13 March 2006
No rest for the cookie-maker
The Warrior's exact position
© Greenpeace/ Sharomov
Moonlight spills across the open sea, from behind herringbone clouds it lights the ship eerily, revealing contorted figures on deck with limbs splayed in all directions, seemingly defying gravity as the ship sways.
It’s a moonlit yoga session. Surely, this doesn't happen on that many ships?
That was last night. Now it’s Sunday, the crew’s day off. The captain, mates and engineers still do their shifts – they have to make sure the ship is operating smoothly and staying on course – but everyone else gets to chill out.
Some lie in hammocks on deck, others watch DVDs in the mess, or exercise in the hold. I'm baking experimental vegan cookies in the galley.
While my cookies are in the oven I head up to the bridge where Dmitri, our Russian Second Mate, is on 'watch'. He is taking bearings to locate our exact position – we have GPS, but the old fashioned way is far more accurate.
We take a close look at the map and see small villages hugging the coast all along this stretch. However, even with the binoculars there is no sign of anything but forest ashore. There are only dotted tracks marked on the map, so there are probably no roads connecting the villages.
I marvel at this wilderness as I scan the shoreline. We are looking at one of the largest remaining intact forests in the world, and they are still discovering new species out there. Remembering the large clear-cut area and landslips we have seen on shore over the last few days is a reminder of how important it is that these areas are left alone.
We are crossing the border from Papua New Guinea into Papua. It’s officially a new continent: Asia. The sea has returned from murky river brown to blue, and everything else I can see is blue too… the sky and layers of hazy jagged tree covered mountains of Papua beyond.
"Oh no, the cookies!" I suddenly realise and dash below… to discover that tonight's dessert is now rock-cakes.
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Comments
Kia ora Cookie,
nice to hear how you're travels are going. Good luck on your journey. Keep safe.
(sent you an email...)
Posted by: Em at March 16, 2006 1:51 AM
