Location: OH
The beginning of our trip on Argo started with all of us jumping in headfirst. We sailed in some of the harshest weather immediately during the 12-day passage from South Africa to St. Helena. The transition from seasickness to loving catching air and sea spray from a big swell came quickly because our hearts were full of excitement. Our collective love for new things, adventure, and assurance in our new crewmates put us in the perfect sweet spot between out of our comfort zones but confident in one another and our goals. This set the tone for an awesome 67 days together.
The beginning of the end of our trip came as a sudden surprise: from celebrating customs clearance in Antigua to booking flights home for the next day. This quick transition felt like we were babies getting tossed into the water to learn how to swim. Instead of finishing our certifications and checking off more from our bucket lists, our goodbyes were already happening. The real world as we knew it would have been a transition regardless, but coming back to a pandemic from Argo, we were faced with a new uncertain reality and had to play catchup. It is still really hard. Today, the TV reminds us if you have to go outside “to remember your mask.” These words less than two weeks ago did not instill concern like they do now but contrastingly meant we are about to go swim around a gorgeous island.
I am so thankful that during these past two weeks, we have been able to face these uncertainties together. From no other support group of mine, could I hear the comforting response of “it’s fine we can just (enter extreme reunion idea that includes sailing)” to all the unknown questions we have. It is really easy to feel frustrated during the lockdown and think about how amazing life would be right now if we were still on Argo doing all of the things we looked forward to doing together. However, this time also makes us that more thankful for everything we did get to experience, and I know we are all going to come out of this jumping in headfirst towards another adventure.
Pictured: Us achieving our goal of being Tik Tok famous thanks to Allie, Argo being beautiful in St. Helena, and rose quartz I picked up for good luck on the first day in Capetown plus one of Jaydas bracelets she gave me saying goodbye on our last day that was also rose quartz…ya know weirdly full circle right?