My new career: Asynchronous Swimming / water acrobatics.

IF there is one thing that I have learned  over the years in medicine, It's the importance of diversifying and having other skills to offer.  Because you never know when you may be looking for a  new job.  The following clip  is from my audition for the Asynchronous swimming team on the Jade!

video clip courtesy of Karina Mujica

 vidiography & back ground vocals by Sonia Cota!

OK so I don't have the legs to be a underwater ballerina! I did learn some valuable water survival lessons, and we did provide entertainment for the passengers who had not gone ashore!  The benefits of forming a tight  circle of survivors  in the water: conserves heat, easier for rescuers to spot and helps keep moral up.   The modified conga line is a great way to get a whole group of swimmers to move in mass and make certain that no one is left behind!   

The last part  of the training was how to right an over turned life raft.  It can be a  challenging task!  Lesson learned:  it is vitally important to keep your feet firmly planted on the CO2 tank when flipping the raft!  Failure to do so can result in an embarrassing fall, not to mention sutures of the elbow 2nd to an unplanned meeting with the afore mentioned CO2 tank.

Step 1: Climb onto the upside down life raft.

Step 2: Get the straps in hand and then stand on the CO2 tank!

Step 3: You must convince the raft that it WANTS
to turn over! Karina demonstrates the proper
technique!

Step 4: Hang on and wait for the splash
Micheal, The safety instructor who is behind me in the pool looks scared!  Probably
with good reason!

Fortunately the safety training is over!  I survived the class and the test as well!  Now the only thing I have left is the oral exam on Wednesday, and get the sutures out next Friday!

Money: the root of all that is evil!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I had planned to take a nice leisurely trip through the town of Malaga when we were in port last week.  But thanks to the fire training that I had to take that went longer than expected I got a late start.  Once I got to the shuttle bus to get out of the immediate port area, I discovered I didn’t  have enough Euros to pay for a round-trip bus fare.  Since banks are closed by 4 PM, the lady at the information booth told me that the only place I could get a currency exchange, was the large department store in town.  This place reminds me Of a Macy's and Nordstrom of yesteryear!  Each floor in the store was designated for a particular gender and age group and there were 2 clerks for each counter in the store!  Once I finally located the financial section of the store, which was two floors below the street level, I was relieved to find that it was also well stocked with personnel, but unfortunately none of them spoke English or understood "Lyles Spanish"!  When I finally got it across to them that I want to change dollars for euros (so I could pay the bus fare to get back to the boat) I thought it would be all downhill from there!  Well, I was right about it being downhill.  But I was wrong about what was at the bottom of that hill waiting for me!  First of all, after consulting among the other seven or was it eight, employees the clerk informed me that there is a minimum of $50 that was required before she could do an exchange of currency.  No problem, I thought it!  I gave her the other 2 $20”s I had making a total of $60.  Oh did I mention that I needed to have my passport to this large monetary transaction?!  Which they are holding on the Jade so I can't escape and leave them without completing my contract!(Actually crew members jumping ship can be a rather costly problem for Cruise lines!  Unlike the USA, the European countries take their boarders rather seriously.  And they pass on any expenses incurred in tracking down and expelling any unauthorized visitors to the ship they jumped from.)   No problem I have my drivers license for just such situations.  I gave that to her, but instead of satisfying her questions, it led to more conferences with the other seven or eight employees.  And this time it included another customer, who happened to be standing there gave her opinion on the questionable nature of my drivers license!  Once they get done looking me up on the Internet, and verifying my name and address on my license, she then turned her attention to the money.  After several more conferences.  She finally brought the money back over to me and indicated that she was not happy with on of the $20 bill because the edge was frayed from where it had been fooled in half!  I told herI would be glad to take that $20 bill back, since all I had wanted to exchange was the $20 bill I had given her previously!  But I told her and showed her that was all the money that I had in my wallet!  More conferences!  More mumblings!  Time passes, SLOWLY!!!!  Finally they decided to go ahead and approve my transaction.  She indicated I was too sign on the electronic signature box.  Either she had forgotten that I had given her $60 or she thought I wasn’t smart enough to know the difference between $50 or $60 in Euros, …  Must have been the first!  Anyway you get the picture I am sure. But now it was in the computer, so apparently it required a supervisor to override the transaction and change it to the correct amount!  I was beginning to see why this place was in the underground bunker underneath the store!  I believe it is for the same reason that the dungeons in the castle's of Europe were placed underneath the ground to keep the victims and their screams of torment from escaping their place of torture!  About the time I was beginning to despair of ever seeing my fellow shipmates again, the supervisor showed up, put in her magic code and key, and handed me my Euros and three pages of papers to sign.  As I staggered out of the dungeon, I would have fallen to my knees to kiss the ground, but I was almost late for the boat as it was!  Beside, I wouldn't want to be accused of being over dramatic about something as "simple as a currency exchange"!

I didn't even have time to try out the local TACO BELL!

What am I doing in the crew gym in full bunker gear?
Good question !!  They filled the room with smoke and
we got to practice searching for survivors!

Everyone on NCL Jade is constantly training!
This is the medical 2 team involved with the
weekly drill.  I believe this scenario was a
ship collision with a fire and a Man-overboard! 

Part of  the safety training includes orientation to the life boats 

These guys are The Air and supply team .   They
backup the fire crew with refills for their breathing
apparatus

"What do you think, do these pants make my hips look
BIG"?

ARRECIFE: A hot spot in the Spanish Canaries!

ARRECIFE, the fishing town capital of the small volcano-dotted island of Lanzarote in the Canary, has so many volcanoes that it is hard to get a picture without one or two showing up on the horizon!  The town gets its name from the jagged volcanic reefs that surround the island.  The reefs were apparently instrumental in protecting the fishermen and traders from Pirate attacks.  But they were not enough so at least 2 Castillo's were built to help defend the towns growing  fishing and trading business.

At least 5 distinct volcanoes can be seen  in this shot of the harbor from the JADE

Castillo de San Gabriel stands out at the mouth of the harbor  is a Museum

This unique sculpture erupts from the waterfront sidewalk

FUNCHAL, on the island of Madeira.

I was able to get off the ship in Funchal, on the Portuguese Island of Madeira for a couple of hours this morning.  As with Santa Cruz de Tenerife, I was surprised at how many "Green" areas there were  in the city. 

This botanical garden overlooks the harbor

This three story mall had a lot of fancy and expen$ive  story in it .  But also had a Burger King in the food court.

I didn't have time to take the tour   bus around the city,  Maybe in another 2  or 3  trips.

Cruise ship safety and Rat Guards, etc.

life rafts for the crew!

NO, fortunately the cruise ship that ran aground was NOT one of ours!   I am not envious of the Doctor or crew of that ship!!! It was Friday the 13th!  Here are a few pictures of the life boats on the Jade.  Interestingly, the crew are assigned to life RAFTS that have no motors or form of propulsion!  Which means that we are adrift at sea unless a life boat full of passengers decides to take us  in tow!  Come to think of it, that may be a motivational tool designed to make certain that the crew remembers who is in charge!!!





The loading Chutes look like fun! ( see the pictures below)  I will let you know if I get the chance to try them out  (in training of course!!)

The 3 barrel shaped objects are the Life Rafts and loading
chute for the crew. 

My cabin window is the 3rd round one to the left of the doorway

This  is one  of the passenger life boats (on the left) and a
Life boat tender (on the right).

Here is a easy nautical quiz for you.
1) What are the round objects on the mooring lines called ?
2) What is there purpose?
3) What aspect of my duties remind me of them?

Answers: 1) Rat Guards  2) to prevent the spread of disease by keeping disease ridden rodents off the ship!
3) We have to screen passengers
  who have "failed" their health questioner  to make certain they don't come on board with active contagious disease, and spread it around the ship!.
You wouldn't think that people would want to spend their vacation , sick on a boat!   Once they have paid       their money they seem willing to put up with anything to not miss out on their cruise.  Case in point: the little lady I saw yesterday with a broken wrist.  She had fallen 24 hours earlier and fractured the distal radius, but hadn't sought medical attention until then because she didn't want to be told she couldn't go.   When I          informed her of the break and the need to see an orthopedic Dr., she flat out refused and said she would sign whatever release  or waiver but she was NOT MISSING ANY PART of her vacation.  so I put her in a splint and will try to get her to see an Orthopedist in Funchal or Santa Cruz.



For those not familiar with the area, here is a link to a Google map of our coarse. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=205620770184526261896.0004b6795781128b40301&msa=0&ll=31.952162,-6.020508&spn=31.474932,28.959961

SEA DAY!     Malaga Spain to Barcelona

Today is a Sea Day, which means we're just traveling all day with no ports of call.  What that means from a practical standpoint is that we’ll have a busy day in the medical center.  It is not that different from life in emergency department, where the volume of patients is dependent on what is on television!

Yesterday we stopped in Malaga, Spain.  Since it was my day to be on call, I could not leave the boat, so the pictures are all from the boat. I will get more pictures when I get off the boat on a future stop in Malaga.  I also took some pictures as we got underway, with the boat turning around in the harbor, rather pretty in the dark I thought! 

 After we finished with clinic last night the Medical Staff went  out to Cagneys Steakhouses to say good bye to Dr. Reyes who is ending her contract with this cruise. Reggie is a Filipino nurse, Yolanda is a nurse from Spain, Stacy is n RN from Louisiana, Dr Reyes is the LMO (lead medical officer) from the Philippians,  and Arun is our enviornmental tech from India.

Archipelago: Noun - a collection of small islands in a large expanse of Water

The Ship!  

My Office

 Ahoy mates!  I am settling into the more routine life on board the "G. I. Jade"!  Right now we’re under “status yellow”,  the beginning of epidemic on board of acute gastroenteritis!  Apparently this ship the reputation for being the AGE queen of the fleet!  This is due to the time of the year, and the location of the cruises.  It is known to be much worse in the winter and a nonexistent problem in the summer.  Also it appears to be geographic is dependent on what countries we visit.  Which is why they do not go to Egypt at the moment.  I am learning a lot about epidemiology medicine!  Or maybe I should say public health!  It is interesting to see the security guards standing at the cafeteria lines enforcing mandatory hand washing, and whenever you return to the ship you’re met by a crewman armed with spray bottle filled with disinfectant solution to spray your hands, and follow up by someone else armed with the garden sprayer filled with disinfectant spray the gangplank after you walk up!  They also fumigate the ship every night with disinfectant after the guests have gone to sleep.  They told us that if we doubled the number of cases of AGE we would be in the status red level.  And then everyone is tasked with continuously cleaning everything that anybody can touch or will touch or has touched!

All the stairs have wonderful hand rails for hand to hand
transfer of "bugs"!

On another note,  I  am really glad I have no circadian rhythm!  The boat passes back and forth across the time zone every 4-5 days.  So on the way down we gain an hour, only to loose it 4 days later!  Talk about the “curse of daylight savings” this is it compacted and multiplied!  Fortunately the travel clock that Ryan got me for Christmas has an  easy adjust button for time adjustment.

I got off the boat yesterday for the first time in the Canary Islands, in the town of Santa Cruz in the island Tenerife would seem to be fairly typical for the other islands in this volcanic archipelago.   I will include some pictures I took around town along with some miscellaneous pictures to give a flavor of the town.

There are a lot of "Green"areas in the town, considering that the
island is a desert with volcanic rock and little fresh water.

I was impressed  by the variety of modern architectural design!

A view of Barcelona and beyond.....

Barcelona from the Jade as i t  pulls out of port.

Well here I am in the middle of  a sea of 1059 friendly smiling people who's main purpose is to have fun while they help 2554 Guests to the do the same!  I got right into the swing of it with a 10 year old guest who we felt needed to be transport to a hospital on shore for evaluation of an urgent medical problem.  The ships second-in-command was very helpful in arranging for expeditious Helicopter transfer of the patient and a parent to a hospital for evaluation. It was an interesting process to watch the transfer of the young guest and the accompanying parent by winch and cable since the 'copter was too large to land on the designated pad on top of the ship.  I will try and attach a couple of pics and a video clip of my patient getting an unexpected thrill ride that I am certain was the envy on many of the adrenaline junkies on board.

Ships fire crew stands by.... just in case!

The helicopter drops a weighted line to the ship
 

Rescue medic comes down the winch/cable with guidance from below.   Note: The chopper spent 99% of the time off to the side of the boat (Just in case....)  also the Medic came with a pair of fins hanging from his belt!