[lit-ideas] Wage on the Sea
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:25:25 EDT
John Wager, in "Travel Sugestions??":
>Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Salvador, Brazil; Cape Town, South >Africa;
Port Louis, Mauritius; Chennai, India; Penang, Malaysia; >Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam; Hong Kong; Shanghai, China; Kobe, >Japan; Honolulu, Hawaii;
Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and then back to >Miami, Florida. That works out to 45
days at
sea and 55 days in >port.
My God! Focus on the Sea!
Personally, that's what I would do. I recently acquired a book that I'd
recommend, it's published by Oxford University Press -- it's a nice,
old-fashioned, hardcover, called
"OCEAN BIRDS"
-- I collect bird books, and this one covers mainly the Atlantic, though,
rather than the Indian, or Pacific Oceans -- or seas.
But if I were to be _forced_ to be on a boat 'passing by' so MANY cities (or
harbours) as you mention, I'd only find peace and solace in the Sea! (and
what it offers -- spot the albatross, the terns, the tropic birds -- hundreds
of so-called 'pelagic' species
But let me revise the itinerary for the sake of it. After all, the sea is
just a blue blank, as Geary -- who lives inland -- describes it,
"He had bought a large map -- representing the sea
without a vestige of land
And the crew was so charmed when they found it to be
a map they could ALL understand"
"What's the good of Mercator...", axed Geary, etc.
Wager name-drops:
>Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Salvador, Brazil; Cape Town, South >Africa;
Port Louis, Mauritius; Chennai, India; Penang, Malaysia; >Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam; Hong Kong; Shanghai, China; Kobe, >Japan; Honolulu, Hawaii;
Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and then back to >Miami, Florida. That works out to 45
days at
sea and 55 days in >port.
>Bahamas
Well, that's a British colony, so you can sing your "God Save the Quean"
there.
>San Juan Puerto Rico;
Find why the Islanders are so keen on St. John The Baptist. I'm sure there
is sanctuary near the harbour. (St. John is said to be the most
'homoerotic'[or 'lesbian'] of saints because he derived a lot of pleasure in
_touching_
people in the water).
>Salvador, Brazil;
Well, the complete name is "Salvador de Bahia", Saviour of the Bay -- and
you can find out why a Bay _needed_ a Saviour, in the first place. Bahia is a
calm place to do NOTHING, not even care to read any novel by the author of
"Dona Flor and her two husbands". Lot of juvenile delinquency in Bahia, so be
careful. Leave the jewelry in HMS.
>Cape Town, South Africa;
This is exactly opposite Buenos Aires. Strangely, of all places on earth, I
would first visit many other places than make it to Cape Town. It's supposed
to be (literally) a white town, and it's near the "Cape of Good Hope", which
in the vernacular comes out as something close to my surname. I understand
the 'town' is strong in Tudor architecture, but I cannot say. T. Fjeld may
know
more about it, even visited!
>Port Louis, Mauritius;
Well, this Louis must be a Frenchman. Of Mauritius-born people I only know
the author of that fantastic book, "Buenos Aires: City of the Imagination",
Jason Wilson. I think he has a book on Mauritius too. What his _mother_ was
doing there when she delivered is beyond me.
I believe it was a Brit colony, way back -- but S. Ward, our expert in
British Pax Britannica may know more about it.
>Chennai, India;
Aha. India has a nice shape of a country. Erotic, even. I cannot tell where
"Chennai" is situated, maybe in what Geary calls 'the nipple' of the
peninsula.
>Penang, Malaysia;
Geary is the specialist here. He knows all the haunts in Penang. I would
suggest a walk in the beach. You can't go wrong with _that_ (but. cfr. tisumi,
or tiramisu, as Geary prefers).
>Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam;
Well, as a Vietnam veteran, Wager, this will bring memories! Make the best
of them.
>Hong Kong
This used to be British.
>Shanghai, China
I can never tell the difference between Shanghai and HongKong. The skylines
are so _similar_, and the cuisine is also similar. "The musea are different",
Geary adds.
>Kobe, Japan;
We heard from McCreery all you _needed_ to hear about Kobe.
>Honolulu, Hawaii
or "Lulu", as Geary prefers, "Honey Lulu". It's part of the United States, so
you can sing your anthem. Why the flag of that state still carries the
Union Jack as a mise-en-abyme escrutcheon beats me. I find it rather rude too
for
an American State to flaunt its former British colony status like that. "But
the music is sweet", Geary adds.
>Puntarenas, Costa Rica;
Odd, there is a Punta Arenas in Chile, too. It just means "Sandy Point".
Oddly, the name of the street where I live is also called similarly,
"Arenales"
-- I thought it was because it's so near the water, but no, it's because of
this General, surnamed "Arenales", who fought the Paraguayans and become a
hero. I suppose with the name like that the beach's sand must be _very white_
and nice, so you can comber (don't you hate the Victorianism, "beach-comber"?)
>and then back to Miami, Florida.
And fly home, soon, and safe!
>That works out to 45 days at sea and 55 days in port.
Yes, and remember, the sea is to be enjoyed for what She is. Don't think of
the itinerary as lines between points. That's what merchant navy captains
will want you to belive. For Royal Navy captains harbours are only an excuse
to
sail away.
As I was reading in "The Boat Book of Long Island Sound", there are two main
pleasures in sailing: sailing _into_ a harbour, and sailing _away_ from the
harbour. When I first read that I found it funny and clever. Now I find it
also _wise_.
Cheers, and as they say in Mauritius, bon voyage.
J. L.
SW of Salvador de Bahia
Buenos Aires, Argentina
ps. Sorry for the punny title (yes, pun intended) -- but I'm
not _that_ *inspired* tonight. I first titled "John Wager and the Sea" but
that's too literal.
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