I'm no sailor

It has been quite a day. Today was our last day at Octopus, where we've been since our arrival and it was hard to leave. This morning it rained so much it felt like buckets were coming out of the sky. Laura pointed out that if we had one rain like that in Georgia, the drought would be forever over.

After our final lunch at the resort and our good byes to all of our new friends- (on a side note, while we met lots of people including two very friendly Australians we will probably be calling when we're in Melbourne, Laura and I kept coming up with names for everyone that were not their actual names. It was much easier to remember them that way. So, leaving Octopus, our thoughts were much more "we'll miss Toronto, Brown Bean, the bum rubbers, the old guys, Obama, Michael Vick and the Russian" more than any kind of missing "Tom, John, Jennifer etc." ) Anyway, so after lunch, it was time for our boat ride return to the mainland.

The water was a little choppy as it was still storming, but I didn't think much of it. As a person who gets seasick when I take the kayak out for a ride at the beach, I'm not sure what I was thinking. The boat, which was the same one we'd ridden in on in smooth waters on a sunny day, is fairly small and seats about 12 to 15 people. Before we'd even started the engines it occured to me that my stomach might not be prepared for this trip.

I had no idea.

Within twenty minutes I'd broken into a cold sweat and was focusing all of my energy on watching the horizon which I could barely make out over the cresting waves. Laura was sharing her iPod with me in an attempt to distract me, but it wasn't doing much. Then, suddenly, my earphone was jerked from my ear as Laura lunged forward with everyone else in the boat as Chris, the Australian manager for the resort who happened to be on the boat with us, yelled "Shark!"

At that point, I looked behind the boat to see what I can only describe as the biggest shark fin I've seen since I watched Jaws at my friend Joe's house in fifth grade. According to Chris, the fin was "wobbly" because he thought we'd hit the shark. Funny though, because "wobbly" also looks kind of like "terrifying, cutting back and forth in the water, wants to eat Americans." I'd actually seen a shark when snorkling yesterday, but it was a friendly enough looking leopard shark, minding his own business just off the reef on the bottom. He was also only about 4 to 5 feet long. Unlike the Moby Dick of sharks behind our boat.

Anyway, unfortunately, the ride became even worse after the shark. Within moments I'd swallowed a dramamine and everyone on board was requesting motion sickness medicine. Then, I became fairly certain I was going to throw up and apparently my very pale face made that evident because I was quickly moved to the back of the boat with a bucket where I hung my head out like a dog for the rest of the trip, praying I didn't have to throw up in front of a large group of people I didn't know. And into a bucket.

As we pulled into the harbor, Chris actually shouted "Yay! You didnt vomit!" which sounds much more charming with an Australian accent and everyone congratulated me. I felt pretty proud of my accomplishment to be honest. I'm pretty sure I've never had to work that hard before to avoid it. Meanwhile, poor Laura had spent the ride completely terrified that we were going to capsize and be thrown into the ocean with the shark. While that may have crossed my mind as we moved over some waves, I think I would have been perfectly happy to be thrown from the boat as it would have given a nice reprieve from my state.

So, I wish I could say that from there our day has gotten better. But that would be a lie. Laura and I have pretty much managed to end up at the sketchiest hostel ever. The beach looks like dirt, the dorm looks like jail and a man at the front asked Laura if he could carry her bag for her because he thought she was pregnant. A man, who, by the way, looks like he's been smoking pot for the last 60 years straight. So, we are currently quite busy trying to find where we can move to next so that we can get out of here. My only hope is that the next place doesn't require a boat ride.

*I am sorry about my lack of photo uploading! I haven't found a spot yet where I can do it, but as soon as I do, they'll be there!