Maybe it was the Conga Line

Ever since we debarked from our first cruise, I’ve felt like I’m still on the ship – I have this constant sense of motion, like I’m swaying back and forth. After about four days, I got a little worried and looked it up. Apparently, there’s a condition called mal de debarquement that some people get. It can last three weeks or three years…or never go away! I was panicked. It was making me a nervous wreck. My co-workers & friends laughed at me and said things like, “You haven’t gotten your sea legs back!” Ha. I don’t want sea legs! I want land legs and now! It got so bad last Friday that I had to leave work early – I even felt it while I was driving…eek!

The last three days have been much better. The only time I still feel that way now is when I’m taking a shower, brushing my teeth or using the restroom. (I guess anytime I’m using water!) It could be dangerous since sometimes I feel like I might fall over, but oh well. Overall, I had a great time with Jill & Julie on the cruise…we always have a good time. I’m not sure it’s my preferred method of travel, but at least I tried it.

I alluded to this in an earlier post about the cruise, but thought I’d elaborate. I managed to control motion sickness on the ship, but on our excursion in Cozumel, all bets were off. First of all, those prescription patches that are supposedly waterproof are no match for my sweat! Mine kept coming off and I’d find it on my shirt, on my pants and reapply it. I guess I should have known it wouldn’t be as effective after that. When we docked in Cozumel, we were amazed at how blue the water looked. I was actually looking forward to spending an entire day in the hot sun wearing my bathing suit and cover up. If you know me, you know that would normally be a day in hell for me. But I was looking forward to snorkeling and walking around the shops in the city. I remember snapping some pictures on the little catamaran on our way to snorkel and then all of a sudden starting to feel sick. Really sick. Like I’m not gonna make it to the little restroom downstairs sick. I think someone brought me some soda and the sugary taste just made it worse. Finally, the boat stopped moving and everyone said I’d feel better in the water. Well, I’d never snorkeled before and never even worn flippers before, so I was a little nervous. To top it off, there were like 80 of us on the boat, all swimming in this sectioned off area in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. As Jill said, it felt like a rescue situation. Initially, getting in the water did feel nice. And then I put my mask on and tried to snorkel. That’s when I got sick and “fed the fish” – let’s just say fish like eggs benedict. I tried to stay away from the others as I continued to get sick in the ocean, but I guess they were following the fish…and the fish were following me! I eventually gave up and one of the divers swam me back into the catamaran. A few minutes later, Jill followed. She “fed the fish” too! I guess we’re just not ocean people. Julie had a great time, though.

The boat then took us to a private island with hammocks, beach chairs, water floats, kayaks, all sorts of fun or relaxing stuff. I would have been happy with the beach. But just about the time I started feeling better, we were loaded back onto the catamaran and they sped back to the pier. Immediate nausea. I just laid down on one of the benches, blocking my face with my “Dude, It’s Not That Hard” fan from work. Got a sunburn on the underside of my arm from that trip.

And the last thing I wanted to feel on our ride back was the “rhythm of the island!” Ahh yes, the other passengers giddy from their nausea-free, glorious day of fun in the sun snorkeling, swimming and drinking margaritas, began a festival of line dancing, loud music…and a conga line. You might think a conga line would cheer anyone up, but let me tell you, that was the last thing I needed. I vaguely remember peering out from under my fan and seeing the conga line – from the chest to the knees only – dance by. I think I looked up at Julie & Jill and threatened to harm the conga-ers at that point. It’s a miracle I didn’t get sick again on that boat, but somehow I made it back to land. And what did I do? I walked back to the comforts of the big ship and crashed in our little cabin, R98, for about four hours. Secretly, that might have been the best part of our trip. ;)