A School of Despair

Months of cabin fever would be washed away with each sighting of land. As the anchor dropped, we’d climb down the gangway to a speedboat that would take us to new places. We would discover marketplaces in Abidjan, or head to Istanbul to explore the city where East meets West. At restaurants overlooking the Bosporus, we would eat grilled fish and wash it down with ayran, a yoghurt drink. After weeks of no fresh fruit, we’d have fresh coconut water and cashews in Kandy, or fresh papaya in Djibouti. As we sailed along the Nile, pedlars came aboard from tiny wooden boats and set up shop on deck, selling Egyptian souvenirs and the sweetest figs I’ve ever eaten. We visited Iran just before the revolution, exploring the spice markets in Minab and discovering the best saffron.