Tag Archives: saloon

106.   🚢ah, days & days of salty air!

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Oh my beautiful blue Pacific Ocean ~

On this leg of the voyage, I rarely missed sunsets or a sunrise -these I quickly realized were gifts of the journey to me.  And if the seas were not rough, I’d find myself relaxing on an uncrowded deck in a comfortable sun-worshipping lounge chair, legs up and all!

It certainly felt good to just soak up the sun -nap style, getting hypnotized by watching the ocean go by or leisurely flip through the pages of a magazine, that is to say, if I could keep my eyes open long enough in this lazy position.  

Taking the most important daily walks from one end of the ship to the other and breathing in deeply the freshest salty air was always invigorating and enjoyable.  

Not every time but certainly at least half the time I was out there, I’d see some dolphins and an occasional whale or three.  The other fish I took notice of were schools of Pacific Bluefin Tuna in the course of their migration.  

There were others watching along the rails at any given part of the ship, at any time of the day and when a pod, a school or what have you passed alongside the ship, there was a whole lot of cheering coming out of the excited men.  This was ocean entertainment at its finest!

It was an awesome site -as was the whole of it- to see the flying fish and catching glimpses of billfish who were also being watched carefully by the ever-stalking seabirds along the way. 

Every now and then I’d spy a ship waaay out in the distance on the horizon.  One minute she’s there and another -gone!  

Not that any passed by close enough to say hello … 🔭 even if I had a telescope.  Well, maybe but then they’d have to have one too just to see me wave!  

Occasionally the Skipper’s voice blaring out of the bullhorn startled us.  It was like he’d wait for the perfect moment to catch us unawares.  He’d say things like, “I see you all out there having fun.  Good!  Go ahead and enjoy yourselves. Make the most of this time at sea, it’s good for you!”  I think he wanted to make sure we didn’t fall victim to sea madness … or something!

Along with some form of exercising, the strolling or brisk walks, any style of lounging or napping and daily duties, we’d play cards, most often, poker.  We played in my charge area, the officer’s saloon. 

These poker nights gave way to opportune time to share stories with one another; be it of home, passing thoughts or what experiences we had while on this Asian tour.    

Our evening snacks always lined up; sandwich makings, non-alcoholic beverages and snackable what-nots.  Beer 🍻or wine 🍷 but no 🥃 hard liquor; I’ll mention here, if we wanted it, the beer or wine that is to say, we had to buy our own and bring it on board.

Btw:  “Why is the rum always gone?” Captain Jack Sparrow  

That reminds me I didn’t tell you how we mainly got our beer earlier in the trip.  The seasoned veterans of our ship told us about this barter.  We had cartons of American cigarettes on board and so while in the Philippines, when we saw a small boat approaching our ship, we’d load up a largish basket with some of those cartons.

It was attached to a very strong rope and then lowered down to those guys.  They were zippy in the unloading of this large basket and then refilling it with the favorite beer of their country, 🍺 San Miguel Beer. 

Cartons for 6-packs!  What a deal I thought.

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billfish because I’m not entirely certain if I was seeing swordfish, marlins or sailfish … not so close to the ship they were spotted and so without binoculares handy at those times unfortunately, I couldn’t really tell.  I had thought in my mind these must be one of them.

104. Goodbye Most Enjoyable Japanese Hospitality

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I didn’t return to Tokyo.  I was happy enough to visit Yokohama here and there and then, only for day & evening excursions.  The decision to spend however many remaining nights we had in Japan on board the ship, I knew would be the right call.  

Reiterating here, I wasn’t going to miss the boat.  Under normal conditions, we’d always begin our next leg of the trip in the early morning hours and so, this way there would be no unpleasant surprises for me! 

While I was waking up in my cabin every morning, Skipper and most of the officers and crew were still spending their nights somewhere out there.

Myself and a few of the other crew members (foolish enough to be aboard when we should’ve been out painting the town!) under Phil’s directive authority had been assigned to put away the last of the freshly received food and some other supplies.  

This entailed going below decks.  Needless to say, I’d done this before but never would I be one to state taking a fancy to it.  This is where I label myself as claustrophobic.  

Deep freeze and the main storehouse were of course, down there, in the underbelly of the ship as far as I was concerned and so to go there, I must.  I will clearly state, 40 minutes was way too long!

Notice of the next departure schedule is always posted 24 hours in advance via the bulletin boards around the ship.  This of course offers the chance to collect absent crew members and make final preparations, among many other important & obvious reasons.


In this instance it was in the form of direct notification from the ship repair company. 

The Trans Western’s endorsement was posted to its immediate left.

注目する すべての修理は、今後24時間以内に完了します

TAKE NOTICE: ALL REPAIRS WILL BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS

The late afternoon, early evening hours would bring in the remaining crew.  I thought to myself, someone had to have gone out and sent word across the land about the Trans Western’s anticipated departure.  

I had a last moment’s thought to go out and off the ship for the final time before leaving our Japanese dry dock.  I wanted to experience the staggering scope of this ship I’d been traveling the Pacific on, for one last time.

Down the gangplank I walked.  Once again I moved several yards away from the ship herself and then turned around to look upon the magnitude of this, soon to be floating again, steel vessel.  

Awestruck at its massiveness to be sure!  I thought to myself this must be at least as high as a 5 or 6 storied building.  If only I’d taken some pictures.  

The last of the crew was returning to the ship.

Back aboard the ship, I saw the Skip at dinner in the saloon.  With a grin upon his face he asked me, “Well Fiji, did you have a good time here in Japan?”  Just as a smile was escaping my lips and before I could give reply, he answered for me, “Awe, I know you did!”

Shortly after enjoying my own dinner and clearing the saloon, I saw the bulletin which announced, all repairs had been completed.  We were heading home by way of San Francisco. 

The Trans Western would depart first thing in the morning.   

I almost completely forgot about the postcards which I picked up in Tokyo!  I really wanted them to be mailed from Japan and so, I hurried off to write them out.  There was a bittersweet feeling as I wrote them.

I guess Phil just knew it would be like this; he told us there’d be a final mail pick-up this evening.  Turns out, this wasn’t the only thing going on this evening.  

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101. 🌸 Now I Smell Like a Japanese Flower?

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I found myself undressed down to my jockey pants. Each and every article of clothing, the lady carefully folded and placed them on the side table.

I walked into the bathing area and just before stepping into the tub set up for me, I removed my only remaining article of clothing. The water was comforting and warm and I could feel everything melt away.

The young lady used a mitt-like cleansing cloth which she placed over her four fingers, leaving the thumb exposed. This washcloth had little scrubbie bumps to them yet it was very soft.

Instantly and completely relaxed, all I had to do was raise a limb when asked to do so by her gentle, experienced motions and still, no words. I noticed she remained on her knees while bathing me, wow!

She pulled the plug, draining the water from the tub. Then I was rinsed with a shower-hose attachment; Bill was experiencing the same thing a few feet away from me.

The ladies then dried us off and helped us into robes with slippers at the ready. Bill was led to his sectioned off room and I was asked politely to lie down on the bed in my area of the room.

I believed that I smelled like a Japanese flower after a very, very relaxing massage. 🌸 The young lady asked me if I wanted something to eat. Again only with motions, her suggestion demonstrated eating this time. Oh yes, this sounded perfect!

Bill? He was in agreement; we were given a menu (already in the room) and we selected our dinners from there. Both of us were so relaxed that leaving the room this evening was out of the question.

The two girls left the room to fill our food orders. We shared a few words of expression in the ladies’ absence. About 25 minutes later they returned to the room with our meals on trays. Bill stayed in his area of our room with his new friend and I stayed with mine.

I was already sitting up on the bed when she placed the tray in front of me and she then sat down at the foot of the bed. My dinner looked so delicious, I remember that much 😀 I began to eat my meal and the girl remained sitting there at my feet.

I looked up at her and she’d shyly giggle, putting her hand lightly over her mouth as she did so. What else to do? 🥢 🍽 🥃 The dinner sharing began. She sat a little closer. I fed her a bite and then I took one so, back and forth we went to the end.

After she cleared away the tray, she once again used motions to ask me if I wanted her to return. I’ll ask you here to imagine how that must’ve looked.

Feeling relaxed, refreshed and very much alive in the morning, it was time to check out. The girls made certain we knew the robe and slippers were ours to keep. After carefully folding and placing these into our bags, they carried them once again for us.

The young ladies and our overnight bags were downstairs waiting for us at the front desk when we arrived moments later. With the bill cleared, we each then handed some American dollars to the girls. They bowed slightly and shyly giggled once for our departure.

At a relaxed pace, we walked a little and then took a taxi back to the ship at the dry dock, arriving just before lunch time.

Normal duties took place. After lunch, I cleared the saloon and quickly set it up for dinner; this was really easy as I already knew the numbers in attendance would be few.

Now to check the pantry, freezer and refrigerators for our provisions (especially food) must be maintained. The land crew of suppliers had the order and they’d return with it in a couple of hours.

Our storehouse of provisions was dropped off on the designated area of the deck and we all hustled with others in the crew to get these securely stored into all the proper places.

There was still enough time to take care of ourselves, to clean our own cabins and do our laundry. Dinner hour was upon us and well, time to feed the officers again!

Subsequently I prepared the saloon for the next morning’s breakfast. I myself had a quick bite to eat because I wasn’t sure if I’d dine out in town.

Afterwards Bill and I grabbed our overnight bags once again and off into Yokohama we went. Another evening of Japanese hospitality was waiting for us!

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