Ascension IslandMapApril 22, 2015 Our epic journey was coming to an end. A month of sailing across the Atlantic had brought us to Ascension Island, a major British-American military base. I’d already been here a couple of years ago on my way to the Falklands but hadn’t left the airport.  I was supposed to fly home from here via Oxford. But right before the start of our expedition, I learned that the airport was now closed off to Russians. It being a military base and all. So I needed to get a flight out of Praia.  The sailor raises a black ball—a signal that the ship is anchored. Ours isn’t exactly a ball, but everyone gets the message if they’re looking from afar through binoculars.  And then comes the most unpleasant news of all: because of international instability, citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Syria and North Korea, as well as certain other shady characters, are barred from approaching the shores of Ascension Island. And the permit I’ve already obtained is no longer valid. So the Russian first mate, the Ukrainian sailor, my acquaintance from Moscow and I spend the entire day chewing the fat for lack of anything else to do. At night, sharks circled the ship, and the sailors tried to illuminate them with the searchlights for the passengers’ entertainment.  |
