The Nautie Guide to Conquering Mal de Mer!

Most Sailors will never admit they are seasick.  They'll curl up in a ball on the floor and blame it on galley food before they admit that they're feeling a little green around the gills.  I announced to my watch that I was feeling a little queasy.  They were horrified.  AB:  Mate, I don't think you should admit that...

ME:  Why?

AB:  It might make you seem a little less....

ME:  Ummm....manly?

AB:  Yeah, manly.

ME:  Riiiight....so, will you please go down to the galley and get me some saltines?  (For the record - I only said riiiiight - I didn't make the 4-8 fetch me saltines - I had already had the 12-4 fetch them.  I thought it made the encounter sound a bit better - ha. Oh, and the numbers indicate what hours the individual stands watch and, it's how we refer to the ABs sometimes.  As in, 'did you call the 4-8?'.)

I normally bring dramamine with me to work.  It usually makes me feel better lickity split.  Remember how I got fancy new luggage for work this time?  Well, I had to pack much lighter.  I normally have a navigation bag and a ditty bag - this time I combined the two into one slightly larger bag - the ditty bag got left behind.  Big mistake, huge......the dramamine was in the front pouch.  (Aunt Pooder, this is the hot pink ditty bag you gave me when I joined my first ship.  It will never be left behind again!  Lesson learned!  Like Aunt Gene said, 'everything has a place and every place has its thing'!!)

Because I didn't have the trusty dramamine I had to take care of things the old fashioned way.  Some of my remedies are slightly 'no duh' worthy - even if its only a mental remedy it's still worth it if it makes me feel a little better! 

Here's what I do:

• Drink lots of water.  Water feels fresh and clean as it goes down.  I avoid drinking anything that might make me feel 'sluggish'.  Go easy on that dairy!
• Double up on vitamins.  This way, if I get sick my body is slightly less depleted.  I have no idea why I think this.
• Saltines.  They seem to be the perfect 'stomach coater'.  They keep your belly full without over-stimulating.
• Keep cool.  Literally.  I've never passed out but, I feel like I've been close.  You know that feeling you get where you start to feel overly warm and slightly woozy?  Avoid it.  Crack a window and let in some winter air.  Turn down the thermostat in your stateroom.  Don't over bundle.  Wash your face with cool water.  You get it.
• Let your hair get a little wind blown.  Otter left a message that I should enjoy a little fresh air (thanks Pops!).  It gets a little tricky when it's blowing 50 knots and raining - but we'll pretend that conditions are mellow - in which case - Get some fresh air!  It will do wonders!
• Now bring me that horizon!  Jack Sparrow was on to something.  You'll be amazed how much better you'll feel by just looking out a window - the results are even better if you can manage to be out on deck while looking at the horizon.
• Take a little cat nap.  Laying down and closing your eyes sometimes provides instant relief.  Sadly, we can't stay in our racks all day long.  If you are at sea for pleasure (i.e. a cruise or a fishing expedition, etc.) then you really don't want to stay in your rack all day!  I find that even 20 minutes of horizontal relaxation can do the trick.
• GINGER.  This probably should have been first on the list.  I can't stress enough the miraculous power this little root contains.  I asked the Steward (he's in charge of the galley) for two chunks of ginger.  I mostly prepare it in the tea form.  Just slice up a bit (or a large chunk) and pour hot water over it.  If you are able to bring it to a boil even better.  Lots of times I add lemon and honey just to trick it out a bit.  If I'm really feeling yucky then I chew on a bit.
• Don't pull the trigger.  Being seasick is not the same as being hung over....although it does feel a little similar....you will not feel amazing after one good yarf.  I do my ultimate best to not throw up.  I have found that once I vomit I won't stop.  In all seriousness, this can be dangerous.  It can very, very quickly lead to dehydration and a whole slew of other issues. 

Here's what I DON'T do:

• I don't do dairy.  It just makes me feel mucous-y and gross.  That sounds disgusting...but it's true!
• I don't do sweets.  There seems to be a lot of downtime during rough weather - lots of 'waiting it out'.  Sweets need to be burned off and you won't be able to do that....you'll just end up with too much energy.
• I go easy on the coffee.  Too much caffeine on an empty belly makes you feel queesy on a normal day - why do that to yourself on a yucky day?
• I don't take showers.  Okay, I know this sounds weird.  For some reason when I take a shower I become completely disoriented and can't tell up from down.  If the ship is rockin' and rollin' and I let water pour over my head I suddenly feel like Alice in the Rabbit Hole.  If the weather lasts for more than a day then I sit on the toilet and use the shower wand to wash my hair only.  I don't stand in the shower in rough weather - ever. 
• I don't sit in front of the computer.  Think reading a book in a car - same thing.  It takes about two nanoseconds for your eyes to be exhausted and your stomach to be rolling.

For some reason I find it glorious that the french word for seasickness contains my initials!  Which only makes sense since my initials mean ocean in french.  Mal de Mer.  It almost sounds lovely.  Which reminds me of the quote:  'Merde.  Shit always sounds better in french.'.  Too true.

Storm photos are being sorted and edited and will be up soon!

Gibraltar :: The Monkeys!

OH. MY. GOD.  THE MONKEYS!

This was HANDS DOWN my favorite part of the Gibraltar tour.  I've been going through my photos of monkeys for days and days and days.....I couldn't narrow it down!  I finally decided to post every photo that was even quasi decent.

Now, technically the monkeys aren't monkeys - they're apes.  But when I think ape I think Gorilla...and these monkeys were small enough to sit on your head....I know because the monkeys sat on my head!  SERIOUSLY.

When you get to the 'top of the rock' there is a large monkey population.  They are probably the largest tourism draw on the island - and they know their business.  They steal things from you...jump on your tour van and grab the wheel....steal treats from your driver....pounce on your head when you aren't looking....pounce on your back and crawl up to your shoulder so that your tour guide has to feed them to make them happy...I'm telling you, they know their job...which is...entertain the tourists damnit!

When we got to the tippy top of the rock their was a little family a Mom, Dad and two babies.  Ridiculously cute.  The Mom was picking lice out of the Dad and the babies were playing nearby.  One of the babies comes over to bother the parents and the Dad literally swats him away and makes a face!  Ha!  Then the babies move further away and start mock fighting with eachother.  It was awesome. 

I also really liked the mom with her baby playing with a discarded plastic bag.  They looked so lovingly at eachother!

Big Papa sleeping near the swings kinda cracked me up....he was probably the biggest monkey I saw.

I have a bunch of photos of the monkeys scaring the crap out of me as the pull my hair and sit on my shoulder...sometimes dragging my shirt off my shoulders....risque little monkeys!

This is the last of my Gibraltar series but, if you ask me, I saved the best for last!  (The Mom, Dad and babies were my favorite....)

Which ones were your favorites?!

(Don't forget you can easily scroll through this gallery by clicking on an image - there are about fifty so you'll need to open tabs 1,2 and 3....)

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Gibraltar :: The Airport

Gibraltar has a pretty crazy airport.  It is directly on the Spanish border and both sides of the runway drop off into the water.  What's even crazier is that the main road - the one in and out of Gibraltar goes directly across the runway!  When we left Gibraltar we literally had to walk across the runway (along with TONS of others).  Apparently, the road simply gets shut down anytime there is air traffic (I think I heard mentioned that there are 4 flights a day landing from the UK).  If that's not crazy I don't know what is.

Nautie Friends Ask :: What is Christmas like aboard a ship?

It's just like any other day with better food.  Seriously. I woke up at 2320 (1120 pm) to start my morning - even though it's still secretly the previous day.  I actually set my alarm for 2300 but I get my wake up call at 2320 and this is when I get out of my rack. 

When I opened my door there were a package of socks, a can of dust sprayer, a polo shirt and a memo pad tied to the handle - with a post it note that said, 'Merry Christmas'!  Thanks Santa!

I meandered up to the bridge....I said, 'Merry Christmas' in a slightly sleep deprived voice.  Everyone said, 'Merry Christmas' back to me in slightly sleep deprived voices. 

The watch changed out and I said, 'Alright boys, guess what, we're going to listen to Christmas Carols alll freakin' morning long!!!!'.  Then I proceeded to play both Glee Christmas albums.  They loved this I'm sure.  We listened to everything in my arsenal.  Glee, Bing Crosby, The Elf Soundtrack, The Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Soundtrack, Pink Martini, Mariah Carey.....it never stopped.

I was relieved at 0600 and I said, 'Merry Christmas!  There is Christmas music playing!  Oh yeah, there is also an assload of traffic out there....have fun!'.  Then I went down to my room and climbed back in my rack.

I woke up from my nap at 0720 and went down for breakfast.  I ate pancakes, french toast, sausage and had TWO cinnamon roles.  I figured because it was Christmas I was allowed to stuff my gullet!

I went back up to the bridge and watched the sunrise around 0830 - seriously, that is how late it gets light in the Mediterranean these days.  You're killing me December!  I of course took a bunch of pictures of the sunrise....I had to document a Christmas sunrise!  I made my new watch partners listen to my entire Christmas Song arsenal all over again....it was glorious.

At 0900 the Captain came up to the bridge and I showed him how the radar was acting funny.  Then he asked to see the service requisition from its last servicing....I couldn't find it in the bridge equipment binder (I swear I wasn't onboard for the servicing) - then I got scolded.  Then he looked in the garbage log - and I got scolded again (I swear I wasn't onboard when the entries were missed).  Then he looked at the Navtex Binder - and I got scolded again (I swear I wasn't onboard when the messages were annotated incorrectly).  The scolding just continued until I got off watch.  It went something like this, 'Megan the Nautiemermate, this is your forte!  I'm surprised the binders slipped like this....we really need to plus up.'

At 1000 I got off watch and I proceeded down to the Cargo Control Room....really I was just looking for someone who wasn't going to scold me.  I basically just killed time until the next meal hour....it's Christmas after all!

Lunch was exciting...there were tablecloths made out of real cloth on the tables!  We normally have plastic picnic style table coverings....because we're sailors and that means we're slobs.  Lunch was amazing.  Roasted tom turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade bread.  There was shrimp cocktail, salmon with capers and TONS of deserts - pies, cookies, fruitcake, candies. 

When I got done eating I proceeded back up to my State Room where I posted my Feliz Navidad photos.

At 1300 I showered and put on my Pajamas.  I crawled into my rack with a snack and a book.  I fell asleep by 1500. 

Ta Da!  Christmas Day at sea!

(Not to be a cry baby BUT, this was the only day this week where I worked twelve hours or less and got 8 hours of sleep....I'm currently standing 6 hours on and 6 hours off and I've had two 18 hour days and two 15 hour days.....I can't describe the luxury of being asleep by 1500....that in itself was the best Christmas present I could have asked for!)

Feliz Navidad!

I walked through the Spanish town of San Roque to get a taxi that could take me to the Gibraltar border.  The town had incredibly festive streets.  There were decorations on everyone's balcony and a lot of lights strung around shop fronts and telephone poles.  I found this hanging over one of the streets - Feliz Navidad! I loved how it made me feel a bit of holiday cheer even though I was so far from home.  I loved how it wasn't in English and I knew exactly what it meant.  I loved that it was backwards from my point of view.

Sparkly pretty things backlit by the sun?!  Yes please!

Feliz Navidad Nautie Friends!  May your Christmas be merry and BRIGHT!

The Rock of Gibraltar

Yesterday I went to Gibraltar - also known as The Rock.  I had such a neat day!  Neat seems like such a silly word to use sometimes but honestly, it was neat-o! Years ago my Mom and I discovered that if you only have a day or two in a new place it's a really good idea to take a city tour.  Pay the money get on the bus and hop on hop off as much as possible.  The amazingness of a city tour has never failed me yet!  I'm often in port for just a few hours or passing through a new city for a day - the majority of my travel experiences leave me wanting more! 

I knew that if I was going to see Gibraltar I had to take a tour.  I found three shipmates and we all pitched in on a taxi tour guide of The Rock.  Gibraltar is geographically tiny however; it is so packed with history it's almost mind boggling.  It was first settled by the Arabs - crossing The Strait of Gibraltar from Morroco in about the year 700!  They fortified a lot of The Rock and built some castles, etc.  The Spaniards were able to snag it from the Arabs but they weren't able to hold onto it for long before the British claimed it.  Now, Gibraltar is self goverening British Territory and feels like Europes melting pot.  Modern Gibraltarians have family roots in Gibraltar going back 200-300 years.  The rock played a large role in the Battle of Trafalgar as well as World War II and still houses a small military presence.  There are over 30km of tunnels dug throughout The Rock used for defense purposes!  Gibraltar is also the last known location of Neanderthals! 

While the history was fascinating I of course was far more interested in seeing the monkeys!  In truth, they are probably Apes...but they are fairly small.  They are funny, clever and definitely overfed.

I strolled through town taking pictures of buildings (of course), stopped for some English style fish and chips and bought some hand blown glass.

I'm going to be posting a photo series in the next few days - stay posted!  (Sadly, I'm out of time and they'll have to start being posted tomorrow.)