Day 88

We arrive 6 am tomorrow at Salvador, Brasil. We have all gotten into such a nice routine that in a way stopping seems foreign. Our pre-port orientation has also scared most of us. it seems Salvador and rio are not great places during Carnival for people in small groups. We are all planning ahead to travel in groups of 5 or more preferably with at least one male. No jewlery, watches, wedding bands, provocative clothing etc. I'm going on several day trips which I'm looking forward to. This is one country I'll be glad to be a tourist.
I have "adopted" a family of 6 students and will meet them when we set sail again. There are still 80 students to be placed with an adult voyager. Homesickness is always just around the corner for all of us.
If this works correctly you will see a picture of our clinic and our group. Matt Handley is the physician out of Seattle and a terrific person. Multi-talented. We performed tonight a medley of tunes warning about STD,diarrhea,sunburn and malaria. We even received a standing ovation.
Emily Allina,RN is an ER nurse. She is literally a ray of sunshine. We all have a good working relationship. When an 80 yo passenger came in with chest pain, she whipped into action and I was glad to let her. When they come in w rashes,colds etc she's happy to let me see them.
The 2 in white uniforms are the ships's medical crew, doctor and nurse. They'll assist us if we request it and act as liason between us and the ship owners. They are fun. I imagine it's hard for them to adapt to a new medical group every 4 months but they keep smiling.
I'm also adding a picture of my "room". The virtual tour on the SAS site shows a pretty 2 bed room with a view, ours are crew quarters and no room,no window. The ship is the fullest it's ever been so we were relegated to crew quarters and the crew went Heaven knows where below us. It is very hard to get up in the morning or to go to the room during the day time just b/c there is no light. All I want to do is sleep.
It's been a wonderful voyage and promises to get even better with time. activities will start in the evenings. I'm in a Bridge group with the LifeLong Learners and some students. LLL are generally retired individuals who prefer this way to tour and like being with college students. Neat group. I'm not sure I shouldn't be a LLL as I feel the best I've felt in years. Of course napping every day, walking for miles every day and having healthy food placed in front of me 3 times a day may help. That's it for now. I wouldn't want to miss the 10pm snacks they offer.
Be well.