DOs and DON'Ts

During the last week we've been given quite a few advice about what to do and not do whilst here.

• Do use handsanitisers, Cholera is running wild in Conakry
• Do go out in groups of at least 2 
• Do keep the curfew (be back at 10pm)
• Do not give the police any money unless you actually did something to deserve a fine
• Do not expose signs of wealth when leaving the ship
• Do not take pictures of any government buildings if you want to keep your camera
• Do not eat food that's been lying in the sun surrounded by flies for 4 hours
• Do not show your knees in public

I have also been warned by crew members of white female kind not to socialise too much with the African male crew as this can easily be misinterpreted. I see what they mean, but when I have one room with Europeans/Americans playing boardgames and watching movies and another room with African men having a spontaneous music session, singing and dancing, I know where I'd rather be! Though advice is good, I have a feeling that those who know me are worried about my ability to follow advice, and perceive my risk-assessment to be somewhat skewed. I understand but I don't necessarily agree. They say curiosity killed the cat, but the adventurer in me says "the one who never take any risks risk not living at all". I'd rather live full on for a short time than have a long unsatisfied life! Saying that, I just want to point out that so far I have been keeping the advice about not going out into town solo. Good girl!

All Love

Arrival

This morning we arrived in Conakry, Guinea. All in all it has been a very smooth sail, although the last couple of days have been a bit more rocky. I've seen a few people falling over and getting thrown from wall to wall, which I have to confess was quite amusing! We've seen dolphins and some have seen whales. The last few days have been more overcast as we've been heading into areas with rain season, and we saw Guinea appear through the fog this morning.

Tomorrow is my last day in the galley (kitchen) and I can't wait to get back into nursing. The thought of blood, dressings and IV fluids makes me excited, my 4 month nursing break is over!

Lowering the gangway

View from starboard side (right side)

View from port side (left side)

All Love

On Our Way to Guinea

A few days ago we set sail from Tenerife, heading for Guinea. By now I've grown accustomed to the constant rocking of the ship, it's fascinating how the body adjusts and so I haven't bumped into any walls or fallen over in the stairs. So far it's been a really smooth sail and we've been able to avoid bad weather, for which I'm really grateful (especially as I'm sleeping in the top bunk). I've not suffered from any seasickness either, though I have been taking my tablets, regularly to begin with and today just one. 

Our first night at sea we grabbed some pillows and a guitar and went up on deck to watch the stars. It's amazing how clear the night sky is at sea, we could see the milky way and shooting stars, and we worshiped the creator. It was magical!

The sea is beautiful, and there are definitely times I just wish I could jump in, though I would probably drown and the captain wouldn't be very happy! So far we haven't seen any dolphins or whales, but we've seen a lot of flying fish; it's amazing how they glide over the water! Apparently they move their tail over 70 times a second in order to get the necessary speed. 

This evening we had worship on the bow (see pictures), accompanied by guitars, jambes and the rolling sea. Tomorrow is a full day in the kitchen again and on Wednesday we're scheduled to reach Guinea. Exciting times!

People gathered to sing, dance and play

Worship at sunset

All Love

Left Behind

So for those of you that missed the news: yesterday the ship left without me.

I signed out from the ship in the morning to go looking for guitars, and it turned out to be quite a long walk. Returning to the dock I saw the ship at a distance and noticed that I couldn't see the gangway and there seemed to be lots of action on the bow (the front of the ship) which is unusual. Then it looked as if the ship was starting to pull out from port, which is exactly what happened. So I see the ship suddenly leaving the quay without knowing the reason why. I knew it was not yet time for departure and I was going through possible announcements that I could have forgotten about, but couldn't remember any. I found some Spanish men who told me that the time was "terminado" and that the ship was leaving, but they couldn't give me any specific information. The fact that the ship vehicles were still parked along the dock made me feel a lot better and I assumed the ship wasn't going to move too far. In one of the cars I found a crew member and he told me the ship was just moving up the dock a bit, and so I sat down and waited for it to moor up again. 80 minutes later the gangway was in place and slightly sun burned I could make my way up the stairs to my mobile home. In the unlikely event of being left behind, the biggest issue would have been that my passport was still onboard the ship. Apart from that I would have been fine, I'm sure. I guess that's one of the beauties with God, you're never left on your own.

As a quick notice, yesterday evening I met the Swedish family that lives onboard the ship, and they are lovely! I have a standing invitation to their cabin, and they urged me to come and visit often. I also met one of the anaesthetists onboard, and it turned out she has lived most of her life in Bristol, working at the BRI. Sometimes a dose of familiarity is wonderful!

All Love

Pictures from Ghana

The village Pai Katanga

Fruit tree by the school

Little boy in our courtyard

Dining hall under the sky - not perfect during the rainy season!

After class

Some children have never been told that they are loved
and that they possess great beauty

A young boy after school

Some of the shyer kids

Boys will be boys

Class

Playing games, Africans are fast!

Crowding in front of the camera

Main road going through the village

Distracted from the camera,  a rarity

Gathered for the football game and to have their picture taken

Sunset over Pai Katanga

There were many more pictures taken, but I can't post them all on here. I have a feeling there will be a lot more pictures taken during the next 2 years, and the thought of it puts a smile on my face (as if I wasn't already smiling)

All Love

Village Life in Ghana

So we just got back from our 2 weeks in Ghana, waiting for the connecting flight to the Canary Islands where we will enjoy the pleasures of a real bed, a hot shower and a nice breakfast before we join the ship. I'll try and make a quick summary of 2 extraordinary weeks.

We stayed in Pai Katanka, a village 6 hours outside of Accra, the capital of Ghana. We were constantly surrounded by goats, roosters and kids and silence was pretty much non-existant. It was rainy season and the landscape was beautiful, the village surrounded by green hills and lush vegetation (and our last night all the fire flies came out to dance for us).

The food was... interesting, but not bad. As usual I ate everything set before me, and ended up puking in a bucket last Thursday. They say I shouldn't have eaten the food handed to me by strangers, and probably shouldn't have let my water bottle being passed from mouth to mouth among the kids. How was i to know  ;)

The work we did was to build walls, dig trenches and filling up a foundation for a new school building. Some taught in the school and some helped out in the clinic. We met the chief of the village who came up with the elders to help us dig, quite a sight! We played football (soccer) against the locals and lost! Not sure we can use the goats grazing in the football field as an excuse... We also danced African style in the pouring rain, first time I've seen so much butt shaking in church - maybe something to introduce back home!

Most memorable were the kids and how they approached us wanting us to tell them stories and teach them songs. We were told by Chris, our local contact, that kids in the village are being brought up with insults, harshness and beatings, and it was hard to see so many adorable kids knowing that they were facing this daily. It made me want to hug them all and tell them how amazing and wonderful they were. Cause they were!

Tomorrow we'll be boarding the ship!

All Love