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Aboard the Meltemi
4 March. I couldn't believe it - another log ship bound
for Sete. Just last week I had gone aboard the Agia
Irene to grab some photographs and meet the crew
(an exceptionally kind and intelligent bunch, I should mention
- some became very good friends to those of us here on the
Warrior). I was stunned by the sheer volume of the logs
on board. I mentally erected those logs, put some leaves
on them and tried to imagine them as part of a forest, forming
the heart of an ecosystem that sustained a myriad of plant
and animal life. Too depressing.
So when we learned that there might be another log ship
coming into port, I wanted to see for myself. We readied
the boats and assigned drivers, crew and an inspection team.
I grabbed a notebook and flashlight and hopped aboard an
inflatable.
This wasn't a typical action, mind you. We just wanted
to document the wood on board, determine where it was coming
from and where it was going. No interference with the movement
of the ship. And we wanted to let the police know what we
were doing - so we did. When Captain Pete returned from
talking with police on shore, we set off for the Meltemi.
It looked entirely too familiar. The Meltemi was
steaming toward port, riding low in the water due to the
weight of her cargo. We threw up a ladder and jumped aboard.
Then we started writing as we jumped from log to log. Hundreds
of logs on board - more than a thousand, I would guess.
The diameter of some were more than twice my size - and
I'm hardly petite. I thought the Agia Irene was bad.
This was worse.
But when Diogo and I met up, and he reminded me to watch
out for spiders and snakes, that's when it really hit. There
were living remnants of Africa's rapidly disappearing ancient
forests right under my feet - a small and pathetic sampling
of the life that used to be a part of the forest ecosystem.
The apes didn't make it aboard.
Meghan
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