We arrived quite early to Ushuaia because of a passenger’s appendicitis rupturing. Her surgery went well and she is feeling fine. Happily, this story led the crew to start telling other “medical emergency stories,” perhaps the best of which was about a woman who had a heart attack on the first landing of a trip. She was traveling with her daughter who agreed they should just put her in the freezer for the rest of the trip. We didn’t get a report from the kitchen staff but we all hope that the passengers on that cruise weren’t aware that their filet mignon was next to a cadaver.
Our early arrival provided us with a free afternoon to wander around Ushuaia before returning to the boat for happy hour, a captain’s cocktail, and dinner (notes on how all this alcohol added up will come later in this post).
In Ushuaia we were very much like penguins who had lost their iceberg; it is surprising that none of us got hit by cars. After experiencing a world without internet or cell phones and a schedule arranged around feedings and sauna trips, dry land proved a major shock. Warren and Whitney headed straight to free wi fi to make calls to loved ones. E.B. grabbed the two closest Canadians, hiked up the biggest trail she could find, and spent two hours lying on her back and staring at the clouds in the sky. Put your bets in now for who is going to have the easiest transition.
The Captain’s dinner was delightful and we then went to the lounge to watch Happy Feet. Surprise! There’s nothing like a Disney film aimed at 6-year-olds to make a group of smug Antarctic tourists feel like they’ve really learned a lot on their vacation. After the movie Warren went to bed and the real booze cruise finally kicked off. The charming English gentleman who gave wonderful lectures on penguins and other Antarctic birds did a one man pole dance in the middle of the bar. George Bush made an appearance with his wife Laura. The New Yorkers took over the music playlist and taught all those Aussies and Canadians about rap and Jersey Shore-style cursing (bitches). The woman who spent all of her time on the cycling machine at the gym actually excised herself from the machine and came out to party. Plus, in a real shocker, the guy we not affectionately referred to as “the lurker” mysteriously showed up in a full-body blue suit (think Blue Man Group and check out http://morphsuits.com/). The suit transformed the quiet, shy young man into a phenom. People who would previously refuse to be in the same room with him got their photos taken with their arms around him. This costume could go viral.
It is decidedly strange to be back on land and separated from our crèche. We will meet up with some of the other passengers tonight in Buenos Aires. We have already begun trading e-mails with some of the crew members. We are hungry for a little king crab and absolutely exhausted from playing for 9 days straight. We would like to believe that when we close our eyes we won’t feel like we are rocking on a ship but rather rocking in laughter. We miss it already. The room is spinning a little.
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