Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Chapter Four - Trouble in Paradise

Stowaway night was…nice. But Tammy and I are into the romance thing and don’t notice too much of anything or anyone beyond our immediate vicinity. Nobody gets too raucous. Of course, I’m not sure because I don’t remember too much about it.

On the taxi ride over to the Carenage, I could see the Clipper! So beautiful it took my breath away! Got aboard and to our cabin (We had booked a deck cabin) Met the crew. Julian (Now a Captain) was first mate. Oxford (He's now a bartender on the Yankee Clipper) was our steward. Found out that there are 27 passengers for this trip and 28 crew.

I remember waking up in the wee hours of the morning because it felt like we were moving…I arose with the sun, which was to be my habit for the week. The queen slept in. We had motored out to deeper water sometime in the darkness. A container ship of some kind had apparently bumped us off the mooring to unload. One of the crew informed me that the Captain was not yet aboard. Found out later in the morning that Capt. John was going to be late. Trapped in San Francisco or someplace, he was.

The mornings turned out to be one of my favorite times of day. Up and out before the other passengers. Get my coffee and sit on the deck, listening to the ship creak and the crew in their early morning chatter, or reading something out of the one or two books that I’d brought along. Watching the sun, rise up out of the sea or from over an island if we happened to be near one. You know, we even brought a journal with us. I don’t think we wrote more than a couple of pages for the entire week. (God only knows where that thing has gotten off to!)

One thing is certain: I love it here! I'm still (to this day) thanking the Queen for showing me these kinds of places! Makes me feel so ALIVE!

After finishing my morning walkabout the deck, I take the Queen a cuppa down to the cabin. She informs me, “I don’t feel so good.” Get her up and showered. Man, the head is small but kinda cool…Close the door and you can shower, shit, and shave all at the same time. (probably a guy thing) The deck cabins are small but larger than a standard. Standards are below decks. I go to find the purser and see if they have any drugs on board. The Queen sounds like she’s coming down with some kind of Flu. “No babe, not THIS week!” But her throat is sore, and she's generally achy. Probably feverish, too. The purser did have a small supply of some kind of cold thingie. Thank God!

I go back to the cabin to retrieve the Queen and get some breakfast in her. Get her situated up on deck with food and I need a bloody mary. Other passengers are up and about now. After we eat I give her the drugs I got from the purser and we sit there and watch the world go by.

Island time is great…I took my watch off sometime during the morning and it’s the last time I wear it till we get off the Clipper.

Sometime after breakfast a launch is lowered and races(?) off towards St. Georges. Tammy starts to feel a little closer to normal. No worries, mon.