I was told there was an opportunity to stow away. The chance came exactly five days later at the jetty, when the monthly rotation of the guards with replacements from the mainland took place.
The belly of the vessel that carried me was dark, crowded with crates and produce from the fields we captives had worked on and I believe – from the clucking and shuffling – some livestock as well. While the vessel’s movement was steady, I surmised that its belly was underwater from the chillness that encapsulated the chamber I was in. All in, it may have been a week that I spent in the cargo hold. Or perhaps 10 days, I wasn’t sure. It was not the most comfortable of arrangements and I will not even mention the challenges of personal hygiene that I faced and how I solved them.