Starting at the bottom, where I don't think I have even been yet, we have the "Tank Top", this includes the lower levels of the engine rooms and lots of other areas like oil storage and engine stuff. We won't go down there because the engineers probably wouldn't like it. Above that is the Tween Deck and here we find the engine rooms, which make lots of noise! Also on this deck there are store rooms (with the biggest bag of red lentils you have ever seen!), fridges, freezer and laundry. Apparently it's easy to get trapped inside the freezer and if that happens you have to press an alarm and hopefully someone will hear it and come and get you out.

One level up, here is the main deck and this includes accommodation, the mess, galley, engine control room and workshops and out the back is the Poop Deck which is covered on top but open to the elements on the sides. If we go up, we are now on the Boat Deck, which is where my cabin is. It's pretty big and includes 4 bunks, a sink, a table and cushioned bench, another desk and a chair and 4 small wardrobes for clothes. There are 4 port holes in this cabin so it's quite light but the only down side is we keep getting a horrible smell come through from the sewage vent outside so sometimes it's really unpleasant to be in here. I share this cabin with two other crew members. More about them later. On this deck we also have a lounge, a tiny library with one chair and more cabins. Outside is the heli deck with a hanger, which currently contains exercise equipment rather than a helicopter. We also have some of the famous Greenpeace inflatable boats stored on this level.

Up again and we are on the Accommodation Deck. The captain, chief engineer, radio operator, 1st and 2nd mates sleep here. Also on this deck is the radio room where Chris the radio operator (RO) and Tom, his assistant, work. In the entrance to this room is a rainbow curtain made from coloured ribbons which you have to walk through in oder to get to Chris. I always seem to get tangled up in the thing, which is probably why it's there... for Chris's own personal amusement. Outside we find more inflatables. There are 7 in total on the ship.

So let's walk up the final set of stairs to the bridge. At the top of the stairs is the campaign office. It's a fairly large room with a table in the middle for working and computers on one side. This is where I have to go to send my e.mails and web logs. then round through the door straight ahead is the bridge. Here we have a great view of the ocean and lots of panels with buttons. The most noticeable thing about the bridge is that there is no big steering wheel like you would expect. There is a tiny knob instead, which you can turn to manually steer the ship and it is smaller than my hand! Most of the time the ship is on auto pilot though, so there is nobody steering the ship but always someone on the bridge to monitor what is going on. Also up here we have radar screens, GPS positioning stuff, compasses (electric and old school), VHF radio, satellite communications, telephones and navigation charts.

So that's the Esperanza. Of course there are lots of areas I've had to miss out because the ship is so big but hopefully you get an idea of what it's like. I can tell you more about the ship's history another time but before we end the tour.... here are some facts about the Esperanza. She is nearly 73 meters long and nearly 15 meters wide. She weighs 621 tonnes and sleeps 40 people. She has 2 main engines (used only if we need to go somewhere quickly), 1 diesel electric engine (uses less fuel, for long transits like this one) and 3 auxiliary engines (for maneuvering). We are currently averaging about 9 knots on the diesel electric engine and we are using about 60% less fuel than the main engines would use. that's why it is taking us 15 days to do the crossing. We could there faster but it would be a waste of fuel and money!

The crew are all busy and everyone seems to be in a good mood today because the weather is so nice. My cabin mate Satu, who is a volunteer from Finland, has been blasting the rust off the steel on the bow while other deckhands have been painting while strapped to a platform on the funnel. Leo, the second mate from the Netherlands is currently on watch and has just been showing me how to work out our position on the navigation charts. He's really enthusiastic about being at sea. Right now we are about 10 miles south of Wolf Rock, which is a little isolated rock off the south west coast of Lands End. It has a lighthouse on it which we can see through binoculars.

So that's it! We have cleared the south coast of England. All that is left to pass is the Scilly Isles. Six miles to our starboard side is a military ship and all around us are fishing boats. The ocean is about 95 meters deep here but once we leave the continental shelf behind and get right out into the middle we will be in about 3000 meters of water!

-Lisa.