The infidel donkey

There may be a donkey involved in the coming discharging operation. Libyans can’t afford nice cars, cars that will actually start. They have to be pushed out over the ramp and since it’s Ramadan the stevedores are weak. They don’t want to push anything. Enter the donkey! The donkey is strong and can also eat during the daytime since it’s not a Muslim. Just hook up the donkey and over the ramp we go!

Aww shit, there was no donkey, infidel or otherwise. But one of the drivers was 12. So that was nice.

Ok, we have left Libya and my theory as for the awful-next-port-syndrome has grown stronger. Libya wasn’t that bad. All the stevedores were very young, only a few over 20, I think, and they were just all smiles. They took their time, yes, and there were plenty of breaks, plenty of running around throwing shoes at each other, sure. But the atmosphere was ok. The vessel that came in before us had about the same amount of cargo and the discharging took 27 hours for them. But for us, it only took about 10 hours.

We have gone north, passed thru Stretto di Messina, right were the Italian toe meets the Sicilian football, and berthed at Gioia Tauro. The port has an interesting wiki page indeed. There were discussions of going around Sicily to get here at first. That route goes right over an area called Adventure Bank, which is right next to Terrible Bank. It’s right there on the charts, look it up if you don’t believe me. Someone said someone had named that waypoint Handels as a joke. Some of the crew are signing off here, the captain and the 3rd officer. The captain is great. The man can’t finish a sentence without uttering the words “vicka jävla dårar vettuh!” at the end. The things he’s seen, the stories he tells, it’s just an endless amount of fun. And the third officer, why I can’t think of a better combination of charm, humor and bitterness. He claims to be a misanthrope, but I see right thru that shit. He just wants a big hug, now doesn’t he? They will both be missed. I hope the relieving officer and captain will prove to be equally bitter. How else am I expected to learn?

I think I’m gonna start introducing myself like Patrick Swayze does in Road House? There will be no first name of course. And no corny “hi” at the beginning. “The names Lewander”. Yeah. 

Then again, maybe not.