Meeting our new home - the Sea Spirit

Up at 7.15am to prepare myself and have breakfast. Our duffle bags had to be packed for the 2041 team to orchestrate their taking to our cabins on board the boat. At 9.00am, we had a presentation on “Rio +20” (a recap 20 years after the global reunion in Rio de Janeiro). It was very interesting, as we got an understanding of evolution/devolution of awareness amongst the heads of several countries.<o:p></o:p>

At noon, I went down to Ushuaia with my two new friends to have lunch and do some last-minute shopping. I had to buy a sort of string to hold my prescription glasses while on board the ship.<o:p></o:p>

At 3.00pm, we were to all meet at a certain place, the “Obelisk” to be able to head to the port. We had to wait for our respective teams to be complete before we were allowed to leave. When everyone was accounted for, we all made way to the port to meet our new home for the coming 12 days, the Sea Spirit.<o:p></o:p>

When we had all arrived, we were allowed to have our pictures taken in front of the ship with Robert and our flags, in addition to a group photo. We had 45 minutes to take pictures of 72 participants and that was not a piece of cake! Some wanted more than their share of pictures while others, like I, were patiently waiting their turn for one photo. When it was my turn, I was strongly advised not to show my English flag because there were Argentinian war boats around us and I would have created mayhem had I shown it (the English/Argentinian relationships were quite tense around that time). So, the French flag was by itself today.<o:p></o:p>

After that, we all went on board the boat and to our respective cabins. I was with Audrey, my French roommate of the hotel in Ushuaia. We have nice cabins with two separate beds, a sofa, a bathroom, and a nice view on the side of the boat. We are on the 4^th floor.<o:p></o:p>

“Bronco 5”, I repeat “Bronco 5” for the Leadership Program by Robert Swan in the Oceanus lounge. This message was broadcasted via the loud speakers in each room and corridor. So off we went for a very interesting presentation I have been longing to listen to.<o:p></o:p>

We taste our first meal in the restaurant and it was delicious. We have left Argentina; a pilot boat is guiding us out of the bays of Ushuaia. <o:p></o:p>

For the moment, I am not seasick!