Atlantic Smile Car Service 

So In order to get from the port in Charleston to downtown you need a taxi. Supposedly the port agent can arrange it but as if yet these people seem few and far between. So,  the next best thing is to go to the Seaman’s Mission and call one. Almost every major port has a Seaman’s Mission.  Located right by the docks it’s a quasi religious organization that serves as a support place for the crews of freighters. They have computers and coffee and religious pamphlets and some have bars …I haven’t quite worked that out . Most importantly they have lists of taxi services that have taxis to the port …that was how I got the name for the Atlantic Smile Taxi.  

I was picked up in a very nice navigator by a woman who told me she was Russian but had lived in NY until six years ago when she relocated to Charleston. She kept telling me “good money ” in Charleston 

Somewhere between the dock and the city she started telling me about the recent storms. I was actually checking e mail so I wasn’t really paying attention to her until she said something about Pompeii and the Florida Keys.  

“You know there were a lot of gays and prostitues in Pompeii and in Key West the same thing ” she said 

“And?” I said 

” it’s not a coincidence”. She continued ” god is punishing them for their immorality These people are dirty and being punished” 
You know you hear about people like this and usually it’s some crazy politician trying to get attention or some nut job but here I realized was just a normal everyday homophobic piece of @$&&. 

In these situations which have been luckily few my mind races through all nasty pointed things I could say in return and I was so tempted. However , anything I said wouldn’t change her or suddenly convert her to some rationale human being. Logic of course meant nothing to her. Asking her to explain other natural disasters where there were no “prostitutes or homosexuals” no doubt it would just be some other group she hated fault So I calmly did what I felt I could. 

” I’m sorry can you pull over …now. She pulled over and I got out and said “goodbye”  she spouted all sorts of things at me in Russian and she drove away. I just couldn’t be bothered with her or bother telling her what I thought. What was the point 

I’ve spent my life hearing bullshit like this and worse from ignorant like her but also from well meaning colleagues acquaintances and employers …I once had a secretary who was Muslim who said to me ” you know my religion teaches us that people like you should be taken to the top of a mountain and thrown off..but you’re so nice it’s hard to understand it “. People said go to HR butgoing to HR wouldn’t have changed her view but maybe working with me might. I’ve reached the age where I just don’t have to take it ….and of course now I have my own sense of value and I have Uber 

10 minutes later I was in a car headed into Charleston I had an amazing lunch and nice walk around town and took an uber back to the dock 

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The Captain said that since  I’m the only passenger and since I seem fit ( little does he know) I should feel free to roam the ship wherever I want as long as the seas are calm. Apparently many of their passengers are more advanced in years .   During loading and off loading the bridge is deserted so I went up there in the late evening and it was deserted. I was very impressed how ” Star Trekky” it was. I nosed around looking at the navigational screens and the maps all laid out. I was so tempted to grab the helm and play with the buttons but decided I didn’t want to get thrown off the ship in Charkeston . It’s amazing how much freedom they let me have to roam the ship. From the bridge to the engine room it’s pretty much up to me where I hang out 



So they serve three meals a day in the officers Mess and endless tea and coffee on the bridge during the day. Oskar is our chef and what he lacks in fine dining he makes up in quantity. Every meal starts with a soup or stew then comes a meat course usually beef or pork… we had fish today and I was so grateful not to have to eat another slab of meat and I love red meat ! There is usually one token vegetable …often overcooked and always fresh fruit for desert which I ask for an extra helping of. I’ve started eating only 1 and 1/2 meals a day as it’s so heavy. I get that these guys have to actually work hard while i swan around the ship taking pictures so we have very different caloric needs.   I find myself dreaming about fresh fruit and vegetables and maybe a pizza and ice cream.  If only I could have a pint of Cherry Garcia ! 

One day we were eating a pork chip when Oskar announced he had made a special meal just for the Captain. Fish Head Soup.  Yum. Glad I missed it but I did find the Captain eating the eyes sort of fascinating 

We sit in the same seat every night.  Rolf the Chief Engineering Office sits to my right and Captain Nelson sits across from me next to him sits the Ukrainian first officer who has told me his name ten times and I have no idea what he is saying. It sounds like Ben so I just go with that but slur it so it sounds sort of like his name.   I hope. On my left sits the Lithuanian second engineer. He has yet to say a word. The first night it was just he and I at dinner and he didn’t speak. Even when I introduced myself he just kept eating his fish stew. I felt a moment of panic. Will I spend the next 4 weeks in silence. Luckily it turns out he doesn’t speak to anyone including his boss and the captain. So, now at dinner everyone is quite friendly and chatty and ” The Lithuanian” as I call him eats and then leaves. It’s a bit odd but clearly everyone is used to it and no one seems to notice   

Lunch is the biggest meal of the day so I skip breakfast and prepare for the massive amounts of protein to come 

If I could just have more broccoli  

Above Rolf and the Captain and Fish a rarity 

Just arrived.  Very strange being cut off from world completely for 4 days. Good practice for the two weeks starting on 23 I’ll be incommunicado as we cross the Pacific.

Amazing day here.  Beautiful with a nice cool breeze 

Anyhow a few posts from last weeks travel   Enjoy and send feedback!  

So..that’s it until we hit Colombia in 5 days.  I’ll be back with lots more and hopefully find WiFi !!!    I really appreciate your comments and feedback.  It makes me feel a bit less alone😇   Not sure of our exact route. It depends on the weather and Jose !  Why not follow the blog ? 

So as I planned the trip John kept telling me they’d put me to work. You know swabbing the decks and peeling potatoes. He was right they did put me to work They looked at my obvious qualifications and decided I should drive the boat. Clearly they see my natural abilities shine through lol. So much for swabbing the decks 🤓

So we cast off three hours late from Philly. Captain Nelson wasn’t very happy. In order to leave the port a pilot has to come on and direct the ship out to open sea. In Philly that’s a good 4 hour trip down the Delaware river so it’s unusually long. Our river pilot was very serious. He arrived dressed like he was going to the yacht club in Khakis and a polo shirt with a nautical emblem. He seemed a bit nervous as there was a bit of fog between Wilmington and Cape May. He kept barking orders and yelling on the telephone to another pilot bringing a container ship into the port. Apparently the other ship was too close in foggy conditions. It looked fine to me but hey I’m not responsible for a 2 billion dollar super container ship.  

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​He also was very picky about what he was eating They brought him three different meals but he couldn’t eat anything. Finally he had a bowl of corn flakes. I guess every profession has their divas🤓

Finally, he was gone ..dropped off on a tugboat and things seemed to calm down. Ten minutes after he left the crew changed into shorts and t shirts and everyone mellowed out. 

Speaking of dietary requirements. I just found out they sell Diet Coke on board. Sign me up for a 12 pack !!

Efficient 

Been watching the ship being unloaded and loaded. I assumed they took everything off first then load but they actually do both at once. There are four cranes and two load and two unload at the same time. Trucks line up under the dual cranes in two lanes. One truck gets a container offloaded while the truck on the right gets a container on loaded It was incredibly fast. The thing that took the longest was when they laid a concrete pallet on every third level.  

Apparently an average ship carries over 4200 containers and they can unload and load them all in a six hour average.  
The cranes almost seem as if they are alive. It’s real Star Wars stuff. I took a video ( lucky you ) 
of the unloading/Loading ballet and the removal of these huge concrete pallets that provide a base for three levels of containers. They weigh several tons each but the cranes move them like card board 
It was like watching an assembly line but sort of hypnotic lol. Guess that’s my inner nerd 🤓 anyhow a few snaps and a video. Even I admit that to watch this you need to be having a very slow day at work or on a very tedious budget conference call… then it might brighten your day 

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No I’m not a service rep …I’m a retiree..that’s better than a service rep ..I m like cargo..I paid to be transported I just weigh less…”
That’s me explaining to the security guard at the Philadelphia Port that I’m a passenger and he needs to let me through to get on the ship 

Finally after a few calls and checking several lists he tells me is going to let me through and even better since im like “Cargo ” he won’t charge me the 150 dollar port transportation fee to take me 700 feet to the ship. 150 dollars for 700 feet ….Uber eat your heart out ! 

He actually was a very nice guy. He said they don’t get many passengers so he wasn’t sure the protocol ( yes John I know what you’re thinking ) 

Eventually a beat up former school bus now painted white pulls up and I load my suitcase and duffle and off go   

I arrive at the ship and they are loading and unloading. I’m met by a crew member who drags my embarrassingly large suitcase up the gangway and takes me to my cabin. It’s actually quite large and roomy. Two rooms and a killer sound system from the 80s.  Below you can even see the white bus !

The Journey Begins 
So John dropped me off at the port. It was strange to think I won’t see him for two months ! He knows I really want to have this experience but we both were a bid sad. I’m hoping he will decide to meet me in NZ ! If only there wasn’t that 22 hour flight thing !!  My cabin seems a bit empty without him.  

So I got my room. Very plush in that 1970 maritime way. Lol .. Sort of odd since the ship was built in 2010. I unpacked my clothes and shoes and of course my pillows and I’m ready ! I immediately set up my beats speaker and my iPod and my portable DVD player … I actually brought 98 DVDs in case I get bored or we hit a hurricane 😇

I took a quick tour of the bridge and top deck. Amazing views Can’t wait to be on the open seas.  

The efficiency of the loading unloading process is pretty impressive. More on that to come !

Dinner is at 5:30. I’ll keep you posted .