Five Days to Woleai by Cargo Ship

Started: 12/31/09, Finished: 1/5/10 Falalap, Woleai
Friday 13th of this past November the Caroline Voyager loaded up its final cargo (human, food, luggage) and left port in Colonia, Yap bound for Pohnpei – with many stops planned along the way. Among those climbing on board were the four latest editions to the Yap State Peace Corps Volunteers on Outer Islands Crew (‘Yespicvoic’s for short – naw, not really, nobody calls us that, but feel free to spread it around; it’s catchy, right?). One landed on Mog Mog Island in the Ulithi Atoll – a scant one-day voyage from Yap proper – the other three making their way to Woleai Atoll (two for the island of Falalap, one for Falalus), a slightly longer trip.
I don’t even know how to describe what I expected the ship to be like, but I think it was supposed to look something more like a cruise liner – long and broad with ample deck space, overhangs for shelter from the sun, crewmen directing traffic. Instead, it was what it is: a cargo ship – short and stubby, just enough deck space for crew to operate it and move around cargo, no built-in commercial passenger amenities, and the sort of free-for-all loading that accompanies a ship whose crew is not primarily concerned with passenger care but rather cargo handling. Without friendly stewards with the job of guiding us, first-timers paying to take the jaunt across the waves on the Voyager need look to the experienced for assistance. Fortunately, there were DOE staff, our Peace Corps supervisor Regina and members of one of the other volunteer’s host family to help us out.
The first time I got on the ship, I kid you not, I shimmied up the side and hopped the railing. Actually, that was how I got on and off each time before we left port. Once on deck, all the luggage for the three Woleai volunteers was passed up to me, then shuttled to our ‘home’ under a tarp covering the forward ‘passenger area’, which we didn’t know to be a cargo hatch. We picked a back corner, and – after the tiring and sweaty process – I plopped down, soaking up the good feelings of a job well done, the satisfaction of securing a sweet spot for the duration, and the knowledge that we were finally going to set off for our placement site. It was later (and yet very early in the morning) that I realized we would not be able to stay in our area for the duration – not having noticed our home was atop a cargo hold, we didn’t know that we’d need to move ourselves and all our stuff each morning, nor that the return in the evening was again first-come-first-served on seating/sleeping space.
Anyhow, we were joined by the fourth volunteer and seen off by one of the main island gals whom we didn’t think we’d get to see before leaving. Her village is a ways out of Colonia and our departure date got bumped up a week from what we’d been anticipating, which made her appearance a very welcome surprise. Then the ship was pulling away, and Yap was a thin silhouette in front of the setting sun. Before the distance was too great and the signal died, I tried to shoot off one last email to my brother – hope you got it, Jon.
And it began. Five days filled with long nights of rough seas and short sleep, early mornings scurrying from our beds to get out of the crew’s way, days of scorching heat and blazing sun interspersed with torrents of rain and forceful gales – all on a boat with far too many passengers for the space. We had it good in comparison to many who arrived too late to grab space on a hatch, forced to spend the trip standing or sitting with no space to lie down – our language trainer Tino was one such person (spent almost the whole trip in the same place, with not but a bucket to sit on). To gain space, we had to mark our territory with bags and mats and bodies. However, the only really respected item is the woven sleeping mat. You don’t cover someone else’s mat, but if you can see the deck, it’s up for grabs. Turns out a therma-rest blows for this purpose, and I ended up with closer neighbors most nights than I’d prefer (one dude even took to borrowing my pillow when I pulled my head off of it; his head was literally close enough to touch my own at times).
Add: 1) such tight quarters together with, 2) a ship that seemed to be practicing its dodge ball skills (the 5 D’s: dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge), 3) the at times deafening roar of the wind and violent slaps of the heavy rubber tarp covering our sleeping area against the poles it was tied to (sounded like somewhat muffled gunfire), 4) the varied sleeping habits/abilities of a few dozen different people, 5) either too damn hot or just a shade too cold/rainy weather, and 6) a very bright light that didn’t always go out at night, and it sums to absolutely shitty sleep. Five nights of it, five, and one night I got separated from the group and slept in the one space no one else thought big enough to accommodate a person.
Now, this was pretty light on the old suffering scale, but hot damn it gives some slight context to real life struggles I’ve read about – you know, Holocaust type stuff. Again, I don’t think my experience is anywhere near that level, just gave me a small taste of some of the struggles. For example, extended travel on an overcrowded vessel not designed for the purpose of human transport. The version I experienced was much easier on the body and mind than say, Anne Frank’s train car, but it shows you the kind of stress people are under in those situations. It shows how people can start to behave towards one another – that ‘me first’ mentality creepin’ in – not caring who has a place to sleep so long as you do, stealing, cutting line to use the bathroom. It also gives a glimpse of the extraordinary kindness some will treat show others – making space for another, watching another’s bags while their gone, making sure a guy who can’t speak the language gets a shot at the shower before the water is shut off.
Anyhow, we got to Mog Mog after about a day on the ship and dropped off Catherine with her new family. We saw a good bit of the island and got to watch the men loading big bags of copra (old coconut meat). It was a really cool process. The bags were very large, like three and a half feet long, couple feet wide and deep, probably weighing fifty to sixty pounds. Two guys would drag the bags to the edge of the beach then – with one swift, fluid motion – lift the bag while one guy twisted around and bam, the bag is on his back with his arms outstretched towards the sky and holding onto the corners. He’d run/speed walk down the beach and drop the bag in one of the shore boats before heading back for another bag. And this was happening at an impressive pace – bang, bang, bang – one bag after another.
We found out the boat would be staying in the Mog Mog lagoon overnight and we thought maybe spending the night on land might be sweet deal. However, we had to go back to the boat to get overnight supplies and, once there, decided it wasn’t worth going back. Good thing too, because the boat took off for the next destination after we’d been asleep for an hour or two. So it was onto our next destination, Fais.
Fais is the largest and highest outer island of Yap. It’s pretty freakin’ impressive. A good spot to spend a couple of years. The PCV there, Joseph, was just finishing his service and had even extended for an extra month. We met him there, happy to go ashore again and to meet a new volunteer. He showed us to his home and made mention, several times, of how much fun he’d been having living on the island. He was still deciding at that point whether or not to do another year with Peace Corps somewhere else in the world. I really enjoyed meeting him and got a kick out of it when he recommended I fall in love with a local girl. No such luck so far, just have to wait and see, Joe.
Then we had the 24-hour chug to Eurapik. This went shockingly smoothly. Not to say the ocean was calm, the noise level reduced or any of the above mentioned challenges lessened. But we kind of numbed to it, weren’t eating too much – which sapped our energy – and we just more or less laid in our places for the bulk of the trip. I don’t think I moved for about twenty of the hours. We were rewarded with another trip to shore on Eurapik. A couple of people from Gita’s host family on Yap live in Eurapik, and we went with them to check out their home and get some lunch. It was the best fish I’ve ever eaten. Not sure what it was, but just a simple, boiled fish. I really got after it. Then I wandered the island for a while before getting ready to head back to the ship. It was a nice respite.
Next stop Woleai. As with any sizable trip, it’s the homestretch that tends to be the longest and hardest. So waiting for the ship to get to Woleai, and then having to wait a few hours before going ashore to Falalap once we’d arrived in the lagoon was rough. The sun was hot and being able to see the island without being able leave the boat was a tease. We were told the first stop was Falalus (across the lagoon from Falalap), and that then the ship would work its way to Falalap. So we’re left twiddling our thumbs, not realizing that actually they’re going to and from Falalap first. I just barely finished a couple letters in time to ask a friend I’d made on the boat to send them for me before Gita and I gathered our stuff and got on the boat to shore. And with that, we were done with the ship and on to our new home.
After that voyage, I was excited to leave the ship and hoped future travel would be via plane. However, I later found out that plane service to Woleai had been discontinued due to the poor condition of the runway. Well, at least we’d have about three and a half to four months between trips, what with our next training scheduled for late February/early March. Now it turns out that after we will have only been on island a mere two months before heading back. It’s January 5th, and we’re to be on the next ship to Yap, which should get here around the 27th of this month. We’ll also be returning to Woleai by ship, which means we’ll be on Yap proper, likely for at least a month. We found this out yesterday, the first day of the new semester. Here’s another blast of the contradictory feelings Peace Corps seems to engender – I’m absurdly excited for the food on Yap and the ability to contact my family, but I’m pissed that I have to leave my classes so early in the semester, for such a big chunk of the semester. Just have to deal with it though, take the good and minimize the bad as best I can.