Deep Thoughts From Quarantine

 Well. Day 3 of quarantine. Or 4. Depending on how you look at it. I say it is day 4 but the problem is no one cares what I say.

It’s interesting. Allegedly, I sit here and on day 6, I’m tested. If it is negative, I can go. Not sure what happens if it is positive, because there aren’t 6 more days left in the cruise at that point. Let’s try not to think about that. 

I say allegedly because no one has told me this. I only “know” this because Jason asked the doctor this morning when he reported for his daily required test. He has to be tested daily, since he was exposed to covid through me.

Why can’t I be tested daily? What if today I am negative? Can I spread COVID if I am negative for COVID? What if I’ve been negative every day since the day I was tested? According to the CDC website, day 0 is really the first day of your first symptom. I only had symptoms for 24 hours and that was April 1. Today is April 11. I get quarantining me because I tested positive. But test me every day. Why randomly wait?

I have a lot of time on my hands to think. Also, I now talk to myself. Why not?

I’m reading three books simultaneously and interjecting some old reruns of Bull in between that. Here’s what’s happening:

• a fiction book, the first in a long series, of awesome swashbuckling sailing stories. Written in the late 40s, I believe. This is egging on my pirate talk and helping me figure out the underbelly of ships.

• A non-fiction book on ending poverty by ending violence. My extreme longing for justice and freedom is reaching new levels.

• A non-fiction book on olive oil. The history of, the usage of, the seedy backstory and fraud happening across the industry. The author is from a small Italian village right near where I was a week or so ago.

• And the TV show Bull…he’s a court scientist, helping pick juries. Using psychology and the human condition to inform trial proceedings

If you put all these things together, you can see I’m about to go on crusade to free the people of this earth from the tyranny of evil and violence, and also from bad olive oil and poorly calculated quarantine times. Just this morning alone, I spent at least 9 minutes thinking up ways to start an underground newspaper here on the boat to get the word out about… whatever. 

Of course, that was more due to the fact that around 7:45 am I was sitting on my bed wearing a small tank top and short shorts (this is my pajamas, people. Don’t worry - I’m not wearing this around town) when all the sudden, there is a man on my balcony. He says, “Hello, ma’am” and waves. “Hello,”I yelled back, over the ocean, as though this were very normal.

“May I close your door?” He says pointing at the sliding door. 

“Why not?” I agreed.

“Cleaning, “ he says, in explanation.

Alright.

Now here’s the thing. In the non-quarantine world, I would have gotten a letter about this in advance. And my cabin steward would have told me. Close your door and curtains. We’re cleaning tomorrow! We want to respect your ability to be naked at 7:45 am. You know the drill.

But in quarantine, it’s not mentioned. You find out by being naked at 7:45 am when a man appears on your balcony.

Why?

Are we not worth the cost of paper to let us know?

We don’t have stewards, so that’s out. Ain’t no one coming round to clean these rooms. 

Hence my long and troubling thinking on starting my own underground newspaper to spread the word. 

I’ve got a couple of problems.

1. I don’t have any paper.

2. I don’t have any information.

Now, I’m a problem solver and that’s no hill. I just need more time to think. Which, I have. Stay tuned.

Among other problems I have, I also have not yet been successful at getting any salt and pepper. This is for sure spelled out clearly in the actual constitution of the United States under whichever part talks about cruel and unusual punishment. Have you ever tried to eat a cold poached egg with literally nothing on it? Might as well eat a cloth napkin.

Yesterday, in an attempt to be a healthy eater while only having the room service menu to select from, I ordered the hummus plate. The hummus was literally just smashed chickpeas. Nothing else. I could have flat shanked someone for a single drop of Hope in Spades Olive Oil. One small dash of salt. The tiniest of pepper grinds. 

Being the out of the box thinker I am, I grabbed the errant tortilla chips from the night before and brushed the salt off of them into the “hummus”. It was so good as though I could almost taste it. On the plus side- the veggies were fresh and delicious. I was very thankful for them. 

Jason is out there in the free world trying to find a way to contact Dragon. If we can make contact, we might find a way to get salt and pepper moving. Once that highway is open, anything is possible! 

We’re at sea today. That’s a bit of a bummer really. It means 100% of the passengers are on board. That a lot of competition when you already struggle to get anything. It does buy me one more day before I miss something else. Next stop is Kotor, Montenegro. I’ve heard it’s one of the most beautiful ports in the world. Oh, please, Lord. Please let the boat dock on the port side so I can see this port!! Better yet, let me somehow spring outta here and get to walk it. But I’ll take a view of it. 

In other emerging news, I feel like I’m developing bed sores. I’m currently sitting in the office chair at the little desk to type this. The chair is a little too tall, so my legs fall asleep after about 13 minutes. It’s still a nice change of pace. It’s very windy and cool so far today, so sitting on the balcony isn’t yet an option. I have hope for the afternoon.

Oh, I forgot to mention- when the balcony man came to clean this morning,he went and opened all the adjoining cabin doors up and then…nothing happened. No cleaning. After awhile, he came back and closed them all. Down here in the clink, they don’t care if our windows are dirty. Upstairs, they’d never allow for all this sea salt all over the windows! Thankfully, I can open the door and see out. It would totally suck if this was just a window. Maybe I’ll clean it myself later. I have some free time. WAIT OMG I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING. I have a plethora of sea salt caking my balcony. WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS SOONER. 

I just realized there are no cabins on the floor below me. I was thinking I could do a little exercise but didn’t want to make a lot of noise and disturb anyone. I should do some jumping jacks or jog in place a bit to get my heart rate up. Hey, things are looking up.

Well, it's time to read some more and continue pondering on my underground newspaper. Also, my first attempt to harvest my sea salt from my balcony door. More later.

Building a Covert Prison Smuggling Ring

 Things are weird here. It’s like an alternate universe. One day, you’re living the high life, cruising the Mediterranean. Everything you want at your fingertips.

The next day, you are trying to build a prison smuggling ring lower in the ship to find a way to get toothpaste. 

Today, 3 days into the toothpaste smuggling ring attempt, my cabin phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Yes. This is Dragon.”

“Alright. Hello, Dragon.”

“I have your things.”

“Wonderful.”

“This looks like a very good wine. Can I have it?”

“Listen, Dragon. I haven’t brushed my teeth with toothpaste in 3 days. I’ll buy you a vineyard if that makes you bring me that toothpaste.”

“…”

“…”

“I will bring it.”

“Excellent.”

“Wait. Do you need it opened? Do you have an opener?”

“Dragon. I’m in quarantine and haven’t brushed my teeth in 3 days. What makes you think I’d have a wine opener?”

Hilarious laughter.

“Ok. So, you want me to open it?”

“Please. Yes. And don’t forget the toothpaste.”

“Ok!”

This morning, tired of the no breakfast item selection on room service, I decided to order a slice of chocolate cake. It’s my dad’s favorite. Yesterday was his birthday. I’ll call it a continued celebration. It arrived. It was… a plain piece of cheesecake!

I ordered a flat white coffee. It was…plain black coffee.

I ordered a Bloody Mary and thought the worse thing that might happen is I either get another cocktail all together or I get tomato juice. Guess what? I got a great Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary’s are exempt from the confusing underworld of the quarantine floor. 

Later, I ordered the Heineken so I could be ready to toast with Jason. It arrived. Guess what? It was a bottle. Not a twist off cap. Do I have a bottle opener? I do not.

But guess what else? I’VE TRAINED FOR THIS MOMENT. My mama didn’t raise a fool! 

One time, we went to this Christian women’s conference in Fort Lauderdale and went to the gas station to get some beer for the room, as one does. When we got to the room, we realized we didn’t have a bottle opener. So what does my sweet mom do? Does she call the front desk? No. She looks around the room. She sees an interesting chunk of metal in the closet on the bar and she blasts the bottle of beer down on it like A BOSS and that cap came flinging off. 

So, today, I’m standing there with my Heineken. I look around the room and notice the cabinet pulls look just about right for the occasion. I lock it in there best I can and then smash that sucker down. BOOM! Cap goes flying off. Also, beer went flying but whatever. You can’t have everything. 

Later, I decided I should take a shower. Guess who doesn’t have hot water? That’s right! Quarantine people! You know what? I don’t care anymore. It’s backwards day. Or reverse day. Maybe even inverse day. I’ve moved on. I have a great bottle of wine according to Dragon, my prison smuggling concierge. I have toothpaste, thanks to Ginny’s tooth cracking incident way back in Spain which sent her to a dentist where she came home with a baby toothpaste tube!

We’ll see what other craziness happens later when I try to order dinner again. For now, I consider it all comedy and the makings of a good story. Let’s do this. 

My Unexpected Last Night With The Gang

 As it turns out, its a long way for a boat to get from Kusadasi, Turkey to Istanbul, Turkey. Again, wishing google worked all the time so I could zoom in on the map and make sense of it in my head. It’s been a long time since geography class! The captain later told us we had to maneuver through some straights - the Dardanelles!! This passage links the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Which would be the closest I’ll have ever been to the Black Sea. And perfectly close enough for now with the action in Ukraine at the moment.

I woke up in the middle of the night because lights were coming in the room- the pilot boat was here to guide us through the Straights. Cruising is so interesting. Too bad there aren’t pilot boats and tug boats to help us when we’re driving:) Some people could use a really good push out to sea, you know? 

The cityscape of Istanbul was breathtaking. Spires and mosques and bridges. I couldn’t wait to go see it. Our tour was a bit later- man are we loving those. We keep saying, “Note to self, in the future, no early tours…” It’s hard to be this old, you know? 

My goals of the day were simple: see stuff, eat Turkish food, buy postcards and Christmas ornament. Bam. 

So, we first find this brand new, incredible port. They’ve spent the last 2 years building the terminal and it’s truly the best one I’ve ever seen. We meet up with our guide, a lovely lady we called Lisa, for lack of pronunciation skills on her given name. Lisa was chock full of knowledge and an extreme ability to power walk while not looking behind her. 

Much to my surprise (remember I no longer have any clue what is supposed to happen any given day), we visited a Turkish and Islamic museum first. It wasn’t very big. I really enjoyed the ancient books of calligraphy. How they figured out how to hand print all those characters with so much elegance. All the inlaid gold and purple colors. Amazing! We saw a bunch of ancient Qurans which were gorgeous and beautifully preserved. 

We tried to leave there but had to wait for one couple to stroll out 15 minutes late. Casually sipping their lattes. In no rush whatsoever. Ah, bus tours.

Next we walked very fast over to the Grand Bazaar. I was super interested in seeing this. I’ve heard a ton about it and seen it in all kinds of pictures, movies, shows. The walk wasn’t long, but the streets were packed. People all over the place. Like local people just standing around outside. I’m not sure if that’s normal. Lots of scooter traffic. Cars. If it moved, it was there moving with us. 

When we got there, we were given about 45 minutes of free time to explore. After some instructions on how to not get lost, we were off! Our plan for not getting lost was to just take the main road through. We booked right along and then booked it right back. Apparently, we did a pretty good job of looking like people who either didn’t have much money or weren’t going to buy because almost no one talked to us. Fine with me! 

Oh the sights! Imagine a shop of every kind. Trinkets to the finest jewelry. Spices to baby clothes. Gold bars to suitcases. All of it. Thousands of shops. The money that blows through there has got to be insane. 

Once we cleared the bazaar, we still had plenty of time so we looked around a few shops outside the gates of the bazaar. I really wanted to try some baklava and there was a place- woo! We had a nice time in there chatting with two younger men working the shop. They disagreed with me when I said Turkey was beautiful. They seemed to believe the “American Dream” was where it was at. We tried some tea and bought some of that, too. Everything was so perfect and delicious and just right. I’m so glad we stopped in there.

Afterward, we wandered around looking for a place to sit. We saw two younger British dudes from the boat sitting over near a mosque and went to join them. The call for prayer had just ended- a very interesting thing to see/hear in person in Turkey. A lot of men were washing their feet in fountains outside the mosque preparing to enter for prayers.

It took awhile for our group to get together because a) it’s a chaotic spot and b) Americans suck at being on time and respecting other’s time. Oh- did I type that out loud?

We took off walking again- this time going to another carpet demonstration. This wasn’t nearly as interesting a second time, so we sort of zoned out. As we went to leave there, quite the commotion kicked up because we’d apparently lost a lady. She’d called her friends in the group on her cell phone and they were trying to figure out where she was and how to either get her back to the boat or back to us. 

So, we all waited. 

Bus tours, yes?

Then, we took off walking very fast to the Blue Mosque. I was excited to see it- i’ve never been in a mosque, I don’t think. When we got there, the women all had to cover our heads and shoulders. And also one very scantily clad young lady had to cover everything else, too. I was surprised that was her outfit of choice for the day after numerous warnings and suggestions. A couple of the guys wearing shorts had to wrap their legs with long pieces of fabric, too. As we got to the entryway, we all had to take off our shoes.

The inside ceiling was absolutely beautiful! There were people inside praying. Several small tour groups. Everyone behaving and talking quietly. And then, my guide went to point something out and needed a free hand and she set her shoes down on the ground for a moment. 

That was the wrong thing to do. A man who appeared from nowhere and who seemed violently angry was suddenly there yelling at her. I couldn’t tell what they were saying exactly, but she immediately picked up her shoes, placed them in her bag, and seemed to be repeatedly apologizing. He kept yelling. Finally, he went away.

She explained that what she’d just done, though not intentional, was incredibly offensive to them. However, her quick removal of the shoes from the ground and repeated apology should have been enough. She said, “So, there’s a brief demonstration for you on what Turkey is like these days for women.” Ouch. 

By this time, we’d united with the lost lady, walked a million very fast miles, seen a lot of things, but hadn’t eaten anything at all- well, I did have one bite of a baklava sample…and it was time to head back to ship. 

I was still thinking maybe there was time to stop at a cafe before getting onboard but two things happened to change my mind. 1) our bus driver took forever to come get us and 2) a big storm came up.

Alas, no Turkish food in Turkey for me. Darn it! But, I had a bag of treats, saw beautiful things, learned some things, and overall it was a good day of exploring a new city.

That night, we’d agreed to meet up with the whole gang in one of the dining rooms. Sue and Jerry, the Montana couple, were getting off the boat in Athens, so they only had 2 nights left with us. So sad! We all (Rich and Ginny, Sue and Jerry, Mike and Diana, and us) had a great dinner together and then went to Vines for the requisite nightcap situation. It was a great evening together. 

Little did I know it would be my last. I’m glad in some ways I didn’t know. It couldn’t have been lovelier had I. But maybe I would have had something better than…baked chicken.

The Day I Got Smoked Out By The Libyans

 Following Crete, we took a break in Greek islands and went to Turkey! We arrived in Kusadasi that morning for our tour to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. I was really excited about this. I haven’t been to the Holy Lands yet- so this was as close as I would have ever been to walking where Jesus walked. I’ll start with walking where Paul walked and move my way up!

We were worried about our tour because we couldn’t tell how long it was and we had a very short day in port, for some reason. We sailed again at 1:30. The Princess excursions offer you the protection of guaranteeing the boat won’t leave without you. This was not a Princess excursion.

So, we got off the boat early and were hoping we’re find our guide and ask questions about our return. There he was! And boy was he a character. First he said, ‘You don’t worry! You miss the boat, you come to my house. I have great food. Oh, we’ll go to my summer house. Plenty of room!’ This was funny but not all together comforting. Right? At one point I had to stop myself from saying, “Bro. I need you to actually say the words, ‘we will be back at X o’clock’ where X is less than 1:00.”

But, as I always do when in a foreign country and not really knowing what was up, I went along. We had a large motorcoach and only 14 people. ROCK ON. Jason and I had the entire back half of the bus to ourselves. Woo!

Jon was a wonderful guide- great English, tons of historical knowledge. Extremely affable. He asked me my name and I told him. “Ah,” he said. “The lamb.” Yes, Rachel is Hebrew for ewe. Then, “Are you a believer?” I am. “Wonderful! What a great day you will have, my lamb!”

When we got to Ephesus, a very short drive away, I was immediately taken with it. They’ve only uncovered about 15% of the town. Which is hard to imagine because there is a lot there! Jon chatted away, story after story. It was good. History meets Greek mythology meets Biblical times. But I found myself wanting to wander off. Wishing I’d brought a pocket Bible so I could sit and strain my aging eyes to read the tiny print of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians…while sitting in Ephesus. No WiFi happening, so I couldn’t go about it that way either. Alas. 

One surprise about Ephesus, for sure, was the sheer volume of cats. Cats. Felines. Everywhere you looked. Sitting on top of columns, lying alongside statues. Strolling through the ruins like ancient kings and queens. What were they doing there? Who knows! I wonder if cats walked along with Paul back in the days. 

As we wrapped up our time there, we came into a market area- just outside what would have been the ancient market area where Paul spent 2 years walking, talking, preaching. The Turkish people are lovely and polite. So happy to see us, as everyone had been. We didn’t buy anything there- we knew we’d have more time in Istanbul for shopping. 

On our way back, we stopped at a carpet making store. I figured Jason would want to skip this since he’s seen that before. However he said, “I was 23 and a moron. I don’t remember anything. Let’s go.” Alright then. 

I didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed with the beauty of the carpets. My goodness! They are so beautiful. Every color, pattern, size. Knowing each one takes a woman 10 months or so to make. Every one made by hand. Amazing craftsmanship! 

At this point, we had all of 10 minutes to get on the boat! Thankfully, we were in port a very short walk to the line forming to reboard. I didn’t get to eat any Turkish food- well, I had some sort of bread thing at the carpet shop. I don’t know what it was but when people offer me awesome looking things, I take them.

Since we were back on the boat so early, I thought I’d run down and try to do some laundry. I’m so smart. As is every other woman on the boat.There would not be laundry. It’s a long walk down there, so I was thinking again about wanting to read Ephesians. My favorite Bible version is Ephesians 4:1, “Therefore I urge you brothers, live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” I think about that verse a lot. 

Oh! I forgot to mention. So, my allergies have been kicking because of springtime and all the blooming. But in Ephesus, there was also this weird haze or smog above everything. We asked if that was normal. Pollution? Haze? Fog? What the heck was it. 

If I had a million guesses, I wouldn’t have even come close. I bet you wouldn’t either. It was some funk rolling out of Libya! Can you believe it?? I got smoked out by the Libyans!! 

That night, we tried to go eat dinner in the dining room. We haven’t been going as much because whatever changed in Barcelona continued to be a change for the worst. Service was so slow now. Sometimes you didn’t get everything. Anyway, we went. Sat there with nothing- not even water- and then just got up and left. It’s so odd to have subpar service on a cruise ship! More room service.

Getting my Greek Food Fix!

 Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming. I’m trying to move on from my sadness and by that I mean I’m drinking Chardonnay. I’ll post more about the insanity of quarantine in a bit. I’ve got to tell you about Crete, though!

Of course, I have hindsight as a BFF now but at the time I stepped foot onto Crete and heard our guide deadpan say, “Crete might be the ugliest of the Greek islands,” I had no idea I wasn’t going to get to see 3 more Greek stops. My brain wants to do all sorts of wonderful things with the fact that I will only see 1 of 4 and it was the “worst.’

But we don’t have time for that. We’re moving on.

I enjoyed Crete. We visited the ruins of an old palace. The most shocking thing there is that every single other Princess cruise passenger also visited it. Man can we wipe out a palace! There was quite the commotion at the end of the tour when all of had to go to the bathroom and it looked like they were charging us money. Most of us aren’t walking around with euro coins. 

This brings up an interesting thing I’m noticing. Europeans don’t seem to need to pee as often as we do. Perhaps we can blame it on the very large sizes of everything we consume. I’m not sure. But, most of our tours have not included really any access to any bathrooms. If people have to go, sometimes we have to stop at a bar and people have to buy something just to get to use it. I’m ok with that- since this is something common in the US. But it’s interesting to think about even organizing something that’s 4+ hours long with no bathroom consideration! There is no drinking consideration either. Which goes hand in hand, of course. But no access to water or anything. We’ve been bringing water bottles along which helps with one issue but complicates the other. 

Back to Crete, once we all managed to get through the restroom, we were off to do a wine tasting. The location was nice- way up on a hilltop with pretty vineyard views. The tasting room was enormous. Wedding receptions could easily be held there. I was hoping for another lunch surprise but alas, just a little snack. We got to try 2 whites and a red. We were having a leisurely time when our guide realized we needed to leave in like 3 minutes so we all power chugged down the red and I have no idea what it was or if I even liked it. 

We got to sit with a guy we’d met a few times but had never talked at length with. We discovered he is a retired Canadian Mounty! Man, he was chock full of interestingness. He gave us some great ideas about Victoria this summer when we go to house sit for a week. 

Once we got back to port, Jason and I took off walking back into town to feast on Greek food. I have been waiting my whole life for this! As is required, a few weird turns, criss crossing, and uphill hiking and boom! We found the main drag. And then, we found Rich and Ginny siting at a table for 4 in a great looking little cafe. They were all done but let us join them and stayed for a few minutes to chat while we ordered. 

The place was so delicious. I’m so glad we stopped there and got to try several things. The art gallery crew was in there too and MAN it was amazing to see their actual faces. The crew all wear KN95 masks all day, every day. I’ve never seen their smiles! Somewhere in there, they send a bottle of ouzo to our table and start chanting for us to do shots. When in Crete…!

A couple little local girls wandered in and out a few times trying to get money. Ginny had already warned us about them - one of the little girls had stolen a little flower hairpiece she’d bought!!!! The wait staff ran them out each time but they were very stubborn. We kept our eyes on them the whole time.

Rich mentioned he’d gotten a great exchange rate at a local bank ATM down the street so we cruised down there when we were done. Wouldn’t you know, here came the little girls? Geez!

We hit a couple of shops and I hit the jackpot!! I’ve been waiting to order cabinet hardware for the kitchen I just repainted. We came across the most lovely assortment of cabinet pulls. All painted in multiple styles. Greek colors. I loved them! We picked out 15 different ones and I can’t wait to see them on our navy cabinets.

After that, it was time to head back to the ship. I hadn’t found a Christmas ornament or postcards yet…but I still felt like I had time with more Greek ports coming. (AHHHH!!!) Before that though, it was looking like we’d actually make our 2 port calls in Turkey. I’d been low key worried that those wouldn’t happen because of the Russia-Ukraine war. I just knew any minute the captain would pop onto the mic and we’d hear him again say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the captain…”

The Abrupt, Crashing End to It All

 More Breaking News!

I owe more stories from more ports, but something dramatic happened yesterday that I have to tell you about first. We woke up in Mykonos, Greece. I was super excited to see the gorgeous little island. White houses with blue shutters climbing up the hills overlooking the incredible colors of the sea! 

We had a late tour thankfully. We were up drinking coffee when Wendy stopped by for our COVID tests. No problem. We went to breakfast, back down for showers, and then decided to head up to the pool deck for bloody Mary’s and to watch the docking. The pool area was windy and crowded and oddly very loud thanks to a kids’ movie showing on blast above the pools. We decided to take our drinks to the very back of the boat to this great hidden gem of a bar that no one ever seemed to be at. And indeed, it was quiet and not crowded at all!

We were coming around the side of Mykonos to dock - so pretty close. Sitting on comfy chairs, sipping our drinks, watching the amazing view. And then I saw Wendy walking towards us. I smiled and waved while my brain did the most amazing thing. All at once, converging thoughts, “Oh, look! There’s Wendy! What’s she doing up here? Why’s she walking so fast towards us? Wait. No. No. No.”

But yes.

She leaned down and quietly said, “I’m sorry. You need to come with me to your cabin and call medical.”

This is what the crushing of hopes and dreams feels like. One second before, I was about to walk off onto the shore of a place I’ve only dreamt about. But this second, I was walking to my cabin trying to accept a whole lot of thoughts that were now blowing through my mind.

Once in the room, we were told just to wait there until medical called. I’d say maybe 30 minutes or so later, they called. I tested positive for COVID. Jason did not. On the plus side, he was free to leave. I had to sit tight and take another test. In the morning, everyone took the rapid antigen test. I was now waiting for the PCR test.

I’m a very optimistic person. I don’t dwell on things. I move forward quickly. I was trying really hard to not think about everything I was going to miss. Just trying to stay in the moment. 

Jason went on to the tour, with much urging from me. Doesn’t do him any good to sit in the room with me. It would probably make me feel worse, honestly, because then I’d also feel bad about ruining his trip.

Around 2, finally a knock on the door with my second test. This time, the nurse administered it and really rammed it up there good. With all the drinking I’ve been doing on the cruise, I hoped I’d still test positive for having brain cells. She said unfortunately, there had been a lot of positive tests that morning so she had a lot of PCR tests to do. Sit tight. Give it 1-2 hours and they’d let me know.

I sat tight for about 4-5 hours. I was mostly ok during that time. A few tears. Trying to push off the impending sadness. Trying to keep hope that maybe the morning test was a false positive. It’s possible!

Jason came back from the tour. I had just gotten the call. Positive again. My heart hurt.

So now, I had to sit tight and wait for someone to get me and move me to isolation. Around 9 PM, I was ready to go to bed. I’d been sitting in my room since 11 am. I’d eaten a very bland tuna sandwich. And just sat there being sad. I was tired of the day. But, I needed to move rooms before sleeping.

Jason called to ask what was going on. They said someone was coming.

An hour later, he called again. 

After that, someone called me and asked if I had symptoms. I said no. He asked if I was getting of the next morning or in Barcelona. I said Barcelona. He said ok then I need you to move. I said I know. I’ve been waiting to move for 4+ hours. I’m tired. I want to go to bed. He said someone was coming.

At that, I said screw it. I’m going to bed. Jason went to get in the shower. When he got in the shower, there was a knock at the door. So, I got out of bed and answered it. A man in a hazmat suit said, “ma’am. You want me to sanitize your room?” I just stared at him. “Ma’am. I clean your room because your husband is sick?” 

I’m so confused. He’s not sick. I’m sick. And I’m still in the dang room. What is happening?? So I said. No.

And then he was confused. 

I closed the door on him and went back to bed.

An hour later, 2 more hazmat dudes came for me. Jason woke me up. They put my backpack in a plastic bag and wheeled in on a luggage cart. They apologized to Jason for bothering him. His mouth fell open. He said, “apologize to her. You had to wake her up to move her!” They looked at me confused.

We walked down to the quarantine floor, which is on 8, 4 floors below. No one said anything. They opened the door for me and I walked in. That was it. Nothing said.

A thermometer and a letter were waiting. The letter is informing someone that they might have been exposed to COVID. Clearly, I need a different version of this letter.

The room is ok. It is a lot smaller that my regular cabin but I do have a balcony so I can get fresh air. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a couch or a bathtub. Both would be nice since I’ll be sitting here by myself for 6 days.

I don’t really know if it will be 6 days. I don’t know anything still. I took my temperature because I have a thermometer and nothing else to do. It was 36. I googled the Fahrenheit conversion. No fever.

So, I went sleep.

Woke up around 4. We were docking in Athens. This lower level is much louder! I would have made the most of it and made some coffee and watched, but I don’t have a coffee set up in here. All I have is 4 cups and faucet water. Which is better than no cups!

At 6:30, I ordered a bucket of ice and a coffee/tea setup. It said delivered.

It was not.

At 7, I ordered a cup of coffee and a peanut butter sandwich. It was delivered to Jason.

At 10, I ordered the ice bucket and coffee service again. It said delivered.

It wasn’t.

At 11, I called and asked for them to be delivered. The guy goes, “Ma’am. Please. We are still setting the rooms. I will inform you.” I said, “What will you inform me of?” “He said room 314.” And that was it.

So, I have been informed of room 314.

In the meantime, I am thankful for my tap water.

Jason, always my hero, set about figuring something out. We’ve made friends with a lot of crew and we figure there is some underground prison like system to smuggle me in a pack of smokes. And by that I mean an ice bucket and a coffee pot. Our maitre’d pal told him I could get anything from the dining room menus - which is a big bonus because the room service menu is very lacking- a hamburger. A hot dog. A tuna sandwich. Only one breakfast item - the egg sandwich. I can’t eat just those things for the next 18 meals. 

So, we’ll attempt to get some real food up in here later. Jason had them send me some eggs and fruit. Still no drinks. No ice. 

I’m not allowed to leave my room. Sure, I could leave my medallion in my room and sneak out. But I can’t get back in. They didn’t put our names on the rooms- so I can’ unlock the door. I also can’t order from the TV because you have to select who is ordering, and since I’m not technically in this room, that screen is blank and I can’t move forward. I think this is why when I ordered from my phone app, it was delivered to my old room.

Now, these medallions we have are interesting. This is how Wendy knew exactly where I was sitting- on deck 16 aft, on the center couch, when she came to tell me I had covid. They can track exactly where we are. This can be good. They know when everyone is on board. They’d know where you were if you fainted or collapsed. This is also…ah, sketchy.

Anyway, I can’t break out of the clink because they’d know where I was if I brought my medallion and I can’t get back into the room if I leave.

This morning, I texted the crew chat and asked what I was supposed to be doing. I let them know I was given the wrong letter - I need the one with instructions for those who have tested positive.

They said, “You will get a letter.” Very helpful. Thank you.

I asked if I got tested daily and if I could leave when I test negative. They said I would get a letter. 

Sigh.

So, I’ve been locked down for 24 hours. 12 in the quarantine room. I know nothing except that one guy said 6 days. But then he said the date and that was 7 days. So, perhaps if I test negative on day 6 or 7 I will have the last 1-2 days of the cruise to enjoy.

Jason now has to test every morning at 8. If he is negative, he can keep going and doing whatever. This morning, he was again negative so I hope he is enjoying Athens today.

As for me, I’m sad. I’ll miss Mykonos, Athens, Santorini, Kotor, Naples…sea days. But worse was really the abruptness of it. It’s suddenly just all gone. No more dinners or glasses of wine with friends. No chance to visit our crew friends. No last visits to the shops. No way to buy those lemon napkins I wanted. No last dinner and toast with Jason. Shoot, I can’t see Jason at all.

I hadn’t yet wrestled with the cruise ending. I hadn’t yet thought through those last experiences and goodbyes. The things I wanted to say to the people I’ve gotten to know. It feels very unfair to have it just be gone. 

And if you know my freedom loving heart, you know that just the loss of ability to move around hurts. To just go up on deck and walk around.

I feel sad for the lost joy and anticipation of the adventures I’d been looking forward to.

My rational brain is doing all the things. There are worse things. At least I’m not really sick. At least this or that. And all that’s true.

But what’s also true is I’m sad at what I’m losing. I’m sad that Jason has told me for 9 years that one day he’d take me to Santorini and we will arrive there tomorrow and I’ll be sitting in this little cabin and he’ll be out there somewhere. 

I’ll be fine. I’ll get over it. Maybe we will come back. All those things. And also, sadness.

The Time Capsule Status

 Breaking News! Time for a major update.

Jason’s been going to the front desk pretty often trying to get change- smaller euros to use to tip the crew. This almost always ends in Jason not getting the smaller bills. I’m not sure why the boat can’t seem to get money, but that seems to be the case. Perhaps it’s just another thing in a line of things the boat is struggling to get back in line post-COVID. 

Anyway, this particular time, I happened to be standing in line with him for some reason. I see my man, Ecer, there at the desk. Hurrah! Maybe there is a time capsule update. Once we get up there, I asked him if there was any luck blasting that sucker open. He shook his head gravely. “No, ma’am.” Jason said, “Sounds like it might be time to call the carpenter.” Ecer seemed to understand.

While we waiting to see if we could get change (No, we could not) and to try to get my ‘medallion’ to work again (a small metal token that allows me access to my room and lets me charge things) (also, no, it did not work again) Ecer called the carpenter and asked them to come. While he was on the phone, a great, and by great I mean terrible, discovery was made. 

Turns out, the day I sent Jason to drop the postcards, he didn’t drop them in the mail slot. He dropped them across the way in the “drop box” slot. Guess who didn’t have a key to the drop box either?

Jason yells to Ecer, “Tell the carpenter he needs to open this one, too,” as he points across the desk. 

Ecer said, “this is for real, yes?”

Oh, yes. 

Anyway- GET THIS. The next day we were somewhere. Here comes Ecer. He says, “ma’am! I wanted to let you know that I’ve just mailed all your postcards!”

“YAY! All of them? Even the ones Jason put in the ‘drop box’?”

“Yes,” he said, beaming with pride.

Jason said, “Ecer! What else was in there? We’re there other things?”

“Oh, yes. There was a lot! We’ve mailed it all now.”

“Could you tell how far back it went?”

“Yes, sir. Before the COVID shut down. To the last time the Regal was in the Caribbean. And because of you, all those postcards will now arrive!”

Cheers all around! 

But wait! There is more! 

So we find Rich and Ginny in Vines and we’re telling them the breaking news. GET THIS. Guess who was on the Regal before COVID shut everything down, in the Caribbean, and who mailed postcards to their family???? 

RICH AND GINNY.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW???

So, now we wait again. They promised to tell us if/when they hear from their people that the long lost postcards have finally arrived, years later.

What a great story. I can’t imagine all the stories this will kick up. All those lost postcards suddenly arriving from a different time and place in the world. 

Wonderful!