Cruising Becomes Me

Salt water cures all wounds. ~ Anonymous

For millennia, people have been traveling for their health. As far back as 4000 BC, the Sumerians built health complexes around hot springs. (Of course, they also performed trepanation--the practice of drilling into people's skulls, so what did they know?) Regency era Brits visited the sea side or journeyed to Bath to take the waters. There's an account in the Bible of the paralytic languishing beside the pool at Bethesda, hoping to be healed when the water was stirred up. When Jesus came along, the man was healed without getting wet, but the point is, there's long been a connection in the human psyche between health and water.

This falls under the category of anecdotal evidence, but I think there's something to it. My general health, lung condition, and well-being were definitely improved by our world cruise. Here are some of the ways:

1. Salt air acts as a natural antihistamine. I took fewer decongestants while on board than I usually need on land.
2. Oxygen makes up about 21% of the atmosphere all over the world, but at higher elevations the air pressure is lower, which causes the molecules to spread out, making it feel as if there is less oxygen.

   

   View from my sister's deck, a nice place to be a slug!

   At sea level, I get the full benefit of that 21%! (This may also explain why I turn into a slug at my sister's place in Keystone, SD. The effective O2 level drops to 17.5% at her house. Even Herkimer, my portable oxygen concentrator isn't as efficient at higher elevations and, according to factory specs, quits working entirely above 10,000 ft.)
3. I actually lost weight on the ship! My doctor was so surprised (and pleased). I credit controlled portions in the Dining Room, less diet soda and more water, and being much more active! 
4. On the ship, I started a walking regime, trying to up my step count each day. In January, my average didn't make it to 2000 steps a day. February bumped up to almost 5000, and March was nearly 6000. In April, my average step count was 7900 and now that I'm home, my average for May is still over 6000. I know this isn't the 10K everyone says we should have each day, but for someone who needs supplemental O2 when she walks, this is big stuff! 
5. My balance is improved. After dancing with the ocean for 94 days, I'm much surer of foot on land.

And the changes weren't just physical. I'm more curious about our world. I seek out news of things happening beyond our borders. I've started playing the piano more--in case I ever run into David Klinkenberg and his violin again! 

Speaking of David Klinkenberg, I've gone back in the blog and updated Day 1-6 with additional photos and memories, including a video tour of stateroom 7009 on the Day 3 post. If you'd like to see those embellishments, you'll want to start with Day 1, and move on to the next newer post. Most of the added material is at the end of the post, but occasionally I think of things I wanted to add within the existing post. Either way, I've used a different color and font for the extras. This may well be nothing more than something for me, to remember the voyage more completely, but there may also be a few things you'll  be interested in too. 

Hope so.

Day 95 ~ Back to Our Real Life...

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at least to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land. ~ G.K. Chesterton

April 27th came faster than we expected. The 94 days we though would never end passed by in a blur of fun, activity and adventures. We had to be out of Cabin #7009 by 7:50 AM,  so we rose early and went for one more breakfast on the fantail before meeting fellow disembarkees in the Cabaret Lounge.

We dropped by Kristy and David's cabin to say goodbye and leave them a couple of extra Cokes we had left over. The friends we made on this trip continue to be the enduring highlight of the journey. We hugged and promised to keep in touch (and maybe do this again together in 2021!)

We had a Princess transfer to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. After a trip through customs, three different porters, and a bus driver who was very vocal about the tips he expected (altogether about $50 between him and the various porters! In fact, the porters and driver in Florida were the most aggressive in demanding tips in all our travels), we arrived at the American Airlines Priority First counter (remember, we splurged on first class airfare) at 9:15 AM to check in for our 2:42 PM flight.

They wouldn't check us in. 

Don't let that smile fool you. He's just being nice. We were both pretty disgusted by this turn of events.

Apparently, we were too early. They couldn't take our bags or give us a boarding pass until 4 hours before our flight. So we stood there for an hour and a half (there were no chairs on the check-in level) feeling like neither a priority nor first class. After being treated like royalty for over three months, it was a dash of reality we weren't quite ready for. (Side note for other travelers: If we'd known about this 4 hour policy, we'd have bought a disembarkation tour and had one last adventure! Be sure to check on this when leaving a cruise.) 

Anyway, after we were finally checked in and made our way through TSA, our spirits lifted. We were going home! Our dear #1 Daughter was meeting us in St. Louis that evening and we'd spend the night in her Columbia, MO home being mobbed by our rolicking pack of granddogs. What could be better than that?

Couldn't resist sharing one last food picture. This Arabic breakfast features Greek yogurt, a falafal, pita bread, assorted olives, peppers and other veggies. Yum!

After breakfast with #1 Daughter & Daughter-in-Law at our favorite coffee house in Columbia, we pointed our noses south and headed for the Ozarks. We were delighted to discover that we hadn't missed spring! The woods along the highway were dotted with red buds and dogwoods in full glory.

And after seeing the karst rock strata in Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, the layers of rock outcroppings along the way home were fascinating in a fresh way. I really need to learn more about geology to understand more about the history of our beautiful planet! 

Thinking about the water-starved United Arab Emirates, I was thankful afresh for the wide Missouri River and all its little tributaries that spread this life-giving liquid throughout several states.

Before this trip, I'd never realized just how precious dirt is. I mean, think about it. We are blessed with abundant topsoil in this country. We have more than enough arable land to feed our people, and extra to export to others. What incredible wealth! 

And not just abundant land for crops and livestock--the USA has been showered with other resources. Timber is big in the Ozarks. In fact, we're surrounded by the Mark Twain National Forest--oak, walnut, hickory--renewable wealth as far as the eye can see. And beneath the ground, we have oil, natural gas, coal, precious metals...oh! how much we've been given!

The Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City

And we live in a free society. Whatever its faults, and they are many, we have a government that guarantees our rights. We're free to live, work and play as we choose. We can follow any religion or none at all. Our daughter and her wife aren't in danger of being arrested (or worse!) because they're gay. We are able to vote, to petition, to demand change. Power is passed from one administration to the next peaceably, relatively speaking. And in the meantime, we're free to say any silly thing we like. 

This is not a summation of our trip. It's too soon for me to have processed it all yet. These are just a few of my random, grateful thoughts about being home again. And I think I understand what Mr. Chesterton was talking about when he said the goal of travel was to set foot on your country as a foreign land. It means seeing home with clear eyes, not blind to its faults, but oh! with such thankful eyes.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be adding more pictures and hopefully some videos to the blog, along with some additional commentary I didn't have time for while I was on the Pacific Princess. When I get a week's worth done, I'll put up links to the "enhanced" posts in case you're interested. And if, by chance you've just discovered this blog, welcome! If you're planning a world cruise yourself, you might want to start back in the May 2017 posts when we first booked and began preparing for our trip.

More soon...

PS. Oh, oh, oh! Just gotta share that I actually LOST 7 pounds while we were on our world cruise. I credit my commitment to up my step count, which means I need to keep going and find ways to walk more now that I'm home.