“You’re going WHERE?” inquired friends.  It wasn’t so much my destination(s) that fascinated them: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colombia and Costa Rica – rather the fact I had chosen to get there by ship, and not a cruise ship.  I was going to be a passenger on board a Del Monte ‘banana boat.’  In short, I was going to experience life on the high seas on a container carrier.

    “But why?” asked my father.

    “The journey’s all part of the fun…besides, you should understand, being an ex man of the sea” I replied.  Having been nurtured since birth on stories of the great high seas and countries afar, my wanderlust for all things original had certainly been, in part, from his gene pool.

    I boarded the Hornlinie German ship in Le Havre, France.  Registered in Liberia, she was an impressive sight – the bridge (where we all slept, ate and wiled away the time) aft with the containers forward of that and as I was lead up the gangplank by Stewerd Slava, I felt a growing excitement tinged with slight fear bubble up inside:  5 weeks round trip – 11 days at sea until our first port of call, Guadeloupe.  What would be in store for me, amongst all these sailors?  Would I be the only female?  Is it SAFE??  I have an overactive imagination and all sorts of scenarios had popped into my head – mostly involving hot sailors.

    My private cabin rivaled that of any cruise ship – champagne and flowers greeted me.  Unpacking, I opened my cabin door at a sharp ‘rat a tat tat’ and found a German couple standing there: Bernd and Christina.  They helpfully advised that there were 5 other passengers, the rest would be crew.  Bliss - only 8 of us!