Day 4: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Boat

Sleep was coming much easier. However, the slow start to the morning left us surly: we got stuck only 10 minutes in. Mercifully, we reached a port in mid-morning and stocked up on what little they had: cigarettes, plain biscuits and dates. My love for dates only increased on this trip.

After Joe chastised the crew (we had stopped for two hours, why? Because they were drinking tea!), we were motoring along well and hopes became higher, making for a more enjoyable trip. Today’s book was “Sex, Drugs and Cocopuffs”, by SPIN magazine editor Chuck Klosterman. He has some great American pop-cultural insights, even if he is an ass sometimes.

I spent the afternoon on the roof, enjoying my own real-life big screen TV: we were certainly in big sky country, with vast expanses of blue and wispy clouds above and the plains below. I was at the time listening to “Saskatchewan” by the Rheostatics:

Blue moon high
A canopy of sky
Home, Caroline, home...


The sights on the banks were always enjoyable. There were a few herds of cattle and at one point, a herd was crossing the river! I didn’t know that cows could swim! There were villages that appeared to be stuck in time, with children running out, waving and yelling “Ça va! Ça va!” as we passed by, reclining on the roof lazily, waving periodically like the Queen, or gazing disinterestedly like rhinos at the zoo. I was more interested in my Klosterman… could it be that I find books more engaging than people? What an odd thought…

A pirogue with greasy baked goods came by and we bought them out – saved by gateau! We had a feast and boiled some tea. By this point, rice and fish were quickly going out of favour with both myself and the others. Our cake made us much happier people.

Other notable developments was entering Lac Debo. Aside from being scenic, we could now check the West African map (thanks Dad!) and find out where the heck we were. Apparently, only about halfway to our destination. The upside? The river became much larger and we wouldn’t have to worry about running aground. We started placing bets on when we would arrive…

We sailed throughout the night and our spirits were high, playing cards and telling jokes. I wondered to myself: will I one day be wistful for this experience?