Just an ordinary Monday?

When we’re in port, everyday looks very different, unlike when we’re out to sea. Initially my watch would be on duty today, but, luckily for us, we were going on a school trip for the entire day so our day-on-duty suddenly got very short.

This day started just as any day in port, by getting ”purrad” (woken up) ten minutes before breakfast at seven. When I finally managed to leave my warm and cozy bed and walk the tough five steps between my cabin and the big mess, breakfast was already served as I stared into my friends who all looked like they were still sleeping. I think we all would have needed a couple more hours of sleep. We all ate breakfast in a hurry, to be able to sleep the remaining half hour before meeting on maindeck at eight. When the clock turned 7:55 we had finally gotten ready and packed our bags and ran up the crowded ladder to maindeck, where we saw a bus waiting by the gangplank.

Just as the meeting for today was over, we all got on the bus and fell asleep instantly. The bus ride was not very long, but it was enough time for a well-needed nap. The driver dropped us off about 10 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela so we could walk the last bit of the famous pilgrimage that leads to the famous city and cathedral. We began walking by the roadside and very soon the rain started to pour down. When we got to the first roadside shop we all looked like soaked dogs, but that didn’t stop us from getting freezing ice cream. We kept walking for a couple of hours, and eventually we could see the beautiful cathedral, and hundreds of other pilgrimmers who had made their way there. We decided to give the cathedral a visit inside, it was beautifully built with a lot of details in gold and small spaces with statues, as well as big halls with benches for ceremonies. Since there was an on-going ceremony, we gave the cathedral a quick visit before going out in the rain again.

Our stomachs started to growl and we decided to find a restaurant for lunch, which was a bit tricky since we all wanted to eat at different places, but we eventually found something suitable. After lunch we got to spend the day in Santiago de Compostela, until the bus picked us up at four. Since it was still raining and we were all tired and cold, we decided to spend the day in the old part of the town, looking in stores and seeking shelter from the rain. Santiago de Compostela was a beautiful city, definitely worth a visit, but I would recommend you to visit on a less-rainy day, especially if you’re going to walk the pilgrimage.

As the clock turned half past three, we were all tired and cold so we decided to start the walk towards the bus stop. As we got to the bus stop, we met everyone else and the teachers did a counting to check if everyone was there before getting on the bus. Once we got on the bus, it took about one minute before everyone was asleep. Now you may think that all we do here is sleep, but the truth is, when you have watch during the night and you’re out during the day, you get unbelievably tired so we have all learnt to take every moment possible to get some rest.

The bus arrived by the port just before dinner, and most of us were barely awake as we entered the boat again. Still half-sleeping, we entered the big mess and realized it was pasta bolognese for dinner, and it took about one minutes before I heard someone yell that their table was out of pasta. When dinner was over, the other watches got to leave the boat, but my watch was on duty which meant we had to clean the student- and command-interior. I got started on the bathrooms which wasn’t a very nice experience, but at least it looked nice afterwards. When the cleaning was done and our superior had approved it, we sat in the small mess for a while before going to bed quite early since we had to sit gangway guard for a couple of hours each during the night. I believe we all fell asleep very quickly after such a long and eventful day, looking forward to the next.

Miriam Wigren, Starboard