Cruise Day 8 - Ushuaia

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NOTE: Oh no, the laptop is dead!! This means that photos cannot be uploaded to travelblog.org. Bernie has decided that my words alone without his photos will bore our followers so there are not going to be any more blogs until we are home (4th of April) and Bernie can repair the laptop or load our photos from the desktop ... whatever it takes?! All photos are backed up so no photos are lost, they are just temporarily inaccessible.?T



Between 7.00am and 9.00am this morning we were cruising the Beagle Channel and Glacier Alley. Bernie was out on the bow photographing while I tried to see what I could from our stateroom. The weather was still fairly bleak so maybe I was better off viewing from the comfort of our cabin rather than risking being blown off the bow? Bernie came back saying that the wind on the bow this morning was the strongest he has ever experienced.

The Medical Centre rang to check on me. I had to be honest and say that I was still suffering from loose bowel motions so the nurse told me that my cabin confinement would have to continue and she would consult with the doctor and ring again later in the day to check on me.

Our first attempt to dock at Ushuaia (Ush-why-a) was foiled by gusting wind. Captain PJ announced over the PA that we would ride offshore and make another attempt in half an hour or so. Apparently there is no alternate plan for going ashore at Ushuaia so, for a while, it looked like I might not be the only one staying aboard all afternoon! Fortunately the wind dropped and Captain PJ was able to dock the m.s. Zaandam just a little later than scheduled. Bernie headed off alone on a four hour tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park.

The nurse rang back during the afternoon to say that the doctor thought that I should continue with the Imodium, plenty of fluids and a bland diet. He didn't want to put me on anything stronger with potentially nasty side effects and felt that antibiotics were not warranted. The nurse asked if I had a fever. I said I didn't think so, but then, after I hung up the phone, thought maybe I should use one of the temperature sticks in my Medical Centre show bag. I put the strip under my tongue for two minutes and it came out showing my temperature was 101.6°F. Damn, I think the pouch containing the Tempa-DOT strips is indicating that 98.6°F is normal. It's hard to be certain because the font is so damn tiny. And who knows whether the fever is related to the tummy bug or the URTI??!

I rang the nurse back to tell her that, actually, I do have a temperature of 101.6°F. She told me to look in my show bag and take the tablets in the 'NON-ASPIRIN' pouch to bring my temperature down. She also told me that even if I felt cold I had to strip down to a tank top and try to cool down. I was instructed to check my temperature again at 7.00pm and pop more pills if my temperature was still high. The nurse said I should check my temperature again before bed time and if it was still elevated to send my travelling companion to the front desk for more 'NON-ASPIRIN' pouches.

Meanwhile Bernie was on his tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park with tour guide, Laura seeing natural wonders like Roca Lake and Ensenada Bay. The tour went as far as the end of the Pan-American Highway and the post office at the end of the world. Back in town Bernie saw enormous racks of ribs roasting in the front windows of the local restaurants. While walking along the Main Street Bernie found most of it barricaded by the local public servants. Laura had explained earlier that Ushuaia's public servants were on strike because the previous local governor bankrupted the province so the new governor has imposed a levy on the wages of all public servants to put the province back in the black. Unsurprisingly, the public servants feel that they should not have to shoulder the entire debt on their own, that ALL the province's residents should be levied.

Back in stateroom 3390, the 'NON-ASPIRIN' tablets had a much more immediate effect on my fever than the Imodium tablets had been having on my diarrhoea! At 7.00pm my temperature had dropped to 100°F. Still a bit high so, as instructed, I popped more tabs. I don't much like taking medication anyway, but when it is labelled with print so small that it is impossible to read - so I don't actually know what I am taking, only that it is not aspirin! - I like it even less. By 11.00pm my temperature was down to 99.4°F. I sent Bernie off to the front desk for more of whatever it is I'm taking and popped a couple more before going to sleep.

The HAZMAT team were in and out all day changing towels, cleaning the bathroom, bringing fresh glasses and wiping down surfaces in the rest of the cabin. I guess it is a tried and tested method for dealing with gastrointestinal outbreaks aboard ship and keeping the dreaded lurgy contained. The weakest link is that it relies on passengers to fess up to the fact that they are not well. I admit that I delayed reporting to the Medical Centre because I thought that I would be (and I was!) quarantined. After all, no one wants to spend their holiday cooped up in their stateroom.

Bernie made me pose for a 'Proof Of Life' photo tonight so that he could show our companions a photo of me with Sunday's ON LOCATION flier to prove that I was still alive! While he went off to enjoy his three course dinner in the dining room I ordered the broiled chicken and rice, a bread roll and green tea from room service. I am so over being confined to the cabin!!



Steps 610 (0.50km)

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Comments

[Home and Away]

Glad to read that you still have a sense of humor given your illness...
I hope you get well soon. I've been tempted to take the same cruise for some time, but an reconsidering...I get sea sick easily.

[Trabern]

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of sea sickness medication
Hi Bob, we were travelling with quite a few people who thought they were mad taking the cruise because they are sea sickness sufferers, but they all found that they were OK as long as they took 'Kwells' on the very few days when the sea was a little bit rough. A nurse travelling with us also recommended putting cotton wool in your left ear - something to do with the effect that has on your vestibular system - and those who'd been feeling a bit queasy also found that helped. I brought all my sea sickness tablets home with me as I didn't suffer from any sea sickness at all ... just some pesky gastrointestinal bug! I think you need to be much more worried about the germs being shared around the ship than sea sickness!! Of course you can also fly into Patagonia and drive around. We've just arrived home from a seven day add-on that we did in Patagonia where we travelled between El Calafate, Puerto Natales and Punta Arena by bus. We did day trips to the glaciers from El Calafate and a day tour of Torres Del Paine National Park from Puerto Natales. All that will be blogged about in due course. Cheers, Tracey.

[Caroline Brunner]

Hey, I was there too!
Hi Tracey, looking at the photos Bernie took - they could be mine! I was there in March 2013 and absolutely loved Ushuaia. We had an 'Indian summer' that week and it was 14 degrees the day we left for Antarctica. I sincerely hope you get well quickly; you must be feeling like a caged lion couped up in your cabin. My o/s adventure starts on 7 April in Cambodia, then India [8 days], Jordan and Holy Land [3 weeks], then on to France. We train from Paris to Lourdes for a couple of days then on to St Jean Pied de Port for the start of the Camino. We are not walking the whole way, just the first couple of days and the last 8 days [we're bussing about 500km due to time constraints; Vicky has a wedding to get to in Philippines]. From Santiago we go to Finisterre, then Fatima. We had planned to travel back to Paris for about 5 days but now, with the threats of more terror attacks, we've decided to spend those last days in Spain. We'll decide where while we're in Portugal. Who knows, Portugal might be too nice to leave. I still have to get back to Paris because my flight is from there on 20 June. Cheers & thanks for your good wishes. Caroline

[Teresa Casasola]

Tour
Hi Did you use the ships tour or an independent tour guide please ?

[Trabern]

Ushuaia Tours
The tour was booked through the ship's booking service because it was very difficult to find / contact alternative tour operators. Hope you enjoy your time in Ushuaia.