09-28-06 African Chronicles II - Mombassa, Kenya & Tsavo

JAMBO !!!!

It is hard to remember the moment when we actually arrived in Kenya. I think it was 09-24-06. We came into Mombassa early in the morning and began work right after we docked. It was a long time with out sleep for me, probably 48 hours with one or 2 hours of sleep in there somewhere. Most of that was work related but a soon as my first day was
over in Mombassa I hit the town.

I can say right off the bat that this is WAY better than any of our other African ports. The town is not exactly a metropolis but, there is plenty to do at night as far as clubs. I can't wait till I upgrade so I can work evenings now and then. It would be nice to see these towns during the day.

The people here speak English. I guess the Official language is English, the National language is Swahili, also spoken is the Mother Tong and a mix of 48 other tribal tongs. Everyone is very nice,
and the workers aboard the ship work hard and well. I don't expect I will have to fire anyone in this port.

It is interesting to think of being the only white guy hanging out somewhere; in absolute no way do I ever feel like a minority in the crowd. Everywhere I am welcome and people want to know were I come from then of course they want to know what America is like. It is clear that most everyone wants to at least visit America.

Something also interesting... The girls like American White Men. Go figure! I was asked by one gal to introduce her to any man on the ship. (I was hanging out with her sister) She insisted he not be black.
Well, when in Rome.....humm .... Let’s talk about something else.


TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK...
The safari

On 9/26/06 I woke up early to catch the bus that took 5 of us to Tsavo East. The T is silent. Of course the van was filled with beer and other assorted booze (I don't recommend this if you want good pics, on the other hand what the hell right?. We took the road from Mombassa to Nairobi. The first hour and a half was rough. The driver called it "The African Massage". Talk about pot holes, these were not nearly as large or as deep as the VW swallowing holes in Lome', Togo but they were constant and everywhere. Drivers would swerve head on to each other as they maneuvered through them, supposedly missing the bigger or deeper ones. I am not sure that our driver missed a single one. I like to think of it as "The Pot Hole Slalom".

Eventually we made it to newer and smoother road. The driver took us first to a curio store. I am not sure what a curio looks like, but I don't think saw one. But they had lots of really great stuff in there. That is when I realized that at 5 am that morning I was to tired to make sure I had money in my wallet. Unfortunately I only had a few bucks and the rest was on the ship. I did buy a Safari hat though. Can't go on Safari with out the hat, right? The same hat was offered to me when we got to the gate of the park for half the price :(

It was when we were at the gate that I realized the $50.00 battery I bought for my camera as an extra, was sitting in my drawer on the ship with my money. So I only had about one hour of video power. I used every trick in the book I could think of to conserve power, and the camera did last through the Safari. But it pooped out when we visited the Masi Tribe.

Tsavo is something else. I want to come back again and stay at the lodge for a week sometime. If you like animals, someday try to do it if you can.

Well here is a partial list of the animals we saw.

Dick Dick (okay, a bunch of drunken sailors first
animal was the DickDick....the seriousness of the safari was lost at the start)
Wart Hog
Grey Eagle
Black Bearded Bastard (a bird...either it was the booze or the drivers English, but for a long time we all called it a Blackberry Bastard)
Elephants, lots of 'em
Ant hills, lots of those to, some may have been termite mounds but we couldn't get out to see up close
Grand Gazelles
Ostriches (unfortunately kind of far away)
Lesser Kundu
Giraffes (mom and two kids)
Baboons (I think the driver said Yellow Baboons but they were not yellow)
Zebras
Lions (got great pics of a Lioness, her mate was to far for good pics but still got video) (the group that went the next day witnessed a kill)
Water buffalo (lots of those too)
and some monkeys, not sure what kind. And other assorted mammals, rodents and lizards of
names I know not. We eventually made it to the lodge for lunch.

WHAT A VIEW!!!! We ate in an open air restaurant that over looked the plains stretching to the horizon and distant hills to either side. As you ate you could watch elephants roam right below you with herds of water buffalo. As we ate, the guy sitting closest to the rail had his two bread rolls stolen
by a very quick and sly baboon. The baboon got away with the loot before almost anyone could
comprehend what was happening.

The lodge had a trail that wound down the hill. At the base there is a watering hole and the trail ends in a tunnel for the humans. Once in the tunnel you get an eye level view of the animals that come to the watering hole. There are bars to keep the people out. It was a Reverse Zoo! Seems to me to be about right. Amazing is the only, yet inadequate word to describe the whole thing.

We did not see any Cheetahs or Rhinos. But I understand that Tsavo is very large, and in the East part those animals are very seldom seen. I think Tsavo West is where they hang out.

After the park our driver asked us if we would like to visit a Masi Village. He explained that they now allow tourists to come and take pictures, but they request payment. $10.00 US per person. He said
they have no use for the money except to buy more cattle. We decided to go see the Masi.

Considering the Masi have no dentists, they are beautiful people. We were invited into their homes to see where they sleep and cook. Their houses are built of sticks and cow dung. Actually they seemed
rather sturdy and the floors felt spongy soft. They use cow leather as mattresses for sleeping and each house has 2 bed rooms, one for mom and dad and one for the kiddies. The cooking area is next to mom and dads room. The single men and women each get their own homes. The women build all the houses. I think it was the age of five (it may be older I can't remember for sure), you get branded
with the tribal brand on the cheek. These people had sort of a spiral brand. The brand makes them an official member of the tribe.

At some point before the males turn 21 they must kill a Lion to pass the manhood test. They go out in groups of 6 to 10. One lion counts for the whole group (which is good for the lion population I guess).

The Masi taught us how they build fire. I rubbed my sticks together very well thank you and got my fire going with no problem. Those guys on survivor are a bunch of Rubes! The secret was a little bit of sand in the hole of the bottom piece of wood. The two pieces must be different, one hard wood one soft. After fire they danced for us. When they asked us to dance with them I was the only one that did. The guys like to jump when they dance. So I jumped with them. My camera was out of power buy then, but Joy says she got video from her camera, so I hope I get a copy.

After the dance they showed and offered for sale their jewelry and weapons that they make. There stuff is beautiful and there I was with out any money. Sigh..... I would have liked to have helped buy
them another cow LOL.

Well, that hardly sums it up I think, but I can't type all night :)

We are guessing that Monday we will be leaving Mombassa for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. But today the rains came on hard. Each time it rains we must stop discharging our grain and cover all the hatches. This slows us down considerably. So it is hard to say for sure we'll leave.

I hope you are all doing well and I miss you.
Take care
Jesse

09-18-06 African Chronicles II - Oman

We arrived yesterday around noon in the Gulf of Oman and anchored till about 3am, our schedule changed and it was decided that we would not only drop off the boat for the Sultans Navy but we would also refuel here.

Around 3am we lifted anchor and headed into Port Sultan Qaboos. Today we unloaded the boat before 12 pm and to my surprise the Chief Mate said lets go into town. So we got no shore leave in Israel which we were all hoping for, but we got to go ashore in Oman which no one even expected.

The Chief, Boson, 3rd Mate, Joy and I all grabbed a cab and headed into Port Sultan Qaboos to check it out. Most everyone wanted to buy gold in town. Prior trips to the middle east made them all feel like they would get a great deal here. Unfortunately the prices we higher than expected. But it was nice to get off the ship for a few hours. All the people in Oman seem to speak English very well, most of the businesses and road signs are in Arabic and in English so communicating here is still easier than talking to some one from Mobile, Alabama (no offense).

The women wore scarves on their heads but do not cover their faces. I seen at least two women driving so it seems to be a relative liberal country. The area is full of jagged cliffs and mountains. On these you can see what appear to be fortresses and watch towers. I have no idea how old they are but, looking at them made me think of the middle or dark ages. I counted at least 7 turret style watch towers among the rocks. I would have like to learn more about them or see them up close, but time did not allow.

No one was kidnapped, held hostage or shot. I would say my first visit to a Muslim middle eastern county went pretty darn well. It seemed that everyone we met were pleased to see and talk to us. Not just the merchants, but the military as well. The Oman navy and army helped to unload the boat and all of them were very pleasant.

While discharging their boat from the deck, a large ship (nearly larger than our own) came into port. Some asked if that was the sultans ship. The Navy guy replied yes, that is his support ship for his personal yacht. Man oh Man, I would love to see what his Yacht looks like. The support ship had a landing pad for a helicopter. We untied the ship and got underway about 3pm today. We are now 11 hours ahead of you at home. Darn, just a few more miles and I would actually be 1/2 way around the world. On the bright side though, we are now heading to Kenya and we get to start setting our clocks back instead of forward.

We untied the ship and got underway about 3pm today.We are now 11 hours ahead of you at home. Darn, just a few more miles andI would actually be 1/2 way around the world. On the bright side though, we are now heading to Kenya and we get to start setting our clocks back instead of forward :)

Jesse :)

09-12-06 African Chronicles II - Suez Cannel - Port Said - Red Sea

We are currently in the Red Sea sailing now towards Oman, another port where we will not be able to go ashore. We have only one boat to deliver there so it’s also in and out like Israel.
By the way, the Sea here is blue, just like everywhere else so far. It's not red at all. I'm sure that question was going to come my way eventually LOL. We are currently in the Red Sea sailing now towards Oman, another port where we will not be able to go ashore. We have only one boat to deliver there so it’s also in and out like Israel.

By the way, the Sea here is blue, just like everywhere else so far. It's not red at all. I'm sure that question was going to come my way eventually LOL.

Our passage through the cannel was interesting. We began at Port Said. The city is very close to the water so we could look down all the side streets the ship passed by. I saw a couple of Mosques that looked very impressive with tall spires and domes. (Just like the ones you've seen blown up on TV) They were defiantly the best architecture in the area. I would have liked to have the chance to go in one.

We tied up to the Buoy, which was in the middle of town. I wanted to take some pictures, but we were boarded by the Egyptian Canal police who began confiscating cameras. Apparently you could buy the cameras back from them for as little as $10 but I decided not to risk it.

While tied up, I was stationed at the entrance to the house near the gangway to keep everyone not in the crew out. That job was not very fun. Besides the Police, we also had the Egyptian quarantine doctors, 6 boat men, an Electrician (who is required to ride along but does nothing other than sell watches from his cabin), and Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown Jr. and Charlie Browns son who set up the Egyptian nick knack store on the gangway passage area. It was a mad house LOL.

Eventually we did get underway, around 1 am. There was not much to see as we passed through the Suez, other than allot of sand. We did pass by some square structures that sat right next to the water. I asked Charlie Brown what they were and he said they were parts of the floating bridge that the Egyptians used in the war against Israel in the 70's. It was that war that won Egypt the other bank of the cannel which they still own and control today. Apparently they took that side in a blitz during the Yom Kippor war.

Charlie and his boys had a pretty nice set up going. You could buy anything from rugs, statutes, jewelry boxes, hookahs to perfume. I am sure they made a good deal of money off of the crew before they disembarked at the other end of the cannel. So even though I didn't get to set foot in Egypt, I felt like I got a good experience of Egypt none the less.

All the Egyptians I met seemed to be very nice people with good humor. But of course like everywhere else in Africa I've been so far, they all want a bribe for official business. The Captain must have special bribe training for these runs LOL....

The weather right now in the Red Sea is HOT!!!!! Texas Hot! Today I was painting the booms with a 40-foot extension pole, having to stare towards the sun. If the bright light in my eyes wasn't enough I had sweat pouring in my eyes the whole time. The weather was clear but, to me everything was hazy. It's nice to have that job done with!

Every one is getting more and more excited about Kenya. I now have the boson trying to set me up with some gal there named Emma. He is beginning to scare me a little LOL. Don't worry mom, I won't leave any African children of mine there....................I'll Bring them back home LOL.....

Well, I think my laundry is ready for the Dryer so I'll sign off now and let some one else use the comp.

Love and miss you all. Feel free to write.
Jesse

Jesse James 09-10-06 African Chronicles II - Ashdod, Israel

No more bombs!

Well we arrived in the Israel port of Ashdod two Days ago. We were required to anchor for over 24 hours before we were allowed to dock and discharge their cargo. The captain requested a launch so we could go ashore but was refused. I guess if you’re delivering 62 containers full of 2000 lbs bombs, they don't want you coming ashore. So we only got a look at Ashdod from the ship. It looked like a nice city, maybe the size of Portland or a little smaller. We eventually made it to the dock and I did step foot onto the dock so, I did make it to the Holy Land after all....or is that holey land?

They discharged the cargo beginning at 11:30 pm, and at 5am we were underway again. We are now at anchor at Port Said (sigh-eeed) in Egypt. In a few minutes we will move to a buoy and tie up to it. At 01:00 we will join the convoy to move through the Suez Cannel. I won't be getting any sleep for about 24 hours; I will be on the gangway watch as we go though. With me on the gangway will be Charlie Brown.... an Egyptian who is allowed to ride with us and tries to sell his nick knacks and perfume etc... Also we will be carrying a bunch of boat men, which will handle lines if a sand storm kicks up. It should be an interesting night. I will let you all know how it went.


Well I better get out there, got to raise the anchor and move to the buoy now.

Miss ya all,
Jesse