An incredibly busy month passed quickly as we celebrated important milestones in the midst of voyage prep. Jonah graduated with his Masters in Conservation Leadership, Chris retired with Emeritus status as a CSU employee, and we celebrated our 34^th wedding anniversary. Olivia finished the coursework portion of her first semester and made her way to Spain to visit a close friend. We picked Will up at the airport on the 23^rd and had a mini-Christmas celebration that night before taking Jonah and Lianne to the airport at 3 a.m. on the 24^th. Everyone managed to get negative PCR tests and we were feeling optimistic.

It was an unusual Christmas morning without snow or family as we walked Jun and Cache one last time. We spent the morning finalizing COVID related paperwork and creating printed and electronic copies of all documents. When Lianne’s brother and sister-in-law arrived to drive us to the airport, saying good-bye to our pups was more difficult than I imagined as Cache barked and cried knowing exactly what was happening and Jun begged for snuggles, confused and worried.

Things went smoothly at the airport and before we knew it, we were toasting to a successful trip so far at an airport bar. The flight to Munich was excellent. We were at about 50% capacity and the attendants were full of Christmas spirit. In Munich, there was a very long immigration line specifically for Americans, and we moved through without incident. With about 4 hours till our next flight, we had coffee and pastries in a restaurant that, like all places of business, required vax cards and K95 or equivalent masks. We had a wonderful surprise while having drinks before boarding when our friend Tyler appeared, also on his way to the Homecoming Voyage!

A quick flight on a small plane, no immigration upon arrival, and a readily available taxi meant we were soon zipping through the streets of Naples in the rain. Holiday decorations lit the route to our Air B and B located in a small alley near the port. Olivia had spent Christmas with the Marshalls in Germany, then traveled with them to Naples to meet up with Lianne and Jonah who had arrived the previous day. They all emerged from a nearby door, grabbed our bags and led us up the 3 flights of narrow stone stairs, warning us to take care navigating the varied height and depth of each step. The apartment was lovely with plenty of space for us all and an ocean view balcony. With tiptoes and a little neck craning, we could see Mount Vesuvius.

The best part of Naples was the coffee at a small shop below our apartment where the proprietor greeted us each morning with a hearty Ciao and a hot cappuccino and the bar across the street that treated us like family as we ended our evenings with Italian wine and beer. We shared pizza, pasta and seafood at other establishments with friends also in town for the Homecoming voyage and enjoyed spectacular views on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour.

I was restless the night before embarkation. The effort it takes to travel in the days of COVID is immense. We had cleared hurdle after hurdle getting closer to our voyage with each one. Because Chris and Will had not received their PCR results prior to leaving the U.S., they had taken a proctored rapid antigen test on Christmas morning before we left. Based on Italian requirements, these results were still good to get them into the port. For some reason, my PCR results came back quickly. While I was able to use those for flying, they were no longer valid. Jonah, Lianne, Olivia, Mom and I all needed to take proctored antigen tests in the Air B and B. Though wifi cause a few hiccups, we all celebrated negative results. Armed with passports, vax cards, test results, Passenger Locator Forms and luggage for four months, we made our way to the ship. She was beautiful sitting in the port waiting for us. We connected with Mom’s friend, Linda, who would be sailing with us along with her son and daughter-in-law and snapped our first full family photo since we were all together last Christmas.

We had only one more hurdle to cross. Passengers lined up in the embarkation area as Semester at Sea and port personnel readied themselves. It was exciting to bump fists with crew members we have known and loved from previous voyages and wave to fellow SAS alums. Our passports and luggage were collected, and we were directed to a room with chairs six feet apart and a testing area in the corner. One by one we stepped up to the table where throats and nostrils were swabbed. We returned to our seats and fifteen minutes later, one by one, negative result forms were distributed to all of us – except Will. My heart leapt to my throat and my stomach felt nauseous. It was surely a mistake, I reassured myself. They will retest and all will be well. Will was whisked to an isolation room. After some confusion, Chris, Olivia and I were taken to another room. Confused about what was happening, Jonah, Lianne and Tyler stayed back and were eventually escorted to our room. Unaware of any of this, Mom and Linda made their way to their cabin on the ship.

As with all things COVID, everyone is just trying to figure it out. Processes and procedures are untested and ever changing. All of us were re-swabbed, and we were told PCR tests would be run on the ship. Again, each of us was negative except Will. With the port agent in charge, there was a great deal of confusion and uncertainty. Understanding that we were now at the mercy of Italian law, ISE staff Scott and Sara, as well as Vijay from the ship, were advocating for us as best they could, returning to our isolation room with small nuggets of info as they received it. Mom and Linda were extracted from the ship and considered close contacts. We would all be taken to a quarantine hotel and none of us would be able to sail.

On her way to the restroom, Liv spotted Will being escorted down the hall and came running back to our room to alert us. We gathered around the door waving to him, yelling we love you and offering assurance that it would be ok. Gradually we were each delivered our luggage and passports and told we would be taken to the same hotel as Will. Port agents were confused that we were eight not seven which delayed our departure another half hour while we awaited a second taxi. During the wait, the driver told us our hotel was 1.5 hours away and this was not the same hotel where Will was being taken. Worried, we tried to contact support, but without wifi had no luck. The further we drove outside of Naples the roads got narrower and more remote, and I grew more fearful. Where were they taking us and where was Will?