Manila Arrival

As I prepared for my first port visit I was not sure what to expect. This was a foreign country with new customs and traditions. Several of my crew had lived long periods of their lives in the Philippines so they were a great deal of help. My mind was split between the eagerness to set foot on dry land again and managing the upcoming stores onload as soon as the ship moored.

I assumed my usual duties as pilot escort for the arrival. The first change I noticed was when the water turned a greenish hue. I had never seen the ocean quite that shade before. Mountains covered in vegetation appeared on either side of the ship shortly after. I saw the remains of a WWII turret as we entered the harbor. Then unfortunately, I started to see the trash. That would come to represent a certain theme for Manila.

The ship moored without any problems, which was good because vendors were already set up and waiting for us on the pier. This would also be a taste of things to come. Shortly after mooring, there were several important tasks to be completed before liberty could be called. The trash needed to be taken out, stores onloaded and divisions briefed on expectations. This was all accomplished within a few hours. I was kept busy in disbursing converting funds from navy cash cards (debit cards) to cash. American dollars could be exchanged on the pier. The crew had been warned ahead of time to be careful in using Philippine ATMs, so my disbursing funds were drained much faster than I would have liked.

Most of the crew went out that first night we were in port. I elected to stay back and get some rest. We were scheduled to be in port for the next three days so I wanted to bide my time (and money). My other motive was to watch SUPPO interact with the husbanding agent and vendors. I am going to need that knowledge someday.