Week 5

Random Observations
After each day of cooking and washing dishes, the floor is mopped and the stainless steel wiped with Simple Green. The scent never fails to transport me back to Scott Kolbo’s printmaking class. Then I see etchings in eyes’ memory and think of the lines that characterize Jenn’s prints. It’s a refreshing memory at the end of a long and tiring day.
I’m finally able to listen to the Gotan Project without getting teary eyed, without a flood of memories attacking my brain, and with a sense of peace.


Wildlife
This has been a bad week for animal watching. We’ve only seen two pods of whales and both times they were feeding. Of course I was inside dealing with pots and pans and missed both times. Argh.
However, while in Katlian Bay, Elaine and I were able to get off the boat with the passengers and go on a hike with a guide through a forest with at least 5 ecosystems in it. We walked through rain forest, where the trees’ trunks began at least a foot above the ground, exposing all their roots. So much water can go through there that the ground basically raises. During the dryer months, the roots can be seen. We then passed a swamp area and all the tall dense trees disappeared and made way for scraggly pines and low growing grasses. The pH of the soil is too high for tall trees and the swamp is kind of frightening. One can be walking on what is seemingly wet mud and all of a sudden be completely submerged in it. Our six foot, four inches guide was once in the stuff above his head. Thank God for our trusty wooden boardwalk.
We came to a birdwatching house that facilitated observation of a large expanse of land. One could see the sea meeting the coastal lowland and the river in it, part of the rainforest, the pine forest, and the swamp. On our way back to the boat we passed the river’s entrance into the ocean. The normally green waters were almost black with what seemed huge bundles of seaweed. Looking closer the seaweed was moving rather strangely and salmon were jumping out of the water constantly. It turned out to be a huge conglomeration of salmon, adapting their bodies from the salt to the sweet water of the stream.

People
Finally got to see Cousin!! The Empress of the North docked in Petersburg the same day as the Contessa. By the time my boat got there though, Andi’s break was more than half over. I haven’t run so fast anywhere in a long time. Dodging slippery metal, puddles, and smiling tourists I ran up their gangway and managed to get a hold of her.
“COUSIN!!” we both said at the same time. Hugs. More hugs. It was the best half hour I have had in a long time. We talked about everything we possibly could in that
time; creating fast summaries and short versions of all the stories we just HAD to talk about. It was so refreshing.

Next week is my week off! I’ll be back in Spokompton/The ‘Kan/Spokentucky with everybody I know who is still there. Haircut and bubble tea are in order.

Week 4

Wildlife
Superb week for fauna! Wednesday we got to see about 10 humpback whales feeding. All of them swam around a school of krill, herding them into a giant group (or so our naturalist guide told all the passengers). About half stayed near the surface, breathing constantly and exhaling to create a ring of bubbles around the school. Then all of them dove down, one by one, giving us a glimpse of their beautifully graceful tails as they submerged into deeper water. We all waited around for about 5 minutes when all of a sudden, all of them shot through the water at the same time, mouths open and krill falling out of their huge mouths. It was incredible! Usually all we get to see are their tails and fins, their heads are so different from the rest of their bodies.
Today Friday we were in Glacier Bay all day and constantly stopping to look at wildlife. We saw two wolves on one beach. They are darker than any of us thought they would be, almost black. They were following a trail and disappeared into the woods. Later on we came across a grizzly bear with her three cubs in a stream. The cubs were learning how to fish, played in the water, batted and bit each other, while mama kept a lazy eye on them and meandered around the stream. The excitement came when we saw two wolves less than a kilometer away from the bear family, walking toward the stream. Mama bears are very protective of their young and we wondered at what would happen if the wolves had the guts to get that close. “fight, fight!”, some of us were cheering. God, we can be obnoxious. When the wolves were less than 500 mts away, they disappeared into the brush. So we watched the cubs play for almost a half hour.
Bald eagles are everywhere. Now I understand why they are the national bird of the USA. They are beautiful creatures! So majestic and proud. The colors of their feathers work well and you can pick them out anywhere by the white dot of their heads. I want to see one catch a fish right out of the water. I saw two of them fighting but I had no binoculars at the moment to catch the action.

City/Town life
Juneau and Petersburg are quickly becoming my favorite stops. Juneau is an actual city with plenty to do and see when we stop there. Of course time is a huge limiting factor which means we never have enough time to get what we need to get done AND sightsee. Either I use internet for a couple of hours and try to keep a feeble communication with people all over the world or I explore the city. Internet keeps winning.
Petersburg is just quaint. It is a fisher’s town and pretty much everybody is wearing the fisherman’s staple: brown rubber boots that reach your knee. I’m thinking of getting a pair and transforming them into a fashion item. Ha.
The town also has the best huckleberry ice cream in the world, made by an Alaskan family right there and then; a bookstore with a surprising selection; and it has the feeling of being comfortable.

Most common bumper sticker I’ve seen: Friends don’t let friends eat FARMED fish. Well then.

People
While Elaine was gone I became a bit closer to Hattie. She is the girl who is closest to my age and is very vivacious, practical minded, knows a lot about very different things (how to fix a dishwasher, how to make cornrows, all about fitness and nutrition…), and is fun to be around with. She’s become my dictionary for information about becoming fit and eating healthier. It’s great. I’ve managed to work out almost everyday for almost a week now.
Although I’ve said mostly good things about Mario on this blog, there is a lot more to him than I care to tell. Basically he can be an obnoxious asshole. He was dumb this week, did some dumb things, and was fired. Off the boat he went and I watched him walk up the gangway in Juneau. I felt relieved. The environment on the boat, especially in the galley during meal times has improved dramatically. And I’m comfortable in my own work area again.
We have a new sous chef. He’s from New Orleans, looks like a giant teddy bear, and cooks all this great southern food. The galley is such a better place to be in!

Random
The boat has a tiny library where I’ve been perusing books. I’m almost done reading Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I saw snippets of the movie and was told it was a good movie. It’s a great novel! Deals with the relationship between a mother and a daughter, the cause and effects of behavior and attitudes between the 3 generations, friendship between women and the tight bonds it creates…
Jenn was put in the paper because of her art! I am so proud of her, and so happy for the quick steps she has taken to advance her art after college. Her work was recently in a show in the Kress Gallery in Riverfront Square. Check out the article in Spokane 7: http://www.spokane7.com/culture/stories/?ID=6789

R. has communicated. We shall see what happens because of it.

August 11th, 2007 - Saturday
I talked to my Momi! I talked to my Darris! It was wonderful. It was great. So much news to hear about, to discuss. I was in need of some news not only from Costa Rica but from the entire social circle. So much disconnection left me craving information and updates. And that is exactly what I got from conversing with my progenitors. I planted the idea of a trip to Chile some time for the end of this year or the beginning of the next.
Not all news is good new though. I was informed of an increased level of crime and theft in my city of San José. The neighbors are finally getting to know each other in an organized fashion to combat it in our neighborhood (about time they talked to each other on a more than just a wave-hello basis). I do not like hearing about the lack of safety in the day to day life and the apparent need to steal others property and hurt them in the process.
My sister Amy is still without a job. This is not good either.

August 12th, 2007 – Sunday
Turnday. T.I.R.E.D. we got so many groceries there was nowhere to put some of them. Lugging frozen, dead animals up three decks and finding room in a full freezer to store them in. Whoever said working in a galley was not physically challenging was an idiot. My arms are stronger, hands are tougher, shoulders can carry more weight. My body has finally stopped being constantly sore (although opening a water bottle has never been so painful when every ligament in your fingers hurts).
We got a new server for 2 weeks. He’ll be taking over while I’m on my break. His name is Joshua and is a dissertation away from becoming a doctor in theology. I can finally have intellectual conversations like the one I had in college! He couldn’t believe I knew who Teresa of Avila was or what a mystic was for that matter. We’ve been discussing and questioning the Christian faith and all its nuances. He considers himself an “Iconoclast Gnostic.” Within a day I could tell what his biggest flaw was: pride. Pride for being so educated, pride at what he had achieved even though his background made it almost impossible. Pride for pursuing higher ideas instead of worldly things. But he is knowledgeable and I’m glad a liberal arts education has facilitated me with the capacity to talk to him about these subjects.
“Is washing dishes as bad as I think it is?” asked Josh. “No,” I said, “it is hard work, it exerts the body in ways studying never can, and it teaches humility.”

Week 3

This week’s writings will not be organized in order of days. Days are all running together; I only keep track of Sunday because that’s turnday, when all passengers get off and the new ones get on. Now I keep track of the days depending on where we are: Glacier Bay Nat’l Park (can’t use the garbage disposal), Petersburg/Wrangell (towns of 3,000 people), Juneau (laundry & groceries, internet!), Misty Fjords, Sitka, Ketchikan, Tracy Arms…

People
Elaine and Mario have this week off. No Philadelphia or New Yorker accents. We only have 14 pax (passengers) on board. Downright boring. I can do all the entrée plates in one load. Amazing. By the time the servers have cleared the tables, I’m done with all the dinner plates, glasses, and silverware and am finishing up the cookingware. Not so next week. We’re expecting 34. Becca and I have to move in with the server gals who have an extra fold down bunk in the room. It’s going to be tight. Literally.
New deckhand on board. His name is Kris and he’s the new baby: 18 years old. Apparently he’s a sound engineer, musician, and creates indie-rock-hiphop. Is constantly talking about his crew, his cats, the ‘hood he came from, who he’s smoked with, connections in the music industry… He’s also a cultural mess, of a different sort: white mother, black father and can speak both “languages”. It’s funny watching him speak and behave white around the pax and the cap’t, then revert to his more comfortable black around me and the other 2 deckhands. Finally got to talk a bit about art. That was cool.
“You should be a DJ!”, he said. “I know! It’s one of my buried, underground dreams.” He said he would think of a good dj name for me. I laughed.

Wildlife
More humpback whales! One can’t tire of watching them. Such big, beautiful creatures. Again a pod of them came near the boat. Could hear them breathing. This time got a video of them.
Today, Thursday 22nd, got to see dolphins right by the bow of the vessel. In comparison to the whales, they sure are small and fast. They were like the hummingbird of the ocean.
Almost got the opportunity to go kayaking at Old Sitka. Four of us got ready in a flash and joined the pax. But then 2 decided to join the activity last minute. Great. That left us with no chance to kayak for the 1st time ever. There better be more opportunities. Damn.
We got real close to a mama bear and her 2 cubs. Real close for a boat at least. They were light brown and the cubs were playing.

Other stuff
Andi starts working on the Empress of the North on Monday. I really hope both ships will dock in the same port a couple of times so I can see her.
Finally finished the book I brought along with me The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Excellent book that explores the psychology of human psyche in our decision making. We live only once; all our decisions bear with them a carefree lightness. We cannot practice. Ever. But it explores all this through the story of 2 couples. It makes Nietzsche, communism, nationalism, love, lust, choices, and the duality of divine and mortal a lot easier to understand. Thanx to Trott for posting its pic on her facebook profile.
Shannon asked me what I was going to do after the season was over. “Find a place to live,” was my response. Really? That’s it? what do I want after this? I’ve been plagued by these questions ever since and frustrated with myself for not having at least one undying passion for something. It seems to me that the answer to “What do I want?” will elude me continuously, for everything in my life, forever. I can never seem to answer that one goddamn question regardless of what it’s about.
I missed the Daft Punk concert in Seattle. I’ll miss the Smashing Pumpkins concert next month.
It’s becoming obvious to me that most people on the boat think my name is Carol. It almost sounds like Caro, but not quite. Those who do say my whole name say it the gringo way. I don’t know how to begin correcting without offending. The only person who can call me “Carrolayna” is my Texan roomie, Becca. That accent is killer and it’s cool. But only from her.


People Part II
Chef Kevin got a waaaay better job. Today, Sunday, August 05 he left the boat. His new job will be on a yacht that goes to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Pacific Northwest. They contacted him 2 weeks ago and he’s already gone. geez. This means Becca will be taking over as Executive Chef, a friend of hers will become sous chef, and we’ll all be good.
Now we both live on the 1st deck. Our room is bigger, which is cool, but it’s a lot noisier. Everybody has to walk by our room in order to get anywhere. One of the generator’s exhaust pipe is beneath our room. Noisy. Apparently we should be using ear plugs at night because of the decibel levels that seem quiet but are actually kind of loud. Becca needs the space for the laptop and printer that her upgraded position requires. I just get the perks.
We’ll have 34 passengers on this week. That’s a lot compared to the 12 we had this week. It will be killer I think. Blegh.
I got a Fitness magazine from the grocery store the other day. I’ve been doing some of their workout ideas. Now I’m sore from lifting dishes all day, trying to do yoga mixed with what I remember from Pilates, lunges and god knows what else. It feels good.

Naps are a wonderful way to spend an hour or two of the day.

Week 2, Part 2

July 26th- Thursday
I wake up, look outside, and see three enormous cruise ships near us. We are docked in Juneau again. These huge, damn cruise ships control everything near them. I don’t think I ever want to go on one of them.

City World
This time I got off with Elaine on a venture for internet, fulfilling errands, a few groceries, and to simply get away from the boat. It only takes a walk of 2 blocks up a slight hill to get away from the tourist crowds. She introduces me to a coffee shop filled with trendy, cool looking people. Lots of Macs in use. Juneau’s independent radio station in the background. Blazing hot chai tea. Burned tongue. Swear word(s).
This city is actually really cool. I wish I had more time than just a few hours at a time to explore it. I want to find a public bus, jump on and see where it takes me. It almost felt like Barcelona in that I heard at least 6 languages in 10 minutes while walking around.

After dishes were done that night, I went out to the deck and chatted for a while with the guide who’s on duty this week. He’s originally from Australia and loves Alaska and Mexico. It was my perfect opportunity to ask a million questions about the Tlingits. There are two totems: Eagle and Raven. Although different, they are considered equal. Each totem has 20something clans. Eagle’s is divided into animals of prey: bear and wolf for example. Raven’s are non predator animals: frog, hummingbird, etc. Families are matriarchal: Eagle man will marry Raven woman and their children will be Ravens.

July 27th- Friday
Natural World
This was an exceptional day for natural life. An hour or so after dinner a number of humpback whales began breaching about a half mile away from us. There were about 9 of them, calves included. And they were playing! Pectoral fins flailing out of the water, rolling around, swimming around each other, and the best part, breaching nearby. They didn’t stop. For a half hour they played and got so close to the boat that we could see the barnacles on their skin, hear them breathing, and get splashed from their playing. These beasts are huge, can weigh many tons, yet their gracefulness while swimming is like water ballet. When they roll around it reminds me of a puppy scratching its back on the grass. Rolly polly.
Then two sea lions joined the play and I could count the whiskers on their faces they were that close. Fat sea lions with big brown eyes, cute snout, and big teeth. More rolly polly.
We were in Glacier Bay all day. I got to ask questions during crew lunch to the visiting guide. Why are glaciers blue? Because the ice absorbs all the other colors and reflects only that turquoise blue. Why does it have streaks of dirt like a road in the middle? Because the sides of the glacier scratch the mountains they’re in, pick up the dirt and when two of them merge, they form that road of dirt. Why is the water bubbling right next to it? Because water within the glacier is melting, forming a cavern and it emerges at the front. Will it completely disappear soon? It could. It could also advance 100 miles in one week with the right temperature. There was a small Ice Age 300 years ago. Montreal could see the glaciers from Glacier Bay. The last big Ice Age, ice covered all of Alaska.
I felt like a nerd. But I learned a lot.
Today I watched Monsoon Wedding. It is highly recommended. It doesn’t follow most Bollywood characteristics.

July 28th- Saturday
Working World
Mario made strawberry shortcake. My mother’s is much better. We had a drill for man overboard. My position was spotter on the observation deck. I need to learn how to use a radio. Just in case.

My thighs are imprinted with the reversed symbols for electric shock and lock/unlock from my laptop.