The Sail Continues

Europe has come and gone already. The last time I sat down to write I was skipping over wimpy waves down the East coast of England. Well friends, I am now lurching through the massive waves of the Bay of Biscay, where my computer mouse moves back and forth on it’s own to the sway of the ship, where the sun is setting to the West, where I can wave to France on the East, and where the wind and waves are so bad that we have been commanded to stay inside. But guess who was outside a little, gripping on to the railing above the bridge for sweet dear life a few hours prior to the announcement! What a rush.

The view out my window at the top of the steps

The Netherlands was a beautiful country from the few puzzle pieces that I saw of it. The people there were vibrant and alive. They dressed expressively, were hospitable, and were simply beautiful. Quick rundown on Rotterdam where I was: Rotterdam is Europe’s largest port. It was bombed to smithereens by the Germans in World War II. It was rebuilt and now has a remarkable infrastructure, architecture, and public transit system. Being in the Netherlands, everything is quite flat, like Iowa. The Africa Mercy pulled up right into downtown Rotterdam, next to it’s famous bridge, the Erasmus. It is the main artery into the city from the South.

Waiting patiently at a bicycle stoplight

On Sunday, I borrowed a bicycle from one of the local Mercy Ships volunteers and went for a three hour ride out of the city. In the Netherlands, they have black streets for the cars, and red streets next to them for bicycles. There are stoplights for both! It makes biking easy and fun. It was brief, but a good way to get a feel for the land. There are canals everywhere to drain the water that is then pumped back into the ocean to prevent the land from flooding. Much of it is below sea level!

It is now Thursday. We left on Tuesday. We hope to arrive in the Canary Islands off of Africa on Monday afternoon to refuel, stock up on fresh water, and to have the hull inspected by some divers! After this, we sail to Liberia. I do not know how long I’ll be a part of the crew. I’m not even exactly sure what my role will be. I do know that I am deeply excited for what lies ahead.