Boat day: Part 2

There may be a lot of posts today.

Brad Pierce: Current Address: Starbucks

The cab ride was fairly short and getting any conversation out of the cabbie, who appeared to have actually fused with the seat, was difficult at best. So we arrived silently at the Wando Terminal security checkpoint where the nice lady informed me that the ship was not in and would not be in until 6pm. 8 hours from now. This was contrary to the information I received yesterday from the Agent for the ship. Yesterday's update was with a high degree of confidence. But things change, and in the freighter travel world, you don't get a call or a convenient text message with an update.

I asked the cabbie to drop me at a Starbucks nearby. And here I am with all my bags and a hot coffee in the corner of a smallish Starbucks. And here I will remain, probably until the sun goes down.

This is my first real exposure to the homeless-backpacker-with-all-his-stuff experience. I’ve tugged around my overstuffed pack for a while in other countries but more often than not, from train to bed was the extent of my lugging.

Now I must defend this piece of rented real estate for the rest of the day. On the bright side, there is internet, power, coffee, and a steady stream of people to watch. Actually it’s pretty much ideal as far as I’m concerned.

UPDATE (11:30am): I just called the Agent to see if I could get some more detail about the 6pm arrival and he told me the ship had arrived and just finished tying up. I'm calling for another cab and will be aboard soon. This will likely be my last post until Belgium, but you never know...