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Istanbul.

THE TRAVELOGUE OF WARD HULSELMANS
EX-JOURNALIST AND SCRIPTWRITER

Here you'll find the blog written by Ward Hulselmans, ex-journalist and scriptwriter, about his experience as a passenger on board a cargo ship. This is the written text of the podcast about his journey from Antwerp to Istanbul. He shares his experiences on board in a diary.

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 1 / 21 November 2019

"God what a giant! The ship is three soccer fields long and 40 meters wide."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 2 / 22 November 2019

"At 7:30, I wake up from irregular shocks that don't stop."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 3 / November 23, 2019

"Storm at sea. At half past three at night, my bottle of wine falls off the table, followed by my telephone, stationery and camera."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 4 / 24 November 2019

"How naive it was to think that the cruise along the Portuguese coast would be calmer."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 5 / 25 November 2019

"I'll be on U-Deck at 9:00, ready to run to Sines."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 6 / November 26, 2019

"The Alessia now sails off the coast of Andalusia towards Gibraltar."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 7 / November 27, 2019

"We sail along the coast of Algeria, with Syria the only Mediterranean country I really wanted to know, but I've never been touched."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 8 / 28 November 2019

"A large lump rises out of the water to starboard. According to the map, this is the Italian Pantelleria."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 9 / November 29, 2019

"These are the last hours on the Ionian Sea. We've been crossing this sea for 500 kilometres."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 10 / 30 November 2019

"We're laid. At 9:00 a.m. is the appointment with the agent for permission to go ashore."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / DAY 11 / 1 December 2019

"Now I know what was going on last night... Europe is definitely behind us."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / the real end / part I

"The Turkish agent grabbed my passport and looked at it carefully.... I slid a twenty-dollar note across the table."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / the real end / part II

"I ordered shish kebabs with fresh vegetables and red wine. The patron looked reluctant. The wine turned out to be an objection."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / the real end / part III

"It gradually became clear that the events in Piraeus and the behaviour of the Turkish agent had not been setbacks, but favourable omens."

Blog Antwerp-Istanbul / the real end / part IV

"Downstairs, Gemlik's friendly ship's agent was waiting to take me to town."

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