Wolfgang Berg

Banana Log Wolfgang Berg

It should be a leisurely cruise along palm-tree framed blue bays with snorkeling in colorful tropical reefs. But the reality of navigating among shoals and rocks, beating against powerful head winds, dealing with bureaucracies of island officials, and having repairs done by incompetent mechanics is different. The three parts of the Banana Log paint a colorful variety of small Banana Republics from the Bahamas to Grenada, with as many cultures as there are islands. At first, weather delays and breakdowns allow adventurous excursions. But then the dream cruise becomes a race against time, trying to escape the hurricane zone before the hurricane season. And like so many island ventures, the dream cruise ends in disaster. Behind the serine island scene looms unpredictable violence. Gigantic volcanic eruptions have destroyed whole towns in an instant, tropical storms have thrown boats on land and houses into the sea. Mudslides have buried farms and roads. The people, shaped by a bizarre history of century-long battles, are struggling to survive, fighting endless obstacles of conflicts between modern civilization and the way things work in the islands. And still, ever since 1492, dreamers and adventurers are attracted by the illusion of paradise...