Location: Charlestown, Nevis
Today our captain, Smudge, said something which has resonated with me and will continue to do so for some time – “Those who are not present here do not and will never truly understand what goes on in this boat. You will be able to share stories and try to make them understand, but they will never really grasp it.”- Waking up to hear that Matt and Alexis were leaving Sea|mester left the rest of us in a state of shock and sadness. On Ocean Star, we are not just students; we are not just a crew; we are a family that comes closer together every day. That being said, we will remember the smiles, laughs, and all the different moments we had with Matt and Alexis, and for those of us who are still here, we will continue to make new ones. Even if our morning was quite upsetting, we quickly shaped up and continued with our day; it seems we can never really catch a break from the action! Next up for the afternoon, bikes and kayaks! But it was not just any bike ride; it was a ride around the entire island of Nevis.
We were told by our first mate, Eric, who had taken bikes before, that it would be hard, but never could have we imagined the battle we had ahead of us. We grabbed our bikes and headed left onto the main road…and then after some time, our worst fears were realized TANTANTAAAAAAAANNN!! UP-HILL!! So many inclines and not enough downhills! We pushed onward, heading uphill. Some of us made it on our bikes, while others walked. No one, AND I MEAN NO ONE, sat down even once. The fast helped the slow. Ian even pushed Lina uphill! We thought the end would never come…but then Ian turned and said, “Hey guys! We’re halfway there!” and we realized there was no turning back. We kept pushing and pushing, hill after hill, and by the time we thought we were done, another incline would show in the horizon; but by then, we would just laugh in disbelief on the ratio between inclines and declines.
A couple of hours later, we saw salvation; it truly felt like seeing an oasis after months stranded in the desert, downhill, was upon us. At that moment, everybody forgot about the struggle and enjoyed the ride down and back to the starting point. Let me tell you that the feeling of satisfaction and amazement with our abilities was better than any prize. We met up with Kat and Annemarie, who had a “really relaxing time kayaking.” The squeeze question tonight was truly based on the metaphor for what the bikers went through today that being “We went through a lot of up’s and down’s today and that’s a lot like life, so what is one of the roughest moments in your life, and how has it made you stronger?” It was a nice moment among all of us to be able to open up and share with a close group what we truly felt. After that, we all realized that every day we become closer and that being on Ocean Star really gives us a safe place where we can be ourselves among people whom we didn’t previously know existed a couple of weeks back. We feel like we can trust each other. I mean, you put people on a boat together, and they become close really quickly. To close the evening, we had our first sign-out night at Sunshines. The funny thing about getting to Sunshines is that it is a wet entry, and you will get thigh-deep in the water at the beach… let’s just say Gigi and myself had a rough moment there and ended up getting soaked! The food was amazing; people were amazing; the conversations were amazing…Ocean Star is truly amazing. And like the great Forest Gump would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”
Los amo familia.