It’s 5.30am on Friday 26 August, 2022, but it may well be a much earlier year based on where I’m writing this from. I am in fact in my bunk on the Solway Lass, a tall ship built in 1902, and I can feel the boat gently rocking as I sit here typing.
Spent the first day in Airlie Beach exploring the walking paths, revisiting some of the sites of previous adventures (Bren and I honeymooned in Airlie Beach at the Club Crocodile Resort in 1993) and generally just winding down and learning how to relax again. It has been a busy 18 months and it wasn’t until yesterday that I realised how utterly exhausted I was, and how welcome this break will be.
Disclaimer ahead - I don’t want anyone (translation my family members) to think that I begrudge them a single moment of my time. I have felt so privileged to be an informal part of Hayden’s care team, and strive to make sure he gets to live the life he wants, but it does take its toll and lately I’ve just felt out of control, which makes me really anxious and uncomfortable. If you’ve ever been on-call for a job, you’ll know what it’s like to be in a state of constant vigilance, and that has been our life for a while now - never quite getting into that deep level of sleep for fear of missing a text or a phone call to provide assistance. So I’m using this break away as a hard reset, to give the body and mind a chance to rest and power up for the year ahead.
Our (a work friend and I) adventure began yesterday when we crossed from land to ship at the Coral Sea Resort and found our cosy little cabins aboard the ship. We had both paid for single accommodations and as a result both got family sized rooms, which feature a double bed and two single bunks on either end of that bed. It may sound huge but the room is probably 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 and mostly beds. All of the sleeping rooms are below deck, and there are no windows, only dim lighting in each space. However judging by how I slept last night, that is not really an issue.
We set out under motor from the marina at 4.00pm, had our safety briefing, took our seasickness pills and enjoyed a leisurely cruise to our first anchorage - Cid Island. A beautiful calm mooring sheltered from the winds. Welcome platter and drinks to start the activities, and the 17 passengers and 5 crew chatting and getting to know their fellow walkers.
Dinner was a delicious panko-crumbed Spanish Mackerel, potato bake and salad, followed by a talk on the history of the boat (check out Wikipedia for the full details - too much to write here). Most notable section of the talk was about the former Captain of the ship who had died of carbon monoxide poisoning when they installed kerosene powered engines in the boat. He is known to frequent the sleeping quarters and play pranks on the guests and crew, and can be heard roaming the decks above when everyone else is asleep. Maybe they should have left that story til we disembarked!
So here I am after a good night’s sleep, waiting for the sun to come up, breakfast to be had and starting on our first walk of the trip. More to come tomorrow as I recap today’s adventures.
No comments:
Post a Comment