Month: December 2016

Homeward Bound

Crook n cranky

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Massive head-ache, unfortunately not alcohol induced.  I developed razor blades in my throat overnight. So I’m officially going to kill all the diseased people on the boat.  Quite cranky because I was sooo full of energy and feeling great after yesterday’s tobummoning at Orne Harbour (pictured).  I struggled through breakfast even though I WAS really hungry.  Shared Mary-Anne’s drugs, some sort of squirty throat thing the on-board doctor gave her.  I then washed the squirty bit really well, and passed it on to Kit.  “Drugs are good… Mkay?” Did a few laps outside on deck as the weather changed overnight and it was a balmy 3.7 degrees and just lightly snowing.  I don’t understand how I can go outside here in that sort of temperature in thin tracky-dacks, ordinary socks and sketchers with a skivvy and light jacket and feel just fine.  If it were 3.7 degrees at home I’d be going out…

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Homeward Bound

Leaving Ushuaia to cross the Drake Passage

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After “patching up” with scopolamine imported from New Zealand some months prior to the trip, I forced myself onto the boat. And yes, I was shaking like a leaf. Went and found room 213 with room mate Meredith. Single beds either side of the cabin and our own en-suite, wow, pretty flash!  We reached agreement that the heater in the room should stay off given the stuffy environment on-board.  Two travel calms popped before we headed out into the Beagle Channel.  Nerves starting to recede. Rules and inductions in the main lounge of the boat, which apparently is actually a ship, although I still insist that ships “wreck” and boats “float” so I shall continue to refer to the vessel as the latter.  The life boat drill was mandatory, obviously, and we got to sit inside one to make us feel really hopeful that we would never have to use them. Lots of photos…

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Homeward Bound

Mother nature needs her daughters

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December 1, 2016. Whoa. Hold up there… I cried on the first night, that’s just not on! There was massive excitement in the hotel before the inaugural HB dinner.  We all walked over to a neighbouring hotel (in the rain) to a function room with a fantastic view over Ushuaia. After intros by the faculty, the film team etc we were given instruction to record a 10 second video to our ‘terminally ill mothers’ and then post it with #mothernaturesdaughters and #homewardbound16 on every social media site we normally use.  There was wifi in the hotel but obviously it wasn’t coping with the overload of some 80-odd phones trying to access the net all at once, so this turned out quite convenient. So, somewhat bewildered, Jen and I recorded each other’s videos.  Mine was hopeless as I was a little lost for words and was particularly annoyed at this seeming high-jacking/exploitation of my relationship with my…

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Homeward Bound

Santiago and Buenos Aires

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Santiago airport was quiet compared with Sydney.  Met up with Andrea R and Sam G and had beer and greasy pizza.  Experienced the usual feeling of not entirely knowing what we had ordered but we got there.  The café even had a power-point so the others could charge their laptops.  Bluebell (my new 11 inch dell laptop) was still telling me it had 8 hrs battery life left – amazing.                 I was on my own for the flight to Buenos Aires and almost every announcement was in Spanish only.  Although it was only a 2 hr flight it wasn’t great as I was stuck in a middle seat between two blokes who both fell asleep almost straight away and snored.  I fell asleep too but was jolted awake every few minutes with falling head syndrome.  I couldn’t get up to the overhead locker to get…

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Homeward Bound

On the way…

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Phone alarm went off 4am.  I turned it off and rolled over.  Harv got up.  OMG it’s happening.  Guess I’d better get up, but after a very restless night… I just got to sleep.  Made it to the kitchen after a nice shower and proceeded to be picked on for getting up after him, even today. Boys gowned up, slippers on.  “Where’s Dino? I want to take him too but when we get to the station, next week, he can stay in the car so he doesn’t get lost”.  Good idea, Callum.  It’s today though, sweetie. Bye-bye home, see you on Christmas day… eventually. Uneventful drive marked by outbursts from the back seat, “it’s froggy!”  & “I can see the sun coming over the Earth.” Fassifern station, 6am, platform 1.  Mandatory selfie with Pete and Cal.  I’m still thinking they were more excited about the trains coming and going than…

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