There’s a feeling that overtakes the Explorer the night before we port. We spend so much time at sea that we stop realizing it. When the seas get rocky, we don’t whine, we just adapt. If, on occasion, we get tired of the dining choices- nobody complains. Because complaining just makes it worse; actually admitting a problem is the worst thing to do, we just grin and bear it. Why? There’s no other option. We are on a ship. In the middle of nowhere, and we all realize that. At home, it’s easy to bitch about one restaurant or one activity. Of course it’s easy! There’s a million other, better things you can be doing! Here, that alternative fails to exist…and in it’s place is a weird peace. A calm feeling that, “it’s out of my hands. I can either smile, or not. Either way, I’ll still be on the same ship.”
The night before landfall, however, that tends to change. With land, endless opportunities present themselves, and endless dangers as well. No longer will we be safe in our own clean, English-speaking, medically-staffed ship. It’s back into the real world, where nobody looks out for you except you. Of course, it’s no different from normal life in the states, but I promise you that when you’re taken away from it for 8 days at a time, you really understand it when you head back ashore.
The feeling’s palpable. It’s on every face, every white-board message outside every cabin: “Namibia Tomorrow!”and on every bulletin board. Our next port is close, and everybody knows it.
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We had a great logistical pre-port tonight to prepare for Namibia. There, we hear all the logistics of the day to come. You all at home probably have no idea what I’m talking about, so I’ll share some of the details:
-Berthed in Walvis Bay Harbor Berth 8
- Docked on Starboard side
-Gangway on Deck 5
-Customs officials on at 0800, Ship cleared by 1000. No face-to-face interaction required
-Moderate security risk. Pickpocketing and tourist rip-offs and scams common, violent crime not really a worry.
-Currency: Namibian Dollars, 1:9.9 USD. USD not accepted generally
-Language: English primarily, Afrikans and German 2nd and 3rd.
One of the PAs also spoke about health requirements. I’ve already started taking my Malaria medication in preparation for my safari, and will continue it daily all the way a week past departure from Namibia. The water, he informed us, is of course unpotable and shouldn’t be used.
These pre-ports are the culmination of excitement, it’s when we really get pumped. And it helps that our MC is Luke “the voice”who is hilarious and keeps our attention. Honestly, we just laugh our butts off for an hour while pumping ourselves up for Namibia.
I had a great afternoon today, tutoring one of the dependent children (a 14-year old) in Algebra for 8th graders. He's a smart kid, and got really interested in Mathematics that was way beyond the scope of 8th grade algebra, like differential equations and calculus. I found myself excited explaining the complex stuff, stuff that I take for granted as common knowledge but are actually, now that I revisit them, pretty hard to wrap your head around the first time. I credit all of my teachers and professors throughout the years for preparing me well time after time... it was fun to put that to action for awhile today.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be up at 0630 to watch us roll into port, and then will change into nice clothes to welcome our US Diplomats on board. After they start speaking to the ship, I’ll go change, grab my bags and wait for the ship to clear, and then it’s off to Etosha National park for 3 days!!!
Until then, I hope all is well. I will be sure to update upon my return to the ship on Monday.
Best as always,
Greg.
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