Drew Barrymore said in Ever After how having to choose a book is like picking out a star from the heavens.  That is exactly how I feel whenever I am in a book store, a book sale, in the library or amidst someone else’s book collection. 

I found out about the MV Doulos from our company’s book club they blasted it through email, about the ship being here under the subject The Floating Bookstore.  Of course when they did that it was just five days more and the ship was to depart Manila on the 31st of March.  Prior to that the ship was docked in Cebu City from January 8 to February 10, 2009 and was in Bacolod City from February 13 to March 2, 2009.

The ship was constructed in 1914 and is recognized by the Guinness World of Book Records as the worlds oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.  She originally wasn’t known to be Doulos then but was also known as Medina and Roma, and when purchased by GBA Ships, e.V, a private, non-profit, charitable organisation from Germany, she was sailing as Franca C.

My visit there was a day before its last day in Manila.  Talk about last minutes and a desperation to visit the ship before it left.  There was also the fact that it was the last day of the weekend, and despite the prediction that there will be hordes of people there, with the same plan as I had – I still went.  Yes it was hot, the sun was blazing down on the ant like parade to the ship – the sun was glaring frome everywhere it was a very bad thing for those who were not wearing sunglasses or did not have an umbrella but at least the line moved fast enough, plus there were some of the the ships volunteers handing out plastic cups of water.  As we neared the entrance, well, the ticket booth, some other volunteers were assembling themselves not far from from the long queue of sweaty people with guitars and small phamplets and began to strum out Christian songs which they sang to in sweet voices that even with your brow furrowed from the heat and from standing around, even the most impatient won’t be able to help but smile.