Arrrrrrived!

I did my night shift of “pirate watching” last night (this morning actually) and no pirates got on board. You’re welcome. Of course, none showed up either, but I would have been ready for them if they had! It was actually quite lovely outside in the middle of the night and not stiflingly hot yet. Towards 2am, one could see minute bands of light coming from the land which is Sierra Leone. This morning, I also had to report to the galley at 4:45 and we were, of course, closer to land but not quite on it.

Apparently, those in charge, and who have known we were coming for some time, decided to ‘ransom’ their own people’s lives for a few bucks. They demanded a chunk of money (I don’t personally know how much) for us to dock which was not previously part of the deal. If we don’t pay, we don’t dock; if we don’t dock, we don’t help anyone in their country. Are you seeing the same glitch in logic that I am seeing???

I guess this is not unusual for some of these corrupt country’s officials. I asked at breakfast prep what we would do if we refuse to meet their ransom demand and was told that any one of several other small countries would welcome us in a heartbeat. In fact, I was told, this happened a few years ago and Togo smiled and said, “come on down” or something like that. The ones that suffer then unfortunately are the people of SL, none of who, apparently, are with the local government. If that happens, we’ll just be on the water for another day or two until we reach someone who wants us and appreciates us. Until then, we float nearby the coast of Freetown, SL.

Somehow, I knew it would be awhile so I went to my cabin. While I slept off my pirate watch talking heads talked, money (may have been) exchanged, decisions were made, and a boat was docked. We still won't be able to disembark for several hours, until SL Customs goes through our papers and clears all of us.

As soon as we are allowed the pre-screening team will start its thing, interviewing potential patients from the town's people.