They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in heavy seas. The wind blew in gusts and the waves were large with ridges of white foam. Most of the passengers left the cover to protect themselves from the rain.
The journey was becoming unbearable for many travelers and the cabin was the ideal place to protect the privacy of those bad moments of sea sickness. First class passengers rarely left their rooms during the stormy days, even though they knew being caged inside their cabins was a sure way to step up the effects of motion sickness. In contrast, second and third class passengers, who slept piled up in bunk beds, would frequently go up to the deck to get fresh air and experienced seasickness much less. Everyone followed the same etiquette - first class never mixed with the lower class. But without a doubt, the ship’s dining room was the place where all travelers would fraternize with each other and the captain. In those rainy days, pharmacist Jose Sarrá and the captain would engage in long conversations with Mariano Defaus Moragas, seated around a table.
Mariano was a young man of good build, not very tall, with reddish hair and blue eyes. Despite the wind and the giant waves, Mariano spent a lot of time looking at the sea, sheltered by his long coat.
It took some days to reach the Canary Islands. In the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma, Mariano saw a group of children fishing, and from time to time they would kick or throw stones at a very big fish in the water.
“What kind of fish are they? Are they sharks?” Mariano asked Jose.
“I don't know, sharks stay away from the coast and prefer to swim in open and deep waters, but from time to time they approach the piers,” said Jose.
“Are they dangerous?”
“Don’t worry, it is difficult to be attacked by a shark! Those seem to be harmless. They may be hammerhead sharks.”
When they tied up in the port of Santa Cruz, the captain returned to his home to spend a couple of days with his wife and children and left the command of the ship in the hands of First Mate Miguel Gutiérrez Marín. Before taking command of the ship, Miguel requested permission to visit his mother for a few hours. She lived in a small hovel near the pier.
Mariano did not get off the boat. He stayed on the deck for long hours observing, entranced by the comings and goings of the port. Mariano passed those days talking to Miguel. Most of the passengers, after so much hustle and seasickness, left the boat to enjoy the mainland.
“How come they load so many boxes of onions?” Mariano asked.
“For several years now, this island has been producing huge crops of onions. They export them in great quantities to the Spanish Antilles Islands where they consume large quantities of onions,” answered Miquel.
“Never had I imagined so much commercial trade between La Palma and Cuba.”
“This trade not only occurs legally, but also leaves the door open to contraband. Generally, the merchandise embarks or disembarks in the small ports to the north of the island, but don't tell the captain that I told you all that,” Miquel added.
“Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. I guess there will be many Canarians in Cuba, right?”
“Cuba is crowded with Canarians, and let me tell you, the Cubans speak like we do. Look, just as La Palma is our homeland, Cuba is home for many families of these islands. Over there we have parents, siblings, and friends who share our joys as well as our troubles and joyful feelings well up in our chests. We rejoice in the prosperity of that distant land and are saddened with their misfortunes.”
“Miguel, you express yourself eloquently! You are quite the orator.”
“Please, let us be informal! When I was a teenager, I worked for a newspaper here in La Palma called The Cry of the People. At first, I was the errand boy, but little by little they let me write some articles, which I still I know by heart. The bad thing is that my father, who was a member of the crew of this ship, died in a pirate ambush. The captain, the officers, the master class, many subordinates, and some passengers fought bravely and saved the sailboat. Unfortunately, some of them died. The captain asked the owner of the boat to hire me. I had to leave my humble employment with the press and as you see now, I go traveling through God’s worlds.”
“Don't tell me there are still pirates,” Mariano asked in amazement
“A few still remain, but don't you worry! There were also Canarian pirates and privateers! But don’t tell the captain.” Miguel answered.
“Do you get along with the captain?”
“Yes, although he seems surly, he is a very good person. He knows how to command without being mean. My father often spoke of him to me and my brothers. They had mutual respect for each other. So, when we were left as orphans, he got me this job with which I earn a living and help my mother. She sells fish on the roadside with my uncles, but she doesn’t earn enough to raise my four brothers.
Mariano told Miguel the reason he left his homeland and from that day on they became close friends.
One afternoon, when the winds blew hard and the ship rocked furiously, Mariano told Jose that he had shared with the young officer that he was a fugitive.
“Now you’ve done it! Although Miguel seems like a trustworthy young man, please don’t tell anyone else that you have fled from Spain to avoid going to war. You just never know!”
Mariano promised him that he would not speak of it ever again - not on the ship nor in Cuba.
On the day they left the Canary Islands, Pedro, the younger of the three brothers with whom Mariano shared the cabin, asked Mariano, “And you, Mariano, how come you don't ever leave the ship?”
“I'm ashamed to tell you, but I do not have a penny to my name. But when I arrive in Cuba, I will collect money from one of my father's creditors,” Mariano told him, blushing a little at the lie he was telling.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have loaned you a little money to disembark in Santa Cruz de la Palma, where everything was very cheap. We slept in a humble pension, and the hosts were very nice people. The owner was an excellent cook and for dinner she made hash soup and a roasted suckling pig. The next day we ate several types of delicious fish with wrinkled potatoes and were filled up with cooked plantains. Ah! I forgot tell you the red wine was great. Why you lost boy! By the way, what are you going to do when you arrive in Cuba?”
“Mr. Sarra wants me to become an assistant in his pharmacy, but I'd like to dedicate myself to trade,” Mariano answered
“When we get to Havana, my brothers and I have an appointment with a shopkeeper from Mataró, a cousin of a neighbor of ours from Barcelona. He wants us to manage his grocery store because he wants to go back to his hometown. He says the tropics don’t agree with him. It's a grocery store that sells everything, even seeds for planting crops. Let’s hope this works out for us.”
“If it is a cousin of your neighbor, I don’t think you will be scammed,” said Mariano.
“My brothers say you have to walk with lead feet. They are less confident than I am and for now they don't talk about adding partners. But, I trust you! We have been together for several weeks now and I'm sure you don't get weak in the knees when negotiating. Playing cards, I have noticed that you are quick and you do not play tricks. If we close the deal with the shopkeeper from Mataró, I will try to convince my brothers to bring you on as a partner in our business.”
“I appreciate it a lot, Pedro. I have a little experience in the seed trade. Several years ago, my father established a small commercial company called Jose Defaus Ballesté Seeds. Just let me know if you want to bring in a partner.”
While Mariano and Pedro dreamed of a prosperous future, Miguel arrived screaming, “We have stowaways!”
“What is happening Miguel?”
“There are stowaways on board, and they robbed the cabin of Mr. Valls. Check your bags to make sure that the thieves have not plucked your feathers as well.”
Mariano began to sweat. Immediately he thought of the silver coins that had been given to him by his parents. Tired of carrying them around, a few days before he hid them in the cabin’s closet. He could not tell Miguel while Pedro was present.
In a few seconds, all his dreams fell apart and he remembered the story of the milkmaid, the one that his mother Teresa Moragues Gibert often told him:
The young milkmaid left the farm to go and sell the milk, taking the shortest path to town. She was walking briskly and her mind did not stop working, turning one way and the other on how she would invest the coins that she was going to get from the sale of milk. “I will buy a dozen eggs. When the chicks hatch, then I will change them for a piglet. I will raise a huge pig and I will change the pig for a calf, and then . . .”
So self-absorbed was the girl that she became distracted and didn't see the stone in the middle of the road. She stumbled and fell face down to the ground. Her milk pitcher broke into a thousand pieces, the milk spilled and her dreams vanished.
Mariano swallowed hard, and making an effort to appear calm, he told Miguel, “You go help hunt down the thieves.”
“I am going to search the hold compartment, maybe that is where they are hiding,” said Miguel.
“I'll go with you. But first I will go through our cabin, to see if they have stolen anything and to notify my brothers.” Pedro told them.
As they headed to the hold compartment, Mariano begged Miguel to help him recover his silver coins if they had been taken.
“It's the only thing I have to start my new life.”
“Don't you worry, we will find them. But what fools those thieves are, to steal during the journey is like locking yourself up in a cage and throwing away the key! Generally, the robberies take place when we are docked at the pier,” said Miguel.
“To me it seems very stupid, but maybe when one is desperate and starving common sense vanishes,” Mariano told him.
“Follow me and don't worry, let’s go and find those wretched thieves.”
“Miguel, once we recover the loot, promise me you won't kill the thieves,” Mariano begged him.
“Don’t worry, we will not do anything to them. We will lock them up in the dungeon.” Miguel said.
After a few minutes, the captain, Pharmacist Sarrà, and Mr. Valls all arrived in a hurry.
“We have found the chest. My wife hid it without notifying me. I feel that I have given a false alarm!” said an embarrassed Mr. Valls.
“If I recall correctly and my memory does not fail me, there has never been a robbery during the voyage. That would be crazy stuff,” commented the captain.
The three rowdy shopkeepers caught up with the group, saying that they were not missing anything. The captain, glad that a mishap had been avoided, invited Mariano and his cabinmates to dinner at his table. They were all very chatty, joking and laughing and remembering the frightened face of Mr. Valls when he discovered that his safe had disappeared. However, the ones that most enjoyed the meal were the three Barcelona shopkeepers who sang, ate, and drank as never in their life.
When they returned to their cabin and lay down all happy, the three brothers fell asleep right away. Meanwhile, Mariano couldn't sleep! He kept thinking about how he could earn a living. He picked up a sheet of paper, pen, and inkwell and began to write a letter to his mother. However, before writing the letter he made a list of things to not forget:
I have to be careful with my money, I must always have it with me, and upon arrival in Havana, I must deposit the money in the bank.
I have to recognize trustworthy people and avoid those that talk too much, but if you must, let them talk.
Don’t drink too much, just a little; a drunk always says things that do not make sense.
You have to be alert and with eyes wide open when around noise and fights.
I have to try to learn from the people I appreciate.
I have to keep the good friends I have made on the ship.
I must go slowly and carefully in business affairs.
It would be better if I stopped dreaming continually about how to invest my coins. I don't want to experience the same thing that happened to the milkmaid.
I must never forget my family.
As he was writing the last phrase, his eyes were closing. He told himself that the letter to his mother would have to be written the next day and he put away the paper, pen, and inkwell. He lay back on the bunk, now calm and much more relaxed. That night he did not need to cover his ears with a scarf so as not to hear the snoring of Pedro and his brothers because he fell asleep immediately.
The last weeks of navigation through the Atlantic were calm as expected. They did not experience any big storms and they arrived in Havana a day ahead of schedule.
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