Podcast Summary:

Podcast: BBC Lê
Episode: Aceitei um emprego por impulso num réveillon e acabei presa no mar por 6 meses
Date: November 11, 2025
Original Report by: Laura Thomas
Narrated by: Silvia Salek

Overview

This episode delivers the gripping true story of Giulia Bacosi, who, after spontaneously accepting a cooking job aboard a sailing ship on New Year’s Eve 2020, found herself unexpectedly isolated at sea for six months due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The narrative explores themes of impulsivity, isolation, adaptation, and transformation, reflecting the turbulence and surreality of a world in sudden lockdown, viewed from the unique perspective of a small ship’s crew cut off from the rest of humanity.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Impulsive Decision and Journey’s Start

• Giulia Bacosi’s Crossroads
  • At a New Year’s Eve party in 2020, Giulia was uncertain about a new job in Sicily (Italy) she’d recently accepted. She received a last-minute offer to work as a cook aboard a ship carrying rum and olive oil from Europe to Central America.
  • Quote (01:09):

    “Meu coração me dizia que talvez eu devesse reconsiderar… Olhei para o céu e pedi um sinal para o universo.”
    (Giulia Bacosi recounts her doubt and search for guidance.)

• Decision to Board the Ship
  • Chose the adventure, planning to disembark in Mexico after three months.

2. Life on the Avontur: The Voyage Begins

• Initial Legs
  • The centenarian schooner Avontur departed Germany in January, heading through the North Sea and eventually reaching Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the crew enjoyed Carnival (03:05).
• Rising Anxiety
  • A rumor of a mysterious virus and quarantine in Tenerife foreshadowed incoming trouble, but the crew initially downplayed it.
    • Quote (03:53):

      “Na manhã seguinte, em meio a uma leve ressaca, circulou um boato sobre visitantes na ilha que ficaram doentes devido a um vírus misterioso.”

3. Pandemic Hits – Isolation at Sea

• Devastating News at Sea (04:30):
  • The captain reads an email:

    “O mundo que vocês conhecem não existe mais… Portos estão fechando, os aeroportos estão fechando, voos são cancelados. Supermercados, lojas, fronteiras, está tudo fechado.”

  • Shock and confusion set in as the crew realizes their journey—and the world—have changed irreversibly.
    • Quote (04:52):

      “Após um momento de silêncio, ficamos nos olhando uns para os outros, um tanto surpresos, confusos.”

• Long-Distance Despair
  • Giulia describes desperate attempts to contact family and loved ones, finally reaching her partner after days without connection:
    • Quote (06:00):

      “O que vocês vão fazer? — Não tenho ideia de nada. Ninguém sabe.”

4. Continuing the Voyage: Survival and Frustration

• Unwelcome in Ports
  • At Guadeloupe, local authorities, masked and wary, ordered the crew to leave without disembarking (06:34).
• Logistical Nightmares
  • Food and supplies dwindled; disembarkation and reprovisioning was impossible.
  • Hopes for Giulia’s original plan—leaving in Mexico—were dashed, and the crew faced the possibility of not touching land until returning to Europe.
  • Thoughts repeatedly turned to family and safety (07:35):

    “Parece surreal ficar confinada nessa bolha flutuante.”

5. Coping at Sea: Routine, Creativity, and Connection

• Battling Boredom and Tension
  • The crew took to crafting, drawing, playing music, and even engineered safe swimming off the ship’s stern (08:21).
  • Romantic connections formed within the crew:
    • Quote (08:42):

      “Existe química, existe atração. Buscar intimidade e toque físico é muito humano… você consegue esquecer que existe algo lá fora que está fora de controle.”

• Moments of Awe in Nature
  • Commune with dolphins, flying fish, and a breathtaking moment with minke whales glowing in bioluminescent waters (09:10):

    “É o momento mais bonito, magnífico, maravilhoso, onírico, mesmo com cheiro de pum.”

6. Resourcefulness in Crisis

• Resource Management under Pressure
  • As supplies ran low, the crew had to ration food and even invent a makeshift slow cooker from recycled materials (10:00):

    “De alguma forma, partindo de uma situação muito séria e preocupante, acabamos comendo alguns dos melhores cozidos que eu já fiz na vida.”

7. Return to Land and Personal Transformation

• Finally Docking in the Azores (10:30)
  • After four and a half months, they were allowed to disembark in Horta after Covid testing.
  • Simple pleasures—flowers, grass, chocolate—became profoundly meaningful (10:50):

    “Eu queria as flores, a grama, o bar, as pessoas, sair, comprar chocolate, a possibilidade de andar e decidir se você vai para a esquerda ou para a direita.”

• Homecoming in Hamburg
  • After 188 days, the Avontur docked in Germany. Emotional scenes unfolded as the crew, changed fundamentally by their experience, came ashore (11:02):

    “Meus olhos se encheram de lágrimas. Esperamos esse momento por tanto tempo e agora era real.”

  • Reunion party shirts read, “O mundo que vocês conhecem não existe mais.”

8. Epilogue: A New Self

• Lasting Impact
  • Giulia reflects on her permanent transformation:

    “Estou de volta, mas não sou a mesma pessoa de antes. Eu fico imaginando como vou me encaixar, como um novo eu na minha velha vida.”

  • Five years later, she finds herself at sea again—this time near Greenland—still looking to the universe for a sign (11:16).

Notable Quotes and Timestamps

• On Accepting the Job:

  “Vou com você até o México e depois eu saio.” (02:13)

• Covid-19 Reality Hits:

  “O mundo que vocês conhecem não existe mais.” (04:34)

• Yearning for Connection:

  “Fiquei tomada pelo medo de que algo acontecesse com eles enquanto eu estava no mar, sem poder nem mesmo falar com eles uma última vez.” (05:53)

• Nature’s Gifts in Crisis:

  “É o momento mais bonito, magnífico, maravilhoso, onírico, mesmo com cheiro de pum.” (09:20)

• Transformation:

  “Estou de volta, mas não sou a mesma pessoa de antes. Eu fico imaginando como vou me encaixar, como um novo eu na minha velha vida.” (11:12)

Key Segments (Timestamps)

• Decision and Departure: 00:42–03:30
• Carnival in Tenerife & Virus Rumors: 03:05–04:20
• Lockdown News at Sea: 04:30–06:00
• Family Anxiety and Communication: 06:00–06:45
• Port Rejection (Guadeloupe): 06:34–07:15
• Survival & Crew Dynamics: 08:20–09:40
• Resource Management and Cooking: 10:00–10:30
• Return to Land and Transformation: 10:30–11:20

Tone and Language

The report is intimate, candid, and evocative—carrying Giulia’s vulnerability, the crew’s fluctuating moods, and the unrelenting uncertainty of the months at sea. It transitions between anxiety, resourcefulness, moments of wonder, and deep reflection, culminating in a sense of irrevocable change.

For Listeners

The episode captures what it feels like to be unexpectedly caught at the edges of a global event—and how, even in forced isolation and adversity, people adapt, connect, and transform. Giulia’s journey is both literal and deeply metaphorical: a lesson in letting impulse and openness guide a life rewritten by circumstance.