I Fell in Love on the Suez Canal
I just finished reading Edwin Bernard's delightful tale of traveling on a ship from India to England at
RMS Strathmore - A Time When Mail Was Transported By Ship (wealthyaffiliate.com)
and it got me remembering that I had also gone through the Suez Canal on a ship that same year. He was with his family. I was a few years old than he was and I went by myself.
I have since written a memoir about that time in my life -- the whole year, actually, but here I will just tell you about my Suez Canal romance. Here are some bits from my memoir:
~~~~~~~~~~~
Pierre was three years older than I, and he was near the end of his university studies. He told us at lunch the first day that he would be interning at a bank in Bombay for the summer.
The others left after lunch, but Pierre and I extended our conversation into first-world and third-world economic relations. I was glad I had studied hard for my economics class at Stanford-in-France. I told him about my interest in anthropology and how it dovetailed with
development issues. It was really nice to come across someone intelligent with overlapping interests, and we talked a lot after that.
It did not escape me that he was attractive. Of medium height, he was lean and intense. He smoked a pack a day, pretty typical of the Europeans I had met.
We talked each day, and in the evenings we wandered around the ship as we talked, sometimes holding hands. We found a place on the second class deck where we were pretty much out of sight of others. We could sit there, talk, and exchange a kiss now and then. We had found no privacy like this in steerage.
The Cambodge arrived at Port Said, a seaport on the Mediterranean in
Egypt, around 5 PM three days after we left France. The ship stayed
there until almost midnight. We went out walking around Port Said. Our ship
would make a short stop in Suez, a smaller city on the south end
of the Suez Canal, the next morning.
People could take a bus tour to the Pyramids from Port Said and get
back on board the ship in Suez. Several people I knew were going. I
decided not to do it because I felt it would diminish my small cushion
of cash too much. Pierre had also decided not to, as his budget wasn’t
designed for extras.
~~~~~~~
Pierre took a breath. “My cabin-mates are gone on the tour until
tomorrow morning,” he said. “Would you like to visit my cabin?”
I had expected this. I knew his cabin-mates were going. He and I had
discussed sex, and we had said that we were both virgins. I thought we
could have a really fine connection without going all the way, so I said
yes. I was determined not to risk pregnancy.
We chose a moment to enter his cabin when nobody else was in the
corridor. It was delicious to lock the door behind us and have total
privacy.... There was no hurry. We had all night.
The hours passed as if in a dream.
Once he stroked my cheek and whispered “ Je t’aime.”
I kissed him all over his face and said, “I love you too.”
Around 3 AM, we went out on deck for a stroll. It was very quiet and
we could see the desert on both sides of the ship as it cruised slowly
through the Suez Canal. Nobody else was out and about on the ship.
We soon went back to his cabin and actually slept a little before
morning.
He asked me if I thought I could live in France. I said yes, in Paris.
But we both knew everything had to be uncertain. That’s just how it was.
Finally one morning, our time together was over. The ship arrived
in Bombay, and Pierre was paged by someone from his bank. As he left
the deck, he looked at me and said softly, “Un jour.”
I replied “Yes, one day,” through my tears.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I never saw Pierre again.
We exchanged letters for months, but we never had an opportunity to
meet again. Not long after he and I said goodbye in Bombay, I began
to realize that I wasn’t suited to be the kind of wife he would need if
he did become a politician. I would never be able to pull off the “old
family” impersonality, and what were the chances of my French
pronunciation becoming really good? Not to mention that my frequent
fatigue would be a challenge in a public life. Ultimately our romance
faded to a sweet memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~
There is more from my memoir, Around the World at Nineteen, on my website that uses my writing name, zanahart.com.
Recent Comments
18
What a sweet, sad story! Those memories are so fine to hang onto and to pull out and remember now and then. At least you will not lose the memories.
Funny, what things can create a connection to an old memory that was ever so sweet. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
They're called holiday romances for a reason, aren't they? A lovely story and a wonderful memory, Rosana, though sad at the time, no doubt.
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Hello Rosana,
I truly enjoyed reading your excerpt. I see the Cambodge was sailing in the opposite direction to the RMS Strathmore. But the Suez experience was the same I am sure. We went through the Suez mostly in daylight and berthed at Port Said at night.
Like the Cambodge, our ship allowed passengers to disembark at Suez to visit the Pyramids. We didn't for the same reason as you. Money was tight. I am glad that we didn't because the experience of going through the canal was priceless.
What astounded me there was the myriad of hawkers in little boats that surrounded our ship. They conducted business using ropes with hooks that they hooked over the railings, Passengers got their goods and sent back the money. It was most bizarre! If my memory served me correctly, some of these hawkers climbed aboard the ship and laid out their wares on deck.
I suppose steerage was equivalent to 3rd Class. Originally the RMS Strathmore had two classes. First and Tourist. Since this was primarily a passenger ship that lent itself to two classes. When I sailed on it there was only one class. All tourist. Of course, what used to be the 1st Class staterooms cost more.
The description of your onboard romance brought back memories I had forgotten. A year before we left India I met a girl from a family we were friendly with. They sailed to England before we did. However, the ship they sailed on was predominantly a cargo ship. They had to disembark at Marseilles and take the train and ferry to England. It looks like the Cambodge was set up for a mix of cargo and passengers too.
Ths girl was one of the reasons I was looking forward to going to England. Since I was a teen, I put that down to puppy love. We did meet up in England but that friendship didn't go far since I was too shy ha!
Those were the days. Simpler, slower with more time to savor the moments.
Thanks for sharing your experience through the Suez Canal.
Cheers.
Edwin
I remember the hawkers too. Yes, steerage was like 3rd class, but I don't think the ship also carried cargo.