Location: Phuket, Thailand
Day 89. Letting that number sink in took a while for everyone, but it is hard to believe that just three months ago, we were assembling on the banks of Australia with optimism in our hearts. Tomorrow, we will be spreading across the globe back home, to other countries, and to new adventures. Today, however, was another day aboard the beautiful sailing yacht that we called home. The shipmates spent the day packing, cleaning, and preparing for the final dinner out as a crew and the inevitable goodbyes that would follow. The final squeeze question for the crew was what person or event made a significant impact on your life this trip and to say any final goodbyes. For over an hour and one by one, we each reminisced about how our lives might be different and the people that we will leave yet still hold so close to our hearts. Our dinner out as a crew was filled with good food and conversation. Emotions began to grow with the realization that soon, the people who we had spent every waking moment with for 90 days were about to be suddenly gone. After a few hours, or minutes, of sleep, we joined on deck for our first group, leaving for the airport at 4 am. Tears filled eyes, and hugs held together with friends one last time as dinghy rides began shuttling people to shore. We will leave Argo changed in some way in some manner. You’ll see some of your kids return differently from when they left. It may be startling, and it may be subtle, but I assure you that each and every one of us has been affected by the other, and for that, we have grown as a crew and as a family. Alas, we depart from our journey, not fearful of change or depressed in sadness, but focused so intently on the moment life gives us the chance to do it again. God Bless.