When it was time for lunch I helped put the food out through the little window which joins the galley to the mess and the crew flooded in like vultures surrounding a fresh corpse. Rien had been made green pea soup but he likes to call it Greenpeace soup or Rienpeace soup. I wont say anything about how it tasted though since some things are better left unsaid but so far Rein has been serving the best food (with exception to the soup) I have ever had on a ship. However, I can't get used to the fact that he is a cook because he looks more like he should be playing music with "The Who". He's been working with Greenpeace for about 30 years but doesn't have the kind of big headed attitude you might expect. Every few minutes in the galley he had me in fits of giggles and was very laid back when I accidentally left the fridge door open for over an hour. At least he was very laid back about it initially...

I had told Rien that I was good at making vegetarian chili so he said I should make it for dinner. I gathered up all my ingredients from the fridge downstairs but it was really difficult to estimate how much I needed for over 20 hungry people. I collected 10 large yellow and red peppers, a large bowl of mushrooms, 6 tins of tomatoes, 12 white and red onions 4 large jalepenos and a packet of fresh red and green chillies (while being very cautious about not getting trapped inside the fridge). I stood opposite one the port holes in the galley and chopped everything up ready for cooking. It was such a surreal experience cutting vegetables like I normally do in my kitchen at home only instead of the same stationary hedge which I always see outside, this time I looked up to see wave after wave rushing past the window and gannets flying swiftly over the surface in search of fish. I stood there feeling like I was in some kind of bizarre dream but then I looked at my watch and realise
d that if I was to feed the entire crew of the Esperanza on time I had better get a move on and stop staring out of the window!

All of a sudden I realised the top of my head was on fire! Well it wasn't quite bursting into flames or anything but it felt like somebody had put some very strong tiger balm on it. I had touched my head after cutting the chilis and they were now starting to burn my hands too! My fingers turned red and began to swell up. Luckily I had finished cutting everything and just had to fry it and simmer it all in the sauce but it's been more than 24 hours since then and my hands only started to feel normal about an hour ago. I was very cautious about how much of that hot stuff I put in the food and in the end it turned out fine. Rien had made the beans and the rice and everyone loved it.

Then came the hard work. We had lots of washing up to stack into the dishwasher and things to put away. I had to sweep and scrub the floor and at that point I realised that working in the galley is actually hard and maybe not quite as fun as I expected. I was feeling tired and my muscles ached from all the scrubbing and the slicing and cleaning. I have new respect for the cooks now and in return for my hard days work Rien thought he would repay me by soaking me with the fire hose (well I was a little hot from all the chili burns!). I suppose he hadn't quite forgiven me for the fridge door.

L.