Let the games begin! GA Days 26 & 27 (cruise days 10 & 11) - the last two days went by in a blur, as is the first part of my grand adventure. New Years Day was a full day at sea that began and ended as sunny as one could imagine - perhaps foreshadowing the year to come? I guess we shall see…
January 1, 2024, began with bright sunshine, sparkling ocean waters matched by sparkling mimosas to start the morning, and quite a change in calmness and temperature to the high seas. It was quite a contrast to the south Pacific Ocean that I imagined would have been much warmer and smoother.
With a conscious effort not to do any work at all, it became a day of total rest and relaxation alternating between the poolside and other retreats on the ship. I picked up where I left off in the Ice & Fire (Game of Thrones) book series - I cannot remember when I was last reading it off my iPad 🤔 I did read one paperback fiction novel on the Italian venture in August and it reminded me how much I used to like recreational reading. Since starting my PhD in 2010 and then transitioning into tenure-track role I have not had the chance to do as much non-requisite reading or prose writing. It has been rather delicious to read something non-academic for a change!
Taking this break reminds me what a rat-race the academic hamster wheel can be. Some believe it is a choice for us and, I suppose to an extent it is, but there are few options for life balance in the dog-eat-dog of competitive university demands until tenure is achieved; at the University of Manitoba tenure is a one-shot deal...make it or break it. And you would think that, in nursing, as a self-proclaimed evidence-based professional program there would be metrics as to what the tenure bar is...X number of publications, X number of dollars in grants, X number of grad students supervised, X number of hours on committees, etc. Such is not the case and, quite frankly, the bar for what needs to be accomplished keeps moving up. I have heard, first-hand, from senior colleagues across a number of universities that if the standard of today was applied when they went for tenure they would not have made it...and, yet, it is they who have their hands on that ever elevating bar. OK...back to the here and now - deep breath...enjoy being off the hamster wheel for a few days.
After a full restful day at sea and some time in the sun, January 2 found us in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The morning started out in a shroud of fog with only the outline of the bay and beaches visible at first. We were in a large sheltered bay awash with jelly fish, literally tens of thousands of them just off the quay. These would make swimming pretty unpleasant if they drift closer to shore as around the the bay there were beaches as far as the eye can see to both sides. First impression, from a distance, is how much more modern the city appears with many more high rise apartments and buildings across the cityscape. Also, the city seemed not to stretch far inland but rather spread out along the crescent of the shoreline. Compared to the last ports this one is quite modest with just one other pier with container ships to the north - definitely not as industrial as the previous ports. In looking at the map, there do not seem to be many populated communities in this area of Patagonia and I imagine aside from the odd seasonal cruise ships and local people few find their way here.
We did not sign up for an excursion as they were quite expensive but, apparently, some of the options were sold out well in advance of arrival - 6 months in advance. The great attraction here, being coastal and nestled up to Patagonia, are numerous nature reserves with penguins, sea lions, and opportunities for whale watching. Walking along the pier (quite a long trek having waived the shuttle option) we got to see a group of sea lions hanging out on a set of steps down to the water level; later we would see one sea lion resting on one of the rubber bumpers between the cruise ship and the pier - kind of like a hammock, although somewhat a dangerous place to be with the changing currents and tide.
Puerto Madryn is quite a beautiful place - clean and fairly well maintained. And all the local people we interacted with were quite friendly. Gauging from the number of cellphone cameras pointed out to the pier I suspect they do not see many big cruise ships here. Also, unlike other ports of call, there were far fewer souvenir vendors close to the pier and malecón. The malecón was also quite impressive in terms of its size and state of repair; from what I could see on Google maps it seems to run the full distance of the main beaches which would make it a great
Venturing off the malecón and parallel main drag, we discovered a quaint and well-kept square that was rather pleasant. Many people were just hanging out and socializing on the benches in the shade. By this point the sun was reaching its highest and hottest point - about 25C with nary a cloud in the sky. It was quite serene with relatively few people about; many of the businesses were closed and we were not sure if this was due to siesta break or, perhaps, part of the holiday season. In this part of the world there are the Christmas and New Years breaks but also the beginning of summer holidays. I suspect March through mid-December is a long haul here.
Then it was back to the cruise ship early enough to enjoy the deck and pool with very few people onboard. I am pretty sure 3/4 of the passengers disembarked for excursions or walks into town; so this meant no competition for prime deck real estate or beverage service. After a dip in the pool and drying off in the sun, it was back to the shade…and more recreational reading. I know I should be turning my attention to presentation and workshop preparation, manuscript writing, and admin stuff but…mañana 😎
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