As we set off on the HMS Roy Duprez and HMS Cisco Rendon, I felt a kindredness of spirit with the great Christopher Columbus. Off to Terra Incognita. What excitement! That feeling quickly evaporated as we entered the mud straits of what local legends called “Camp Verde”, which I have still not been able to decipher and translate back to the King’s english. But I digress. The mud straights. We altered our course and set off to another, less explored region known as “Dead Horse State Park.” Thereupon we ate lunch facilitated by Quartermaster Bergamo. Thank the Lord and all the Angels for Quartermaster Bergamo. Without the provisions he acquired, the men would have been cantankerous.
At the new destination we disembarked from the ships ready to charter the immediate vicinity. I decided to give the men some time for recreation and journaling so that all could chronicle the experience. A journaling crew is a happy crew. Though we set out to map the area, we were quickly moving in circles, ignoring our King’s orders. Rumblings of Democracy and parliament had been heard throughout the Royal Navy, and I decided to let some of that fervor boil off with recreation. Later that day, the indigineous, who called themselves the “Alano” tribe invited the crew and myself to a gathering. All were enlightened by the experience.
The next day, myself along with Capt. Karasu and Quartermaster Bergamo decided that a local structure needed to be catalogued. To get to said structure, which resembled a ladder of sorts, we had the crew ford a river carrying all their gear overhead. When some initially refused, we were able to coax them with promises of another indigenous meeting with the “Narcanon” tribe where a women’s convent had been established by a previous expedition. The men cheered up and crossed with haste.
After a dinner of local cuisine the crew made fire and spoke of hopes and dreams for this new world of endless possibility. Eyes twinkled and hearts warmed. As we dozed off to bed, thoughts of better days to come filled the minds of all, from captain to ship’s boy. The journey continues…
