Swaying, Sweat Rooms and Hot Tubs....

My first full day on board the ship, I was still somewhat determined to make an attempt to fit in my normal work-out. So after sleeping in until 8, my husband and I pulled on our work-out clothes and set-out to find the onboard gym. It was a large ship, so the task took longer than expected, but ultimately we found it located in the bow of the boat. The treadmills were all located against the front windows, so you could run or walk gazing out at the ocean stretched endlessly ahead. It was an incredible view, and I thought it would provide a great inspiration for my work-out. I hopped on the first available machines and started to pick up the pace. As I gazed out, the boat listed and swayed, and I found myself having to grab hold of the arms to steady myself. All around me the other machines were in use, and I wondered to myself if they felt as challenged as I did at trying to maintain my equilibrium. "They seem to be doing OK. It must get better, just hang on and go for it," I thought to myself. I lasted about five more minutes and several more sways, but when my stomach started turning, I quickly came to the conclusion that the treadmill was not going to work for me. I might be a whimp, but I wasn't going to puke in the middle of the gym on my vacation just to prove something to myself. I hopped off, and within seconds Chuck also hopped off with the exact same complaint. I didn't feel so bad now. We looked around at the other machines and found two stationary bikes tucked a little farther back in the gym, and decided to give those a try. We both faired better in the sitting position, and were able to complete our cardio work-outs for the day, but the idea of trying to balance weights while the boat was swaying back and forth, seemed a bridge too far, so we opted to pass on the weights until we reached calmer waters and headed off for the rest of our days adventures.

Despite our good intentions, that first work-out was the last time we would use the gym on the trip. It swayed too much, and as the trip progressed our intentions lessened; however,  we did manage a few more walks as we discovered on the second day, that we could walk loops around the top deck of the ship and enjoy the scenery without feeling quite as unstable. There were definitely still challenges as on any given rotation at some point of the loop we would end up walking into the wind. That always provided amusement as the wind gusts would blow me one direction and the swaying of the boat would shift me another direction, so I'm sure I looked quite like a drunk at times as I weaved back and forth across the deck trying to keep my pace up to get the most out of my jaunt, but the warm air and scenery overcame the equilibrium issues and we found ourselves walking the deck several more times during our trip.  I must confess that on one occasion I actually completed my walk post Kahlua and coffee which provided for an all together different work-out experience.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip though were our hot tub excursions. I'm not sure they would qualify as healthy retreats, but they did play a large part in easing away the stress of the previous year.We learned after the first day or two at sea that if we wanted our turn in the hot tub, we would have to slowly push our way in amongst the college kids and stake out our space. So two at a time the members of our group would work their way over to the tub and steadily start taking over the territory. Once the nine of us had managed to stake our claim, we would play silly games with whomever else was in the tub at the time (at one point I believe we had a total of sixteen folks in the tub). The losers would have their choice of doing a silly dance in the middle of the tub for penance or taking a swig of whatever beverage they were consuming at the time. Interestingly enough  most participants chose to do both when it was their turn in the hot seat. The afternoon we left Freeport we hopped in the hot tub around 3:00 pm. By the time we departed the tub nearly three hours later, the weather had already turned cooler, so as we stepped out to get our towels, there was an abundance of squeals as the cool air hit our wet bodies . My friend suggested we hop in the steam room to warm ourselves up again. She also mentioned that it was great way to detoxify the body. A little detoxification may have been in order at that particular point of the trip.

I had never been in a steam room before, so I was unprepared for the experience. I opened the door and stepped inside. I was confronted by a cloud of a steam and immediately felt my lungs gasp for a breath. "Where was the air?" I was engulfed by a thickness of heat and moisture. There was nothing to breathe in. I sat down, and actually started to feel myself panic. I couldn't breathe. I started to stand to leave, but my friend told me to wait a few more minutes. She said to try and breathe slowly through my nose and out through my mouth. My body just needed time to adjust. I sat back down and tried to breathe again, and after a minute or so, I was able to feel my lungs beginning to fill with air and my body relaxing ever so slightly. I continued trying to breathe through my nose and out through my mouth, and while it helped a little, every few minutes I would still have to struggle against the thickness to get a breath. I managed to last about ten more minutes and then had to leave. I must admit that my skin was tingling and felt refreshed upon exit, but I was so relieved after escaping the heavy air from the steam room into the clear air of the ship, that I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get me back in another steam room any time in the future regardless of any possible health benefit.

By the last day on our trip I abandoned my walks on the deck for walks through the hallways to shows and trivia games, the hot tub for high tea and the steam room for the massage table, but I left the cruise knowing that I had made the absolute most of every moment. Some moments were healthier than others, all were memorable.