GA Days 28 & 29 (I think…and cruise days 12 & 13) - clearly I am losing track of time but do know that the days of this cruise are numbered! It really is incredible how fast this phase of my journey has gone and the number of kilometers covered. Yesterday was the last full day at sea and, while I spent a number of hours editing a manuscript, attending to administrative things, and other “fun” work stuff I did manage to take a wee break to read some more and just relax.
The absolute highlight of yesterday was having a lovely visit with a couple from South Africa -truly a delightful time having met them across our balcony divider at the end of our stop at Puerto Madryn. It was one of those serendipitous encounters where we were at our balcony rails watching a late and chaotic re-embarkation of passengers arriving back from their excursions; quite literally hundreds of people queued up into two entry points under the blaring heavy rock of AC/DC. Anyway, we started chatting across the divider and discovered some mutual interests that begged for a more formal, proper visit before dinner…it started out innocently showing each other pictures then went on from there. I have no idea where the time went, but there was much chat and lots of laughter…and, I think, we might be looking to visit South Africa, Cape Town for sure, in the coming years ☺️
What the visit underscored is how one can be on a ship for 11 days and literally not have run into some of the people on board, never mind your own neighbors in a narrow corridor. But literally we keep seeing new people every day, even in our regular favorite haunts like the fantail - today, when 3/4 of the passengers got off, it was like total strangers had shown up. Conversely, there are some people you can never get away from like the one father from day one who got into a fight in the main dining room…he and his demonic spawn ended sitting behind me and the devil children acted just as bad as they did at the dinner table 🙄 Again, I understand children need to be children but best that be on a Disney cruise which is a much more acceptable playground.
Today’s port of call was Punta del Este, Uruguay, that was much more built up and modern than all the preceding stops in our itinerary. Uruguay is one of the most stable and progressive countries in South America and, from the looks of it, one of the more affluent ones. Because of a late arrival and unplanned early departure (something about pilots and port processes in Buenos Aires) it did not seem to make much sense fighting to get off the ship, especially as it was a tendered stop…meaning groups in small launches back and forth from ship to shore. As well, I had an online meeting at 2:00 p.m., so it seemed better to stay on the ship and work. As it turned out, I had a pretty productive day working on all kinds of things and enjoyed the benefits of great service since most passengers were off the ship. I guess I shall just have to come back another time to visit this place; apparently it is a quick hop over from Buenos Aires 🤔
The sunset last night was glorious and we were faced with another spectacular day anchored outside of Punta del Este. Whilst sitting on the fantail just before getting ready for dinner I looked south across the expanse of water and realized that, after about 28 days of this, I could stay for another 28 days. It is not about the decadence, endless food, housekeeping, and great service (OK, maybe a little…) as it is just feeling free and somewhat released from the hamster wheel I sometimes feel trapped in. The openness, the space, the fresh air, the freedom,…and being around people but not necessarily having to engage with them.
Yet I have engaged with many of the ship’s staff, some who have been so delightful to chat with - a very diverse mix of individuals who work their butts off and do their part in creating an experience (and escape?) for those of us on board. I took the time to send a note to Guest Relations to identify those staff members who have really made my trip so enjoyable and, I guess, the word gets passed on to them - our main waiter was on the verge of being emotional when thanking us for the kind words. It is not lost on me that often staff take the brunt of disgruntled clients, colleagues, and/or supervisors - just a simple act of recognition or acknowledgment of a job well done can go a long way in making people feeling valued and respected. Something that I have personally missed in these last years of my career path.
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