Suddenly in the Caribbean

Blinded by the beauty, arrived, finally there, a feeling of release, satisfied, thankful, fantastic, unbelievable, beautiful, magical, exciting, relieved, shattered, overwhelmed and surreal.

These adjectives were named by some crew members when I asked them to describe the moment of our arrival in the “New World” and how they felt about it. Overwhelming and surreal were by far the most numerous adjectives which were used to describe the moment, and some answers were more personal. I asked myself the same question: How do I feel about the fact that I am on the other side of the ocean now? I would also say it’s surreal, like many others.

For me the most surreal part was the berthing. It was so special and strange because the Atlantic crossing had been the whole time since our application for the project an idea. We had been talking and thinking about it and then suddenly we were really doing it. Before the adventure started I had respect for the long time we would not see land. But the crossing turned out to be different. I thought that I would have the Caribbean, our destination, in my mind while sailing, but instead I just enjoyed the trip, the water next to us and the sea animals. It seemed that instead of reaching the Caribbean, the purpose of the trip was just the sailing itself. That’s why the time was flying by, and some students even told me that they wanted to keep sailing, because they enjoyed the time on the water so much. This is why the berthing and also the time after were so surreal. I lived my everyday live and didn’t care that much where the Thor was or how fast we were going and then all of a sudden we were there, and the crossing was over. In my mind I realized that we were on the other side of the ocean, far away from home, but my feelings didn’t change that much. I am extremely glad that I am here, but before that I was happy too.

Furthermore, it was strange that an idea, which we all had when we applied, became reality. This surreal feeling became less strong when we explored the totally different landscape and Port Elizabeth in Bequia. In my point of view the habitants are pretty relaxed, and you can have interesting conversation with them. They also have a unique style. I have seen many dreadlocks, sometimes covered with big beanies. On the streets loud music, especially reggae, is often played by stores, cars or just people walking by with big music blasters. The people seem to be outdoors most of the time of the day. Because of that the island seems alive. In addition, the nature and climate is new to me. I am sweating in shorts and T-shirt during Christmas time. Below me there is sand and above me coconuts are growing, and I can see animals like turtles and parrots. Especially the view from a hill was impressive, where I could see the whole panorama and my home, the Thor, next to one of the world’s largest sailing ships – the Royal Clipper – which was anchoring in the same bay for one afternoon. The first time I touched land after the Atlantic crossing was when we were swimming over to the nearest beach, which was also a special moment. Generally, these specific moments in combination with the completely different vibe here helped me to realize that we’ve really crossed the Atlantic Ocean and are now at the other side of it. This realization was a process.

In the survey that I used for my introduction I was using the term ’New World’. However, in my opinion the use of ’New World’ as a synonym for America is problematic. It’s strongly connected to the time of colonialism and comes from a central European perspective, where other cultures were seen as inferior. Nevertheless, I was using this word in my short survey, because everything I see here is new to me. I don’t know the culture and the landscape. It’s literally a new world for me and I will explore and see it with respect.