cruising
it was hard to write anything at all on the cruise ship last may. i'd spend so much of the day walking that by night time my feet were fast asleep before i was. i also generally found that there was so little for me to say. i could only describe X, Y, and Z as “so cool” & “so interesting” so many times before it got dull. so i’ll say it just once here! each stop was, in fact, so cool and so interesting. i do love good food, old architecture, and scenic views – europe has these aplenty. i just wish i spent more time birdwatching. (but i knew that that would be particularly difficult to do on such a tight schedule).
honestly, before my trip, i was 100% convinced i’d hate being on the ocean for such long stretches of time. and this is still partially true now that it's over. i’m prone to motion sickness and i’m afraid of a slow death. i ended up partially bedridden for three days, so i was right to worry about the former. i couldn’t eat anything but apples, and i threw up everytime i moved from my bed. it sucked, but at least i'm not dead.
when i recovered, i discovered that it was ironically grounding to stroll the topmost deck and see nothing but blue and horizon. and that it was especially beautiful at night, even if you couldn't really see the stars at all. instead, i’d watch the water long enough for it to look like a fingerprint. then, even longer to find the unicorns in the sea foam. i found myself returning to the same thought each time: in the grand scheme of all things, i am fortunately very small. i will never run out of earth to explore. nothing is never really just nothing, but nothing feels as good as finally being home too.