“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” ~ Desmond Tutu.

This week has been a week of sudden memories, sparked by forgotten sensations.  It reminded me that with childbirth and the sight of a newborn child, memories of the prior child are recalled clear and fresh, even though we may have forgotten that tiny face, those delicate fingers.  It is as if those stages don’t last long enough to imprint.  Yet when you relive the moment through the next act of childbirth, so many memories come flooding back.

My first time on a ship was over 60 years ago. My family was moved lock, stock and barrel from the UK to Jamaica, on the SS Ascania, an Italian ship that we swore was held together with paint.  There were many ‘first time’ experiences on that ship.  Formal dining, being served by waiters (one of whom my sisters named ‘Fish face’!), was one of them.  In those days, travel by ship was the means by which the poorer class traveled.  Airplanes were expensive.  As my family was traveling to Jamaica, countless numbers of Jamaicans were taking the opposite trip, heading to the (colonial) ‘Mother land’, looking for life and opportunities not available at home. For those of the ‘Windrush’ generation, their mother had not been welcoming, and they found the cold, gloomy country a harsh place in which to make a living. 

            Our journey was towards the tropics, and all of the possibilities that lay ahead.  The ship stopped at many ports along the way, even stopping at Lisbon, and Madeira (I will have to Google that one!).  I still remember the dreaded name ‘Bay of Biscay’ (again, not sure where it is located) an extremely choppy and nasty weather experience.  My father was not a good sailor, and he spent much of the first part of the voyage below decks.  Eventually we made it to the Western Caribbean islands, and my memory is very shaky here.  St. Lucia I believe was one port, the term ‘floating markets’ is floating up in my memory.  We docked for a while off of Venezuela, soldiers with large weapons featured prominently there.  Our journey was extended by a rude traveler, Hurricane Flora, who insisted on barreling through the Caribbean ahead of us, hitting Jamaica and leaving Kingston disheveled, with stray cows and goats roaming through the streets.  You can imagine what an impression that left on us, when we finally arrived.

We have been cruising through the Western Caribbean this past week, which is what has sent my mind backwards through time.  I believe I made the Jamaica/UK voyage (one way or the other) about four times.  After that first trip, we traveled on ‘Banana boats’, smaller ships whose first-class passengers (as they frequently reminded us) were the bananas! Humans came in second place to that precious cargo!

Today’s cruises are a very different animal, where the focus is on the passenger, on each passenger having the best experience of their life (please remember to complete the survey!).  Food is available virtually 24 hours a day.  Something is happening to entertain you every hour of the waking day.  Shore excursions are available to meet every activity level.  Temptations to relieve you of your hard-earned money are planted every five yards at the ports, and on board you are strongly encouraged to buy that diamond! (And apparently it is yellow diamonds we should be buying).

But for me the experience has been rich in many other ways.  There is the beauty of the inky sea; its gentle rocking like a mother’s foot on a cradle; the meditative swoosh of the waves as they break and build alongside the ship; the salty spray that catches your face; the expanse of ocean that captures and reflects the golden rays of the rising or setting sun.  At our ports of call we received a cultural and historical education as we toured various sites, reminders of ancient peoples; then the marauding colonizers; and the assortment of ruling powers which have followed.  We have seen exotic, expensive resorts juxtaposed with barely upright shacks on stilts, reminders that many live lives far removed from the tourists impression. 

On board it is as if we have entered a new country, a world of its own.  And since this is a ‘smaller’ cruise ship, as we saw yesterday when our ship was dwarfed by three other monsters that docked at the same pier, it has been possible to recognize our fellow passengers as we move around the ship, or wander on shore.  More than the forced camaraderie that the entertainment crew try to promote, there is the kinship of the shared experience.  Socioeconomic, ethnic, national, racial and religious barriers are erased as conversations start up easily in elevators, on deck chairs.  Politics and current events were left behind in the US.  With no effort at all.

Which makes me wonder, if it is possible for us to live so cooperatively on board, why can’t we do this on our planet?  Why can’t we treat everyone we meet with the same interest, empathy and caring?  Perhaps the example is set by the crew, who seem to have one goal in mind: to meet our every need.  Waiters and staff of every nationality greet us as we move around, wanting to make our lives easier, more pleasant.  And in return we ask them about their lives, their days.  These smiling people work seven days a week for over six months, and then have six weeks off.  They may be able to get off the ship for a few hours here and there. Their room and board is covered, so they can save much of their earnings, but this is not a lifestyle for everyone.  And yet they continue to pleasantly offer help, smiles, excellent customer service.

On this Friday morning, as we return to our port of embarkation, I am grateful for being able to experience this slice of vacation life.  I have photos to remind me of the variety of scenery and people we have met.  I will probably forget that particular mix of engine and salt smell that hits you when you stand on the deck and approach the dock.  I will miss the gentle rocking at night that lulled me to sleep.  I wish most of all that we could see our experience on our Planet Earth as a journey we are all taking together, so that we could live more tolerantly, with more consideration of each other, since we all face the same destination.

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.