Joined a 2h walking tour today (free/by donation), learned a bit about the city’s history and picked up some fun facts along the way. Napoleon never managed to conquer the city and when he finally retreated, he left behind his cannons. To this day they serve as “corner protectors” for the houses’ edges in the narrow alleys. I had a really nice time here in Cádiz and it’s one of those places where I could imagine spending a little more time.

Cádiz, one of the oldest cities in Europe and surrounded on 3 3/4 sides by water is currently providing me with shelter within its ancient walls. The old town is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. The buildings are in good shape, free of satellite dishes and the alleys too narrow to park cars. The place is rather affordable and a meal can be had for 4-5 Euros (small Cerveza included).

At 7:30 I’m thrown out of bed and told to report to bridge at 8:00. I think they have a conspiracy here to not let me get more than 6h of sleep. On the bridge I’m greeted by the captain and first officer who enquire about my health condition. I’m grumpy as fuck, don’t give them any details and they lecture me about my duties as member of the crew and how they also have an obligation to take care of the whole crew’s health.

Finally, some sleep. My watch lead was kind enough to skip me for anchor watch and I got the night to myself. I’m far from well rested but definitely fitter than the days before. The sea is dead quiet and we run on engine towards Cadiz. Arriving in port in the late afternoon it’s once again all-hands-on-deck. Mooring the ship takes almost an hour and the shower afterwards feels extremely good.

Trainee’s Log, Sept 23rd, Day 7 Highlight of the day: Sitting on the jib, watching dolphins swim by below. Magnificent and graceful animals. Other than that still tired and fucked every single day. Part of me is seriously looking forward to Cadiz. Trainee’s Log, Sept 24th, Day 8 See above, minus the dolphins. Still haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep and tell my brother that I’ll pull a sickie for the night watch.

Yawn, for the past five days I’ve been tired, low-on-energy and cranky. The routine of the 0-4 watch goes completely against my normal rhythm. Most of my preferred sleeping time (23:00 to 7:00) I spend awake now. Getting more than six hours sleep in one go is virtually impossible. The first meal after waking up is lunch and as amazing as the chefs are, if I get pork chops for breakfast, I have to force them down.

It’s a starlit sky. And I mean STARLIT! Milky way and everything. I haven’t seen a sky like that since the beaches in Far North Queensland. The weather is still mild and we start the night watch with a few minutes of star gazing. Everything is quiet and we adjust sails and brace yards. It’s a nice team in the watch (just one lazy asshole) and my brother as watch lead teaches us a little more theory.

Every time I look down for more than a few seconds, I have a funny feeling in my head and stomach. My brain is still trying to cope with the constant up and down of the ship. Fortunately I haven’t brought forth any sacrifices to Neptune yet. Others are less fortunate. I was on pantry duty today which meant a full night of sleep from 10 in the evening to 6:30 in the morning.

We are scheduled to leave port at 7:30 and get an accordingly early wakeup call at 6:30. For the departure it’s all hands on deck and as 0-4 watch we are responsible for the rear part of the ship. Once all lines are lose, the pilot does a 180° turn on the narrow river and we head out to sea. Being rather short on sleep and not feeling overly well in general, I go back to my bunk for a little more rest before the watch starts at noon.