Day Four Hundred Seventy #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

When I was on my first watch of the night we passed the midpoint in the mouth of the gulf. About twenty minutes into this shift, I spotted a small craft pounding the waves coming for our port side. As I raised the alarm, I sighted another on the approach to our starboard.

The Captain called all hands to quarters to repel boarders with fire hoses.

Elijah joined me, his staff in hand. As we looked on, the first craft was lifted by a maverick wave and dashed to pieces on the downstroke. We did not see what happened to the other, but we believe something similar occurred.

Morning found us on the other coastline.  Now for our consignee’s village.

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Day Four Hundred Thirty Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We have arrived on the island after a very long day. Elijah did not want to risk missing the departure of the fishing fleet so we set out well before sunrise. In fact it was dark when we came into the fishing village and seemingly darker still as we cast off.  

I was sick almost immediately. These small craft are nothing like our big ship. They bounce about too much. Elijah was stoic throughout.

As we passed the midpoint, another cloud bank descended obscuring the island. The fishermen hesitated and wanted to put about, but Elijah insisted we continue.

We rounded a point on the northern end and there the fog lifted, leaving a clear path into a lonely beach.

Day Four Hundred Thirty #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Well, we almost ruled out ever returning to the area south of the city.

It was the next logical step as we set out this morning. To our surprise we encountered no villages or even farms in that direction. At least until we realized there was no arable soil due to omnipresent rocks. A reality that increased as we went along.

That is until we made our way back along the rugged shoreline. There we ran into a tiny fishing village clinging to the sides of a perfect little cove. The fishing fleet was then out according to those left behind. And indeed we could make out small craft dotting the ocean between here and the city.

We shall return.