Not all those who wander are lost - but I'll be disappointed if I don't get lost frequently!

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Battling Sea Sickness... And Losing

15/05/2012


"Look! Can you see the dolphins?" Julia says as she points off the back of the ferry.


"Oh, yeah, there they are. How nice...." I manage to reply before heaving my guts up into a sick bag.

~

While I'd had a rather pleasant morning - skyping home before breakfast, then onto the bus back to Stone Town and the ferry port - the boat ride back to the Tanzanian mainland was anything but enjoyable.


My spirits were high boarding the boat, as I hadn't had any trouble on the ferry ride over a few days before. I had taken my sea sickness tablets and thought myself well prepared.


Then a steward started walking through the ferry handing out sick bags.


Uh Oh. That hadn't happened last time.


As we started making our way across the rough water, I tried to focus on the King Kong movie being played, but I was slowly losing a battle of mind versus body.


It was a strange feeling. I knew my body wasn't happy and that it wouldn't be long before I lost my breakfast. But at the same time, There was a strange detachment between the need to throw up and the god-awful pain of nausea that normally comes with being sea sick.


Eventually, I decided to leave the crowded main cabin and go sit with Julia on the upper level of the boat: outside to get some air, and a little privacy in which to throw up.


The weird feeling continued as I threw up - and as far as being seasick goes, this was probably the most enjoyable experience I've had. While not actually stopping me from vomiting, the sea-sickness tablets had obviously dulled my pain receptors or what-have-you. So while I may not have been at my best on this boat ride, I definitely wasn't at my worst!


Finally arriving back in Dar es Salaam, I was still not feeling my best so I didn't tarry too long in the city centre before catching a taxi back to the Mikardi Beach camp site and back to our beloved Jozi.


And to my delight, myself and the others found James had arrived to pick up with us for the rest of the overland adventure. As we sat on the beach catching James up on our exploits since we had last seen him (the morning after the hickie party) I had myself a very late lunch. It was much needed though, as my stomach had been emptied of every morsel it contained during the ferry trip.


After sharing a room together on Zanzibar, I decided to keep Clare around and she became my new tent buddy.


You'd think with a 4am departure the next morning (to beat the chaotic Dar traffic out of the city), we would have gone to bed early. Instead we chatted away until we only had a few measly hours before we had to get up and hop on Jozi. We never learn!

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