Home again from the rolling sea, home again are we, home again from the sea…

I know it has been a while since I’ve published a piece. I’ve started quite a few in recent months, but life has me on a swivel at the moment and no sooner do I process something that has happened than another thing happens.

In October we were finally able to take the trip to the USA to see my Mother and family. We had to cancel the trip last year when Don’s cancer diagnosis came through. He hadn’t reached a point in treatment until about this August that gave us confidence all would be well for the immediate future. It was and it continues to be, though we have more and more medical issues to work around as we age. It was very good to see my Mom and some of our loved ones. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow us to see everyone.

Two weeks after returning we had a medical trip to Adelaide for my yearly mammogram and checkup. All is well there too. While in Adelaide I had to seek urgent medical advice for a very odd pain in my left arm that made it virtually unusable for about 30 hours. It took a chunk of what we thought would be discretionary time, though the advice was appropriate and we will never be certain of the cause. A week later at home I became ill and tested positive for Covid. During the 8 or 9 days of acute symptoms I had a lot of odd pains and subsequently learned this is a symptom some people experience, it did give me pause for thought about the pain in Adelaide but at the time there were no other symptoms. We both take the vaccine and I was only five weeks away from being due for my next vaccine (#6). The trip to the ‘rolling seas’ was only three weeks away from the RAT confirming I had Covid, so we were a bit stressed about whether or not it would impact the trip. The company we travelled with is the same company we were on board in the Southern Ocean when the Pandemic was declared. They do very thorough tests and medical forms before passengers are allowed on board, which we appreciate. Except for lingering tiredness I passed all the time lines and all other symptoms were gone.

We talked about what I could do if I wasn’t physically recovered enough to do the landings and zodiac tours. If you think bouncing around in a bit of chop for an hour and a half or so isn’t hard on 70 year old bodies, think again! We decided I would relax and enjoy the spa and the French food and the break. It took the pressure off and as it turned out I was able to do all the activities except for one, which was a strategic decision more than an ability one. All along the recovery I have really tried not to push myself too hard but to move forward a little at a time. I know my body and it worked.

The rolling seas were in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand, including Macquarie Island which is part of Oceania but politically governed by Australia. One of the early information lectures cited statistics that were later confirmed by a representative from the organisation that approves visitors to these islands, fewer people visit the Subantarctic Islands in a year, than summit mount Everest in a year. There are very strict rules about how many people and how many zodiacs are even allowed in the water, let alone to land ashore in a given amount of time. And then there is the weather. They don’t call the seas at the 54th parallel, the ‘Furious Fifties’ by accident.

Both this cruise and the one in 2020 were called ‘expedition cruises’. That is due to the nature of the weather at (and between) the destinations. It calls for a well experienced captain and crew and a flexible group of passengers. A series of storms on our trip meant the Captain had to amend our itinerary several times. In fact we had to bypass two islands to have a chance at the main destination of Macquarie Island. And in the end we had one gorgeous and perfect morning to land and walk around before the weather caught up with us. We were not only unable to land again due to very big swell and rough water, but we had to stay inside the ship, not even on deck, as the ship remained in the more sheltered (but still rough) waters of Macquarie Island for a day and a half.

The ship had very good stabilisers but the fact remains, when the seas are very rough it can really throw the passengers around. The ‘seasick bags’ appeared discreetly on the stair landings and seasick patches appeared behind the ears of passengers and even some of the experienced naturalists. Seasickness is quite debilitating. I’ve had it a few times on smaller boats, many years ago, but was only a bit queasy on this occasion. I will say, if you are ever on a small ship (ours only held 240 passengers max, with only 142 on this particular trip) it may be best to avoid having a massage in the spa while on rough seas. I was fine, but my experienced masseuse was not. In the middle of the massage, she was sick into the nearby sink, apologised, was sick again, apologised and was sick again and then flew out of the room quickly. A few minutes later the other masseuse appeared, who had begged off my treatment when I arrived, due to seasickness. I asked if she was ok and assured her I was happy to cancel the remainder of the massage. When I asked if she was ok, she responded by pointing over her shoulder to the door and said “I’m better than her!” I asked her to please let me know if she was feeling ill again and we would stop. She finished the treatment, which was a very good massage, except for…well…you know. And they even gave me a 20% discount! Very nice young women who I called on later to enquire if they were better and both were. The ship doctor had come to the rescue.

The mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. —Oliver Wendell Holmes

This is a brief summary of recent events and now, understandably, we are ready for a rest. For the next couple of weeks we will eat like monks in repentance for our French pastry sins, we will work on a project toward our downsizing effort which will take place over coming months. We are, as ever, grateful for our life and for each other and wish you the best for the festive season and the coming year.

Our sins….