Well, That Didn't Take Long...

So here we are in Amsterdam... but the trip over was not without incident and there's ALREADY a story to tell...

About 4 hours into the flight, Hélène started feeling flushed, dizzy and nauseous so I started walking her to the back of the plane -- to the galley to get some water -- and she almost made it but instead, fainted right there in the aisle... I carried her the rest of the way to the back, laid her down on the floor and put my hand under her head... and then was scared shitless by the totally blank look in her eyes -- she was completely out and staring off into space. Surprisingly, I stayed pretty calm and alerted the stewardesses who were sitting a couple of metres away. They instantly jumped up, mixed some water and sugar and prepared cold compresses. H was out for only maybe 30 seconds or so. When she came to, we were all standing around staring at her, which made her start. When she asked how long she had been unconscious, I told her just for a minute, but that don't worry, we had got some good pictures... and oh, that she's not allowed to sleep on the floor (earlier in the flight, they had made a funny announcement to that effect). Anyway, Hélène sat up and said that she felt better, but still, holy fucking shit... what a way to start a 5 month trip...

We think that it was probably the cholera medication we took before leaving the house... and then she may or may not have had some wine and beer... Later, we found out that another woman on the plane had fainted too, so the pilot added more oxygen to the air (duh! shouldn't that always be high?)

Relaxing now in Amsterdam... off to the cafes in a bit... no spacecake for H tonight, though...