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Sunday in Sete
2 March. Hello campers! Well, although I said that nobody
gets a day off here because we are all Eco Warriors…I
was wrong. Last nite my boss, Marco said, 'hey, Lesley,
do you want tomorrow off?'. Who am I to refuse? So I plan
my day off. I promise myself that I will do everything slowly
and luxuriously. No panic, no false action alarms…slowly
slowly slow slow.
I wake up at 9am. I'm normally made to wake up at 7.30am
by the nite watch. So, let's face it, that is a definite
lie in. I wander up to the top deck with a bucket of warm
water and a plastic bag filled with goodies. The sun is
shining and if only somebody would turn the wind machine
off, I reckon I could almost be in the South of France.
First I soap the water in the bucket. Then I put my feet
into it, but slowly cos its really hot. Wow that feels delicious.
Then I get my goodies out. First I shave my legs. It's
much easier in a bucket than standing on one leg in a shower.
Kristina and Marco come up and join me on the deck. It's
a sunny, blue sky, slightly too much wind kind of a day.
Beate joins us. I start to remove the red nail varnish from
my toes - it's pedicure time. Beate asks if she can take
some nail varnish remover from me to get rid of her 3-month
old toenail varnish. Of course I hand it over. Beate decides
she likes my nail polish colour and is also going to start
a pedicure.
How much further from daring do and total 'action chicks'
can you get??? Don't worry, we get worse!
I paint my toes, left foot purple, right foot green. That's
port and starboard in colour. Just in case I forget.
Beate just does all her toes in purple. She likes it. She's
happy. Next I do a manicure. Again, purple to port, green
to starboard.
Then off I go really slowly and get a shower and put my
best clothes on (such as I have). Then I have to track down
a ship bike, get a chain and a padlock and a key and find
Captain Pete for pocket money (I had my purse stolen in
Marseille).
All this takes one hour, but then I'm off. Away from the
ship, on a bike, alone. What bliss! I go up and down the
streets of Sete. What a lovely old town. On a hill, snuggled
into the gap between the hill and the harbour. I run into
Helen as she empties the cash-point. I say 'hello darlin,
give us 100 euros…I mean it' (I forgot to get pocket-
money off Daddy Pete). We go for a coffee and then she is
off. I want to sit in the sun, so I get on my bike and head
for the sunny side of the canal. How beautiful. French families
strolling along in the sun. Me sat enjoying a Chardonnay
on the canal. Now this is really the South of France.
Suddenly it hits me. I miss my crew. God, I've only been
away from them for 2 hours and I've already got withdrawal
symptoms. I have to go home to mummy (RW). I get on my bike
and zoom back through the harbour.
Within seconds of arriving, I get invited onto a sailing
boat with a guy called John who is a Greenpeace fan. I grab
2 bottles of Spanish red wine and I join him, his crew of
3 and an Alsation dog called Nescafe, and we are off. Once
out of the harbour John cuts the engine and puts up the
sails. Silence.
John gets out his Irish guitar and his first mate gets
his English guitar (even tho he is French), and they serenade
us for 2 hours as the sun goes down over the Mediterranean.
Pure Irish sea-songs.
Even Nescafe is moved. He lies his head on John's knees
and is obviously in heaven.
One of the deck-hands, Lela, had made a cake before she
got on board. She handed it round and sang while she did
it. What a voice (in the silence), what a cake. I was impressed.
Slowly, slowly we headed back to the RW. Eventually we
had to lower sails and hit the engine.
They glided me back to the RW. Here I am now. I have had
one brilliant day off. Thank you Marco.
Les
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