On the high seas

We left the Canary Islands yesterday afternoon and we are on the open sea traveling south to our destination at Pointe Noire, Congo.  We should arrive in about 2 weeks.  This is a time of rest, relaxation, reading, getting to know the new crew that arrived in the last few weeks, working our "summer" job, and meeting to plan for the Congo field service.  It is a special time for when we get to Pointe Noire we will be extremely busy getting everything in place to start the screening process that determines who will be able to have surgery. This year Mercy Ships celebrates 35 years of offering hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor.  Watch the 60 Minutes program on August 4th to learn more about what this amazing organization does.

                                                     Goodbye Tenerife; Sunset at sea

We leave Gran Canaria for Tenerife

We arrived in Tenerife last Saturday and it is the second of seven of the Canary Islands we have visited for the maintenance, inspection, and repair phase required every year for maritime vessels. It was a 4-5 hour sail, not rough, and as we neared the port at  Santa Cruz we were delighted to see a pod of pilot whales off to the port side. The Canaries are a part of Spain.  Each island is different in terrain and in architecture, each beautiful in its own way. We have been here one short week for we set sail for Congo on Saturday.  The past 6 weeks have flown by.

The last view of the shipyard at Las Palmas

Attaching the mooring lines to the tug

The  wake of the ship turning out of the port area

                                      Relaxing in a hammock on deck 7 during the sail

Another view of deck 7

                                    First look at Santa Cruz in Tenerife

Teodora Mylonas plays the trumpet  every year when the Africa Mercy arrives and departs Tenerife. This is his 22nd year!

                                                    A wall of flowers

                                           A beautiful gazebo

                                            Sights around the city of Santa Cruz

                                            Mount Teide

                                                Bananas anyone?

Old wooden implements

                                                  Beautiful doors

                                                      Old wine press

                                             The view from the walk at a monastary

Peacocks and chickens wandered through the restaurant at dinnertime

                                       The sun is setting, turning everything golden

Holland for a week

Van Gogh's "Sunflowers"

                                         Along the canal in Amsterdam

                                                    Flowers are everywhere

                                          Martha's garden

                                            More of Martha's garden

                                           Along the canal

                                               Barns are attached to houses

                                         Formal gardens

                                           How clogs were made

                      
 Of the 20 original windmills here, 18 of the 19 left standing are private homes. Can you imagine?

                                              Rotterdam via the water-bus

People come and go, spending anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to 2 years to their lifetime serving as volunteers and I have found that one of the most amazing things in serving with Mercy Ships are the friendships I have made  with people from all over the world.  A friend from Holland, Martha, invited me to visit and plans were quickly made then a friend from Manitoba, Fran, joined us and we spent time with another friend, Jolande, as well. What a fun filled week we had! We started in Amsterdam and I was delighted to visit Van Gogh's museum.  We traveled on one of the many canals and saw the home of Anne Frank.  We stayed in Haarlem and walked the streets to see "hidden" gardens  behind large wooden doors that when you opened you entered a paradise not visible from the streets  We stayed near Maram in Martha's home and traveled the back roads to see the beautiful countryside where the barns are attached to the houses and sheep and cattle graze in the pastures.  We visited the home of Menno Simons and learned about his life and beliefs.  We had tea and coffee every day at roadside establishments and sat in the sun and talked endlessly about everything. We visited museums and saw formal gardens and how early life was lived. We visited Rotterdam to stay with Jolande and saw the windmills at Kinderdijk and traveled by water bus, hopping on and off at various places of interest.  Everywhere there is water, in the many canals and behind the dikes that keep the land from flooding. Everywhere there are flowers.  Holland is beautiful!