Ben Edwards, 18th July in Murmansk
Hi. It’s ten pm on Sunday right now and we’re still in Murmansk. I got up at about lunchtime again and The Mother and I went out to get out of Nikolai and Dennis’s ways. They were in the engine again. We went back to the cafe that does good pizza for breakfast. We tried to order something different this time but the communication problems meant that we ended up having pizza for breakfast/lunch. We had showers in the hotel again and then went to try and find some things we need for the North East Passage. We found a coffee jug thing which we need. We lost the last one, and at long last, we found a supermarket. We packed a lot of egg powder at the start of the trip which has all gone missing. As such all the time we’ve been in Murmansk we’ve been trying to find somewhere that sells eggs to supplement the supply. Four days and we’ve have only found one shop that sells eggs. So we got two hundred. Something interesting about Russia is that the shops don’t keep change.
You usually have to pay in exact cash or by card. Which is really irritating. After we got back we stored the eggs and I went for a snooze. I was woken up at seven to go to dinner. This time Nikolai and Dennis joined me The Mother and David. I left before anyone, came back to the boat and wrote this. The Mother has remarked that the way I’m writing has gone downhill recently. I have a theory about that. For the past few days we’ve been in a place that, while interesting, is not very, stimulating. We’ve been working to get the boat ready, I don’t understand the local language, the city’s design is frankly oppressive and all in all the experience is right now very tiring. I am, for want of a better term, jaded. I am certain this will change with a change of scenery and when we actually get under way. But right now, everything feels a bit worn, sort of twilight zoneish. Anyway, never mind. I’ll write again tomorrow, we hope to leave on Wednesday. Bye.