Bintang to Biltong: An Epic
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
As much as we all wanted it to be a normal day aboard Argo, it wasn’t. How could it have been? This adventure has been one of legends, laughs, and so many indescribable things that only those who were lucky enough to bear witness can understand. Yet, we all awoke with smiles and began our final boat appreciation after a simple breakfast of crepes and granola with yogurt. Some of the tasks were familiar, like scrubbing the floors and cleaning heads. Some were painfully unfamiliar, like trying to pack away all of our stuff into the bags it once fit in so nicely. As we were cleaning, we were fronted with a juxtaposition of emotion, yin, and yang of feeling as if we were literally ‘scrubbing the memories out’ of Argo but also understanding that we were providing a fresh slate for the next crew. We were afforded a clean vessel upon arrival, and they should, too, so that they can create their own story. The final boat appreciation took quite some time despite everyone working diligently, but when we had finished, Argo was looking as beautiful as the day we arrived.
With the cleaning out of the way, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the salon, rehashing memories and taking the time to share some of them with the Argo guestbook. It wasn’t long before everyone swapped out of dirty clothes for ‘smart outfits’ and headed off to our final dinner. Before stepping off the ship, though, we did the final squeeze of the program. It was a beautiful combination of smiling, crying, and everything in between. At dinner, I had the privilege of sitting at the head of the table. I felt as if I was gazing out upon a giant, happy family of amazing, unique people. I was.
No one would say that they wanted this to be over, but I do think we would all agree that this program has far surpassed any expectations we had and that we will all go home feeling that this adventure is complete. However, our stories are far from over. It has been said that we should never let Argo be our greatest adventure, and I can confidently say that not a single person here will stop chasing the dream, whatever that may be.
For the last time,
Best,
Travis P, Skipper
P.S. Credit Philip Wong (2024) for the title
P.S.S. Thank you, Dominique, for bearing with me through this. It won’t be long now.