Her name was Lola

On Monday morning we leave Rio de Janeiro 14 hours behind schedule headed towards Uruguay and we get to see Sugarloaf Mountain and Copacabana Beach from up close. We even get a short glance at the Cristo statue who’s hiding in the clouds today but makes a short appearance as we pass by.

Topographically speaking Rio is more than impressive. Skyscrapers and steep mountains alternate as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately the city doesn’t show its well known true colors today.

Shortly after we reach the open sea the ship starts to move like crazy. We’re traveling as fast as 20 knots to make up for lost time and a storm over the south Atlantic brings in 2 meter waves from portside. By the time we meet for the first rehearsal in the theater half the crew is sea sick (me included) and it gets even worse when we darken the windows to set the lights.

After the very gentle cruise through peaceful tropical waters this is definitely a new quality of nautical travel. The temperature has dropped drastically, it’s very windy and it’s raining cats and dogs. It feels like I really didn’t need to bring my sunscreen this time around.

The ambiance is great though and once again I get to work with a super talented and lovely team. There’s been so much fun and laughter already and I’m sure there’s a lot more to come.

As I write these lines before going to sleep my bed moves up and down like a rollercoaster and I’m in limbo somewhere between feeling nauseous and being gently rocked like a baby.