Translation of retirarse

At noon the oldest soon came home. He was a doctor and gave me some salt and other Cuban medicine. I was reluctant to swallow that stuff but the pain and the doctor's smile persuaded me in the end.
I went back to the busterminal and dressed for the ride. That means I put on long pants and my hiking boots. Friends have warned me about freezing conditions during bus rides because of airconditioning.
The express ferry took us to Macau, a Portuguese colony near the Chinese Guangdong province. Although the distance is not short the express ferry gets there in one hour and is totally modern and reliable.