Love Story

We had both finally dozed off just before we were abruptly awakened by a large crash that threw us forward in our bunks as the ship tipped precariously from one side to the other. I was immediately shocked awake and frozen with fear, sure that we were about to die. It was almost 12:30 at night and pitch black in our tiny room that was now beginning to feel more like a coffin. My husband sat up in his bunk and pulled back the drape. Looking out his port hole, he saw the smaller boat below us that we had obviously hit well below us and dead in the water.

I was panicking and did not know what to do. My husband calmly told me to get dressed and put on my life preserver so we could go outside our cabin to see what was going on. Everyone on the boat had the same idea. They all rushed to the rail with their life preservers, wondering if we were going to sink. The motors on our ferry had been shut down and we glided to a stop. After a few minutes the captain came on over the intercom urging passengers to remain calm while they checked out the damage. Easier said than done. After about a half an hour of sitting there dead in the water, the captain came back on the intercom and jovially commented “no problem, just lost a little paint”. We would be back under way in just a few more minutes.

I tried to get back to sleep but understandably had a very hard time. I couldn’t help thinking about the sharks that we had been feeding just a few days before and the bigger ones that we might have been feeding that night. Daylight and the shore line of Mindanao couldn’t come soon enough for me.

As I had mentioned before, I had a fear of boats and the water. I did not like the idea of taking the ferries but it was the only reasonable choice we had of getting back and forth between Mindanao and Cebu. When I first mentioned the idea to my husband he thought it sounded like a wonderfully romantic cruise. I knew better but I did not want to diminish his high expectations prematurely.

The boat we had taken over to Cebu was very crowded and the state room that we had was clean and neat despite the fact that it was somewhat claustrophobic in the interior of the ship. At least the state room that we had on the return voyage was on the outer rail of the ship and we could see the ocean from the port holes. I say at least because that was the only good thing about the room that we had on the return voyage that was even marginally acceptable. It was tiny, had two small bunks on either side, a refrigerator that did not work, a filthy & clogged shower and no bed linen or bath towels to be found anywhere. When we called the porter and complained, he wanted to argue rather than help us. He said they must be there somewhere. My husband finally had to go to the linen dispensary and get them himself.

The contrast in our accommodations of the past 24 hours could have not been greater. Fortunately we were both tired and were only interested in getting some sleep during the overnight voyage. Unfortunately the bunks were very uncomfortable and despite my trying to fit on one side with my husband I finally gave up and retreated to my own small bunk. Sleep was not something that was going to come easy that night.