To never forget: Cruise #3 | Portugal – Panamá

*Note: clearly, all the used nicknames are nothing but sweet, cute, little generalizations with not a pixel of bad intentions. Only L.O.V.E. for the Russians, the gays, our Jesus Guy and all other stereotyping!

                                                                               

What happens when you put a hot gay couple, three Russian-ish guys, a missionary of Jesus Christ and a bunch of colorful traveling birds on a cheap, all-inclusive cruise and let them set sail to Central America? A 24/7 playground full of love and laughter and new experiences. An unforgettable journey that, without a doubt, has left a trail of smiles and special memories on many, if not all, of the hearts involved.

Worlds apart

The differences between us, all with our own ideas, standards, dreams, pasts and purposes were sometimes gigantic. And already for that reason alone, the trip started off as a rollercoaster in Lisbon harbor and ended without anyone wanting to disembark at arrival in the locks of the Panamá canal.

It took a day or two to settle in, to find each other and connect either on the dance floor, the dining table or at the pool, getting introduced through the friends that we already had since yesterday. Not always like minded in every way possible, but more or less ‘like aged’, our gang grew and spread over the decks like a giant, happy and sticky oil slick.

Drinking life like a Piña Colada

The 13 days on the ocean were pure magic. Cruising has that effect, I know by now, but this one was something else again. Most of us would probably never have met each other back home; no mutual backgrounds, religions or cultures in many cases. The boat put us all on the same spot and we couldn’t get away – even if we had wanted too. That, plus all the time in the world, made us open up, really listen and empathize with each other. Slurping up the exciting stuff to be found in all those exotic creatures, like we did the free piña coladas.

It wasn’t rare to see one of the Russians meditating with a Buddhist guy, sometimes opening an eye to check out the Latin babe working her ‘small tits, big booty’ in the gym in the background. The gays were sometimes found praying around with Jesus if not drinking gin-tonics, sunbathing, fumigating the room with kilos of deodorant, smoking the e-cigarette or doing an almost daily session of staying pretty in the gym.

The Jesus movie: new and improved

Our personal Jesus Guy turned out to be a sublime director, leading a serious production of the new and slightly more explicit version of the movie he uses to spread the word during his mission. Under the influence of the free bar (with a lot of Coca Cola for the director), we made our own Jesus movie, starring some of us on a wet and stormy pool deck.

There was the cripple, who actually had some trouble walking, because of some miraculous injury he got earlier on. Then the evil devil bullied him for limping, laughing like a maniac, doing back flips on the piled up sun chairs. But luckily there was Jesus, or his stand-in if #1 was too busy drinking beer, to exorcise this child of Satan.

The whore, because of her many sins, committed suicide by jumping off the boat after chugging another glass of cava. Strangely enough, she was alive again in the next scene, but who cares, really? What mattered, was that we were all healed in Jesus’ name in the end. So we ordered another round of free cocktails and told the miracles that Jesus made happen to our new friends; happy cruise people, printed life-size with a drink in their hands on the wall paper. The last detail needed for before the release date is the soundtrack, recorded on a drum computer.

Today

Months later, while most of us are not in the same place anymore, there is still quite a bit of contact between many of us. Sometimes the same cruise next year pops up as a reunion idea. But even when it’s quiet on WhatsApp or Facebook, there’s an invisible line of inerasable connection. I know for sure we’re all smiling this special grin thinking back of the many crazy, intense moments, of which I only know the part that I was attending. So many stories..!

The cuddling pile of people for example; lying across each other, hand in hand under the shooting stars on the runner’s deck, me as some sort of center pillar in the middle. Or the midnight basketball games, where no one knew who was with whom and therefore had more similarities to wrestling. The rumours about a possible orgy whispering in different corners on the ship, the epic wake up session, running through the corridors to wake up the birthday boy and take him to the bar. And the 5.00AM plan of how to take over the ship and live there forever on our drifting and self sustainable dream world.

Me might or we might not meet again, in this or another formation. Either way, I’m sure it has been a life enhancing experience for some of us. It sure has been for me and I’m truly happy to have had the chance to live this insane trip.

This blog is dedicated to never forget this crazy and loving happening, to all your faces, to friendship and of course to Dr. Bob; who will hopefully find love soon after spreading so much of it himself.

Amen.