My Journey on a Pirate Ship
I should introduce you to my friends and tell you a little bit about myself first. My name is Inigo (and no my last name is not montoya) and I am 23 years of age. My parents are of Spanish decent and visited Baltra of the Galapagos Islands on their honeymoon before falling in love with its quaint atmosphere and moving here permanently. Mechanic is my trade and how I met two of my best friends, Isabella and Alejo. They are brother and sister and we have been compadres since meeting at freshman orientation eight years ago. Alejo is quiet and extremely shy around new acquaintances. He has a passion for anything zoology related, which made Baltra the ideal location to pursue his career. Immediately following a bachelor's at the Galapagos Academice Institute for the Arts & Sciences (GAIAS) Alejo began an internship as a research assistant for behavioral ecology of Chelonoidis Nigra (giant tortoise). His sister Isabella is the exact opposite of Alejo. She is engaging and exuberant. It is impossible not to smile in her presence. If you saw her on the street you would never assume that she works alongside me at the shop. Isa's (pronounce Iza) specialty is carburetors, but she can handle all things car. She is also the love of my life.
Esteban is the fourth member of our group of seven and Isa's boyfriend. In case you haven't interred, she is unaware of my undying devotion. E is one of the coolest people you will ever be around. After five minutes in his charismatic presence if you don't walk away his new best friend then you'd be the first, including myself. From the moment I met him, I was instantly drawn to E and the ease he has about him. When not wooing companions to his side he works with Alejo at the national park as a ranger. Another park ranger and the fifth member of our crew is Tomas. Tomas is the class clown of the group. Immature antics win him as many friends as breed him enemies. He is an extreme; you either love and adore him or you despise him. Obviously we all adore his boyish spirit. Tomas leads tour groups through the national park and uses his humor to entertain and leave tourists ready to plan their return trips.
Speaking of tourists, meet Lola and Pascual. The two love birds complete the troupe of seven. Pascual and Lola have been married just 3 years, but they have love that will last a lifetime. Their infectious optimism creates the perfect atmosphere for running their bed and breakfast, Tortuga Bay. Lola is business savvy and runs the fiscal side of things and day-to-day items. Pascual is more inclined to focus on the big picture. This dynamic duo know everyone on Baltra and joined our seven after Esteban spent a weekend in their B&B during a particularly rough rainy season. E struck up their friendship instantly and the rest is history.
Now several years and many rainy seasons later, the seven of us are faced with the devastation that has hit Baltra and the conundrum of how to move forward. We decided to abandon Baltra and sail to Ecuador and take shelter there until a permanent course of action could be planned. Thursday morning came and we boarded an abandoned cruise ship to escape what was left of our beloved Baltra. This is the point where our luck goes from bad to worse. Sure, we started out promisingly enough. Our newly commandeered ship was sturdy and withstood the torrential downpours and heavy winds. What we didn't plan on was our encounter with Captain Greaves, first name Bella.
She didn't have a black beard, but possessed a black heart to accompany her dark-as-night curls. Instead of a cliche parrot as her companion, a raven crested her shoulder at all times. Pale white skin was the only part of Captain Greaves that wasn't ebon. Her band of misfits boarded our dainty ship during the night and we awoke in chains aboard The Black Swan. We soon came to call her Bella the Black. When you looked into her charcoal eyes you could feel your soul darkening.
Weeks passed and we had grown gaunt on a diet of water and the occasional cracker. Our muscles had but atrophied from remaining chained to the mast day and night. Bella and her crew went out on an excursion to pillage a small island and left a handful of crew members to monitor us. Using hushed tones and speaking in broken French we orchestrated a plan similar to a coup d'Etat. We weren't overthrowing the government, but overthrowing we were.
E began phase one of the plan: seduction. Even the blackest of hearts can be brought to life again with a sexy grin from Esteban. He started off small, offering to do chores for her until he had won his freedom as her personal servant. E serviced her needs on deck and in her quarters. Isa wept silently each night as creaks and moans could be heard from the ecstasy that was pumping Bella the Black's dark heart back to a flush red color. I whispered reassurances to her that Esteban was doing this so we might survive and that he loved her and no one else. She wiped away my consolations with her tears as her head sagged down on my shoulder. In those moments, as I felt the gentle wisps of her hair caressing my face I was intoxicated on her natural scent. I wanted to fall asleep with her next to me every night for as long as I lived. During these cruel circumstances where my world was falling apart, I clung to the feeble moments that kept me alive.
Just as the tormentous nights seemed as if they would become our existence, never ceasing or waning, a glimmer of hope was allowed to form. The ship crested over a particularly large wave and on the horizon was land. This land was inhabited and buildings could be seen lining the shore. To us it was a welcome chance at escape and to Bella and her crew it was a chance to pillage and plunder. We were both elated. And to everyone's surprise, and relief, Esteban suggested that Bella and her band of scallywags celebrate the upcoming pillage and get rip-roaringly drunk on grog. With all the crew members focused on how much rum was left in their bottles our quiet whispers went unnoticed.
We needed a plan. And thanks to E we had time to gather our wits and create our escape. The island was a day's journey away which meant the Bella would begin her invasion the following night in the cover of darkness. Alejo had been able to lift a small knife during an earlier beating and had it hidden. It was established that Alejo would cut Tomas, Pascual and his bonds tonight and be poised to cut ours the following night. The three men would appear to still be tied to the mast during the day. Pillage night we would wait until the majority of the crew was ashore doing their worst. At this moment Alejo would free Iza, Lola and myself while Tomas and Pascual thwarted the remaing few crew members and stole their weapons. We would quickly tie them up in our places. Now for the tricky part; we would don clothes from the captured few and take the last boat to shore. From afar it would appear that another group of Bella's party was heading to her aide.
Once ashore, we would act as if pillagers and head toward homes with torches ablaze. We would discreetly slip out of the raid and meet on the far side of the island. There was no way to select a meeting location. We just had to hope that we saw one another again. Esteban was to be found by Tomas (he was the closest resembling a pirate and would be able to get near E without being detected) and told of our plan.
Sun rose slowly over the fast approaching island and we had to force ourselves to remain dour and look the part of captives. Hours crept past and the longest day was coming to a close. Our plan was in action. Bella had become preoccupied with her raid on the village and left only 3 men to guard us. As their boats reached shore Alejo leapt to release us of our restraints and Pascual and Tomas attacked the three men left. It went by in a blur and both came out unscathed and with weapons since we had succeeded in catching them off guard. We headed to the island and no alarm was raised.
What we hadn't counted on was the angry villagers defending their homes against anyone they assumed was a pirate. We took off running in various directions. Lola and Pascual headed straight through the center of town and Alejo took off towards the East. Tomas headed Southeast toward Bella and where he hoped Esteban would be. Iza stood frozen until I grabbed her arm and dragged her West with me. I gave up the pretense of burning anything and immediately dropped my torch and headed for the nearest cluster of jungle. As we reached the edge of the dense trees I felt relief. Suddenly a glimmer of silver caught my eye and I reacted with just enough time to shove Iza away from the sword blow as it slammed down on my left arm. The blade left a four inch gash in my forearm. There was no time to consider the immense amount of pain; I could only react as I evaded blow after blow. Finally I was able to duck under his swing and grab him around the chest slamming him into the sand. From that position I was able to pin him and wrestle the sword free. Without thinking I buried the blade deep between his ribs. He breathed his last breaths as I picked Iza up from the sand and ran frantically into the brush.
It felt like hours but we had only been running for twenty minutes. Iza slumped to the ground in exhaustion. With the poor diet we had been receiving on the ship, she was struggling to go any further. Somehow I carried forward from sheer desparation or determination, I don't know which. Whatever drove me didn't matter as I draped Iza across my right shoulder and trekked through the night. At dawn I collapsed on the edge of the jungle.
"Inigo! Wake up! Iza, Inigo wake up!" I was awoken by the sounds of Alejo yelling and shaking us. We had survived our plight and Alejo was alive! Quickly I sat up and looked around for the others. Alejo was the only one there. "Where are the others?" I asked. Alejo said he had no clue and told how he had reached the tree line with no interference and didn't face attack until halfway through his journey when a large animal pawed him in the back. He managed to scale the nearest tree and wait until morning when his predator had abandoned him to make a run for the beach. Now what to do?
We had only accounted for surviving, we didn't make any steps for salvation. Iza had come out of her shock and began her recovery by ripping off my other sleeve and making a bandage for my badly cut left arm. She then ordered Alejo and I to scavenge for firewood and wood for making a shelter. The three of us created a makeshift hut before looking for water. Alejo had passed a stream and was able to backtrack to its location we drank our fill and headed back to the beach to rest and see if anyone else in our party had materialized.
Lola was dragging a lifeless form down the beach as we arrived. Pascual had been killed and she couldn't leave him to the animals to tear apart. Instead she drug his body 8 miles so he would have a proper burial. She was rigid and had bags under her eyes from crying the night through. Lola was unable to tell us what happened without breaking down so we set about digging a trench for our beloved Pascual. That nigth we held a funeral and decided to start fresh tomorrow. Something had changed in all of us during our journey leading up to this. We were numb. How could we bury our friend as if it were routine. We had become cold and calculated. As I faded to sleep that night I hoped that this wasn't to become our new reality.
Morning renewed my faith when it was evident that we were all affected by the death of Pascual and were just being cold to hold it together. Today was not the moment to let it go, we must push the pain to the depths and focus on our issues at the surface. We needed to get off the island and soon. The villagers that remained would not react kindly to us, thinking we were pirates. Tomas and Esteban were still unaccounted for. The decision to leave without them was hard, but we couldn't survive here for long. We unanimously opted to wait one week before setting course for the mainland. Iza had not been in shock as I first thought the night we came ashore. She was staring at signs in the town to uncover any clues as to our location. We were on Puna Island off the coast of Ecuador. Alejo lit up! We were only 25 miles from the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve. He had considered doing a fellowship there before settling on the Galapagos instead. He knew a friend named Rafe who was working there and would be able to help us out. Cheers erupted among the group when the realization that safety was so near.
We set about crafting our raft and collecting food to bring on our journey. Lola fashioned a container for stream water from plastic used to collect tree sap she found on several trees in the jungle. Iza and I began weaving palm fronds into a floor liner of the raft that Alejo were building. We settled into a bit of a routine over the next several days. Each day spent weaving palm fronds with Iza only strengthened the love and respect I had for her. She continued to delight me even in the most dire of circumstances. Every night I watched her cry herself to sleep and longed to console her. She was so strong in front of everyone else. I was the only one who witnessed her silent pain from wondering what happened to Esteban. I could tell that the damage he'd done by being with Bella intimately for so long was irrevocable, but she still cared for the man she used to love.
The night before we set sail had finally arrived and there was still no sign of Tomas or Esteban. Lola had finally told us how Pascual had passed away. She said they were lighting houses on fire and participating in mayhem to blend in when another pirate noticed her. Bella was the only woman on the ship that was part of the crew and he recognized Lola. Pascual told her to run and he'd follow her. She began running but turned back to see if he was with her. As she turned she saw the pirates jump Pascual and bludgeon him to death. She waited until daybreak and drug his body into the cover with her. She said she considered killing herself and almost did, but this little bird started humming above her. The bird was singing Pascual's favorite song and as Lola looked up the bird made eye contact and then flew toward the depths of the jungle almost beckoning her. She swears to this day that it was her Pascual helping her to go on and telling her it was going to be alright. Lola said she just began walking, following the sound of that bird until she reached our hut.
Fireside talk was about Pascual that evening and all the wonderful things he been as a friend and husband, all the moments he made us laugh and silly memories we had shared with him. There was a peace about our group as we said goodnight. I was feeling some semblance of normality start to creep back into my life. I was watching the fire die down when Iza crept beside me. "I just want to be held Inigo. I am leaving the man I thought I loved behind and I'm out of tears. I just need you to tell me it's going to be alright and hold me," she whispered. I wrapped her in my arms and told her promises of protection and safe travels. And when I was certain she was alseep I whispered softly, "Iza I will always love you," before fading to sleep.
Boarding the raft we were somber. A last farewell was said to Pascual. Iza left the necklace she always wore tied to a post of our hut. Esteban had given her the chain on their one year anniversary and she wanted for him or Tomas to know we'd stayed here. Rowing in silence we moved further and further from shore. We rotated who rowed and who slept so that our raft was always moving forward. Four uneventful days later and we saw land. Our joy was quickly snuffed out as we recognized the black flag flapping on the mast of the ship we had escaped less than two weeks ago. Apparently Bella the Black had the same idea as us to head towards Ecuador. Fate accepted we continued to row toward the coast knowing that retreat was death. We had no drinkable water left and had only the choice to continue to row towards our imprisonment.
Bella and Esteban rowed out to meet our raft. "Have you seen Tomas?" we all questioned E immediately. "I murdered the filthy rat as I am about to do to the lot of you," was his reply. How could E, our E, be so cruel? They took us back to the ship in chains our mouths still agape from the horror that E had uttered. We were lined up and told that we'd be walking the plank. Lola was first, followed by Alejo, then Iza and finally myself. The one privilege we were granted before our demise was an utterance of final words.
"It has been an honor to know the three of you and I am content with the years I did get to spend with Pascual. God have mercy on your soul, Esteban," stated Lola as she leapt to her death.
Alejo began, "Rot in hell..." But before he could finish his statement Bella and E slumped to the deck, both stabbed through with a sword. Lo and behold it was Tomas and the rest of the pirates. There was mutiny on deck. Tomas had convinced the crew that they were better than some woman who cared only about her love for Esteban and not the needs of the crew. They decided to revolt when Bella was distracted. What had really happened on the island was E stabbing a pirate that resembled Tomas. Tomas saw this and hid out amongst the lower ranking pirates to not be noticed.
But Lola! Why had Tomas waited for her to jump? Angrily we turned on Tomas until we paused long enough to notice the new Captain glaring us down. "I can't have anyone thinking I am weak and let civilians escape my ship," threatened Filipe the Fiery, "Overboard all of you!" Tomas winked and jumped the plank. We all followed suit trusting him to come through once more. What other choice did we have?
We were greeted with Lola and a rowboat. Tomas had slipped her a key to her shackles before we were made to walk the plank. She simply unlocked her chains and boarded the boat Tomas had left tied up to that side of the ship. Soon we were all aboard the small rowboat and watching our chains float to the bottom of the ocean.Iza was very quiet as Alejo and I picked up the oars and paddled with everything we had left toward the refuge that Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve offered. Our boat crested the shore at dusk and we crawled wearily up the bank and passed out.
Six miles later, we reached the gates to the Reserve. Rafe was still working there and was sent for immediately. Warm beds, cold water and filling food were provided. After resting for a few days we attempted to put our lives back together as best as possible. Rafe said there was work to be found for Alejo and Tomas if they wanted it. Both men decided to stay on at the MCER and continue working doing the research and entertaining the loved most. Lola couldn't bear to return to the island where her and Pascual had spent the majority of their time together. She felt called to instead return home to Machala, Peru and eventually she opened a bird sanctuary there.She never remarried. But she valued her friendships and it was only an hour and a half drive to visit Tomas and Alejo, a journey she made every other month. Tomas and Alejo drove to visit her the months between her visits. They remain very close to this day.
I wanted nothing to do with the old life I lead on Baltra and decided to make my way toward Monteverde and work in a mechanic shop until I had saved up enough to have my own garage. Iza decided to go with me to Monteverde. At the time I assumed it was because she would be able to get work there and would like a familiar face. It wasn't until one night about a year later I realized the true reason she had followed me there. We had been working late on a tricky carburetor and decided to grab some beers and take a break. "Did you mean what you whispered to me?" she quizzed me. "What? When did I whisper something to you?" I responded in confusion. Iza didn't falter, "The night before we left Puna Island you whispered to me. Do you still mean it?" She had been awake! The realization flooded me that she had heard me profess my love. "Well?" she asked after I didn't respond for several minutes. "Iza I will always love you," I whispered to her once more as i gently kissed her. It was the sweetest kiss I had ever tasted. After our kiss ended she leaned in and whispered in return, "Inigo I will always love you."
Eight months later we had a small ceremony performed on Puna Island. The preacher and three guests attended. And that is how my journey on a pirate ship defined the man I would become and the life I would lead. It was the hardest journey I have had to make and it caused me much pain, but without that pirate ship there would be no Iza and I. And our union has brought me much joy over the years.
Our once seven friends are now only five. Yet somehow there is still joy.
Posts
