Joining the ship - first emotions

Hi everyone!  I'm posting this in La Spezia, Italy after about 4 days at sea.  Thought I'd share with you my journey from the beginning.

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A very emotional day today.  It was the day it hit me that I’m going to be on a container ship, for approx. 1.5 months, travelling to Hong Kong!

                Joining the ship was easy.  I made my way to the Cruise Terminal in Piraeus, the port of Athens and there the agent for this particular cargo line met me.  He took care of all my paperwork with the authorities.  I was lucky enough to also meet the new Polish Chief Officer who joined the ship with me.  He’d been on this ship before and was coming back from his leave.  I immediately warmed to his avuncular nature:  kind eyes with a weary, yet friendly demeanor, he assured me that any questions I had, he’d be more than happy to answer them.  “Don’t think any question is silly.”  Ahh, that’s re-assuring.

What to pack for the trip

I was getting stressed because I didn't know what to pack for my trip.  I mean, it’s not as if I’m going on a cruise ship where people get dressed to the nines every evening, yet I’m also not going to be down and dirty with the containers (at least, I HOPE not!)  So I need to strike a balance: smartish wear for meals in the Officer’s Mess, yet comfortable and sensible seaworthy clothes & shoes, especially for walking around in ports of call and on deck.