The shuttle took us from the ship to the airport at 9am. My flight wasn’t till 5, so I checked my bags and took a train back into Amsterdam.

I found the usual requirements–coffee, internet, and old buildings–and then sketched in an outdoor cafe til it started raining.

The first day off the ship always feels strange because it’s SO QUIET, and everyone’s suddenly SO far away. The self-portrait in the airport bar pretty much summed up my state of mind. Then the woman next to me asked to look at my sketchbook. We started talking, and it turns out she was a dancer on a cruise ship, about ten years ago! She was from Sweden, married to an Argentinian bass player from the ship. We reminisced about ship life until it was time to go. The world felt smaller and more connected all of a sudden.