The person in front of me is looking a particularly sickly pea-green. The area around her mouth is white and she seems to be in real agony. I quickly step aside so that I won’t be at the receiving end of whatever she does next. She steps to the side right along with me and we are facing each other again. I look at her in mute agony – how am I going to talk to her – she probably does not know English… She looks right back at me with the same agony. Then I look again – she looks Indian and probably can understand me. She too looks back at me with a faintly puzzled expression…
It’s a mirror!
And the woman who looks like she’s going to throw up is me! I run to the side of the boat so I won’t throw up on myself!
The sea stares back at me – glassy calm – the bluest sea in the world – the Mediterranean. One of the crew strolls up and greets me – “Lovely calm sea, ma’am. Beautiful weather for sailing!”
Oh yeah? Then why is my stomach feeling like it wants to uproot itself from my middle and throw itself overboard? There are two more right next to me on the deck – all green faces staring down at the famous blue of the Mediterranean – my two daughters – we are not good sailors!
We are on a cruise in the Mediterranean – the very first time I have been on a boat on the sea – and right now, it feels like it should be the very last time too! The ship’s doc comes to the rescue with pills and in a few hours of lying down in our cabin staring at walls which move, we are all feeling better. The blue beckons and we go to the deck quite happily.
Car sickness, reading-in-a-moving-car sickness (for some reason I can read in a train but not a car!), flight sickness, mountain road sickness, anything that can churn my stomach does… and I love traveling!
But there are solutions – in the form of little pills which make your sickness go away – I am a single-person significant market segment for all of these pharma manufacturers – I really think they should give me a discount!
I am so well after the first few hours that I am ready to face dinner – in a really beautiful restaurant on board… and surprisingly find an amazingly large array of vegetarian dishes.
Sickness is forgotten. The blue black of the nighttime Mediterranean, the lights and music, softspoken people, superb and all-new-to-me veggie dishes – what more could I ask for? I determine to be a good sailor!
Here’s a really simple cold salad from that on-board menu…
EGYPTIAN LEMON AND POTATO SALAD
- 1 kg red potatoes (I use regular or baby potatoes in India). Scrub well – do not peel.
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley (sometimes substitute with fresh dill or mint or a combo of both)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Boil potatoes. Cool and slice into fingers. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill and serve.
Don’t forget those pills now!