These last month has been quite a wild ride. It started about a month ago or so when I swore I had some kind of ear infection. Well, it’s a very good thing I am not a doctor. The symptoms got much worse before I decided to go see a doctor after only twenty four hours after speaking to a doctor on Teledoc. Which, the doctor on there only heard what I told him so there’s no way he would have known so I am not trying to throw any shade towards them, not at all. But, I had gotten in pretty bad shape. After several tests and an X-Ray later it was determined I had Bronchopneumonia. Apparently a much tougher, bigger pain in the lungs, than your average bronchitis or pneumonia, like all the fun of both in one convenient package.
So, for about a month I had the most intense pain in my entire chest. From my muscles burning from the constant coughing and hacking. The first couple weeks were the most painful. It was like an asthma attack but it wouldn’t end and nothing would help. I couldn’t sleep except by sitting nearly straight up and if I did pass out the hacking and chest pain from not being able to really breathe woke me up. Another issue I am still dealing with, how much that reversed my sleep schedule. Even now, I am writing this at 12:45 at night. Another reason I had to be well was because I was taking a cruise over to Nassau and Coco Cay with Leonor for some important family stuff. So, I needed the Fat Man and Little Boy of antibiotics dropped on my immune system and burn this sickness out of me as quickly as possible. It took me a month before I could even talk without losing my breathe and I am still running out of breathe after a mile hiking in the bush so when the time came to set sail I was still pretty rough but no longer sick or on meds.
When we set sail it was on the Utopia of the Seas with the Royal Caribbean. I have to say that every single time I take a cruise with Royal Caribbean I always have the time of my life. I get onboard the ship and make my way to our stateroom, Leonor and I. We were in an interior cabin this time, so no balcony. But, honestly it gave me a great reason to spend a lot more time exploring the ship and spending time on deck. After dropping off the luggage we headed to the deck and I had my signature, get into cruise mode, and had a double of Irish whiskey and a coke. I may have had two. Of course I had just gotten over being sick so I got pretty buzzed fairly quick. So, what is a man to do when he gets a little buzzed on deck. Why, he makes his way to the free ice cream of course and has a nice cold vanilla, chocolate, or a swirl of both while you decide what you are in the mood to eat. Personally, I had a vanilla cone and then followed it up with a brat sausage, something Leonor knows I love. A tasty brat and some mustard and ketchup. Across the water you could see Cape Canaveral and NASA Vehicle Assembly Building as well as the launch towers. I remember watching the last shuttle launch from there. It didn’t take long to lose sight of land as we made our way into the Atlantic with Nassau as our first port of call, a location that would leave some definite memories.
As the sky went from a bright blue to a dark black matched only by the black of the sea that was impossible to differentiate between. It is a darkness that is impossible to really explain unless you have seen it. So intensely dark, it is almost ominous. But, there was no ominous feeling on the deck that was alive with laughs of children and adults enjoying the beauty of the sea and relishing the distance from the world’s troubles. When eight thirty rolled around it was dinner time. We all made our way to the main dining hall and were seated immediately. I had a delicious meal. A perfectly cooked crab cake for a starter, fried chicken which was amazing with mashed potatoes and biscuits with honey. Finally ending the meal with a Key Lime Pie. That was awesome. We then made our way around the ship enjoying the stars and I enjoying a coffee before we headed down to the casino. Leonor’s parents were there already warming up the poker tables and doing very well. Something about gambling at sea always makes them lucky. I don’t gamble so I enjoy playing a slot or two before having another coffee and disappearing on deck to enjoy the view of the deep darkness trying to find where the dark sky met the black sea.
Arriving in Nassau I was excited to visit a new territory outside the U.S. The last country I got to enjoy exploring was England. I did just finish field work in Dallas and a long drive from Texas to Vicksburg, Mississippi and then through Alabama and then on to Florida. I have been to a few countries: England, France, Belgium, Venezuela, and Gary, Indiana by way of Chicago, which, if you are from South Florida is definitely a different country. The first thing that really strikes you are the amount of vendors the moment you leave what most people call the resort area, but I will refer to as the Green Zone. Walking out of the Green Zone I am almost attacked by vendors and salesman. It is kinda like those videos of Egypt with the vendors following you except a bit worse. After graciously saying no the the thousandth person I was beginning to hear someone scream that I was a racist because I would not rent an ATV. I immediately found a taxi and went to another Green Zone in a cab. The Atlantis Casino and Resort which is a beautiful place right on the water with million and billion dollar yachts hanging out in the private marina we popped through. Then relaxing in the casino I posted up at the bar where I was given the most amazing service as well as the most well made rum mixed drinks I have ever had in my entire life. After winning a buzz at the bar and Leonor’s parents winning at the tables we all made our way back to the ship where we would be on our way to Coco Cay but my next port of call would be enjoying the on ship bars, restaurants, and even winning at some trivia with Leonor enjoying the no cell phone coverage and private interior stateroom.
I have aid it before and I will always say it. There is a quote that always hits me when I am setting off on an adventure by sea. Khalil Gibran once said “There must be something strangely sacred in salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.”. I love the sea, and for me there is something very calming and centering in my soul that comes from the sea. I come from a family of mariners from Tipperary, then Norwich, and finally in Tampa, so I suppose it makes sense that I love to look out into the vastness of the Atlantic and almost feel as if I seeing an old friend. If you haven’t taken a trip lately whether it is at sea or your local state park I encourage you to go, explore somewhere new, and let the worries of the what the world tells you to think fade and blow away in the strongest wind cooling your brow. God bless you and thank you for reading, until the next adventure my friends, take care.
