Moby Dick

I was reading Moby Dick the other day and the narrator (Ishmael) was killing time while their ship was being provisioned prior to setting sail. It feels a bit like that here. The antimalarials arrived yesterday, the mosquito net and needle kit today. I am still awaiting the visa and still have various other things to obtain before departure. Maybe not as exciting as new sails, bolts of canvas and coils of rigging - but each to his own (and they were going for three years!)