Intro Recent Cartoons Work Shipwrecks CBM Family Travel
South Africa
Sept. 11- On Sunday,
I said farewell to my home church in Tyler, TX, the Smith Temple Church of
God in Christ.
I gave a short talk thanking them for the kind hospitality they've shown me, and gave a gift
of Mercy Ships coloring
books to all the children of the church. Bishop
David R. Houston, the pastor, prayed a blessing for me. Attending
church at Smith Temple
is what I will most about the time spent at the International
Operations Center in E. Texas.
*
The Caribbean Mercy is currently
laid up in Chickasaw, AL just north of Mobile.We were concerned that the hurricane had caused
damage to it. We weren't
able to get to it the first few days due to the water level. A friend
and
former shipmate
who's a Colonel
in the Civil Air Patrol snapped these pictures of the
ship as he flew overhead. As you can see, there was little damage-though the
swimming pool was over fifty
feet from where we had left it !!! After, the ship was then used as a base for our relief
team there.
*
Sept. 10- Saturday, Kathia & Alberta threw a farewell party for me.
Friends from Gateway, CBM & the IOC came to wish
me a good trip.
In true Mercy Ships fashion, there was food to feed an
army. I was amazed by the turnout, & it was nice to see everyone one last
time.
*
Sept. 16-18- I
arrived in Cape Town, South Africa to board the M/V
Anastasis. Cape Town is a beautiful city with a lively harbor,
known as
the 'Victoria
& Alfred Waterfront', or simply, the V & A. It's very similar to Boston's Fanueil Hall or Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There
are some
folks from the CBM already on board, so I got to see
some old friends. I had arrived late Friday afternoon, so I had the
weekend to explore.
*
Sept.23- This
weekend is our last weekend for tours. It's also a holiday,
Heritage
Day, in South Africa. We had a whopping
3500 people tour the
ship today, for a total of 17,302 people during our time in Cape Town. Tours
help to raise the profile
of Mercy Ships, which bring more volunteers and supplies. They also generate a modest amount of financial help through
donations given for the tour, as well as money that is brought in from the gift shop
that we have on board the
Anastasis.
*
Sept 24- This
weekend, a local couple, Neville & Sue Boddington, took
Sandy, Jen, & I to Stellenbosch,
the wine country of South Africa.
Stellenbosch was settled by the Huguenots
in 1680, & now the loveliest region in South Africa produces some of the
best wines the world.
We saw many wineries, scenic areas, & shops. Our trip was
topped off by a visit to 'Oom
Samie Se Winkel', a 100 year-old 'general store'
that was like stepping back in time. This was the highlight of my time here,
and bless you, Neville
& Sue for your gracious hospitality!
*
Sept 25-30- We were
busy all week. We moved the ship to another dock nearby
& loaded all of our cargo on. Between the stores
we already had, the
containers that arrived, & the medical supplies that were donated, we had
a good bit of loading. We head back
to our favorite spot at the Victoria
& Alfred Waterfront Monday. Below, Dominique, Don Gyu, & I sort out some
assorted palettes.
*
Oct 1.- Ben Colby
(Maine) and I hit the road to explore Cape Town by bike. We followed the waterfront around the city, winding
up on the other side of
'Lions Head', one of the mountains that surround the city. We hiked over
the mountain,bikes in hand, and
came down in the back of the city. We had a fantastic
lunch of Gnosh Vindaloo and Chicken Zafredi at Jaipur
Palace, which had the
best Indian food I've ever tasted. After lunch, we continued exploring downtown,
stopping at St.Georges market. After quick stops
in Thibault Square and Greenmarket
Square, we headed on back to the ship. Low-lying clouds
and winds kept temps
cool all day.
*
Oct.2- A dozen or so
of us hiked up Table
Mountain today. Table Mt. is a massive
flat-topped mountain that dominates the Cape
Town skyline. It was
designated a National Monument in 1957. It
took about 2 hours up steep, rocky terrain. The mountaintop is
populated by brown 'Rock
Rabbits', or 'Dassies', as the locals call them.
The top was shrouded in fog, as usual ( the local call it a
Tablecloth), but it was burned off 15 min. after we reached the top, giving us a stunning view
for miles
around. There's not enough
room on my website to show a picture of every
view, but I put up the most I could fit. That's me & a Dassie (dossy) at
bottom left.
*
Oct.8- Went biking
around CT again today, this time with Joe, a friend from Halifax
I met @ the IOC a month back. We went
along the shoreline, then cut into
the city.
We visited several markets, 'fed the seagulls' in the botanical gardens,
and ate lunch
outside a Castle. My friend Dan Connors (Manchester, NH) came
aboard today.
He teaches BST at the IOC in Texas, & is aboard
to do some training for a couple
weeks. Check out the funny sculpture on the left...hey, I don't know art, but I
know what I like.
*
Oct.9-Went to World
of Birds today. It was a large aviary/monkey house about 30
minutes outside of Cape Town. We saw just
about every species of bird
known to man, and spent a chaotic thirty minutes in the 'Monkey
Jungle', being
assaulted by dozens
of spider monkeys. Afterwards, we went on a scenic driving tour
of Cape Town, visiting Camps
Bay, Signal
Hill, and Bo Kaap.
I went along with my roommate John, a retired Deputy from Oregon, his
co-worker Franz and daughter Marsha from Holland.
*
Oct 12.- A few more
Cape Town pictures that didn't fit anywhere else-Loading cargo, Oscar the
seal, group shot, Dan at the
Clock Tower, an African tree, James & Kishor at Castle of Good Hope,
and, finally, Jen and I at the
wheel of the Anastasis...
*
Oct.14- Sights and
sounds of Cape Town. These are some 'mini-movies' I
filmed around Cape Town of some of the wildlife there. Click each to
watch.
See a 'Dassie' in action on top
of Table Mountain. Watch some seals
'battling' at the V & A Waterfront
*
Oct.19- Departure...We
left our beautiful spot at the V&A Waterfront
and set sail for Liberia. It will be about a 9 day sail, give or take.
While
it was to leave such a beautiful place, the crew have their hearts geared
up for the outreach. We'll be staying in Liberia for the next 8 months.
*
Oct.26 & 27- We crossed the Equator at 10:17 local time, at Longitude
06°39.5' West.
We celebrated with a
braai on the back
deck, followed by games,
races, & contests. I
was the
emcee for the tug-of-war contest, where we matched boys vs. girls,
Dutch
vs.
Norwegians, kids vs. parents, and any other combination
we
could think of, including
deck vs. engineering, which deck lost
after a mighty
struggle. I was a lot more fun than the
first time I crossed
the equator in the Navy.
The next day, we stopped the
engines
& drifted for a few hours so the communications team could get some good
pictures.
After, we got a nice break when
the captain announced a 2-hour swim
call. Our
own
Mark Elliot did a quick scuba search for sharks, and we all took
turns in the
water.
There's nothing quite like going for a swim in water that's over a mile deep.
You can see how blue the water was, below.
These are a few of the fantastic photos our
communications man, Martin, took...
*
For earlier news,
go HERE.
The next page has photos from my time on the
Caribbean Mercy and at the IOC in East Texas.
