Boating misery
Trip Start
May 08, 2007
1
4
10
Trip End
Jul 17, 2007
Moroni,
Comoros
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Well short version. Rose and I thought it would be a good idea to go by boat to the Comoros... how wrong we were. Never travel by cargo boat unless you have it on good authority that it is large, fast, and relatively clean. Lessons learned I suppose. While the experience does cause endless amusement for Rose and I and we just look at each other and burst out laughing every now and then, it will never be repeated. If you ever want a really good story ask me about the seagull...
In the mean time I will relate an entry from my journal that I think accuratly speaks to what the four days were like.
At 2am I woke up for the 6th time that night laying on my thermarest trying not to touch anything and I felt like somebody was stepping on my bladder!! What the?? Actually nothing so dramatic, i just needed to pee. But really really badly. I had been trying to ignore the feeling for about four hours since I didn't want to face going to the bathroom especially since I didnt even know where it was. Well it was time to face the inevitable... So I squeezed out from between the two benches I was sleeping under trying not to wake Rahma who was sleeping (and drooling) above me, and picked my way through the other people on the floor not being able to avoid getting coughed on by one of them with a particularly bad sounding cough. I guess I couldn't avoid tuberculosis forever.
Once on the deck I climbed down the stairs trying to avoid being thrown from the boat and throwing up; the rocking was terrible. Downstairs I walked around a bit grabbing onto whatever I could find but could not locate the bathroom. Finally a crew member woke up and took pity on me asking what I needed. I told him the bathroom. Blank stare. Okay, bathroom, toilet, WC, peepee?? Nothing. So I crouched down and pointed downward mimicking peeing. Ahhhh!!!! Universal understanding...
He leads me to the bathroom, which is strategically placed right next to the thing that emits exhaust from the engine and so is very very hot. Oh the glorious smell!!! Warm poddy smell. That will wake you up in an instant. As I lurch towards the door a giant wave comes over the side of the boat soaking me head to toe. The man laughed. It took a large amount of will power to not hit him and instead I laughed as well. So laughing I peer into the bathroom and stop immediatly. No light? No light he confirms but promises to install one the next day (and the dear man did I will add). If you know me you will know that I have an accute fear of the dark, and so this would be no easy task. I stood staring for a while longer and he motioned me to go... could I handle it?
As you can assume I did not go four days witrhout peeing. But you know what? As I crouched there in the complete darkness, sopping wet, hanging onto the moist with only God knew what walls of the most disgusting bathroom I have ever seen in my life, trying not to fall into the toilet from the waves, trying not to vomit from the combined smell and motion sickness, hoping I was peeing into the toilet and not on my legs, I realized that I can handle a lot. If anybody ever asks "can you handle that?" I can with confidence state that "you cant even fathom what i can handle. I survived 4 days on a cargo boat in Africa...you dont even know."
As I said before...lessons learned.
