Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
We set up the tables on one of the upper decks of the ship, where we could see the wide
expanse of sea around us. After eating, I stood up on my wobbly chair and gave a little
speech: “I want to thank you all, especially the captain, for allowing me on board this ship.”
The sun set behind me as the sailors relaxed into another beautiful night. “I know that I
spent the first few days sleeping.” I began, “But, when you put me to work, you made me
feel like a real seaman. So I say, thank you to the crew!”
Everyone cheered me back. And I knew that this was what they were looking for on the
ship—not just the escape from home, but the creation of a new one. The kind of home that
didn't ask for commitment or demands, just hard work and rowdy laughter at the end of the
night.
The next day, I woke up ready to place my two feet firmly on land. First, I just had to
find out if the captain agreed. I headed up to the bridge. It felt like the closer we got to
shore, the more anxious I was to get there.
“So are we close to getting to Europe?” I asked the captain, standing a bit too close to
the imposing man, trying to get a look at his mapping system as though I would have been
able to read the computerized blinking dots that kept us on course.
“Yes,” the captain answered patiently.
“Are we going to see land?” I asked again, feeling my pulse quicken at the mere idea
of the shore. After nearly ten days at sea, I didn't know if I could make it another hour.
Suddenly, the last few days of endless horizons and hard work and sea legs were catching
up with me.
“You can see land right now,” he mentioned nonchalantly.
I looked out but could see nothing, and then I noticed that one of the first mates had
a pair of binoculars. I nearly ripped them from his hands, feeling desperate for that long-
missed view of terra firma. And there it was. . . .
“I can see land,” I shouted, “Oh my God!! Land!”
I went wild. I had seen the tip of Africa. The endless horizon had come to an end.
Europe, here I come.
* * *
Sometimes life is hard. There are days when everything goes wrong, people are mean, your
mind attacks you, and you cannot—and I mean,
cannot
—find a clean public restroom any-
where in the city of Barcelona. I knew my trip would entail days like this, but somehow I
