Pacific Odyssey - Leg 4

We have had another very productive day.  Gillian and Katie and their
crew of galley help, emptied all storage areas for food in the foc=B9sle and
the hold, cleaned them out, vacuumed them and re-stowed them with food or
put in newly purchased food.  The galley and the after cabin were also
cleaned. Katie returned to the store today with Caley and Sara R. to buy
more food, while Gillian went with Sean and Kelly to the market for fresh
fruit and vegetables.  When I was leaving the dock area with my kids, I saw
a parade headed by Katie pushing the first of about 6 grocery carts full of
food. The road is very gravelly and potted and steering the carts was
difficult.  There were clerks and young boys from the store helping push
carts or trolleys full of boxes of food, each of them concentrating intentl=
y
on the road and their stack of boxes.  Beside them all, walked a security
guard swinging his stick, just like a drum major; it was priceless, I wishe=
d
I had my camera.  The cooks will continue to buy food for the next few days=
.
Produce always get picked up the final morning before leaving and the meat
is ordered ahead of time and then frozen before we bring it into our
freezer.  On deck most pieces of wood were given a sanding or scraping and =
a
new coat or two of oil, linseed oil, or paint.  The deck iron work was give=
n
a hard rub with the wire brush and then repainted; it looks very smart now
and we have a few people stained with black paint.  The hull crew continued
sanding the crew while standing in the zodiac, moving slowly around the
entire ship.  The dock side was done awkwardly from the dock, or hanging
over the side, or sitting in life jackets in the water (we call it in
diapers).  Once the hull is sanded, it gets a wipe with paint thinner and
some areas will be primed.  Then the ship gets a coat of black paint, also
applied from the zodiac.  The transom was done today and Tav and Elske were
in the water hand painting it, as the zodiac comes too high under it.  It
looks like new.  Brook painted the boot top (the white strip above the
water), also in a =8Cdiaper.=B9  He did a good job. The green was sanded and
primed and is ready to be painted tomorrow.  All 3 dories are on the dock
and are getting a new coat of paint and oil.  Karen said we were going to
make the dories look =8Cblinging (flashy);=B9 Kelly said we were going to =8Cpimp
our dory=B9 after the TV show  =B3Pimp my Ride (a TV show that shows how to tur=
n
a run down looking car into something flashy).  The dories are now sanded
and waiting for paint.  The dugout is also getting several coats of oil.
Mid=ADafternoon, Gillian, Kelly and Caley walked to the grocery store with th=
e
coolers and filled them with tubs of ice cream.  5987u9u7Everyone was given
a spoon and told to grab a tub and form a group to share with. All over the
dock there were clusters of trainees and crew around tubs of various flavor=
s
of ice cream. The hose was moved and we were not able to hook one up until
after 1900 hrs, when everyone was well overdue wanting and needing a shower=
.
Crew is very impressed with the work that was done and the attitude behind
it.  Walking around town I have noticed how much weight the women here can
carry.  They carry bags around their neck and very large and heavy ones,
full of produce, on their heads.  The strap fits over the head and the bag
hangs down their back.   In their hands they will be carrying more bags, or
a child.  Yesterday I saw a woman bent over trying to pick up a watermelon.
She had a huge bag of produce over her head and hanging down her back, she
had a smaller bag around her neck and down her front, and she already had
one large watermelon in one arm. She was having trouble picking up the last
watermelon with just one hand left free.  We stopped to place it in her arm=
.
It=B9s fascinating to watch them.   Katie, Karen, Tavish and Elske have been
telling great stories to the Anderson boys; usually more of us end up
listening, everyone loves a story.  Jacob, Chris, Andrew, and a few other
trainees joined with the security guards in procuring some drinking coconut=
s
with the help of the ship=B9s pike pole.  They were very big and held a lot o=
f
liquid, enough for 4 or 5 people to enjoy.  A few more big ships have come
to share the dock in the past few days. Thomas spent some time chatting wit=
h
some fellows off a Phillipino fishing boat last night who were interested i=
n
the Pacific Grace.  We are quite the beauty amongst these large, steel,
rusty fish boats.  It is late again.  Most people are asleep.  Earlier on
there were games of SCRABBLE and Trivial Pursuit, and some mandolin playing
by Julie and Skipper.   A few trainees walked to the Madang Lodge to enjoy =
a
cold drink, play cards, relax etc.  It=B9s a nice place for a change.  Gillia=
n
would like to wish a very 25th Happy Anniversary to Wanda and Rob. This is
it, until tomorrow. Thank you for the mail that has made it; it=B9s a great
part of our day.  Good night, Bonice.