setting sail

I was just sitting on the sea wall for the better part of an hour. I'd been there for quite a while, lost in thought, looking out at the ocean, before I realized that it was probably the last time I'll ever sit on that wall. Sooner than my queasy-in-anticipation stomach would like, we're going to be sailing, and I don't know when I'll be back in Benin. True, Togo is right next door, but with Ghana on the other side, we're more likely to be exploring new places rather than revisiting old ones.

So I sat there, savouring the heat for one more night, my bare feet tucked onto the ledge that some thoughtful builder had thought to incorporate into his construction. Little wavelets ran up the wall, rushing towards shore and making small smacking sounds on the concrete. The water was slate blue and grey, reflecting a thousand colours from a pastel sky, and the horizon was dotted with ships waiting to come into port.

Way up on the mast, the HoJ was silhouetted against that sunset sky where he was working on the last fixes that need to happen before we can head out. All around me were the now-familiar sights and sounds and smells of a port I'd never seen before June. And just like that, I'll say my goodbyes to Africa for the next couple months. It always happens sooner than I'm ready, and I'm growing accustomed to the idea that my life might just end up being one long series of goodbyes as HoJ and I wend our way around the globe, following the Call that's brought us this far.

It's no use looking that far into the future, though. For now, I'm content with tying down my cabin, tipping my beloved linen closet down to rest on the floor so it doesn't fall over when we hit open water and securing my Tupperware tightly in its closet.

It's time to say goodbye again. I'll see you on the other side.

(Unless, of course, a miracle occurs and I'm not violently ill for the entire trip. In which case, you'll hear all about what a great sailor I am and how all those people who get sick really just need to man up and tough it out.)

(Don't count on that being the case.)