can only spend about 2 minutes outside before you start freezing to death.

The cranes are busy loading the scrap, I couldn't understand why scrap was disliked so much, now I know. The cranes just drop the stuff into the holds. Not only does it make a mess, the metal must damage the hold to a certain extent. Dad you would be proud of me, I rode the bike for 20 minutes yesterday. It is one of those ones that you pump the handle bars too. As you can imagine my bum bones are sore today. I haven't been able to use the bike until now because the crane drivers were sleeping in that room. In Norway the harbour hires crane drivers on contract and they stay on the ship. These ones were from England. They only left the ship once the job was done. The berths in places like Tyssedal only see about 300 ships a year and they say it is too expensive to have a team of crane drivers all the time. So the contracting company has to provide the crane drivers.

25 March 1998
Last night we went into town. We spent most of our time at a fun fair. Gavin is like a little boy on all the rides. I went on a rollercoaster with 5 loops. After that we went to the Reeperbahn. The street is lined with sex shops and bars. We went into a bar, boy did my eyes bulge. The waitresses were very obviously more than waitresses. Simon (technician) was very embarrassed when one paid attention to him (I think mostly because I was there). As you can imagine I never let Gavin out of my sight and held on to him for dear life.

26 March 1998
Gavin and I went into town again last night and back to the fun fair. We once again walked along the Reeperbahn but no excitement happening. Gavin being Gavin decided we could walk back through the tunnel (the tunnel goes under the harbour). You take a lift 30m underground and then walk through this long tunnel, then 30m up in another lift and you are on the other side of the river. Anyway there were no taxis on the other side (I had said there wouldn't be), so we had to walk back to the ship. It took us about 3 hours. The strangest thing happened on the way. A man stopped, we thought that he was going to offer us a lift. Gavin told him where we were going so he gave us directions and drove off. Later he came past again, stopped and told us that we had about 300m to go. The man must have gone right to the ship and didn't give us a lift. The 300m never seemed to end so we decided to take a short cut and ended up in a warehouse yard, so our very long walk also involved some sliding under gates.

27 March 1998
Yesterday we did not go ashore. But today I went on my own. I got a lift with the agent. There is a very old church that we thought had been burnt and was now being fixed. But the agent tells me that the church was bombed in the second world war, by the British, and has never been fixed. It is a symbol of the war and the only work done on it is to make sure it doesn't fall down completely. There is not really anything unusual about Hamburg, it could be any old European city. The people seem rather strange looking, they dress funny and have funny hairstyles and fashions. I bought Gavin a pair of shorts (he didn't bring any) and I also bought a sewing pack. The pack has a printed pattern on a white tablecloth, the pack includes embroidery string, etc. Something to do for the 9 day trip to Turkey.

28 March 1998
Today we left for Turkey at 03h40. Well that is the time Gavin was called to try to fix the hatches that would not close. The sea has been really calm today so I have spent the day painting and doing my tapestry.

29 March 1998
Well today has been rather boring, Just sitting around doing nothing, again wonderful sea. It is rather foggy and overcast but apparently that gives the calm sea. Clear days bring wind and swell.

30 March 1998
Today we are rolling around a lot, I have been feeling a little sick so I rode the bike for 30 minutes and am feeling a little better after my shower. A very loud bell has just gone off and given me a huge fright. When alarms go off I poop myself wondering what is going on. Gavin only laughs at me and tells me to relax, I hope he is right.

31 March 1998
Nothing much happening, just rolling around like crazy. I did not get to see the Normandy coast or the Cliffs of Dover or the Bay of Biscay (Bay of Biscuits - Gavin calls it) due to bad visibility. It doesn't seem as if I will see Spain either. The captain says everyone wants to see the Bay of Biscay and it is always very rough. He says I have been truly initiated to bad sea and I have now got my sea legs and won't be sick anymore. Actually I have not vomited once, but have felt rather uncomfortable at times.

1 April 1998
I did not sleep a wink last night, I spent most of the night clutching the side of the bed so I wouldn't roll right off. We have a huge bed so decided to sleep with our heads facing the starboard side and feet facing port. The theory was that way we wouldn't roll sideways off the bed (instead we would go head or feet first - hee hah). None of this seems to worry Gav, he says he slept badly because he woke up three times - what a pleasure. The sea is really rough again, just picture me trying to wash clothes in the bath with a wet floor and trying not to fall over at the same time. Not a pretty sight I must tell you. Even typing is an act for the talented, I keep having to aim my fingers at the right keys and still I miss. It doesn't seem as if I am going to see the Portuguese coast either, maybe when we go into the Mediterranean I will see a little more. There is still no news of where we are going to after Turkey. I haven't seen any dolphins yet but I suppose that I need to be outside to see and the water is too rough to be outside - I would be scared of being washed over the side, the water does splash over the ship and drenches everything.

2 April 1998
Today we entered the Mediterranean Sea, and yes I did see the Rock of Gibraltar. I imagined it to be a rock in the middle of the sea, but of course it is a rock which is an outcropping of Spain. I took a photograph, but I don't know if it will be any good. I also got a bit of a history lesson from the captain. Did you know that the rock is British and when the Brits and Spaniards were at war the Spanish refused to supply water to the inhabitants on the rock?

There are also red bummed monkeys (I think I was being had on this one, but I'll tell you anyway). There bums are red from sliding down the rocks - should I laugh? I'm not sure. I spent some time sitting in the sun today as it has been the first really warm (pleasant) day.

3 April 1998
It's still early, Gavin put the air conditioning on yesterday and now the cabin is like a fridge, so I will definitely have to get my deck chair and sit on the deck.

4 April 1998
Today we had a fire drill. When the alarm went off I had to get my life jacket and go to the bridge. Once everyone was there we were shown how to contact someone if the ship was sinking and how to use radar flares, etc. We then had to go to the life raft and we were told how to release it into the water and get into it. We also had a braai last night, really very nice. A good change from the usual hum drum of day to day living on the ship. We are expected to arrive in Turkey on Tuesday 6 April, but we are going to be at anchor until the 13th. All the guys are planning on fishing in that time. What a pity we are not allowed to jump over the side for a quick swim.

5 April 1998
It's Sunday today and for a moment we thought it was Easter, but I think that is next Sunday. Today I got down on my hands and knees and gave the floor a good scrubbing. It is really hard to keep the cabin clean. All sorts of rubbish keeps finding it's way in. I am envious of the next chief who gets this cabin, by that time it will be spotless. The Mediterranean is still very calm and warm. We have sailed past Algeria and are now going past Tunisia and Malta. By tomorrow it should be Libya's turn.

6 April 1998
Today I have done the laundry, I have asked Gavin to buy the ship/me a washing machine. He says he tried in Hamburg but there wasn't anything good. So I hope he manages in Turkey. We passed Greece and Sicily today. Apparently there was an earthquake in Italy today.

7 April 1998
We are due to arrive in Turkey in 2 hours. But this doesn't mean much as we will be at anchor until the 13th. We are expecting three South African guys to arrive today to do an internal audit. Gavin says it's pathetic because these men have never sailed and so go by the book. They don't understand or want to understand that sometimes things have to be improvised. Anyway I have to be pretty scarce while they are in our cabin. The steward and the captain are both getting off, so there will be a bit of change in the company we keep, i.e. the captain.

Basically my day to day routine is: get up at about 7:30am and go to breakfast. Breakfast is toast or cereal or egg of some kind or omelets or all of this together. After breakfast Gavin goes to the engine room for about 1 hour. In this time I make the bed, sweep and mop the floor, open all the curtains, wash the laundry and turn the bathroom into a wash line. By this time Gavin is usually back and I get kicked off the computer. I then read or do some other hobby I have in the cupboard (I have finished the paint by number, quite a feat on a rolling ship). At 10 o'clock Gavin usually starts to smack his lips, i.e. tea time. So I make tea and we sit for a while. Gavin then goes back to the engine room and appears back before lunch (12 o'clock). During this time I use the computer, to write letters or play games or type something else. I have recently been making a recipe book (all very smart looking), but that is now finished. My next task is to organise the book and video room. This involves numbering all the videos and making a typed list of what is available. I think I will do this when the new captain arrives, so I can ask him rather than being in the middle when he arrives and he thinks I am interfering. Anyway at lunch time we go to the saloon to eat. Lunch usually consists of a stew or curry, salads and cold meat. So I have a roll or some salad. Then we come back to the cabin and Gavin spends the afternoon working. I do hobbies until 3 pm which is the tea making time. After tea I go to the gym and ride the bike and use the rowing machine, if the sea is calm I will also run around the deck a few times. By this time it is usually nearly dinner time. So we bathe and then have a drink with the captain. Supper is a white table cloth and uniform affair and we get served by the steward. After supper we normally watch a video or I read and Gavin works. Then it is bed time and the routine begins again the next day. I try to walk around a bit and spend some time on the bridge if there is anything interesting to see. The captain or the mate will show me where we are on the map and usually have some interesting things to tell me. But I can't be bugging them all the time.

8 April 1998
The audit guys are a bit of a pain, but the ship has to follow certain safety measures or it won't be allowed to trade in some places, i.e. America. The captain and the steward went home today, I am really envious of them at the moment. Bob (captain) said I will always wave the people good-bye with feelings of jealousy, but my time to go home will come soon enough.

9 April 1998
The Cape Town people have gone and now we can settle down again. I am not really sure if I like the new captain, he is not as friendly as Bob and seems only to want to talk to Gavin. So I suppose I won't be getting all the interesting information about places as we sail past them. We are still at anchor and are going to be here for about a week. The crew are all fishing off the back of the ship, but so far have only caught very small goldfish type things, mackerel I think. I spoke to you on the phone last night and must admit I felt a little homesick. One of the Cape Town men offered us the use of his cell phone hence the call. It's funny how all the things I thought of asking just left my head when I actually heard your voices.

10 April 1998
Today is Good Friday so we are being given the traditional Cape food for this day - pickled fish. I don't think that it will be too nice, so I will just have a marmite roll. The chef has also made hot cross buns for the occasion.

11 April 1998
Still at anchor and not much happening, we had a braai tonight which was a good change from the routine. The fishing guys are still only catching small fish. An eel has been caught as well as a tiger shark (about 30cm long). The life boats were tested today. A whole lot of the crew had to get into the boat and buckle up (with life jackets and hard hats on). The door to the raft is closed and from inside a handle is pulled. The boat swings over the side and falls into the water, a rather bumpy and hair raising ride. The mate then started up the engine to go for a little ride, unfortunately he drove over a rope which got stuck in the propeller. One of the deck hands was very quick to jump into the water to untangle the rope. Mind you the water is only 16 degrees (a little cold for a comfortable swim). Eventually they had to cut the rope off to get it free. They then putted around the ship. All the crew had to climb up a rope ladder back onto the ship - no thank you. Only three people remained in the boat, the boat had to be lined up with the winch and then winched back into its place. The other one was tested in the same way. Gavin says that all one does is move away from the sinking ship and drop anchor. That way you will be found because the distress signal tells the rescuer where the distressed ship is. So logically one should try to stay as close to where the ship to be found. It is highly unlikely that you will be found if you set course for land in the life boat. Anyway there are only 90 liters of petrol so you aren't likely to get very far.

13 April 1998
Still at anchor, but now that all the Easter and Muslim holidays are over we should be going alongside tomorrow - according to the agent. But he says that there is a small chance that we will berth, which probably means that we won't.

14 April 1998
Still at anchor and waiting, waiting. Gavin says that if we are here long enough that we should try to hire a motorbike and do some sight seeing. I hope we can. The nearest town to here is called Aliaga (apparently just over the hill). The bosun (he is in charge of the ship's deck and has to keep everything on the deck in order) tells me that there is a big city about 60km away called Izmir. He has been here before, he says that last time they hired a bus to go to Izmir for the day. It costs about 80 dollars for the bus so the more that go to town the cheaper it becomes for each person on the bus. The bosun also tells me that a leather jacket costs about 50 dollars. Not too bad I think.

15 April 1998
Still at anchor but we should go in this evening. Apparently we have been at anchor for so long because the scrap has not been paid for. The harbour will not off load until the cargo is paid for. So we could be here for ages.

16 April 1998
We berthed at 7'oclock last night. But only 7500 tons have been paid for so will be off loaded. We have 40 000 tons of scrap on board. We went to Aliaga today, what a dump. Everyone lives in a flat. All the building are these square things (about 5 storeys high) with washing hanging off the balcony. It seems to me that these people are very poor. The chandler (buys stores for the ship) took us to lunch. We had a thing they call a kebab. It consists of a platter of different fried meats and rice. It was rather nice. We were also given a cup of "milk", it was disgusting, tasted like sour yoghurt come cream. Later we had some Turkish tea - very nice. It gets served in tiny hour glass shaped glasses, and you drink it black.

17 April 1998
Today most of the guys are going to Izmir, Gavin is staying here. So we will go another day. I am too scared to go on my own the first time, but once I have gone once with Gavin and see how everything works I will possibly go by myself. We are going to be here for about a month so there will be lots of time to go ashore.

18 April 1998
Today we went to Izmir. It is a huge city, just covered in these blocks of flats with laundry hanging off the balconies. We walked around the city centre for a while to see what was available, mostly: clothes, leather shoes, leather handbags, gold jewelry, rugs and sunglasses. We took a ferry to an area called Konak where we were told there was a bazaar. We had hardly arrived when we were accosted by a Turkish man saying we must look at his carpets. So we followed him to the shop, were served tea and were shown some really lovely carpets but all very expensive (about 800 dollars for silk wall hanging). I wish we could get one, maybe we will. Anyway we walked around (hundreds of people crushing us on every side) and eventually bought a pair of leather shoes each, a pair of shorts for Gavin and a very pretty bracelet for me. Gavin says we will have to go again and not be selfish and buy things for other people. Izmir is not a bad as the little town near where we are, but I think these people are very dirty and I don't think I like them very much.

19 April 1998
Today it is overcast and raining a bit. I have a new job on the ship. It's sort of an accounting job. Every day I get the bar cards of the crew and have to keep a running account of all the things they buy from the ship (they can buy cold drinks, alcohol, chips, chocolates, toiletries and cigarettes). At the end of the month they get an account of what they have spent. It seems like a pathetic job but at least it takes half an hour out of my day.

20 April 1998
The cranes have not been working since last night because the paid for cargo has been off loaded already, and nobody seems to know when the rest will be paid for. I hope really soon, I dread the thought of going back out to anchor again, but then again that is really expensive to do with the hiring of tugs and port captains. It looks sunny and warm outside, but in the cabin it is a bit on the chilly side with the air-conditioner on. Turkey seems to have a very similar climate to the Highveld. Hot during the day but rather cool at night. The only thing that makes it cold is if the wind blows from the northwest (Siberia). It is nearly tea time so I had better get the kettle going before Gavin comes in with the thirsty look.

Tea is now over and Gavin has gone down to the engine room for a while. So I still have use of the computer for a while. Last night we watched a documentary on chimpanzees in west Africa. I could have screamed with joy when they showed the chimps hunting other monkeys and then proceeding to eat the monkey meat. Gavin was suitably shocked and remorseful. He said he can't understand why a chimp (our closest relative) would eat meat. Of course I was absolutely delighted that we saw this, just to hit my message truly home - ha, hee hah, yippee. I suppose really mean of me but I must admit it was really satisfying to be right for once and to have it proved by Richard Attenborough.

22 April 1998
Nothing has really happened today. Gavin has spent most of the day in the engine room. This means that I have been alone most of the day. I have been reading all day, so thought that I would quickly fill in today's missal. We still don't know where we are going from here. But will be here for at least another week, I think. I am sure that Turkish men have never seen a female before, when I walk on the quay side with Gavin I get leered at. Most disgusting. I said to Gavin last night that all I want to do is wiggle my bum at them to try to stop them staring, but I don't suppose that will make any difference and won't give me the satisfaction I would be looking for.

23 April 1998
Yet another day to talk about my "exciting" life. Of course we are still berthed in Turkey. The unloading seems to have speeded up a bit. But it still seems as if there is a heap load to take off. I have spent the morning trying to catalogue all the videos. Quite a few missing, I suppose stolen and taken home by some thief. I have asked the captain to ask that all the videos be returned so that I can see exactly what is missing and then number all the videos and make a list of all of them. I have done most of this, except for those videos that may be in cabins and lounges, etc. Once I have done this I don't know what I am going to do. I am of course running the bar accounts, hopefully I can get some other things to do too. I have even got on my "delicate, lilly" knees and scrubbed the floor with a little brush - what filth came off. But cleaning is a losing battle as it seems to be just as dirty tomorrow as it was yesterday even after my scrubbing. I can't believe I am reduced to telling you about cleaning the cabin, but there really isn't anything else to tell you about. Gavin is lying of the day bed sleeping. It is now 1:05pm and lunch hour is officially over. If I wake him up he will say he was "resting" his eyes and giving me a chance to use the computer. MEANWHILE he is really fast asleep but will deny it most vehemently if asked about it (heehee, haaha).

24 April 1998
One interesting thing that I have found out about Turkey is that all the young men have to do military service. The way they are compelled to do it is by not allowing anyone who has not done military service a job. If you have not served your time you won't get a job. But they do have a little choice in the matter. They can do eight months unpaid service or they can do eighteen months paid service. It seems as if those doing the 18 months are the ones who fight for their country. The eight month men stay in the country. When we went to Izmir there where hundreds of young men in uniform walking around.

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a blocked nose. I hope that I am not getting sick. I keep saying that it is because of all the dust around. Not only is the scrap letting off a terrible rust smell, it gives off huge clouds of dust as it is dropped into the shute which funnels it into the lorry. The ship that was berthed next to us was off loading steel poles (no dust) and the next ship was loading the same poles. The original ship had a broken shaft and was towed here. So another ship was needed to take the load. But the most dust, or as much as we are giving off, was a ship off loading coal.

26 April 1998
An overcast and gloomy day today, just like yesterday. I still have the cold and am sniffing and snorting like a piggy, but these things can't be helped I suppose. I never thought that I would get sick on the ship. I suppose there must be bugs here too.

One of the holds is just about empty of scrap, just the sweepings at the bottom. So the end is now in sight. We will probably be here till about Sunday, but still no idea where to next.

27 April 1998
The beginning of another week. I have scrubbed our little house yet again. I have also washed the clothes and hung them up to dry. Gavin was banned from walking on my clean floor until it dried. He manages to collect up black gunk on his shoes and then proceeds to leave gunky footprints all over the cabin. At least he will never be able to sneak off, he always leaves a clear trail to follow - hee he haa. There is a ship coming alongside, next to us. I find it fascinating to watch the tugs slot a huge hunk of steel into a relatively tight space, and make it look so easy. Last night the Filipino's bought some fish from a local man and braaied it. They asked us to join them. We had a lovely evening eating fresh grilled fish - Filipino style. Gav and I are going to Izmir tomorrow, so we are going to buy a stack of nuts to tide us over to the next port. We are still waiting to hear where we are going (we will know today). We are leaving here on about Thursday, three days time. I am looking forward to going to the next place and seeing something new, I only hope it is better than this place.

The captain came a while ago with post. Yippee!

28 April 1998
Today we had planned on going to Izmir, but Gav really needed to be on the ship to speak to chandlers and agents, etc. So we now plan to go tomorrow instead. We are hoping to finish off loading on Thursday to get the next charter. If we make it we will take bunkers (fuel) in Gibraltar and then to Casablanca (Morocco) to get Phosrock to take to Mexico. But if we are not finished off loading we will miss this charter and have to get something else.

30 April 1998
We had a lovely day in town yesterday. We took the bus that brings the workers here every day at eight o'clock and planned on catching the same bus back to the ship at three-thirty, when it came to fetch the workers. It takes about one hour to get to Izmir. So we finally got to the bazaar at around nine-thirty. Gavin wanted a cup of coffee, so we hunted for a coffee place. Once we found one we had coffee and this strange kind of flat bread filled with cheese (very nice). Then the shopping truly began. The bazaar consists of millions of tiny shops lining alley ways, filled with everything you can imagine. Unfortunately most of the things are commercial so I am not interested. I only want things that come from Turkey and can't get at home. We bought three CD's and then were drawn into a leather shop. The shopkeepers all tell you that it is their custom to make sure they make a sale with their first customer of the day or the rest of their day will be very unlucky with the possibility of no sales. So of course we were the first customers of the day. But the jackets were beautiful. I tried on a few and then the bargaining began. Of course the one I really liked was expensive and I would not have been upset at not having it at all. But true to my very generous husband he bought it for me. It is dark brown suede, it hangs just below my bottom and ties around my waist, waterproof, and really nice. Can't wait for you to see it. One of the buttons was a little loose, so while they were fixing it we had a cup of tea with the shop owner. We then went back to walking around, if you are seen with a packet men approach you to come and look in their shop at what ever they have to sell. I suppose they see the packet and think you are there to spend money so try to draw you to their shop. I must tell you once you are in the shop it is really hard to get out without buying something. We were accosted by a carpet man, but tried to get away, I then said lets go and look and see. But before we got to the shop we saw a shop selling traditional Turkish things. Some really nice daggers and ornaments. We got a traditional tea set, the type they serve you tea in at the shops (tiny glass mugs with gold spoons on gold saucers) and a little something for Mom. We then went to the carpet shop. We asked to see Persian carpets, the guy told us that Turkish carpets are of a much better quality and are worth more. So we ended up looking at both. Of course we were the first customers again, so the whole process began again. With offers of tea while you sit on a couch and they toss carpets out onto the floor for you to look at. We bought a Persian one and a Turkish runner for our passage. Both very nice and good quality we think. Now we are hoping to come to South Africa because flying home is going to be difficult with two heavy carpets. We then decided to have some lunch - chicken kebabs and salad. Then back to the carpet shop to get our new possessions and have a beer with the owner. The shop assistant played a thing called a Clavier while we were there. It is a sort of mix between a harp and a piano. It has about 40 strings on a flat board and each string can be changed to a different pitch. On our way back to the bus we bought a leather bag for Gavin's Mom, some spare tea glasses and a coffee grinder, oh, and lots of nuts for the ship. The coffee grinder was meant for the ship, but it is brass so I would like to keep it. We have decided that I will grind all the coffee beans for the ship and keep the grinder. If we don't do that it will probably be stolen. We did not buy any gifts as Mexico and Casablanca may also have good leather and other interesting things to get.

We will be leaving Turkey tomorrow. We are going to sail to Casablanca as I said before. We won't be taking bunkers in Gibraltar. Instead we will get fuel in Las Palmas (Canary Islands) and then on to a place called Coatzacoalcos (Mexican west coast). It will take us until about the 5th of May to get to Casablanca and two days loading, then two weeks across the Atlantic. Bunkers will only take about four hours. So if my calculations are correct we will be in Mexico around 22 May.

1 May 1998
Well, we are finally on our way in the race against time. We finished off loading at 05h15 this morning. The plan was to sail as soon as that was complete. But customs would not allow us to go until they had passed the cargo. Then the receivers of the scrap wanted the captain to sign a piece of paper saying there had been no damage to the ship from the cargo. This of course is a blatant lie. The railings on the side of the ship are chipped, dented and in places broken right off. The first hold also had a hole on the bottom, into a pipe. This was caused by the scrap hitting the bottom as it falls out of the grab. The platforms inside the holds were also damaged by the same thing. A great deal of the hydraulic pipes were also bent and chipped. Any way, with all this damage I am sure that the receivers were chancing their arms because they probably know we are in a rush to get the next charter, so thought the captain would sign to get going. To add to the problem it is a holiday in S.A. so very difficult to find out what to do from the office. It is now 15h50 and we have just left Turkey. We are hoping to make it in time to the next charter or we will lose it.

I have tried to give the cabin a good scrub to get rid of all the dust from the scrap. Rusting metal has a terrible smell and leaves a fine black dust everywhere. Hopefully I won't have the same problem with every cargo. Mom I wanted to ask you about pot plants. We have a few in the cabin (including an orchid), most of them seem okay. But one of them looks like it is dying, how much water should I be giving these plants?

2 May 1998
Not much happening today. At the moment we are travelling at 15 knots which is considered very fast. Gav says the revs are a bit high at 11000 rpm's but we will try to keep up the speed. The sea is a little choppy but not really rough. We are only rolling slightly, so all is very comfortable. Gavin has just given me an interesting piece of information. The ship is steadiest when the holds are completely full. So the cargo needs to be fairly light to fill all the holds. When we carried the scrap the holds were only half full because of the metal's weight. This caused the ship to roll more than usual. When loading all the holds have to be loaded with an even weight so that the ship is not unbalanced and there is no stress on the vessel.

We are having a braai tonight, I am hoping that it won't be too cold. It seems to be rather chilly at night here. I enjoy the braais' very much and sometimes wish we could have more of them, but weather is always the problem.

3 May 1998
Sunday has rolled around again. But I must admit that it doesn't make that much difference on the ship. I have done the laundry for the day, some of it is in the tumble dryer (it's working again) and some of it is hanging around the bathroom. I have wiped, swept and mopped and cleaned everything in sight. I have also done the bar cards for the day. So basically I have nothing to do. I started running around the ship (again) yesterday and am a little stiff today. But I will run again today. While we were off loading it was too dangerous to go on deck. This means all running stops. I have been riding the bike too, but it is also broken. The pedals are off and it is impossible to ride with no pedals. Gavin says he will try to fix it, but that could take ages. It is a rather gloomy and overcast day. Not much rolling, but the sea is a little choppy. I think we are somewhere off the coast of Sicily. But at the moment we cannot see any land.

I am racking my brains to think of what else to tell you. The only difference of being berthed and sailing is the closing of the curtains at night. While we are sailing we have to close the curtains so that the light from the cabin does not interfere with navigation. But we don't have an alarm clock and so have to open the bedroom curtain after the light is off so we get woken up by the sun light in the morning.

4 May 1998
We had a terrible night last night. There was a really rough storm and the engine stopped, and boy did we roll. Gavin says the reason the engine stopped was because we were going too fast for the ship to cope with the weather. I must have had about two hours sleep in total and feel really tired today. The sea is still very rough and no one is allowed on the deck today. Who would have thought the Mediterranean could be so rough. The thing I hate the most is everything in the cabin rolling around. All the books fall off the desk, not even my hair brush stays in the same place. Basically if it is not tied down it slides around. So you can imagine the state of the drawers today. There is no point in tidying them as they just slide around all over again.

5 May 1998
Still the weather is bad, according to the weather report it should have cleared, it is raining at the moment. I think that I definitely have become accustomed to the ship pitching and rolling. I don't mind the pitching (back and forward movement) but I really don't enjoy the rolling (sideways movement). Gav is of the opposite opinion. One of the big problems with pitching is the prop comes out of the water. I would imagine that this is not very good. Half the reason that this happens is that the ship is in ballast and is very light at the moment. We are busy sailing past Algiers at the moment, about 5 degrees from the Greenwich Meridian. Because of the bad weather our arrival time in Casablanca is now 8 May rather than 7 May.

I have been grinding coffee all morning, so my hands are rather tired and I will probably get a blister on my thumb. I am beginning to think that volunteering to grind the coffee beans was a mistake. Oh well never mind, I will eventually get through the 12 packets of coffee beans - I hope - before I have ground all my fingers away. Not really much news from this side, but I will keep adding each day to the Missal.

6 May 1998
I have spent the morning sitting on the bridge in the sun. It is a really beautiful day and the sea is like a pond. We are about to go through the Straits of Gibraltar sometime this morning and will be in Casablanca tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see what the place looks like. Wish I knew what it was famous for. Maybe you can help me out. I am still grinding away the coffee, but the muscles under my thumbs are getting cramp so I'll leave it for a while.

I have now redone the video list again. The Bosun swopped videos with another ship while we were in Turkey. So all my previous work was wasted. I was rather annoyed to find that the cadet had been given the job of redoing the new list, after I had said that I wanted to do it. I get the feeling the captain thinks I don't really want to do it. Anyway I told the cadet that I would do it, seeing as how I had most of the work on the computer already. It actually didn't take too long to delete the missing videos and include the new ones. And then to number the videos and put them onto the shelves.

7 May 1998
We are arriving in Casablanca at 10h00 today. So there is much excitement on the ship this morning. The Bosun has told me that you can get good leather and denim stuff here. I am beginning to think that you can get cheap leather stuff anywhere. Anyway we'll have to be careful about what we buy because we already have a transport problem with the two carpets. Apparently the customs officials here are very strict about what the crew have onboard that they have not declared. We have been told that they often do a cabin search and if we have bought things then we must declare them. What we have done is declare the carpets and all the other stuff is in the drawers (not in it's wrapping's) as if we had it all along. But I am sure there won't be a problem. The reason there is a worry is customs fined a ship for not declaring things when they searched cabins and found things like T-shirts still in their plastic. Each time we berth the third mate brings a customs document for us to sign declaring what we have on the ship. I presume that this gets given to customs for whatever they do with it.

The cadet might be getting off at Las Palmas and joining a box boat. I asked Gav why he would do this as he had only been here for 3 months. Apparently Safmarine have a cadet budget and try to keep it as low as possible. Therefore, if he gets onto a box boat he will sign off in S.A. instead of them having to fly him from somewhere which is expensive.

8 May 1998
Well it is 08h00 and I have done the cleaning and changed all the linen for the week. Our bed must be the hardest in the world to make. The mattress is extremely heavy and I can barely lift it to tuck in the sheets. The tragedy of our whole stay here, in Casablanca, is that immigration will not let us go ashore. The captain is on a Dutch passport and he is allowed as are the Filipino's. I hinted enough last night so hopefully he can try organise something for us. Nobody seems to know why the South Africans are not allowed. I am sure that they would allow tourists in. Anyway the captain says it might cost a little, but I don't care. I can't believe that I can't walk around freely. This is probably the first and last time I will ever be here so I would really like to go and see what there is to see. There are a few vendors who have opened shops on the ships deck. Selling mostly watches, leather jackets and hand bags. I am sure they are far more expensive than town. Gav and I went to look yesterday. What shysters! If you dare to touch something you are a goner. The one chap was determined to sell us leather jackets. We kept saying no, not that he would accept this. We were just about to come back inside when he comes running up and dumps a jacket in my hands and says "90 dollars, sold." I think he thought that we would just pay. Anyway I went to put the jacket back and did I get a filthy look. Not that I really care. Gav gets totally flustered with the bargaining and feels bad about these poor people so he ends up paying to much (he says it is part of his bargaining ploy - ha hee). I have said I will go and look again today without him and see if I can get any bargains. I feel I can only really bargain when there is no one to watch me, I am better off doing it on my own. The Boson said he will come and help if I want. I think I might take him up on that. He bought a jacket yesterday with the price starting off at 180 dollars and he ended up paying 90 dollars. This of course means that whatever price they give me I must aim for half. But there will have to be something really nice and worth getting all the same. They have a really nice jacket, but then I will have three which is totally unnecessary. We had drinks with the captain last night and we have decided that seamen are collectors of watches and leather jackets. Both Gav and Mike have a shoe box of watches and about four leather jackets each. The funny thing is Gav came running up to the cabin with a watch to see if I thought it was fake or not. He was going to add it to the collection, but we decided that at 200 dollars and the probability of being fake it was not worth it. He offered the guy 50 dollars but no luck on actually getting it.

It is now 09h30 and it does not look as if I am going to get ashore. The agent has not been yet, he would be the one to organise a shore pass. We are expected to finish loading this afternoon, so time is now beginning to run short for me. Gav has basically said I must give up on the idea. I have been on deck to see if any shops are there - none. I have asked the watchman to phone me if any vendors arrive, which I am hoping will. Even if I don't buy anything it gives me something to do for about 45 minutes. And I like looking at things to buy anyway. I don't think I will post this letter here, I would rather wait till Las Palmas as it is only 1 day away and probably for more reliable.

Wow what a day I have had. We are now getting ready to leave Casablanca, it is 17h15. I was on my way down stairs to the vendors this morning when I bumped into an Arab. Of course he did the whole kiss your hand and chat you up scene. He was the chandler and wanted to know if there was anything I wanted. I said not really, only I would really like to go ashore. He said that he would organise it for me. I didn't really like him very much because he asked personal questions and did the leering thing a bit much. He told the agent we wanted to go ashore and the agent said he would try. He came back and hour later and said we must go with him to the police/immigration for them to see us. Gav didn't really like the idea. The agent also didn't seem too happy. He said that Morocco does not like the political alliance S.A. has with Israel and so no S.A. people allowed. We decided not to go ashore under such circumstances as who knows what might happen. It probably would have cost a bit much in bribes anyway. When the agent was leaving he scanned our cabin to see if there was anything he could ask for. He eventually spotted a box of tea and asked for a box. Gavin said he would have to ask the chef. He then said he would just take some bags from the box, and promptly helped himself to most of the tea bags. These Moroccans seem to be totally bribeable and will try to steal or help themselves to anything they can lay their hands on.

There have been a great deal of vendors on the ship selling their wares today. So I have been running up and down the stairs all day to show Gav all the things. He has been wanting a tracksuit, so we got one for him. I also bought a leather jacket. The funny thing about buying the jacket was the antics of the vendor. He of course asked a ridiculous price. He had gone into town to fetch a smaller jacket and I think he thought he could make me feel guilty about this. Anyway when I gave him my price he hurled the jacket to the floor shouting that I was crazy. I threw my hands into the air and said that then there was no sale. I began walking back into the accommodation. He came running after me with a new price. We eventually agreed on a price and I paid him. Now he was all smiles - I must have still paid too much. He also had the cheek to ask for cigarettes and soap. While I was looking at the jackets a stowaway was caught trying to get onto the ship. I really thought that he was going to get beaten with a metal pipe, with all the shouting that was going on. Eventually he was taken away, probably to be let off around the corner. It looks as if we will take bunkers in Las Palmas at anchor so won't see the place at all. Gav says I must mention that today is about the fifth day that I have not had a sleep sometime during the day, but who can sleep with all the excitement and shopping going on - hee haha.

9 May 1998
Today we had an oil spill drill. The usual alarm went off and we had to go to our stations with our life jackets. After that I was told to go back to the cabin while they did the oil spill drill and Gavin gave them a talk on the matter. Instead I went to the bridge and guess what? The captain let me steer the ship for a while, all on my own and I didn't mess up at all. Actually it is rather easy. All you have to do is keep the ship on a particular bearing, or as close as possible. It isn't easy to keep it exact and you have to keep correcting yourself all the time. I am going to do my steering ticket after Las Palmas. Apparently it takes about 10 hours of steering and a couple of other exercises as well as steering into port at least once.

10 May 1998
We are about 30 minutes away from Las Palmas (Canary Islands) - what I pity we can't go ashore. It will only take about five hours to get bunkers and do the paper work. Two of the crew are also getting off. I am sending this letter from here so that you don't think that I have disappeared into the big blue ocean. Not really much news, I'll tell you all about (if there is anything) this part of the trip in my next letter. It will take about 14 days to get to Mexico and four days to discharge. There is a good possibility of then going to America to get Grain to take back to Europe. I was hoping for the east, but one never knows what might change in this time.

11 May 1998
Yep I am still adding to this letter. No agent came to the ship yesterday so no post was sent. The bunkers took much longer than expected. We arrived in the Canary Islands at midday and only left at 19h00. Last night was not too good either as the ship was rolling something terrible and it makes it really difficult to sleep when you are holding on for dear life. At least all my things aren't rolling around in the drawers any more. The reason being that Gav got hold of the magic non-slip stuff we have to stop everything sliding around. I cut it to size and have fitted two drawers that contain all the bottles and other things that go clunk in the night and cause me to have to scratch like a chicken in the morning. Actually it was rather silly of me, last night when all the rolling was happening I was smugly saying to myself that there would be no messy drawers in the morning and I had beaten the ship in its game of playing lets mess the drawers and irritate me. The ship is still rolling and I am still smug about my neat drawers. Next on the agenda is to get the tumble dryer right, for some reason it isn't working - again. I don't like having we things in the cabin as they cause dirty feet to step in dripping water and then tramp black foot prints on my nicely mopped floor - hee heh.

Well let me tell you the little I know about the Canary Islands. All the television programmes are Spanish and I thought they would be English. Mostly on T.V. yesterday was bull fighting and other sport. The island is a lot bigger than I expected and the town doesn't look half bad, quite a few high-rise buildings. The houses have a distinct Mediterranean look to them. the sea was none too clean, lots of plastic floating around. That's all I can really tell you from the view out of the binoculars.

12 May 1998
Still a bit of a swell around which just tries to make life a little uncomfortable, and nights a little restless. It is 16h20 and I have done my exercises for the day and am now just cooling off and fiddling on the computer while Gav is not busy with it. Not really much news today, still grinding coffee and getting irritated by it. But I don't want someone to steal the grinder so it is better that I do it. It is starting to warm up now so I spent an hour sitting in the sun this morning. I am sure that the fluorescent lights in the cabin make me nauseous or I am sun deprived. I have been feeling a little sick and as soon as I sat in the sun I have not felt ill. Can't decide what to blame. I can't wait to get to Mexico as by then I will not have been on land for over three weeks.

13 May 1998
Gavin is really getting into the sailing business now. He has a pair of slops. Most of the crew wear their slops with socks so that it is easy to swop for work boots, which happens all day long. Gavin does the same as the rest of the crew. He says his shoes aren't really ideal as you have to strap them closed all the time, what he really needs is slip on slops, but not the kind that go between your toes (difficult when wearing socks). Anyway he said that he needs to cut the aft section of the shoe strap off - hee haa. The aft section in shipping terms is the back of the ship. So now he is even calling the back of his shoes the aft section - haa hah. Sometimes I really wish that I could make a laugh in a letter sound a little less dry than hee haa.

14 May 1998
It seems as if the good weather is not going to last the day. The ship feels as if it is beginning to roll a bit, so I suppose we are in for some rough weather in the next few days. We are expected to arrive in Mexico on the 24th of May. I was hoping for good weather so that we could get there earlier than that, but I don't think I will get my wish.

The weather has not got that bumpy thank goodness. I have had a rather lazy day and am having an exercise rest day today. I have now done two hours of steering the ship. In calm weather it is easy, not so in big swells (difficult to keep on course). I have also done a few maneuvers. This means you are given a bearing and I have to get the ship onto the bearing and keep it there. I am struggling a bit with this. It is easy enough to get to the bearing, but I always go way over because I don't counter correct enough in time. But with practice I will get better.

15 May 1998
Gavin is down in the officer's lounge at a disciplinary hearing. One of the oilers has been putting in overtime and not actually doing the work. Overtime is from six in the morning till eight in the morning. Gavin has been to the engine room on a few occasions to see that he is not there on time and has warned him. Yesterday Gav woke him up at 06h30 and has logged him, i.e. he does not get overtime and has a hearing to say why he was not at work. The log also goes on his record. If he is logged three times he is fired. So yesterday all Safmarine ships were contacted to see if he had been logged before - he hadn't. It seems rather childish but I suppose you have to control lazy people somehow.

I am feeling rather family sick today and wish that I could talk to one of you for a while. I keep thinking I have already been on the ship for two months so am well on the way to coming home. Gav keeps telling me not to tick off days as it only makes the trip seem longer. I think that if we are only doing four months then we are half way through - not so bad. But if we are doing six months then we are a quarter of the way - also not so bad. So I think I'll carry on ticking off the months and try to feel as if they are flying by. It will be amazing to say, when six months are up, that it went rather quickly. I think it will be better once we are in Mexico and I can go ashore and hopefully get some letters from home.

16 May 1998
Still on our merry way across the Atlantic. It is 21h35 and I have just come upstairs from the braai. I was getting a little cold so used that as an excuse to come to bed. Gav is still dawn there, but I am sure he will be here in a short while. I am still doing my steering every day, and enjoying it at that. Gav took me on a tour of the engine room today, quite interesting to see all the different parts that run different parts of the ship. I have spent most of the day reading as I usually do, so there is not really any news for the day. Once I have finished my steering ticket I will have to think of something else to do. I am beginning to think that studying something while at sea is a really good idea. The reason I feel this way is then my brain won't go to pulp and I won't feel as useless and it will fill in a great deal of my day. Maybe next time!!!

17 May 1998
Still here - haa hee. The sea has been rough all night and is still bad. We are rolling all over the show. But I am not in the least worried about it. The only hassle is that the decks are getting sprayed with water, this means I can't run because the decks get slippery and I think a little dangerous for running on. Gavin has gone on rounds with the captain and the first mate. Basically they check everything on the ship - including all the cabins. It normally takes about an hour or so. They do it every Sunday, a good thing I think because then they can see if there are any problems no one has said anything about or want anyone to know about. Only a week till we get to Mexico - can't wait.

18 May 1998
I have had a morning of cleaning everything in sight. Gavin gave me a whole lot of detergents and I have gone wild. I even took the mat and gave it a scrub. I think Gav is mildly shocked to see me on my hand and knees in water and vim scrubbing a now gray (previously black) mat. Not really that much news. The sea is much calmer today and hopefully it gets better. Gav says that we really haven't had good weather the whole time we have been on the ship. It must mean that I am a bad omen. At the moment we are sailing about 15 degrees above the West Indies. Of course we can't see any land (haven't for a week now) but at least it gives you a general idea of where we are. We have traveled in an arc from Las Palmas to Mexico. The open part of the arc facing down. Apparently one always travels in an arc because the world is round and therefore an arc is the shortest distance rather than in a straight line. Gavin thinks we have taken the longer route. He says that the arc should have been the other way, i.e. with the open side facing up. The reason being the currents would have then been in our favour. The route we have taken is shorter in distance, but we have not had the advantage of the current pushing us forward.

19 May 1998
The sea is like a pond today and I am definitely going to sit outside for a while. I am very chuffed with myself at the moment. In the last few days I have been giving the cabin a really thorough clean. Of course Gav has been seeing this, but not really making that much comment. Anyway yesterday they (captain, chief, first mate and the second engineer) had their monthly meeting. Gav says he said that he was not happy with the way the steward was cleaning the ship. He told the captain that I have been really cleaning and he is disgusted by the filth that I am getting off, even the bulkheads (walls). I was really pleased that he had noticed that I was making the place cleaner. So there goes my theory of men never notice anything - hee haa ehh.

20 May 1998
Only four days 'till we arrive in Mexico - yay. This morning the captain got a fax saying where we will most probably be going next (not yet confirmed). After Mexico we will go to a small island called Aruba just off Venezuela and then to Venezuela to a place called Amuay Bay. After that it is back across the Atlantic to Lisbon (Portugal) and then back to Casablanca and finally returning to Mexico. We will probably spend about two weeks on the Mexican/South American coast (until about 7 June), it is a two week voyage across the Atlantic (arrive about 21 June) and then about two weeks around Lisbon and Casablanca (until about 5 July) and then the two week voyage back to Mexico (about 19 July). Our four months are officially up on 16 July. Gav is still undecided about whether to stay longer or not. I am sure we will stay until at least one trip after the return to Mexico. In a way it is nice to know where we are going, it makes everything seems if it is going so quickly. I am not pleased to be going back to Casablanca, but maybe it will be more friendly this time.

I went to the focsal (ships nose) today and watched the sea for a while, it is like glass today. There are hundreds of flying fish around and are all jumping in front of the ship. Sometimes in whole schools. The water is crystal clear and I can see the bottom of the ship in the water as we sail along. I think the ship disturbs the fish and this is why they all fly in front of the ship. I have had a reasonably good look at them, they are iridescent blue. There is also a great deal of weed on the surface of the water. Gavin says this weed is called Sargasso weed. It apparently washes down the Sargasso river in South America and into the Atlantic. A bit unusual to see it so high up in the Atlantic.

21 May 1998
Again the sea has been like glass today, and it is beginning to get very hot. Far too hot to run, even at 17h30. Yesterday I spent some time in the sun and got a little of a tan on my back, but I think one must be careful of burning to smithereens here. Today I also stripped the floor in the lounge. Quite a job and I still have to wax it. It looks a thousand times cleaner so I think the effort was worth it. Not really any news today, the routine just goes on the same no matter what. Our sailing plans have been confirmed so it is back across the Atlantic for me.

22 May 1998
I went to do some photostating for Gav and as usual I couldn't get the machine to work. What normally makes me cross is no one is willing to help and I get all uptight. Then when I give the stuff back saying I can't do it then Gav uses the machine with no problem. Well at least today he is having problems too so I know it isn't just me being stupid. I really hate things that I can't work properly and nobody will show me how.

Anyway not much news, we are going past Cuba at the moment - but can't actually see the land. I think it is going to be a scorcher today. We are having a braai tonight and the weather is perfect for that.

23 May 1998
I have spent the whole morning trying to make birthday cards for Leeanne and Sally. I have now finished them and think that they are rather nice. I will send them with their letters from Mexico. We will be in Mexico tomorrow at about 10h00, I can't wait.

Last night we had a stir-fry braai. It was really nice to spend the evening outside as it is really hot. I am still trying to run regularly, but the heat does not make a good running partner. Yesterday I walked about half a kilometer and ran about three kilometers. My aim is to be running about five kilometers (only six more times up and down the deck from what I am doing now) I run up and down (i.e. there and back) the deck 10 times, which amounts to twenty stretches. To be running 5 km I need to run 32 stretches, which will mean only 6 times there and back more. I have tried to explain this as clearly as possible I hope you can understand what the Dickens I am on about - Gav is really confused - hee haa

24 May 1998
It is 09h30, we should be arriving in Mexico at about midday. At the moment the only interesting news I have is the dolphins that Gav and I saw last night. After supper we walked to the focsal and there were dolphins racing with the ship. Like they do with the rubber duck they were jumping in front of the ship. Mostly they jump out of the water and then twist their bodies to belly flop, on their sides, back into the water. Sometimes they would do this in groups of three to five - making patterns I wonder. The dolphins seemed to be having a wonderful time of it and stayed for quite a long time. Gavin was amused because I said that when I saw them I had an urge to yell hello at them and then good-bye when they left. Just like a child I suppose, but that is how I felt. I am beginning to think Gav thinks I am totally loony - hee haa.

It is now much later. The men doing the ship safety audit have arrived. Gav is upset because the office never told us of their pending arrival. We are taking bunkers tonight. This means that Gav will be up all night, so tomorrow he will be exhausted for the audit. Not good at all. The only consolation is that because it is so hot (35 degrees in the shade and humid) the auditors won't want to spend too much time in the engine room. Well at least that is what we are hoping. It is really hot as I mentioned and I cannot see 20 metres away what with the smog and haze. Apparently this is caused by fires in South America and no wind to blow all the smoke away. The little I have seen of Coatzacoalcos it looks really poor and third world. But I will see more once we get to go ashore. We are probably only going to be here for three of four days so don't really have that much time to do much. Having the audit also keeps everyone on the ship.

25 May 1998
Still early in the day, but I thought I would start the writing anyway. Looking out the window I can see it is still very hazy, the sun is a orange yellow ball which is very dull and easy to look at. I wonder if pollution causes this. I had a very restless night. Gavin was up until four this morning, so I didn't really sleep until then (too much noise and light). Gav says he didn't sleep at all - imagine what he must feel like now. He has to have his questioning by the auditors at nine o'clock and I think he is really dreading it. Basically if the ship does not pass this audit she cannot trade in most of Europe and definitely not in America. Every ship in the world has to pass this safety audit to be allowed to trade. Quite a process to get the ship, even a new one like the Cape Infanta, ready for such an audit. Even the cook is questioned about his safety and health in the galley. Not that I think much of his cleanliness or his frying of everything in sight.

We are probably leaving here tomorrow evening and it takes five days to Aruba. We are hoping to go ashore tonight or if not then tomorrow. Gav is in a meeting with the Auditors at the moment (it is 19h30) and I am not sure how long he will be, hence not sure if we will go ashore tonight.

26 May 1998
We went ashore last night (still in Mexico) and had a seafood meal. It was really nice except when we had to pay. We are positive we were badly ripped off. Gav is very angry about paying so much and keeps cursing. Other than the restaurant we did not see anything. The place seems very poor and rather dirty. We got a lift into town with the bunkers man, he kept saying we mustn't go here cos it's too dangerous. By the end there was nowhere to go as it was all too dangerous. We caught a launch back to the ship. All the ships are berthed at keys that are surrounded by water, so to go ashore you have to catch a boat. I was planning to go ashore today but never got around to going. A good thing cos of Gav not wanting to spend more money here. We are probably going to be leaving here very early tomorrow which I am not too upset about. I have not really liked this place. I thought Turkey was not so nice, I now realise it was a paradise compared to this place.

27 May 1998
I have found out the reason for the smog. In South America the peasants are all burning their veldt in preparation for harvest. There has been no wind for a long time so the smoke drifts up this way and just hangs here. I am hoping to try to go ashore today again. I must admit I am rather scared to go on my own. I just have to find out what time we are leaving to see if I will have enough time or not. I am hoping to get some snacks for Gav and I.

Gav was phoned at one o'clock this morning. Apparently all the cranes had stopped working. He only got back to the cabin at four and did not come back to bed. So yet again he has had very little sleep.

28 May 1998
Well I never got the opportunity to go ashore. We were told that we were sailing at 12h00. I thought that was more than enough time - over three hours. But Gav was not happy with me going, so I never went. The captain gave the Bosun money to buy more videos. He bought fifty. So I have spent the whole day numbering them and putting them on the list. This sounds easy, but isn't. All of the videos are in English but their covers in Spanish, so I had to watch them to find out their names. The list I made includes the names, actors and what types of movie it is, i.e. drama. The biggest problem is that some of the shelves are a little narrow so only certain videos fit. This means I just about had to renumber every video to get them to fit. Luckily the computer helps in that I just had to change the numbers of the existing videos and put in the new ones. Then after a little playing around I got the computer to sort the videos into numerical order. I wanted to get this all done before night so that people could watch videos without disturbing my process.

The Bosun told me that town was very nice, so I will definitely have to go and see what was so nice next time we are here. The nice thing about sailing again is getting away from the smog. It is still very hot which makes things a little uncomfortable. We should be in Aruba on Monday - just around the corner.

29 May 1998
A rainy day today with a bit of a wind. I wasn't able to run yesterday because the wind was too strong and the deck was wet and therefore slippery. It looks as if it is going to be the same today again. Not really anything exciting to tell you today, life just back into the sailing routine and everything normal. I am still doing a bit of steering everyday - about half an hour. Other than that nothing happening.

30 May 1998
As usual we had a fire drill today (Saturday). I told Gav that I think there should be a few surprise drills because everyone knows that they are on a Saturday after tea and get ready for them. I had a nice run today, the ballast tanks overflowed and so I had a bit of a paddle at the end of the run. Not really any other news, it is suppertime and I am starving - trying not to eat so much, and so am hungry all the time now - mostly psychological I think. We passed the Cayman Islands today and will be passing Jamaica tonight.

31 May 1998
I have now been on the ship for two and a half months. Gav has written his letter asking if we can stay longer than the allocated four months, so now we will have to wait and see what happens. We passed Jamaica at 23h00. All I saw were lights (but a great deal more than I expected). We will be arriving in Aruba tomorrow evening - maybe we will eat ashore. Probably not as it is always so busy on arrival with everyone converging on the ship.

1 June 1998
Wow can you believe that it is June already. No news really, just the normal routine. Get up, make the bed, have breakfast. Then wash the clothes and put them in the dryer, dust and mop, pick my nose and scratch my bum. We will be in Aruba tonight, but there is the possibility of being at anchor for the night. This is good as there will be no panic in the middle of the night and everyone can relax till the morning. Apparently the ship is too big to berth at night. They need light to see what they are doing, hence the possibility of being at anchor.

2 June 1998
Yes we did go to anchor and are still at anchor - now 10h00. Nobody seems to know when we will go alongside, so I suppose it is wait and see time. Gavin finally wrote the letter asking for us to do extra time on the ship. Basically the answer we have received is no. So we only have one and a half months left at sea. I am pleased that we will be home soon, but sad because we will now probably be at sea for Christmas.

With all my cleaning spree Gav has decided everything has to be scrubbed (I must do it though). He keeps bringing more disinfectants to use and says such and such should be scrubbed. The horrible part is all I have is a small scrubbing brush with hardly any bristles left. I think from now I am going to refuse (I did the bathroom this morning) as it is really very hard with such a stupid little brush.

3 June 1998
We finally went alongside at 16h00 yesterday. The berth and the stuff we are loading is very dirty and flies everywhere. It is a black powder called petcoke, it looks a lot like coal dust. Apparently it is the last thing left after crude oil has been through the refinery and oil, petrol, meths and other fuels have been made. One of the things it is used to make is white (can you believe it) paint. The belt that is loading the ship is a fixed mechanism so after each hold is full the ship has to shift to allow the next hold to be filled. Luckily no engines are needed. The ship is simply winched backwards or forwards to its' next position, this is called walking the ship.

We went ashore last night. The little town of St. Nicholas has not got very much to offer - mostly bars (all on one street). Gav and I were trying to decide what the architecture of the place was. It looks very Caribbean - haa hee - but then again that is where we are. I think a lot like Mauritius or any tropical island for that matter. I am hoping that we will go ashore today to see in the shops. The biggest hassle is we are not allowed to walk out of the gates - have to take a taxi. The taxi costs 100 dollars for four hours. What happened last night was the taxi would ferry crew back and forward for that time. A real rip off when he literally takes you no more than about 100 metres.

4 June 1998
We are still in Aruba as the conveyor belt has broken and so there has been no loading all night. Hopefully we will leave here sometime this afternoon. Yesterday I went to town - alone. I went to a place called Oranjestad. It is much bigger than the San Nicholas that we are berthed at. Very like any tropical town, lots of American tourists and very expensive for us. All the same I enjoyed walking around and looking in all the shops. About the nicest thing I saw was Dutch linen. Really very pretty, all lacy etc. Aruba used to be a Dutch colony and still has very strong ties with the Dutch as well as the Americans. I would really have liked to buy a table cloth or two, but at 80 dollars (R400) it works out rather expensive. I came back to the ship at 12h00 and later, in the afternoon, went into San Nicholas with Gav and the captain in hopes to buy a washing machine for the ship.

Gav is rather upset with the captain, me too. We really need a washing machine and the captain doesn't seem to think it is important. He never makes any effort to get a washing machine and finds any excuse to not buy one. This time he said they were too expensive (R2000), what a joke. He says we can get it cheaper but I doubt it and wonder where he is going to get it at less. This guy is so useless, a spineless prig. He so scared of making a decision that nothing ever gets done, or he manages to blame others when it goes wrong. I really don't like him at all and hope we never sail with the moron again.

5 June 1998
We are still in Aruba, just as I guessed we would be (it is 10h00). The belt keeps breaking down and stopping the process of loading. Much later now - 16h30 - we are finally getting ready to go. It is only about 25 kilometres to Amuay Bay (Venezuela) so we will be there in about three hours time. Apparently it is just a jungle where we are going and nothing to do ashore. So the sooner we get out of there the better. We went ashore again last night and had some supper. Prawns done traditional style - very nice. The place we went to is called Charlie's Bar. It was opened in 1941 by a Dutch couple and is now run by the son. The place is full of all sorts of paraphernalia hanging from everywhere. Quite a sight - wish we had taken a photo.

6 June 1998
Feeling very tired today. We went to anchor in Venezuela at midnight and the pilot came onboard at 6 am. So we had very interrupted sleep. Apparently we can go ashore here. I am hoping that Gav will come with me later and here I thought that we would be in the middle of the jungle - hee haa. Loading will only take 14 hours so we will not be here for very long. I have been worried about our luggage situation coming home (weight), I thought our best option with our luggage was to post a box of clothes home from Lisbon - Gav agrees. At least that way our luggage will not be as heavy.

7 June 1998
Another Sunday has come around again and we are still sitting in Venezuela at 10h30 and we were meant to be long gone. We went ashore yesterday. Not really that interesting and nobody could speak English and that makes things that much more difficult. It is very hot and all we really wanted was to sit in an air-conditioned place and have a drink - couldn't find such a place. Things are priced at much of a muchness to home so there weren't any real bargains. But all the same it is always interesting to see how other people live. Most of those who have a car drive these 20 year old American Cadillacs that are gas guzzlers and are falling apart. I think that if you own a car here you are an automatic honorary taxi driver. Our taxi driver was more interested in the horse races on the radio, and I thought we were going to crash each time he ticked his betting card and we swerved all over the road.

About the most interesting thing here is the conveyer belt. A long rubber tube carries the cargo to the ship. As it arrives at the ship the tube opens and flattens to drop the cargo into the holds. The flat rubber then gets rolled into a tube on its way back. I think really clever because the cargo does not fly around and make a mess like it does in other places.

We are getting ready to leave now - at last - it is 12h30. I am looking forward to the 10 day voyage and getting back into the running routine. How is the walking going Mom? You never told me the outcome of your blood pressure test!! I was really hoping to get some letters here - no such luck. We had planned on phoning you from Aruba but at 9 dollars a minute it is cheaper to use the ship satellite phone. Hopefully the rates will be better in Lisbon.

8 June 1998
Today is a nice sunny day, a bit of a choppy sea and I am sure a howling wind - just to make running really hard. So I am back to the boring news of day to day sailing. As usual there is nothing interesting to tell you. The crew are all on the deck spraying everything down and trying to clean off all the petcoke (petroleum coke) which is everywhere. They use high pressure hoses and spray sea water. Usually everything is rinsed with fresh water, but we are in short supply so it is saved. Gav can make about 10 tons of fresh water a day, but the ship uses about 12 tons a day. At the moment we have 150 tons on board. This would last about 10 days if Gav was not making water. It is normally expensive to buy water and often the water is not so good. Unfortunately Gav can only make water while we are moving, so the worry is if we go to anchor for a while we will run out of water and have to buy some. I am hoping we don't run out as then we will be rationed, i.e. only water for one hour a day.

9 June 1998
It is late afternoon of another windy and choppy sea day. I have been suffering from sinus all day and am only now beginning to feel a little better. I spent the morning doing my tapestry and after lunch had a sleep. I have also walked the deck a few times with Gav and done some sit-ups. I am waiting for better weather to run as the deck is being sprayed at the moment and the salt water makes it too slippery to run on. It is really frustrating to get relatively fit and then go into port and have to start all over again when we leave.

10 June 1998
It is the ship's second birthday and to celebrate we are having a braai tonight. It is a good thing it is such a beautiful day today, no wind and a flat sea. At least I will definitely get to run on the deck today. Still waiting for my box to pack to send from Lisbon. I finished grinding the last packet of coffee beans today so the grinder can go in the box too. I have washed the clothes, cleaned the cabin and done the bar accounts for the day, so now I can do my own thing, i.e. sniff and snort around for the rest of the day.

11 June 1998
We had a braai last night - rather pleasant. It is again a really beautiful day with calm sea and sunny skies. Gav has spent the entire morning in the engine room cleaning a turbo charger. I am sure he will be here soon as it is tea time - so he'll come rushing in smacking his lips at any moment.

The horrible news is that we may off load our cargo at anchor in Lisbon. There is the possibility that we will off load onto barges and therefore I won't get the chance to go ashore and see the sights.

12 June 1998
Now only a week until we arrive in Portugal and the weather seems to be proving to be good - I hope that it stays this way the whole time. There is the possibility of me coming home from Lisbon without Gav. We thought that the air tickets will be far cheaper from Portugal to South Africa than one from Mexico. So if this is the case I will come home 10 days before Gav is likely to. Actually it will be rather nice because I will have the opportunity of visiting everyone and then going home to be with Gav (that is where he wants to spend all his leave, which is understandable). Our only concern is if Safmarine asks him to do a longer time on the ship. Both of us will be upset: me for missing out, and Gav the same as well as me going home unnecessarily. Any way we'll have to wait and see what happens.

14 June 1998
Yep Sunday again. I have been typing a document for the captain which thankfully has kept me rather busy. I think that Gav wants the computer so chow for now.

A lot later in the afternoon now. I have done all the routine things, and had a nice afternoon nap. I am revving up to go and exercise now - not that I am in the mood, but then I never am (hee haa).

15 June 1998
Gav is on the couch "resting his eyes" - more like on his way to sleep.

I have packed one of the suitcases to see how much it weighs - 20 kg's exactly. That is with one of the carpets in the case. This afternoon I am going to pack the other case with the other carpet to see how much it weighs. If I can fit everything into the cases we are not going to send the planned box home. I would be much happier because I worry about a box of things in the S.A. post and whether it will ever arrive at home.

16 June 1998
Well, we have decided that I should come home from Lisbon. So I will be in S.A. on the 23rd June - just one week away. I am very excited to be coming home, especially to see everyone. I wish Gav was coming with, but he will follow about two weeks after me. At the moment the plan is I will fly from Lisbon to Madrid and then on to Johannesburg.

Gav says that we are in for some bad weather today, and maybe for the rest of the journey - I hope not. It is very overcast and looks as if it is going to storm soon. I don't mind as long as the sea remains relatively calm.

17 June 1998
Strange thing happened today. I washed the mat that is at our cabin door. I hung it over the railing outside to dry and now it has mysteriously disappeared. It is too heavy to blow overboard, so who knows where it is. Nothing else really for the day. The sea is getting calmer and calmer as the afternoon wears on. This is excellent as we can then pick up speed and get there faster. We have averaged about 13.5 knots so far, but 14 knots would be excellent.

18 June 1998
Our last day at sea before we get to Portugal, which will be at about 04h00 tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to seeing what the place is like. We still have not heard about when I am flying home, but hopefully the plans have not changed. The sea is calm again today. All the crew are basically messing around getting ready for Portugal, i.e. getting the cranes and grabs ready. Gav has spent the day in the engine room cleaning a turbo charger that has been causing trouble with engine surges and alarms at all hours of the night.

19 June 1998
We are now at anchor in Lisbon, having arrived at 03h00 this morning. The pilots are on strike and so we wait. There are about seven other ships at anchor too. I would imagine that the whole harbour has just about come to a standstill as no ships can go in or out without a pilot.

20 June 1998
Feeling really tired this morning as we only went to bed at 02h00 this morning. We are now anchored in the middle of the river where we are going to off load. The city of Lisbon looks really nice. Lots of castles and churches with domes. There is a Christ statue like the one in Rio De Janeiro. Hopefully we will get a launch to town today.

21 June 1998
We did go ashore yesterday to look around a very expensive Lisbon. We are at anchor in the middle of the river so had to organise a ferry to fetch us and bring us back to the ship. Some of the shops have really beautiful table clothes, which I would love to have, but just too expensive to buy. We started off by going to a little restaurant and had a sort of paella. It was delicious. We also had a bowl of squid and cheese with bread. After lunch we walked around to see a really impressive old church and a castle ruin. We also walked through the excavations of a Roman theatre. We then caught a train to the expo and paid an entrance fee to see nothing at all. The streets here are like I would imagine Greece to be. Very narrow and cobbled. Every building is about five stories high (very old and dilapidated) with a little business on the ground floor and flats above - with the inevitable washing dripping onto the narrow alleys. Most of the alleys are very steep and winding. I can imagine getting lost very easily. Another interesting thing is that a great deal of the outside of the older buildings are tiled - rather pretty.

22 June 1998
My last day on this ship. I am leaving tomorrow at 16h00 to come home. I am excited, but I also don't want to leave Gav here for what seems like such a long time. But I suppose that it will pass quickly as I will be visiting everyone at home and time will fly - I hope. Well that's all for this trip.