A quick update from paradise...
I am currently on the beautiful island of Mauritius swimming and playing in the Indian Ocean! Flic en Flac beach is just as fun as it sounds. This little town is crawling with SASers, we couldn't escape each other if we wanted to. I have only about 12 hours left until my on-ship time tonight so I'm gonna have to make this quick. Spring Break '06 went by way too fast! It was CRAZY! Mauritius is beautiful! More details to come after I get back on the ship...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Spring Break ’06!
So we are currently just east of Madagascar, heading toward the beautiful island of Mauritius. I am finally done with classes and homework for the next three days! We had a global studies exam today which (along with most of the ship) I stayed up really late studying for. This procrastination of mine, in combination with having to set my clock forward once again, has put me in a very tired and zombie like trance all day. Fortunately it all paid off because I did really well on the exam. Now I can put schoolwork on the back burner for the next few days and really enjoy the next port of call- Port Louis, Mauritius (aka SAS Spring Break 2006)! Shhh don’t tell my teachers. A lot of us students have been joking about how we are missing out on spring break this year (because our lives are just so tough and we never get to have any fun) and so we feel like we deserve a little mindless sun and surf. Mauritius is a pretty small island, and while many of the residents have supposedly been warned that we are coming, I don’t know if they will be fully prepared for our full force invasion. In all seriousness though, I have heard that Mauritius has a great deal of rich and complex history and culture for us to check out…not to mention some gorgeous beaches. I have been hearing that it is supposed to rain the entire time we are there. Hopefully this is just the infamous rumor mill at work formulating evil lies, but you never know on this ship. I’m crossing my fingers that this won’t be the case but I’ll be sure to have a good time regardless. I am soo ready to get off this ship! I made a point to not sign up for any SAS trips so I can have the freedom to go wherever the island takes me. A bunch of us have rented a beach house for a couple nights in a place called Flic en Flac. I honestly don’t know much about it but how could a place with a name as fun as Flic en Flac not be amazing. We have a pool and a barbeque and all that jazz so it should be fun. I’ll keep you posted as the madness ensues…
Pirate Alert…
Since piracy on the eastern coast of Africa was a major contributing factor to the cancellation of Kenya as one of our stops, we have been learning a lot about it. We are actually going to be sailing through some of the most pirated and dangerous waters in the world. At first I thought that the idea of pirates invading the Explorer sounded really exciting, but unfortunately I have since been informed that modern day pirates look nothing like Johnny Depp. Surprisingly, most people don’t realize the enormous amount of actual maritime piracy that takes place every year in many parts of the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and Straits of Malacca. It is a $16 billion dollar a year industry! Fortunately we are not the ideal target for these pirates, not to mention the fact that we are one of the fastest ships in the world and would be hard to catch. Still, if you don’t hear from me in a few weeks you’ll know that we’ve either been attacked by pirates…or I have just run out of internet minutes.
Sea Update…
The days at sea since South Africa have been pretty ordinary. Class…Eat…Nap…Nap some more…Board Games…Class again. I have probably learned more card games in the past few days than in my entire life. We had a belated Valentine’s Day dance last night to raise money for our Students of Service Charity fund. The theme was red light, green light (wear red if you are in a relationship, green if you’re single, yellow if you aren’t sure) and we made a lot of money, which was encouraging. For Students of Service we are also working on getting the official Mr. SAS Pageant organized and nominations are in the process! It should be a really entertaining event coming up in the near future post-India.
Quote of the Day: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” -Aldous Huxley
Pirate Alert…
Since piracy on the eastern coast of Africa was a major contributing factor to the cancellation of Kenya as one of our stops, we have been learning a lot about it. We are actually going to be sailing through some of the most pirated and dangerous waters in the world. At first I thought that the idea of pirates invading the Explorer sounded really exciting, but unfortunately I have since been informed that modern day pirates look nothing like Johnny Depp. Surprisingly, most people don’t realize the enormous amount of actual maritime piracy that takes place every year in many parts of the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and Straits of Malacca. It is a $16 billion dollar a year industry! Fortunately we are not the ideal target for these pirates, not to mention the fact that we are one of the fastest ships in the world and would be hard to catch. Still, if you don’t hear from me in a few weeks you’ll know that we’ve either been attacked by pirates…or I have just run out of internet minutes.
Sea Update…
The days at sea since South Africa have been pretty ordinary. Class…Eat…Nap…Nap some more…Board Games…Class again. I have probably learned more card games in the past few days than in my entire life. We had a belated Valentine’s Day dance last night to raise money for our Students of Service Charity fund. The theme was red light, green light (wear red if you are in a relationship, green if you’re single, yellow if you aren’t sure) and we made a lot of money, which was encouraging. For Students of Service we are also working on getting the official Mr. SAS Pageant organized and nominations are in the process! It should be a really entertaining event coming up in the near future post-India.
Quote of the Day: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” -Aldous Huxley
Saturday, February 25, 2006
South Africa
Sorry that it took me so long to get this post up! I got kind of lazy and then found it pretty difficult to recall seven days worth of Africa. Feel free to skim as it is once again a wordy one…
We arrived in South Africa as scheduled on the morning of February 14, Valentine’s Day. As I posted earlier, the port was closed because of severe fog. We had to anchor outside the port for about 6 hours until early afternoon. I found out that I couldn’t meet my mother until the next day and so instead I ended buying a ticket for a township visit that same afternoon from a girl on the ship. I figured that visiting a township in South Africa was a really important thing to do, not to mention something that my mom and I could not just go and do safely on our own. I was planning on walking around downtown Cape Town until my SAS township trip started in the afternoon, but we were stuck on the ship in the fog for a lot longer than anyone thought. Since we didn’t get into port until my SAS trip started, my visit to a township was my first impression of Africa.
The real Cape Town…
When the ship cleared that afternoon, my trip group hoped off, got immediately on buses, and drove past the wealthy and glamorous waterfront shops and restaurants. Before entering a township, we went to visit the District 6 Museum in downtown Cape Town. The museum paid homage to the former residents of District Six, a section of downtown. It was a good place to start our township tour because it helped me to learn the history and heartbreaking stories that come out of the laws of apartheid. It was shocking to me to realize that if I had come to the same district only 13 years earlier, I would have been in a white-only section of town. District Six was one of the most ethnically diverse parts of Cape Town until the government enforced the laws of apartheid. The residents were forced out immediately and many ended up in townships. The area was soon bulldozed because it was considered to be too run-down for the whites. It remained mostly deserted until 1992 when it was finally given back to the residents of Cape Town. After the museum we toured a community arts center, to see the types of programming that was available for the residents of townships. Lastly, we took a walking tour with a guide into township hostels. Seeing a township for the first time can only be described as shocking. Most of the residents of Cape Town live in townships. They are everywhere! They are really nothing more than rundown hostel apartments or worst yet, illegally built squatter camps as far as the eye can see. A place where crime, poverty, and aids rule. Glass covering the streets. Thick smells of smoke. Dirt. More glass. Dust. Children…barefoot children running everywhere. Shacks built out of tin, scrap wood, old tires, anything and everything. No running water. Cement beds. More children. There is nothing more uncomfortable than touring a township. It was awkward and strange pulling up in a bus with a group of rich white Americans, digital cameras in hand. I cringed every single time someone took a picture. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have someone walking around my home looking at me as if I were in a zoo. I couldn’t bring myself to take any pictures but have to admit that I am desperately glad other people did so that I can get later. I don’t want to forget what I have seen, all the places and especially the faces. The strangest thing about the visit was that the residents seemed so content and happy. Happier than most people I have ever seen. The children were always smiling and glad to have us there. Even the adults welcomed us with smiles and waves. I couldn’t help stop thinking how this would never happen in America. I think my friend summed up the trip best when he said, “I can’t say that I enjoyed the visit, but I am really glad I went.” I feel that it was important to see the real side of Cape Town, to see it for myself and for all the people who will never see it back home.
It was strange coming from the township back to the modern waterfront shopping mall where I exchanged my currency. I was surprised that only mere miles lay between such different worlds. Later that night, I met up with a group of friends for a night out on the waterfront. We went out to dinner and tried to avoid the masses of SASers at the club and bar scene for a night. We had a great time hanging out at a restaurant across the harbor where some great African musicians were playing. It was a lot of fun and a great first night in Africa.
The next day I hung low around the waterfront area trying to figure our where and when I was supposed to meet up with my mother. Fortunately we happened to randomly run into each other right away. I got her a visitor’s pass so that she could actually come on the ship with me during the day, which was a lot of fun. I showed her where and how I spend all my hours and hours at sea. Walking around the docked ship she was impressed with how much the crew was constantly cleaning. The ship is always sparkling and shining, and it is all too easy to take that for granted. I guess I never really noticed it much before, but the crew really does an excellent job both at sea and in port with keeping the ship in order. The dining room staff is always outstanding, cheerfully serving meals to us even when they are working while we are in port. We should all be so lucky to be so content and happy with our lives and jobs. (You’ll have to come visit the ship and hang out with the crew to see what I mean.)
Anyway, my mother and I got off the ship and went on a Champagne Cruise. Now to me something called a Champagne Cruise sounds like it should be really fun and relaxing. But no, this Champagne Cruise was hardcore… we were sailing in the crazy wind and choppy waves. There was nothing Champagney or Cruisy or relaxing about it. It was an experience though. We got an exciting sailboat ride around the harbor of Cape Town. I take back what I said earlier about being born to be a sailor. I am not sailor material, I am cruise ship passenger material! Anyway, my mom had rented a car upon arriving and we spent the next couple hours getting very very lost trying to find our guest house. Getting lost while driving on the wrong side of the road on the tiny streets of downtown Cape Town at night is a rather scary thing. Fortunately we eventually arrived safely and are much smarter and wiser now about navigation.
As I posted earlier, the next morning we went to Stellenbosch to tour some of South Africa’s famous wine country. The drive out of the city was very easy to do in the rental car and so it was much more pleasant than the night before. Stellenbosch was a very charming little university town in the heart of all the vineyards. We had a driver take us around to different wine estates for some wine tasting. This was something that I had really wanted to do, although I’m not sure why because I am not really a wine drinker. Our tour guide was even making fun of me because my mom was out drinking me! It was still fun and we got some good bottles of wine. We had lunch at a really neat restaurant called Moyo. They would come around and sing for each table and paint faces. The tables were all outside in decorative tents, under trees and there were even some in tree houses. I didn’t really know what I was eating most of the time, but it was really good. After a large lunch we headed back to the town and walked around a bit. I fell in love with the university. I really really want to spend a semester studying there next year, or at least come to visit again.
The next morning we decided to drive up and down the Cape Peninsula. This ended up being one of my favorite things we did all week. The entire drive was along the coast and the scenery was absolutely stunning. We first stopped in a place called Simon’s Town to see a colony of penguins (Josh, you are so jealous right now I know). The African penguins were completely covering the beach. Everywhere you would look there were penguins. I decided to do my research project for my ecology class on them and therefore I took an obscene amount of pictures. (So if you ever want to see a 3 hour slide show of penguins, you know who to come to.) There were even signs in the parking lot warning visitors to check beneath their cars for penguins before driving away. We then continued driving down to Cape Point, the southern most tip of the Africa. It was pretty foggy at some places, but we eventually go a really good view of the infinite abyss off the point. To my surprise, we also saw a lot of wildlife on this drive. I felt like I was on a real African safari. At one point we pulled over to the side of the road to take a picture of a couple of baboons sitting on the shoreline. I had my window rolled down and one snuck up behind the car and its face popped up right next to me! They are very aggressive and it was pretty scary. I think it was trying to come in the car for food but fortunately I got my window rolled up in time! We stopped at a small market along the side of the road to look at the crafts the locals were selling. I ended up buying a 5 foot 3 inch wooden giraffe (I know because it is the same height as me)! It was beautiful and I just really really liked it so I had too. (I’m not really the large wooden stature buying type, but I figured…hey…why not…I live in San Diego and so I don’t have to ship it home because it can just live under my bed for the rest of the voyage. Needless to say I got a lot of funny looks hauling it back to the ship.) The lady gave me a really good deal on it and I figure when else will I have the opportunity to buy a giraffe in Africa? As we continued driving back to Cape Town we passed through a few small fishing towns along the way. They are in the absolute most beautiful setting I have ever seen in my life. I fell in love with one town called Kommetjie (pronounced Komickey) where we stopped to pick up some snacks and find an ATM. I was poking around the real estate office trying to price properties just in case I run into a bunch of money any time soon and want to move to South Africa. We then drove a world famous stretch of road known as Chapman’s Peak Drive. It has been called one of the most, if not the most, spectacularly beautiful drives in the world. It cuts through the cliff of rocky mountain with views of the amazingly blue ocean, Hout Bay, and white sand beaches. I had no idea places like this really existed. It is a really dangerous stretch of narrow road, and signs kept warning us about the high risk of rocks slides. Fortunately I wasn’t driving, so I got to just sit back and take in all the scenery. (Thanks mom!)
The next day we drove down the peninsula again to the small town surrounding Hout Bay. From Hout Bay we took a boat ride out to Seal Island. Seal Island is a group of large boulders out in the water that masses of seals come hang out on. It was pretty cool but I wasn’t expecting the seals to be so smelly. Once again, I took an obscene amount of pictures, so let me know if you ever want to look at some seals. Next my mom and I went to walk around the world-renowned Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a huge garden that sitting on the base of Table Mountain overlooking the bay. It has often been called one of the world’s most beautiful gardens. The scenery looked straight out of Jurassic Park. The place was absolutely stunning and contained more species of rare plants than you would ever even have the time or even desire to look at. There were people everywhere having picnics on the abundant grassy lawns. It was altogether adorable and a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon.
The next morning we woke up early with every intention to hike Table Mountain at sunrise. I’ve heard from many a person who has hiked it previously that it is “one of the most physically challenging things that you will ever do.” I was completely prepared and ampped to take on this challenge, but unfortunately we woke up to thick fog and rain. The hike is dangerous as it is and so this was not safe weather for an endeavor of this nature for two amateur hikers. A few hours later we hiked about half way up the mountain before we had to head back down to make it to our ferryboat reservations to Robben Island. Sadly I cannot stake claim to actually hiking up the face of the Table at sunrise (one of my biggest goals of this port), but that just gives me all the more reason to come back to Cape Town some day.
Robben Island…
I made it a point to visit Robben Island while in South Africa since, after all, this is supposed to be an educational voyage of discovery. The United Nations recently declared the Robben Island Museum to be a World Heritage Site and it pays tribute to South Africa’s intense struggle against apartheid. Robben Island was most recently used as a political prison for those opposing the government. I got to tour the maximum-security prison where Nelson Mandela was held in solitary confinement for many years. Our tour guide was a former political prisoner and he showed us the actual room that he was imprisoned in only years before. Mandela later went on to become the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Dennis Brutus, one of our South African inter-port lecturers who boarded the ship in Brazil was actually imprisoned along with Mandela for his political activism. It was very touching to hear the stories and see the struggle that many people went through to bring about change and right the wrongs in their country. One of the things that shocked me the most was the fact the end of apartheid was so recent. The island has only actually been opened up as a museum for 8 years. The neat thing about the legacy of prisoners like Mandela is the lack of bitterness that these people had in spite of the injustices done to them. There is a sense of hope on the island, hope for the future of South Africa, and hope for other countries in the world.
Later that evening, we took advantage of the fact that we had a rental car and could roam Cape Town freely. Since the majority of the tourists were up by the waterfront harbor, we drove south to a community known as Camps Bay and got reservations at a nice restaurant over looking the beach. I later read in one of my travel books that this area was the stomping grounds of the rich and the beautiful of Cape Town. Walking around the beach I saw such a mixture of people. The coolest thing about it was that on this beach, everyone was an equal. Looking around I saw locals from the township playing alongside the wealthy residents, sunning right next to the crowds of tourists. It was a refreshing sight, and one that was all too rare in this city.
The next morning we drove to a farm on the coast to do some horseback riding on the beach. The day started off rainy, but fortunately the clouds cleared just enough for a great ride. Now for those of you who know me, you know that I am not at all a horseback rider, so it was a somewhat stressful activity at first. I am proud to say I conquered my horse phobia and had a really good time. It was completely surreal to be riding a horse through the water of a deserted white sand beach in the foggy morning mist. It didn’t even feel real, as if I had just wandered straight into a movie set. We stopped through my favorite little town of Kommetjie again for lunch. I don’t know what it was about this town, but I was really just drawn to it and couldn’t get enough of it. We found a cute surfer café that was delicious. The owner was an American who had fashioned the café after Wahoos (a favorite San Diego restaurant!) which was pretty fun. It made me realize what a small world it really is! Hopefully some day I can come back and live the simple life in Kommetjie and run a café. I should be so lucky!
During my last few hours in Cape Town my main goal was to make it to the top of Table Mountain. I didn’t think that I would be able to because the entire city had been experiencing blackouts the majority of the time we were there. Fortunately I was lucky and the cable cars to the top of the mountain had electricity just long enough for us to make it up. (We had to get down by emergency generator!) Standing on the top of Table Mountain you can see for days. The incredibly flat and majestic mountain overlooks the entire bay and the surrounding city. We were literally in the clouds most of the time. I got some pretty spectacular pictures of our ship down below in the harbor. I felt like I was on top of the whole world. It was really the best ending to my week in Cape Town. Making my way back to the ship and saying goodbye to my mother was a lot harder the second time around. Back on the ship, an African choir performed for us as we were waiting to leave. I made sure to stow my new wooden giraffe securely under my bed where he will sleep peacefully until April. Finally at about 2 am the ship’s engines finally began purring and it was goodbye South Africa, here we come Mauritius!
Two Worlds…
I found it very natural to get caught up in the beauty and charm of Cape Town. I have been told that Cape Town has often been called “a fool’s paradise” and now I am beginning to understand why. It is a place where it is all too easy to forget the harsh realities facing the city and the overwhelming majority of its residents. To me it seemed like the classes and races of people were so different, it was hard to believe that they were such close neighbors. In everything from the skin color they were born with to the clothes on the backs, the restaurants they ate at, the homes that they lived in, and the languages they spoke, the differences were incredible. In a place that has 11 official languages, you can only imagine the immense diversity that this one country holds. But just when I would start to feel like the situation was hopeless, I would see sparks of hope in the brightness and life of the faces around me. I saw it in a black child playing on the beach with a white child. A game of volleyball among friends. A couple strolling together on the sidewalk. Blurs between the former racial lines that once dominated. Places where color didn’t matter. Hand shakes. Smiles. Laughter. Change. Hope. Hope for today, and hope for tomorrow.
And that is my closing thought on South Africa. A country and a continent often forget and overlooked. It is a place of extreme wealth and poverty, exotic animals and plants, tall mountains and long beaches. I will never forget my first African sunrise, being on top of Table Mountain, the eyes of the children in the townships, riding a horse on the beach, and even nearly being attacked by a baboon. I’ll never forget Africa, please don’t forget about it either.
We arrived in South Africa as scheduled on the morning of February 14, Valentine’s Day. As I posted earlier, the port was closed because of severe fog. We had to anchor outside the port for about 6 hours until early afternoon. I found out that I couldn’t meet my mother until the next day and so instead I ended buying a ticket for a township visit that same afternoon from a girl on the ship. I figured that visiting a township in South Africa was a really important thing to do, not to mention something that my mom and I could not just go and do safely on our own. I was planning on walking around downtown Cape Town until my SAS township trip started in the afternoon, but we were stuck on the ship in the fog for a lot longer than anyone thought. Since we didn’t get into port until my SAS trip started, my visit to a township was my first impression of Africa.
The real Cape Town…
When the ship cleared that afternoon, my trip group hoped off, got immediately on buses, and drove past the wealthy and glamorous waterfront shops and restaurants. Before entering a township, we went to visit the District 6 Museum in downtown Cape Town. The museum paid homage to the former residents of District Six, a section of downtown. It was a good place to start our township tour because it helped me to learn the history and heartbreaking stories that come out of the laws of apartheid. It was shocking to me to realize that if I had come to the same district only 13 years earlier, I would have been in a white-only section of town. District Six was one of the most ethnically diverse parts of Cape Town until the government enforced the laws of apartheid. The residents were forced out immediately and many ended up in townships. The area was soon bulldozed because it was considered to be too run-down for the whites. It remained mostly deserted until 1992 when it was finally given back to the residents of Cape Town. After the museum we toured a community arts center, to see the types of programming that was available for the residents of townships. Lastly, we took a walking tour with a guide into township hostels. Seeing a township for the first time can only be described as shocking. Most of the residents of Cape Town live in townships. They are everywhere! They are really nothing more than rundown hostel apartments or worst yet, illegally built squatter camps as far as the eye can see. A place where crime, poverty, and aids rule. Glass covering the streets. Thick smells of smoke. Dirt. More glass. Dust. Children…barefoot children running everywhere. Shacks built out of tin, scrap wood, old tires, anything and everything. No running water. Cement beds. More children. There is nothing more uncomfortable than touring a township. It was awkward and strange pulling up in a bus with a group of rich white Americans, digital cameras in hand. I cringed every single time someone took a picture. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have someone walking around my home looking at me as if I were in a zoo. I couldn’t bring myself to take any pictures but have to admit that I am desperately glad other people did so that I can get later. I don’t want to forget what I have seen, all the places and especially the faces. The strangest thing about the visit was that the residents seemed so content and happy. Happier than most people I have ever seen. The children were always smiling and glad to have us there. Even the adults welcomed us with smiles and waves. I couldn’t help stop thinking how this would never happen in America. I think my friend summed up the trip best when he said, “I can’t say that I enjoyed the visit, but I am really glad I went.” I feel that it was important to see the real side of Cape Town, to see it for myself and for all the people who will never see it back home.
It was strange coming from the township back to the modern waterfront shopping mall where I exchanged my currency. I was surprised that only mere miles lay between such different worlds. Later that night, I met up with a group of friends for a night out on the waterfront. We went out to dinner and tried to avoid the masses of SASers at the club and bar scene for a night. We had a great time hanging out at a restaurant across the harbor where some great African musicians were playing. It was a lot of fun and a great first night in Africa.
The next day I hung low around the waterfront area trying to figure our where and when I was supposed to meet up with my mother. Fortunately we happened to randomly run into each other right away. I got her a visitor’s pass so that she could actually come on the ship with me during the day, which was a lot of fun. I showed her where and how I spend all my hours and hours at sea. Walking around the docked ship she was impressed with how much the crew was constantly cleaning. The ship is always sparkling and shining, and it is all too easy to take that for granted. I guess I never really noticed it much before, but the crew really does an excellent job both at sea and in port with keeping the ship in order. The dining room staff is always outstanding, cheerfully serving meals to us even when they are working while we are in port. We should all be so lucky to be so content and happy with our lives and jobs. (You’ll have to come visit the ship and hang out with the crew to see what I mean.)
Anyway, my mother and I got off the ship and went on a Champagne Cruise. Now to me something called a Champagne Cruise sounds like it should be really fun and relaxing. But no, this Champagne Cruise was hardcore… we were sailing in the crazy wind and choppy waves. There was nothing Champagney or Cruisy or relaxing about it. It was an experience though. We got an exciting sailboat ride around the harbor of Cape Town. I take back what I said earlier about being born to be a sailor. I am not sailor material, I am cruise ship passenger material! Anyway, my mom had rented a car upon arriving and we spent the next couple hours getting very very lost trying to find our guest house. Getting lost while driving on the wrong side of the road on the tiny streets of downtown Cape Town at night is a rather scary thing. Fortunately we eventually arrived safely and are much smarter and wiser now about navigation.
As I posted earlier, the next morning we went to Stellenbosch to tour some of South Africa’s famous wine country. The drive out of the city was very easy to do in the rental car and so it was much more pleasant than the night before. Stellenbosch was a very charming little university town in the heart of all the vineyards. We had a driver take us around to different wine estates for some wine tasting. This was something that I had really wanted to do, although I’m not sure why because I am not really a wine drinker. Our tour guide was even making fun of me because my mom was out drinking me! It was still fun and we got some good bottles of wine. We had lunch at a really neat restaurant called Moyo. They would come around and sing for each table and paint faces. The tables were all outside in decorative tents, under trees and there were even some in tree houses. I didn’t really know what I was eating most of the time, but it was really good. After a large lunch we headed back to the town and walked around a bit. I fell in love with the university. I really really want to spend a semester studying there next year, or at least come to visit again.
The next morning we decided to drive up and down the Cape Peninsula. This ended up being one of my favorite things we did all week. The entire drive was along the coast and the scenery was absolutely stunning. We first stopped in a place called Simon’s Town to see a colony of penguins (Josh, you are so jealous right now I know). The African penguins were completely covering the beach. Everywhere you would look there were penguins. I decided to do my research project for my ecology class on them and therefore I took an obscene amount of pictures. (So if you ever want to see a 3 hour slide show of penguins, you know who to come to.) There were even signs in the parking lot warning visitors to check beneath their cars for penguins before driving away. We then continued driving down to Cape Point, the southern most tip of the Africa. It was pretty foggy at some places, but we eventually go a really good view of the infinite abyss off the point. To my surprise, we also saw a lot of wildlife on this drive. I felt like I was on a real African safari. At one point we pulled over to the side of the road to take a picture of a couple of baboons sitting on the shoreline. I had my window rolled down and one snuck up behind the car and its face popped up right next to me! They are very aggressive and it was pretty scary. I think it was trying to come in the car for food but fortunately I got my window rolled up in time! We stopped at a small market along the side of the road to look at the crafts the locals were selling. I ended up buying a 5 foot 3 inch wooden giraffe (I know because it is the same height as me)! It was beautiful and I just really really liked it so I had too. (I’m not really the large wooden stature buying type, but I figured…hey…why not…I live in San Diego and so I don’t have to ship it home because it can just live under my bed for the rest of the voyage. Needless to say I got a lot of funny looks hauling it back to the ship.) The lady gave me a really good deal on it and I figure when else will I have the opportunity to buy a giraffe in Africa? As we continued driving back to Cape Town we passed through a few small fishing towns along the way. They are in the absolute most beautiful setting I have ever seen in my life. I fell in love with one town called Kommetjie (pronounced Komickey) where we stopped to pick up some snacks and find an ATM. I was poking around the real estate office trying to price properties just in case I run into a bunch of money any time soon and want to move to South Africa. We then drove a world famous stretch of road known as Chapman’s Peak Drive. It has been called one of the most, if not the most, spectacularly beautiful drives in the world. It cuts through the cliff of rocky mountain with views of the amazingly blue ocean, Hout Bay, and white sand beaches. I had no idea places like this really existed. It is a really dangerous stretch of narrow road, and signs kept warning us about the high risk of rocks slides. Fortunately I wasn’t driving, so I got to just sit back and take in all the scenery. (Thanks mom!)
The next day we drove down the peninsula again to the small town surrounding Hout Bay. From Hout Bay we took a boat ride out to Seal Island. Seal Island is a group of large boulders out in the water that masses of seals come hang out on. It was pretty cool but I wasn’t expecting the seals to be so smelly. Once again, I took an obscene amount of pictures, so let me know if you ever want to look at some seals. Next my mom and I went to walk around the world-renowned Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a huge garden that sitting on the base of Table Mountain overlooking the bay. It has often been called one of the world’s most beautiful gardens. The scenery looked straight out of Jurassic Park. The place was absolutely stunning and contained more species of rare plants than you would ever even have the time or even desire to look at. There were people everywhere having picnics on the abundant grassy lawns. It was altogether adorable and a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon.
The next morning we woke up early with every intention to hike Table Mountain at sunrise. I’ve heard from many a person who has hiked it previously that it is “one of the most physically challenging things that you will ever do.” I was completely prepared and ampped to take on this challenge, but unfortunately we woke up to thick fog and rain. The hike is dangerous as it is and so this was not safe weather for an endeavor of this nature for two amateur hikers. A few hours later we hiked about half way up the mountain before we had to head back down to make it to our ferryboat reservations to Robben Island. Sadly I cannot stake claim to actually hiking up the face of the Table at sunrise (one of my biggest goals of this port), but that just gives me all the more reason to come back to Cape Town some day.
Robben Island…
I made it a point to visit Robben Island while in South Africa since, after all, this is supposed to be an educational voyage of discovery. The United Nations recently declared the Robben Island Museum to be a World Heritage Site and it pays tribute to South Africa’s intense struggle against apartheid. Robben Island was most recently used as a political prison for those opposing the government. I got to tour the maximum-security prison where Nelson Mandela was held in solitary confinement for many years. Our tour guide was a former political prisoner and he showed us the actual room that he was imprisoned in only years before. Mandela later went on to become the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Dennis Brutus, one of our South African inter-port lecturers who boarded the ship in Brazil was actually imprisoned along with Mandela for his political activism. It was very touching to hear the stories and see the struggle that many people went through to bring about change and right the wrongs in their country. One of the things that shocked me the most was the fact the end of apartheid was so recent. The island has only actually been opened up as a museum for 8 years. The neat thing about the legacy of prisoners like Mandela is the lack of bitterness that these people had in spite of the injustices done to them. There is a sense of hope on the island, hope for the future of South Africa, and hope for other countries in the world.
Later that evening, we took advantage of the fact that we had a rental car and could roam Cape Town freely. Since the majority of the tourists were up by the waterfront harbor, we drove south to a community known as Camps Bay and got reservations at a nice restaurant over looking the beach. I later read in one of my travel books that this area was the stomping grounds of the rich and the beautiful of Cape Town. Walking around the beach I saw such a mixture of people. The coolest thing about it was that on this beach, everyone was an equal. Looking around I saw locals from the township playing alongside the wealthy residents, sunning right next to the crowds of tourists. It was a refreshing sight, and one that was all too rare in this city.
The next morning we drove to a farm on the coast to do some horseback riding on the beach. The day started off rainy, but fortunately the clouds cleared just enough for a great ride. Now for those of you who know me, you know that I am not at all a horseback rider, so it was a somewhat stressful activity at first. I am proud to say I conquered my horse phobia and had a really good time. It was completely surreal to be riding a horse through the water of a deserted white sand beach in the foggy morning mist. It didn’t even feel real, as if I had just wandered straight into a movie set. We stopped through my favorite little town of Kommetjie again for lunch. I don’t know what it was about this town, but I was really just drawn to it and couldn’t get enough of it. We found a cute surfer café that was delicious. The owner was an American who had fashioned the café after Wahoos (a favorite San Diego restaurant!) which was pretty fun. It made me realize what a small world it really is! Hopefully some day I can come back and live the simple life in Kommetjie and run a café. I should be so lucky!
During my last few hours in Cape Town my main goal was to make it to the top of Table Mountain. I didn’t think that I would be able to because the entire city had been experiencing blackouts the majority of the time we were there. Fortunately I was lucky and the cable cars to the top of the mountain had electricity just long enough for us to make it up. (We had to get down by emergency generator!) Standing on the top of Table Mountain you can see for days. The incredibly flat and majestic mountain overlooks the entire bay and the surrounding city. We were literally in the clouds most of the time. I got some pretty spectacular pictures of our ship down below in the harbor. I felt like I was on top of the whole world. It was really the best ending to my week in Cape Town. Making my way back to the ship and saying goodbye to my mother was a lot harder the second time around. Back on the ship, an African choir performed for us as we were waiting to leave. I made sure to stow my new wooden giraffe securely under my bed where he will sleep peacefully until April. Finally at about 2 am the ship’s engines finally began purring and it was goodbye South Africa, here we come Mauritius!
Two Worlds…
I found it very natural to get caught up in the beauty and charm of Cape Town. I have been told that Cape Town has often been called “a fool’s paradise” and now I am beginning to understand why. It is a place where it is all too easy to forget the harsh realities facing the city and the overwhelming majority of its residents. To me it seemed like the classes and races of people were so different, it was hard to believe that they were such close neighbors. In everything from the skin color they were born with to the clothes on the backs, the restaurants they ate at, the homes that they lived in, and the languages they spoke, the differences were incredible. In a place that has 11 official languages, you can only imagine the immense diversity that this one country holds. But just when I would start to feel like the situation was hopeless, I would see sparks of hope in the brightness and life of the faces around me. I saw it in a black child playing on the beach with a white child. A game of volleyball among friends. A couple strolling together on the sidewalk. Blurs between the former racial lines that once dominated. Places where color didn’t matter. Hand shakes. Smiles. Laughter. Change. Hope. Hope for today, and hope for tomorrow.
And that is my closing thought on South Africa. A country and a continent often forget and overlooked. It is a place of extreme wealth and poverty, exotic animals and plants, tall mountains and long beaches. I will never forget my first African sunrise, being on top of Table Mountain, the eyes of the children in the townships, riding a horse on the beach, and even nearly being attacked by a baboon. I’ll never forget Africa, please don’t forget about it either.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Saying goodbye to Cape Town
Hello again from Cape Town! My week in South Africa is almost up I am sorry to say. I am with my mother staying in a guest house in town for the last night. I feel like I have gotten to see and do so many things this week, but am not ready to say goodbye to this port yet. Today I hiked around Table Mountain and visited Robben Island, where the political prisoners of apartheid were held for many years. Once I get back on the ship and have time to write about the week, I can share all the great details. Tomorrow morning I am going horseback riding on a beautiful white sand beach. It should be really fun. I had no idea that Cape Town was so diverse and beautiful. If you have never been, you really should try and visit some day. I just wanted to say another quick hello before I go and enjoy my last full night in Cape Town. We will be departing at 2300 hours tomorrow night. I have a lot of writing and reflection to do about all the things I have seen and learned about South Africa during the next stretch at sea. Until then...
Quote of the Day: "If you believe in something enough to die for it, every morning you have something to wake up to and live for." -Nelson Mandela (former Robben Island prisoner/S. Africa's first democratic president)
Quote of the Day: "If you believe in something enough to die for it, every morning you have something to wake up to and live for." -Nelson Mandela (former Robben Island prisoner/S. Africa's first democratic president)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Touring the Winelands
Well, we finally got off the ship after spending most of the day anchored just outside the port. I have learned that being flexible is a must on SAS. They have never had problems porting in Cape Town before and so our delay was very much unexpected. A few people missed their safaris, which is a shame, but other than that it didn't end up being a big deal. I didn't get to meet my mother until a day later than planned and so I spent the first day touring the townships outside Cape Town. It was interesting getting to see the real poverty of South Africa before spending time in the glamourous and wealthy waterfront area. I was lucky to be able to run into my mom downtown yesterday, because there was a lack of communication as to where we were going to meet. We have a rental car and guest house and have had a crazy time trying to navigate around the city. We are currently about an hour away from Cape Town, in the heart of the winelands of Stellenbosch. It is very beautiful and we are about to go on a bus tour to different wine estates. After spending the day here we are planning to head back to Cape Town tonight. Tomorrow we are going to drive down the Cape Peninsula, to the most southern tip of Africa. I am excited to see some penguins and baboons. We are also planning to do a sunrise hike of Table Mountain and maybe even some sand boarding (if I can talk my mom into it). So far it has been quite the adventure trying to do South Africa like a native! More updates to come...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Sunrise in Cape Town
I woke up this morning at 6am for my first ever African sunrise. It is a very cold foggy morning in Cape Town, but the clouds cleared just enough for an awesome view. I have never in my life seen a more beautiful sunrise. Table Mountain and Lion’s Head are amazing to see from out here in the water. I took some pictures but they just really don’t do it justice. A lot of people were up early this morning to catch a view. We are still on the ship because the port is closed at the moment due to heavy fog. The captain has announced that we are in a holding pattern until further notice. They turned the engines off and so we are out here bobbing in the ocean. We are really tossing and turning, it’s kind of fun. Dishes were falling all over the place at breakfast this morning. Everyone is very excited to get off the ship soon. Hopefully I will be able to meet up with my mother right away. I am so excited to see her and share some of my SAS memories. I am glancing at a map of the world right now and I just can’t believe that I am at the very tip of Africa! What a great place to spend Valentine’s Day. Never in my life did I ever think I would be here. I am crossing my fingers that the fog will lift soon and we can enter the port. So now I guess we just float and wait…
P.S. Sorry that I haven’t posted any pictures. I have some really great ones, but they take soo long to upload and the internet is really slow and expensive on the ship. I will definitely try and post some in port or figure out a way to do it more efficiently. Worst case, I’ll just have to post a bunch when I get home.
P.S. Sorry that I haven’t posted any pictures. I have some really great ones, but they take soo long to upload and the internet is really slow and expensive on the ship. I will definitely try and post some in port or figure out a way to do it more efficiently. Worst case, I’ll just have to post a bunch when I get home.
I dream of Africa...
I cannot believe that we have been at sea for 8 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean. We have lost a totally of 5 hours since leaving Brazil, setting our clocks forward almost every night before going to sleep. We come into port in Cape Town, South Africa early tomorrow morning! It hasn’t really hit me yet that I am actually going to get to be on solid land soon. And it’s not just any solid land, it’s Africa! For me I think the continent of Africa might be the most mysterious and exotic one that we are visiting. I don’t know much about it aside from the stories I’ve always been told about apartheid, aids, and poverty. I have so much to learn and so much to experience there within the next week. I have to admit that I am still very bummed that we can’t go to Kenya, and so I feel like I need to experience as much of this continent as I can through my visit in South Africa. Although I have never been before, I feel like I have always had a heart for Africa and a fascination with the people and culture. Coming into the harbor in Cape Town is supposed to be one of the most fantastic moments of this voyage. The port is supposed to be just stunning. I am thinking that I might stay out on the deck all night to make sure that I don’t miss it. At this point I don’t have any solid itinerary for Cape Town, but I have a list full of places I hope to go and things that I hope to do. I am really excited that my mom is going to meet me in this port. Hopefully we will be hiking the famous Table Mountain, visiting the old political prison on Robben Island, touring the winelands of Stellenbosch, driving down Cape Point, and just experiencing the beauty of Cape Town. Who knows… maybe we’ll even be adventurous and try some skydiving of shark cage diving. More to come on my African adventures this week…
Madness at Sea…
So what do you do with 684 college students stranded on a ship in the middle of the ocean? You throw an 80s dance party of course… and let the good times roll. This party was the most insanity I have seen to date aboard the Explorer. It was crazy! We had no classes on the day we crossed the Prime Meridian and so everyone decided to go to pub night and the 80s festivities the night before. My friends and I got dressed up in our best 80s gear and makeup and headed out to the 7th deck for a little pre-party. People were so creative with their 80s outfits even though we all had limited resources. The entire night people were going back and forth between the 80s dance party in the student union, and pub night out on the 7th deck, and everywhere in between. When you take hundreds of secluded college students, some crazy themed outfits, blasting 80s music, a rocking boat, and add a little alcohol in the mixture, it can be described as nothing short of madness. There was even some choreographed dancing and a costume contest. The greatest part of the night though had to be watching everyone falling over each other while attempting to dance in the crowded student union. The ship would suddenly rock really hard and everyone would be on the ground. Good times, good times.
The perfect day…
The following day no classes were scheduled in order to give us a break. I made a point to do all of my homework in advance so that I would have the day completely free to do absolutely nothing. If I were to dream up what my ideal perfect day would be, it wasn’t it exactly, but it was about as close as I think I will ever get to it in real life. It started when I woke up to the noon bridge report over the intercom system. It seemed like pretty much everyone on board slept through the entire morning, which was awesome. I met up with some friends and grabbed a quick lunch in the dining hall. Next we went outside in hopes of spending the day lounging and laying out in the sun. The day started off cloudy and chilly, and so not a lot of people were outside on the top deck. My friends and I grabbed some lounge chairs and within a half hour the skies cleared and it turned into a gorgeous sunny day. Lucky for us, we had the prime lounge chairs on deck 7 (the deck 7 tanning spots are always hard to come by- its like the prime real estate of the seas). I spent the entire afternoon lounging with friends in the sun and chatting about how tough (not!) our SAS lives are. Later that perfect day, the crew really out did themselves and prepared us a surprise barbeque on the deck for dinner. It was incredible. There were hamburgers, ribs, fish, chicken, and suckling pig (yet another bad time to be a vegetarian on SAS). They even had the tables decorated with really intricate fruit sculptures and flowers. The desert table had about everything sweet you could possibly imagine and more. I have never seen people eat so much in my entire life. Dinner was followed by one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Like I said, it was the perfect day.
The Shipboard Community…
One of the greatest things about living on the ship is the sense of community that we all have formed. We are literally like our own floating self-sufficient village. There are clubs students have formed, Bibles studies, yoga classes, you name it, somebody on board can teach a class on it. We have a place to share books, there are organized movie sharings, music sharings, picture sharings, ect. But than there are also those moments when it feels really strange to be so close to everyone. Like when I look over at the treadmill next to mine and there is my art teacher. Or I go to breakfast and see the dean walk in in her pajamas. Or topics of conversation always lead to who has had the worst case of traveler’s diarrhea since the last port. Despite all its oddities, shipboard life is truly a unique experience. Everyone on this ship, every last one of us now share this common weird crazy amazing bond that I don’t think we will ever find again in life.
Somebody told me today that our semester is 25% over! I can’t believe how fast it is all going. So far this trip has been great. I could end my semester right now and still have memories for a lifetime. The mind boggling thing is that we still have 8 more ports! This last week at sea flew by quickly. The seas were incredibly smooth most of the time. This last night we had to slow down speed a lot and the ship is rocking a great deal. We are supposed to secure our stuff down before we go to sleep. It feels kind of like our first four days at sea, when the ship really rocked a lot. I am having to get my sea legs all over again! Just a few more hours until Africa! As always, I’ll keep you posted…
P.S. Happy Valentines Day!
Quote of the Day: "I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list."
Madness at Sea…
So what do you do with 684 college students stranded on a ship in the middle of the ocean? You throw an 80s dance party of course… and let the good times roll. This party was the most insanity I have seen to date aboard the Explorer. It was crazy! We had no classes on the day we crossed the Prime Meridian and so everyone decided to go to pub night and the 80s festivities the night before. My friends and I got dressed up in our best 80s gear and makeup and headed out to the 7th deck for a little pre-party. People were so creative with their 80s outfits even though we all had limited resources. The entire night people were going back and forth between the 80s dance party in the student union, and pub night out on the 7th deck, and everywhere in between. When you take hundreds of secluded college students, some crazy themed outfits, blasting 80s music, a rocking boat, and add a little alcohol in the mixture, it can be described as nothing short of madness. There was even some choreographed dancing and a costume contest. The greatest part of the night though had to be watching everyone falling over each other while attempting to dance in the crowded student union. The ship would suddenly rock really hard and everyone would be on the ground. Good times, good times.
The perfect day…
The following day no classes were scheduled in order to give us a break. I made a point to do all of my homework in advance so that I would have the day completely free to do absolutely nothing. If I were to dream up what my ideal perfect day would be, it wasn’t it exactly, but it was about as close as I think I will ever get to it in real life. It started when I woke up to the noon bridge report over the intercom system. It seemed like pretty much everyone on board slept through the entire morning, which was awesome. I met up with some friends and grabbed a quick lunch in the dining hall. Next we went outside in hopes of spending the day lounging and laying out in the sun. The day started off cloudy and chilly, and so not a lot of people were outside on the top deck. My friends and I grabbed some lounge chairs and within a half hour the skies cleared and it turned into a gorgeous sunny day. Lucky for us, we had the prime lounge chairs on deck 7 (the deck 7 tanning spots are always hard to come by- its like the prime real estate of the seas). I spent the entire afternoon lounging with friends in the sun and chatting about how tough (not!) our SAS lives are. Later that perfect day, the crew really out did themselves and prepared us a surprise barbeque on the deck for dinner. It was incredible. There were hamburgers, ribs, fish, chicken, and suckling pig (yet another bad time to be a vegetarian on SAS). They even had the tables decorated with really intricate fruit sculptures and flowers. The desert table had about everything sweet you could possibly imagine and more. I have never seen people eat so much in my entire life. Dinner was followed by one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Like I said, it was the perfect day.
The Shipboard Community…
One of the greatest things about living on the ship is the sense of community that we all have formed. We are literally like our own floating self-sufficient village. There are clubs students have formed, Bibles studies, yoga classes, you name it, somebody on board can teach a class on it. We have a place to share books, there are organized movie sharings, music sharings, picture sharings, ect. But than there are also those moments when it feels really strange to be so close to everyone. Like when I look over at the treadmill next to mine and there is my art teacher. Or I go to breakfast and see the dean walk in in her pajamas. Or topics of conversation always lead to who has had the worst case of traveler’s diarrhea since the last port. Despite all its oddities, shipboard life is truly a unique experience. Everyone on this ship, every last one of us now share this common weird crazy amazing bond that I don’t think we will ever find again in life.
Somebody told me today that our semester is 25% over! I can’t believe how fast it is all going. So far this trip has been great. I could end my semester right now and still have memories for a lifetime. The mind boggling thing is that we still have 8 more ports! This last week at sea flew by quickly. The seas were incredibly smooth most of the time. This last night we had to slow down speed a lot and the ship is rocking a great deal. We are supposed to secure our stuff down before we go to sleep. It feels kind of like our first four days at sea, when the ship really rocked a lot. I am having to get my sea legs all over again! Just a few more hours until Africa! As always, I’ll keep you posted…
P.S. Happy Valentines Day!
Quote of the Day: "I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list."
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Update from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…
I have decided that I was born to be a sailor. I love living at sea…granted I guess I am living on a luxury cruise liner, but we’re still sailing none-the-less. The crossing of the Atlantic will be our longest time at sea until we cross the Pacific on our way back to the States. We’re sailing for 9 days straight, and so far it has been pretty smooth. A lot of people have been complaining about the long stretch of nothing but sea, but I find it relaxing. Of course I would rather be in Brazil or India or Africa, but I love the laid back days aboard the Explorer. We lose almost an hour a day on the way to Africa, and a lot of us are really starting to feel it. Setting our clocks forward every night is brutal. I have to try and make a conscious decision to go to bed early, which is hard to do because there is always something going on. A couple of days ago we were sailing at exactly 15 degrees latitude. This means that we were directly below the sun and had no shadows. Random, I know, but I thought it was pretty interesting. I have been told that there are a lot of whales on this stretch, but I have yet to see any. I’m keeping my eyes peeled and my fingers crossed. We get one day off from classes soon, which will be a nice break. I am still having a hard time focusing on school work, but can you really blame me? There are scientists from the NOAA on board this crossing to launch off research equipment. They have been letting students help them with the launchings, which I think is pretty cool (but then again I am a science nerd). We had a mandatory meeting the other night where we had to fill out the remainder of our immigrations paperwork for future ports. It was a lot of paperwork…I didn’t really realize how many places we really are going! It was funny trying to get 684 students to fill out completely and accurately every single foreign paper. It was a long process to say the least. I think the crew is a little worried about the competency of our generation and perhaps even the future of America :) Our little group that went to Lencois, Brazil had dinner and a picture sharing party together the other night. It was a lot of fun to see all our pictures, and it made me glad that I got to make all these new friends. Tonight I had dinner with my adopted grandparents. My friend and I randomly got assigned to the same family and we are having a lot of fun with it. I’m glad for the chance to get to know some of the seniors on board. Earlier today I went out to the bow area of the ship and was completely blown away by how blue the water looks. As far as the eye can see is nothing but the only view in the world that remains unchanged by humans and constant in beauty. It is truly surreal. I am hoping to sleep outside on the deck one of these nights and take advantage of the incredible star gazing. Let’s see, what else is going on aboard the floating Hilton... The food is starting to get fairly repetitive, which means I have been living off peanut butter and jelly. It is by no means bad food, just repetitive. The food always consists of some form of pasta, potatoes, and rice...and rolls, you can’t forget the rolls. Atkins would not have survived a day here. Pasta with red sauce, pasta in cream sauce, spiral pasta, round pasta, green pasta, you name it... we’ve had it. Unfortunately, I hear that the peanut butter gets kind of weird when we get to Asia. For someone whose staple food is peanut butter, this kind of worries me. I’ll keep you posted. So you can probably tell by reading this that I have seen nothing but water for five days because I have been rambling about peanut butter and pasta and what not for the last five minutes.
Thank you for all the supportive emails and comments. I am working on some of your requests. It is such an encouragement to hear from you all and I love to hear who is reading!
Status Report:
25 degrees Latitude
14 degrees Longitude
Today’s Quote: “Travel makes one modest; you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert
Dumbest Question of the Day: “When we get to China, and we want to order Chinese food, do we just ask for food?”
Thank you for all the supportive emails and comments. I am working on some of your requests. It is such an encouragement to hear from you all and I love to hear who is reading!
Status Report:
25 degrees Latitude
14 degrees Longitude
Today’s Quote: “Travel makes one modest; you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert
Dumbest Question of the Day: “When we get to China, and we want to order Chinese food, do we just ask for food?”
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Bahia Days and Nights...
(Sorry that this is kind of wordy…I am keeping this blog as a record for myself as well and so I want it as detailed as possible.)
I chose to spend my five days in what many say is the real cultural soul of Brazil, the state of Bahia. We came into port in the northeastern city of Salvador, which is where I spent my first day and night. It is the most African city in Brazil, and is highly populated by the descendents of the millions of slaves that were once brought over from Africa. The city itself had a very interesting orientation overlooking a beautiful bay. The city is divided into an upper and lower section, with an elevator connecting the two. The lower city was very poverty-stricken and yet beautiful in its own way. The upper city was bustling with life throughout mazes of hilly cobble stone streets. The architecture of the city is absolutely amazing, though it is apparent that much of it has been deserted and run down over the years. It seems like I saw elaborate and ornate Catholic churches on every corner.
The first thing that struck me about Brazil was the intense wave of heat that hit my body upon exiting the ship. It is summer time near the equator here and air conditioning was a rare commodity. The entire time I kept expecting to open a door and feel a cool breeze from indoor air conditioning, but it was always the same steamy sweaty heat. After exchanging some currency and shopping in a market place, my friends and I went in search of a restaurant that we found in the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book. Unfortunately it was no longer there, so instead we went to this great restaurant that had been highly recommended to us. Nobody spoke a word of English and so we had no idea what we were ordering. We ended up getting this amazing steak lunch with rice and beans and some other unrecognizable sides. After spending a few minutes trying to figure out how to eat it, the waiter came over chuckling and tried to help us out. All in all it was a fun experience and a great introduction to the amazing food of Brazil. The next few hours were spent walking around the city, shopping, and sightseeing. The language barrier was actually fun and I got my first try at bargaining for local goods. The most interesting part of the day came when we wandered away from the touristy part of the city, and into the shopping districts filled with locals.
Later that night we went to a really nice venue for a welcome reception with local university students. It is actually summer break in Salvador and so there were not as many students as usual, but it was still a blast. We got to watch a performance of capoeira, which is an old dance developed in Bahia. It is really neat to watch because it is a combination of martial arts and dance movements set to the rhythm of drums. I was told that it originated from the African slaves as a means of self-defense from their masters. The rest of the welcome reception involved a lot of music, dancing, socializing and drinking. I got a chance to chat a little with our inter-port Brazilian student, who had been on the ship with us from Puerto Rico to Salvador. I learned a little bit about what it is like to be a Brazilian college student and hear her thoughts on the issues and politics of Brazil. After a late night, I headed back to the ship to try to catch a few hours of sleep before my trip to Lencois.
Lencois…
Lencois is a small old town in the northeastern interior of Brazil. It is surrounded by the Chapada Diamantina National Park, which contains multitudes of waterfalls, caves, plateaus, swimming holes and a tropical oasis. At about 5:30 in the morning, myself and a group of nine other SASers met and ventured to the local bus station to purchase tickets to Lencois. It was about a six hour bus ride west from Salvador. I absolutely loved the drive, and the bus itself was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I was in awe as we drove past the stacks of favelas (slums and shantytowns) sprawled as far as the eye could see on the outskirts of the city. Never in my life have I seen anything like it. Over the next six hours I watched out my window as the scenery changed from the bustling city to rolling hills and farmland, to tropical, to desert and finally mountains. Upon arriving in Lencois we found a man who spoke some English and hired him and a couple of guides to take us around on treks for the next day and a half. We ended up staying in a really charming little hostel in the middle of the town. We rented out the entire top floor and even had our own little sitting area to hang out in. The first afternoon we went on a hike to a natural waterslide. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. It was located on the huge sloping river, full of pools of water with lots of rocks to jump off of. The slide itself was this wide sloping smooth rock spanning across the entire river, with water rushing down it from all sides. Incredible! (I’ll have to post some pictures later- it costs too much to do it on the internet on the ship.) After our hike, we went and ate dinner in this restaurant in an alley that was no more than the back of some woman’s house. We had massive steak dinners and drinks for the equivalent of only 3 US dollars. We spent a couple hours just sitting and visiting and having a great time in this little town, in this little alley, in this foreign country we had never been to before. We all agreed that we were having a “moment.” Having a “moment” is what we SASers keep referring to as the times where all we can think is “wow, this is one of the best times of my life…right now…in this moment.” The ten of us were complete strangers only days before, all from different schools and different places. But at that moment we were in the middle of nowhere in Brazil having the time of our lives together and bonding. The rest of the night was spent wondering around the town that was still very much alive late into the night with locals, children and travelers from all over the world. We met a man from South Africa who had spent the last 11 years of his life just traveling from country to country, living only off life and his faith. We played with local children who loved taking pictures of us with our digital cameras. Even though we were from different worlds and spoke different languages, I realized that laughter and smiles are universal. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. The night ended with a toast to Brazil, Lencois, and new friends, and followed by some dancing in the streets.
The next day we had an authentic breakfast at our hotel and headed out for a full day of outdoor adventure. First we hiked to a waterfall for some swimming and cliff jumping. After spending some time there we drove to the bottom of a huge mountain plateau. We hiked to the top for an amazing panoramic view of the entire area. We took turns holding onto each other and leaning over a rock on the edge of a cliff. We felt like we were flying! It was such a rush! Afterwards, our guides took us to another restaurant in the outskirts of town. The food was very strange and I honestly still can’t believe I didn’t get sick from anything. Next we went snorkeling in caves filled with water. I had no idea you could even do such a thing! The water was crystal clear and the caves went really far in and down to incredible depths. After snorkeling, we walked to another cave with the most amazingly azul blue water I have ever seen. It was like something out of a movie. Lastly, we got a tour of a huge cave underground filled with incredible stalactite and stalagmite (I am like 99.9% sure I spelled those wrong) and bats. In the middle of the cave, our guide turned off the lantern to give us all a minute of meditation and reflection in the darkness. It was unreal (and a little creepy) to be in total darkness.
After our extremely long and tiring and amazing day in the outskirts of Lencois, we headed back into town to get some dinner and go out before our midnight bus back to Salvador. By the time we got on the bus, we were exhausted and smelly and dirty and in love with life. We were back at the ship by 6am that morning and headed straight to the dining hall for a great American breakfast. I think the dining staff on the ship were really confused as to why this group of smelly kids were at breakfast an hour early on the empty ship. We showered, slept for maybe an hour on the ship, than headed out for another great day in Brazil. I decided that it would be fun to take a ferry over to Itaparica Island. We spent the day walking the streets and sitting under umbrellas on the beach sipping coconut juice. It was really interesting because it seemed to be a vacation place for the locals from Salvador. I have never seen so many itsy bitsy Brazilian bikinis in my life! The rest of the night we spent in Salvador, taking in as much of the culture as possible. Everywhere I went in Brazil was alive and gearing up for Carnaval (often referred to as the world’s biggest party) which will be taking place within the next week or two. Many SASers are really bummed that we are just missing it, but I honestly don’t think we would have survived Brazil’s wild Carnaval celebrations!
The soccer match…
While they didn’t actually invent the game, it is safe to say that Brazilians have perfected the art of futebol (as it is called locally). I spent my last day in Salvador at a soccer game. These people are insane about soccer! It was one of the craziest things that I have ever experienced. The stadium was massive and filled with loads of crazed fans. There was swat teams, security and police everywhere. Our group even was escorted with our own security guard and guide in case things got a little rowdy. The match was team Bahia vs. Vitoria. I was routing for Vitoria because I liked the color of their jerseys better and the locals I talked to said they played dirtier. Unfortuately I was sitting on the wrong side of the stadium so I was too afraid to cheer at the wrong moment. The game ended in a tie much to my disappointment. After the game was over, the scene was absolute chaos. There was so much energy in the stadium that I am surprised I made it out and back to the ship in one piece.
Brazilian food…
The food in Brazil is amazing… that is, if you aren’t a vegetarian. At many restaurants they just keep bringing around slices of meat to your plate. It is always such a feast. In our pre-port meeting they warned us to not eat from buffets that had been sitting out, and to be wary of street vendors. We also couldn’t drink the water, have any ice, or eat fresh fruits or vegetables. I have to say that most of the time, especially in Lencois, we broke almost every one of those rules…we often had no choice! Some how my body has defied science and I am one of the only ones I know who hasn’t had some sort of gastrointestinal difficulties. I also have to admit that I am guiltily very glad to be eating back on the ship, where the food is both recognizable and fly-free. In Brazil I was usually warned away from the chicken, but I hate seafood, and the vegetables weren’t safe either…leaving me with only steak. I don’t think I can possibly consume any more beef for at least another month. I have put myself on full beef detox!
Saying goodbye to Brazil…
I was really sad when the ship pulled out of port because I feel like I barely had time to experience Brazil. It is such a huge country and contains so much wonder and culture. Some people went to the Amazon, some went to Rio de Janeiro, others to Iguacu Falls, some in stayed Salvador, and still others ventured out to obscure towns and villages. It has been fun seeing all the pictures and hearing all the stories of peoples travels. It only has fueled my desire to return some day. I had a wonderful time but am not sure that I could have physically survived another day there. I think that I will probably sleep through the entire crossing to Africa!
Most overheard quote in Brazil: “I am having another moment!”
I chose to spend my five days in what many say is the real cultural soul of Brazil, the state of Bahia. We came into port in the northeastern city of Salvador, which is where I spent my first day and night. It is the most African city in Brazil, and is highly populated by the descendents of the millions of slaves that were once brought over from Africa. The city itself had a very interesting orientation overlooking a beautiful bay. The city is divided into an upper and lower section, with an elevator connecting the two. The lower city was very poverty-stricken and yet beautiful in its own way. The upper city was bustling with life throughout mazes of hilly cobble stone streets. The architecture of the city is absolutely amazing, though it is apparent that much of it has been deserted and run down over the years. It seems like I saw elaborate and ornate Catholic churches on every corner.
The first thing that struck me about Brazil was the intense wave of heat that hit my body upon exiting the ship. It is summer time near the equator here and air conditioning was a rare commodity. The entire time I kept expecting to open a door and feel a cool breeze from indoor air conditioning, but it was always the same steamy sweaty heat. After exchanging some currency and shopping in a market place, my friends and I went in search of a restaurant that we found in the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book. Unfortunately it was no longer there, so instead we went to this great restaurant that had been highly recommended to us. Nobody spoke a word of English and so we had no idea what we were ordering. We ended up getting this amazing steak lunch with rice and beans and some other unrecognizable sides. After spending a few minutes trying to figure out how to eat it, the waiter came over chuckling and tried to help us out. All in all it was a fun experience and a great introduction to the amazing food of Brazil. The next few hours were spent walking around the city, shopping, and sightseeing. The language barrier was actually fun and I got my first try at bargaining for local goods. The most interesting part of the day came when we wandered away from the touristy part of the city, and into the shopping districts filled with locals.
Later that night we went to a really nice venue for a welcome reception with local university students. It is actually summer break in Salvador and so there were not as many students as usual, but it was still a blast. We got to watch a performance of capoeira, which is an old dance developed in Bahia. It is really neat to watch because it is a combination of martial arts and dance movements set to the rhythm of drums. I was told that it originated from the African slaves as a means of self-defense from their masters. The rest of the welcome reception involved a lot of music, dancing, socializing and drinking. I got a chance to chat a little with our inter-port Brazilian student, who had been on the ship with us from Puerto Rico to Salvador. I learned a little bit about what it is like to be a Brazilian college student and hear her thoughts on the issues and politics of Brazil. After a late night, I headed back to the ship to try to catch a few hours of sleep before my trip to Lencois.
Lencois…
Lencois is a small old town in the northeastern interior of Brazil. It is surrounded by the Chapada Diamantina National Park, which contains multitudes of waterfalls, caves, plateaus, swimming holes and a tropical oasis. At about 5:30 in the morning, myself and a group of nine other SASers met and ventured to the local bus station to purchase tickets to Lencois. It was about a six hour bus ride west from Salvador. I absolutely loved the drive, and the bus itself was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I was in awe as we drove past the stacks of favelas (slums and shantytowns) sprawled as far as the eye could see on the outskirts of the city. Never in my life have I seen anything like it. Over the next six hours I watched out my window as the scenery changed from the bustling city to rolling hills and farmland, to tropical, to desert and finally mountains. Upon arriving in Lencois we found a man who spoke some English and hired him and a couple of guides to take us around on treks for the next day and a half. We ended up staying in a really charming little hostel in the middle of the town. We rented out the entire top floor and even had our own little sitting area to hang out in. The first afternoon we went on a hike to a natural waterslide. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. It was located on the huge sloping river, full of pools of water with lots of rocks to jump off of. The slide itself was this wide sloping smooth rock spanning across the entire river, with water rushing down it from all sides. Incredible! (I’ll have to post some pictures later- it costs too much to do it on the internet on the ship.) After our hike, we went and ate dinner in this restaurant in an alley that was no more than the back of some woman’s house. We had massive steak dinners and drinks for the equivalent of only 3 US dollars. We spent a couple hours just sitting and visiting and having a great time in this little town, in this little alley, in this foreign country we had never been to before. We all agreed that we were having a “moment.” Having a “moment” is what we SASers keep referring to as the times where all we can think is “wow, this is one of the best times of my life…right now…in this moment.” The ten of us were complete strangers only days before, all from different schools and different places. But at that moment we were in the middle of nowhere in Brazil having the time of our lives together and bonding. The rest of the night was spent wondering around the town that was still very much alive late into the night with locals, children and travelers from all over the world. We met a man from South Africa who had spent the last 11 years of his life just traveling from country to country, living only off life and his faith. We played with local children who loved taking pictures of us with our digital cameras. Even though we were from different worlds and spoke different languages, I realized that laughter and smiles are universal. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. The night ended with a toast to Brazil, Lencois, and new friends, and followed by some dancing in the streets.
The next day we had an authentic breakfast at our hotel and headed out for a full day of outdoor adventure. First we hiked to a waterfall for some swimming and cliff jumping. After spending some time there we drove to the bottom of a huge mountain plateau. We hiked to the top for an amazing panoramic view of the entire area. We took turns holding onto each other and leaning over a rock on the edge of a cliff. We felt like we were flying! It was such a rush! Afterwards, our guides took us to another restaurant in the outskirts of town. The food was very strange and I honestly still can’t believe I didn’t get sick from anything. Next we went snorkeling in caves filled with water. I had no idea you could even do such a thing! The water was crystal clear and the caves went really far in and down to incredible depths. After snorkeling, we walked to another cave with the most amazingly azul blue water I have ever seen. It was like something out of a movie. Lastly, we got a tour of a huge cave underground filled with incredible stalactite and stalagmite (I am like 99.9% sure I spelled those wrong) and bats. In the middle of the cave, our guide turned off the lantern to give us all a minute of meditation and reflection in the darkness. It was unreal (and a little creepy) to be in total darkness.
After our extremely long and tiring and amazing day in the outskirts of Lencois, we headed back into town to get some dinner and go out before our midnight bus back to Salvador. By the time we got on the bus, we were exhausted and smelly and dirty and in love with life. We were back at the ship by 6am that morning and headed straight to the dining hall for a great American breakfast. I think the dining staff on the ship were really confused as to why this group of smelly kids were at breakfast an hour early on the empty ship. We showered, slept for maybe an hour on the ship, than headed out for another great day in Brazil. I decided that it would be fun to take a ferry over to Itaparica Island. We spent the day walking the streets and sitting under umbrellas on the beach sipping coconut juice. It was really interesting because it seemed to be a vacation place for the locals from Salvador. I have never seen so many itsy bitsy Brazilian bikinis in my life! The rest of the night we spent in Salvador, taking in as much of the culture as possible. Everywhere I went in Brazil was alive and gearing up for Carnaval (often referred to as the world’s biggest party) which will be taking place within the next week or two. Many SASers are really bummed that we are just missing it, but I honestly don’t think we would have survived Brazil’s wild Carnaval celebrations!
The soccer match…
While they didn’t actually invent the game, it is safe to say that Brazilians have perfected the art of futebol (as it is called locally). I spent my last day in Salvador at a soccer game. These people are insane about soccer! It was one of the craziest things that I have ever experienced. The stadium was massive and filled with loads of crazed fans. There was swat teams, security and police everywhere. Our group even was escorted with our own security guard and guide in case things got a little rowdy. The match was team Bahia vs. Vitoria. I was routing for Vitoria because I liked the color of their jerseys better and the locals I talked to said they played dirtier. Unfortuately I was sitting on the wrong side of the stadium so I was too afraid to cheer at the wrong moment. The game ended in a tie much to my disappointment. After the game was over, the scene was absolute chaos. There was so much energy in the stadium that I am surprised I made it out and back to the ship in one piece.
Brazilian food…
The food in Brazil is amazing… that is, if you aren’t a vegetarian. At many restaurants they just keep bringing around slices of meat to your plate. It is always such a feast. In our pre-port meeting they warned us to not eat from buffets that had been sitting out, and to be wary of street vendors. We also couldn’t drink the water, have any ice, or eat fresh fruits or vegetables. I have to say that most of the time, especially in Lencois, we broke almost every one of those rules…we often had no choice! Some how my body has defied science and I am one of the only ones I know who hasn’t had some sort of gastrointestinal difficulties. I also have to admit that I am guiltily very glad to be eating back on the ship, where the food is both recognizable and fly-free. In Brazil I was usually warned away from the chicken, but I hate seafood, and the vegetables weren’t safe either…leaving me with only steak. I don’t think I can possibly consume any more beef for at least another month. I have put myself on full beef detox!
Saying goodbye to Brazil…
I was really sad when the ship pulled out of port because I feel like I barely had time to experience Brazil. It is such a huge country and contains so much wonder and culture. Some people went to the Amazon, some went to Rio de Janeiro, others to Iguacu Falls, some in stayed Salvador, and still others ventured out to obscure towns and villages. It has been fun seeing all the pictures and hearing all the stories of peoples travels. It only has fueled my desire to return some day. I had a wonderful time but am not sure that I could have physically survived another day there. I think that I will probably sleep through the entire crossing to Africa!
Most overheard quote in Brazil: “I am having another moment!”
Sunday, February 05, 2006
I survived Brazil...
It is my last day in port in Salvador and I am proud to say that I am still alive and loving life. I have to be on ship at 2100 tonight and we´ll begin sailing toward Africa. Brazil was such a fun and crazy experience that I know that no blog will really do it justice. All the same, it still feels really great to to be able to try and share and describe each new adventure with you all. I´ll be posting a detailed account of my five days here soon after I get back on the ship. We have 9 days at sea until Africa! Right now I am going to spend my last few hours in port at a soccer game. It should be pretty wild so I will be going out with a bang. Ciao!
Best Quote of the Day: "The only problem with going to these places and having moments like these is that you cannot truely capture them in words."
Best Quote of the Day: "The only problem with going to these places and having moments like these is that you cannot truely capture them in words."
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Brasil!!!
I am in beautiful Salvador, Brasil! We arrived safely and ported early this morning. I have been walking around the streets and orienting myself with the city. The culture here is stunning and life is bustling all around Bahia. We had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant and have been browsing the local shops for most of the afternoon. I have four more days here and will keep you posted on my adventures. Tonight I am going to a welcome reception at a local university which is supposed to be amazing. I am also very excited because I got tickets to a soccer game on Sunday. They take their soccer very seriously in Brazil so it should be exciting. I leave in the morning for Lencois with a group of fellow SASers for our independent trip into the country. We plan to hire a guide to take us hiking and caving and see the flip side to the surf and sun of Brazil. It should be really fun, I´ll keep you posted!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!
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