Cape Town

Made it to Cape Town! Long immigration and safety briefing this morning but getting off the ship soon hopefully. My friend Lucas lived here last summer so he is going to be our tour guide for the day! Mitchell, ginger, Lucas and I are going to explore the waterfront and then go to robben island then haut bay market and long street tonight! Not sure what to expect but I'm excited. Then we get picked up for our safari tomorrow morning!
Thanks for all the comments family and a big congratulations to brooks for being a new uncle to twin girls!!

Cape Town tomorrow!

We get to Cape Town tomorrow! Past few days have been a bit rainy and cloudy during the day but clear in the late afternoon (thus the gorgeous sunsets) it's been good to get homework done! The crew talent show was amazing- there was lots of dancing, singing, and Miz (one of my absolute favorite people) gave us a speech about the importance of education but the highest importance of love and he had everyone sing "you are my sunshine" it was so cute. the crew got soo into it and we donated $9,000 (and growing) to the crew fund which goes towards emergencies the crew and their families ever have, Christmas bonus, getting visas in different countries so they can get off etc. it was awesome!
The sea Olympics were really fun too- it was a gorgeous day but I had to split my time studying for a test. I think our sea came in 5th place. The winner's reward is getting off the ship 1st in London but I think that is the lamest prize ever- getting off the ship is going to be awful and being first would be sad!
I am so excited about Cape Town and I will write a long blog when I get back!

Past Few Days on the Ship

We are getting really excited for Cape Town and it is coming up soon!

The past few days on the ship have been pretty uneventful but good to catch up with friends, work, and sun!

I have attended a few lectures one of which was given the South African Inter port Lecturer. His name is William and he lives in Cape Town and has lived through apartheid and the aftermath - it was really fascinating. I have been planning on going to the astronomy star sessions that take place at night but they have been cancelled for the past couple of nights due to rain and clouds- hopefully it will be clear tonight becuase since we are in the southern hemisphere I will be able to see things I have never seen!

Last night was an open mic night and it was great to see how much talent people have on this ship! It was so perfect to spend time studying, go to snack time, and then listen to people perform! I got back 2 tests and did well on both and I have an essay and another test day after tomorrow.

Tomorrow at noon is the Sea Olympics! We all signed up for different events and hopefully Adriatic Sea wins! Tonight is the crew talent show- everyone is so excited! The students have such a good relationship with the crew- especailly the people who clean our rooms (Don is on my hall and we always chat when I walk to and from my room during the day) and the guys in the dining areas are so kind and good hearted and love to have conversations with us. I really have never encountered such a group of loving and kind people- they are all so grateful for their jobs and really love us students. I cannot wait to see what they have for us becuase I have heard that it is one of the most surprisingly amazing events of the voyage.


Ill post about it and my plans for cape town later on!

Mauritius

Bridget and I woke up around 7:30 am and sadly turned over when we saw
that it was grey and rainy out side. We got dressed and headed up to
breakfast because they were already calling the seas to get passports
checked. We were off the boat by 9:30am which was awesome. At the
gangway as we were swiping out it was POURING rain. We sprinted off into
a tent near by and met up with Morgan, Jessie, and Tor who we had
planned to spend the day with.
After bartering with a few taxi drivers we found one who would take us
around all day for a pretty good price. We squashed into the cab already
completely soaked. Upon first impression I was honestly expecting the
main town of Port Louis to be more quaint and cute- it was pretty
industrial with Mcdonalds and tourists traps. It was raining pretty hard
and we asked our driver if he thought it would let up- his response in
his very sweet creole accent was "no certainly not today" and he looked
out the window at the sky and continues "no no definitely no sun". It
was pretty funny honestly to think that we are in one of the most
beautiful places on earth for only 8 hours and it was pouring rain- even
the roads were starting to flood by the afternoon.

As we drove further out it got a bit more "island" ish. After a 30
minute drive we got to an awesome beach! It was still raining- but
started to let up so we decided to go snorkeling! This was definitely
the highlight of my day. They took the 5 of us out a bit in a boat a
little ways gave us flippers and a mask and we jumped in! The water was
very calm in the bay with no waves but we could see an awesome coral
reef with lots of little fish! The water was perfectly clear and very
warm. Our guide would throw bread into the water so fish would come up
and there were hundreds of bright blue fish completely surrounding us.
The coral was beautiful and though we didnt see any crazy big or
spectacular creatures it was really fun and cool to swim around and
explore the "brain coral".

It started to rain pretty hard so we stopped a bit early and got back to
the beach and got in the taxi back to port louis. It really was a bummer
that it was raining because we had really wanted to go on a hike to the
waterfalls and enjoy a day around the beach but the rain was falling in
sheets so we really could barely be outside. The driver took us to a
spot for lunch on the water in the main city.

Before lunch we were so wet that we attempted to dry off for about 10
minutes under the hand driers in the bathroom-it was pretty funny and we
didn't get that dry. Lunch wasn't very good but we were able to sit and
relax and warm up which was really necessary. Next we ran across the
street in the rain to McDonalds because we wanted mcflurries.

Then our cab driver picked us up and took us to the port louis bazzaar.
It was a huge covered market with fresh fruits and vegetables on the
first floor and touristy shops on the second floor. The bottom floor
seemed really local so it was cool to see people buying all of their
fresh produce. We got a bunch of fruit which was really good. After this
we went to a grochery store quickly to stock up on snacks for ship (not
very good selection) by this time we had to head back to the ship. So in
the pouring rain we found our driver and headed back.

My warm shower and sweatpants never felt so good!

We had a really fun day together and I loved spending more time with the
group of people I was with but it really was a bummer about the rain and
only being there for such a short amount of time. We definitely made the
absolute best of it and we all really did have a fun day!

Back on the ship the crew had planned an outdoor bbq that had to get
moved inside- the best was hearing about everyone elses days- got to
hear about the catamaran cruise that some people went on- people said it
was cold, got cut short, they didnt get any food, and will probably get
a cold from it. Glad we chose not to do it! Good to be back on the ship
for 6 days before Cape Town! Ill post again soon!

Neptune day pics

The guys shaved their heads, my astro teacher the king Poseidon, Lucas kissing the fish, my ship mom with some of my friends about to jump in, and the life boat drill we had to have that afternoon!

Sunset

Hopefully this comes out pretty clear- it was absolutely amazing. I watched it for about 30 minutes until it was completely dark and talked to a few new people I hadn't met yet!

Neptune Day

Havent blogged in a while because email has been delayed on the ship- so
you have to prioritize what you absolutely need to send or else your
outbox will pile up and nothing will send!

Anyways, its been great to be back on the ship and be able to settle
into more of a routine. Its also been cool to hear about different
people's reactions to India- where they went, what they saw, and what
they thought about it. I am definitely not alone in realizing it was a
fascinating and eye opening experience but also really intense! My ship
mom bought my family dinner on the 7th deck our first night back which
was really fun and she got us ice cream the next night too! She is such
a sweet heart and we have been hanging out more randomly on the ship
which is really nice. It was also my friend, Gretchen's birthday the
other day-really fun but I am glad I will have my birthday in port
because having it on the ship is pretty anti climactic..

The moon has been full and really bright so stars havent been great but
the sunrises and sunsets have been incredible. The seas have been really
calm and I havent even thought about putting a sea sick patch on.
Laundry day is tomorrow which is awesome because all my clothes reek
from India. I went to a lecture the other night given by a life long
learner who started her own business of making decorative eggs- random
but she had the greatest advice and stories to tell and I am so glad I
went. I went to extra help for astronomy and it was just me and my
professor and we ended up talking for almost an hour about how he was
the dean on the ship when 9/11 happened and he said how back then there
was no internet only satellite phone from the bridge (captain's control
center) so all information was delayed and incomplete. I loved hearing
his story and how his experiences during that voyage were so different.

Today was a study day and also Neptune Day- the day we cross the
equator! Bridget and I were still sleeping when we hear drummers come
down the hall way- a few minutes later there was an announcement to get
breakfast and get a bathing suit on and go to the 7th deck. It was about
10am and there was music blasting and people everywhere. The weather was
hot and gorgeous and they had a ceremoy where everyone in groups of 6
would get on the side of the pool, a few crew memebers would pour water
on you then you would jump in, get out, kiss a dead fish on the lips,
kiss the ring of Poseidon (my Scottish astronomy professor who is the
cutest old man) and then most of the guys shaved their heads! A few
girls did too- but i resisted the temptation. Then everyone just hungout
and listened to music and the rest of the day was just a free day! Most
people have lots of tests coming up (including myself) so i spend the
day studying but it was really fun!

I am starting to plan cape town with my friends and we are getting so
excited- there is so much awesome stuff to do there but its nice we
still have lots of time before that on the ship and a day in Mauritius!

About to head to bed but ill post again soon.

India

I survived India safely, stayed healthy, and had an incredible experience!!

Cochin:

               I woke up to Zaneetas voice at about 8am saying good morning and announcing the beginning of the customs process. Bridget and I got up and she headed out soon after to explore the city but I had a field lab that didn't meet until 11:30 so I was able to have a leisurely morning outside.

               The port is not near the city and similar to Burma that there is no way to leave the port without really committing to it, so it didn't make sense for me to get off early. Our class met up and we got off the ship. The security here is very strict and we have to go through various checkpoints and show departure cards, passports and ship Id at different places. At the exit the local welcoming crew was there playing music, dancing, and giving us bindis (the dot on forehead). I learned from our tour guide that different colors are for different gods and that they used to hold a much more religious significance but now women will match the color to their outfit and wear different shapes and sizes depending on the fashion they like. 

               From the port we got on our bus to go to St Augustine's church in Cochin. It is a Christian church where vasco de gama is buried and there was also a good amount of history about Portugal and Lisbon and Belem (where Margaret and I were 2 summers ago-so it was great to remember that and have such a good reference for what they were talking about- and to remember Margaret and my awesome time in Lisboa!) We had a good tour guide who took us to many churches and synagogues all day which was interesting to see because India is 80% Hindu but these other churches have a big presence.

                We did spend too much time in the van in my opinion but it was sort of necessary because the government just opened up 2 new palaces/ churches in the past 2 weeks that had previously not been open to the public so we were lucky to see that. At one of the palaces we had a snack time set up and we got to eat these coconut crepes made from scratch by the woman who was serving us- she was so friendly and proud of her work. It is also nice how everyone speaks English in India!  

               We had a bit of time to walk around the "Jew streets" which is a market area with shops for clothes, souvenirs, and lots of spices in the spice market! We also got to see the fishermen at the port and walk by a fish market. They have another way of fishing here where they have these jetties out in the water with massive nets and then they throw food on the surface pull the big net up with a huge lever and hope there are fish in it!

               Later we had a massive curry buffet dinner, which was really good! My dad would have loved the various kinds of curry with tons of different spices to add in. Also in carola (the state we were in) is famous for their yeast rice pancakes, which they use to eat their food with. We still used forks and knives but the local people only eat with their hands! After dinner we got back on the bus to get back on the ship. The line to get on was long because of the thorough security. It's scary too because there are lots of guards all with huge machine guns.   I got back on the boat, packed quickly, and went to bed by 11.

               Alarm went off at 3:20 am and we had to meet up with our group for our flight to Delhi then Varanasi. Long day of traveling- took over 12 hours to get to Varanasi! Bridget and I utilized priority pass to get free wifi and some coffee! The Delhi airport was pretty nice compared to Vietnam and Burma  and the other airports we traveled through were a bit more rundown. Our semester at sea trip has 70 people on it which is a lot. We are split into 2 groups but it's still like hoarding cattle.  Getting everyone through the airport, getting tickets, security etc is quite the ordeal. Especially when the whole trip involved 4 different flights! I am definitly glad I did this trip to meet a lot of new people and be able to see everything in such a short amount of time but I am also glad this is the only organized trip I am taking.

 

  Varanasi-

 

                After finally arriving we got on our 2 buses and headed to the hotel. While looking out of the window I was overwhelmed to see the poverty, slums, trash and cows. The most overwhelming thing about the city is all of the dust. It is thick in the air and irritated my eyes badly and was caked on us after barely walking outside. When taking pictures my camera couldn't even focus because of all the dust in the air. After arriving at the hotel we changed quickly and had a brief talk from a professor of Hinduism about the religion. I was not too happy at this point because I really wanted to go out and explore and head to the river but we had to listen to some guy who could barely speak English for 40 minutes. Everyone was pretty upset too so we were glad to get in the bus to drive 30 mins to the river Ganges for our sunset cruise.

               Driving through Varanasi is fascinating- it is unlike anything I have ever seen. The roads are horrible and we have to drive so slowly. The dust in the air even makes it's way into the bus and it smells awful. There are cows everywhere! All in the streets, eating the trash and lying down wherever they want. There are also tons of goats, stray dogs and pigs. The traffic was awful and took 30 minutes to go about 7km. When we finally got to the river we had to walk through a neighborhood to get to our boat. I have never walked through that much trash and dust and cow poo in my life. There were little kids trying to sell us candles with flowers and they were extremely pushy and demanding and it made me really sad. As we were getting on the boats they started wailing and crying and it was really hard to see.  

               On the water it was pretty dark so we couldn't see too much until we got to the cremation ceremony called the Aarti ceremony on the Ghats of the Ganges. On the Ganges- all day everyday- people bring the dead to submerge in the water then cremate on the side. There were fires all along the river so we probably saw around 20 people being cremated. Then at the big ceremony (on the Steps called Ghats on the shore of the river) we watched from the water hundreds of people participating and watching as the people dance and play music and sing hymns. It was unlike anything I have ever seen- really loud and noisy and still dusty but it was also very spiritual and cultural- hard to describe but glad we saw it!

               I got absolutely eaten alive by Mosquitos- it looks like my ankles and feet have chicken pox- I'm glad I am taking my malaria meds! We watched the ceremony for about 30 minutes then boated back to the shore and walked through the town to get to the buses. I felt scared walking even though we had lots of people and guys and we were definitely totally safe- it just felt dirty and scary. 

               Back at the hotel we had an awesome buffet dinner of Indian food (every meal has mostly been at the various hotels and they all have very extensive and delicious indian food!) we were exhausted at this point so we headed to bed with our alarms set for 5:30am for our river Ganges sunrise boat trip!  

               We rolled out of bed and got on the buses and it was well worth it because the sunrise trip was incredible! The drive was much faster with less traffic but still insanely dusty and bumpy. We got let out on the Ghats (the steps that we saw the ceremony taking place on the night before). It was still pretty dark out but we were able to see people stripping down to jump in the river! It is a very spiritual and holy experience for these people and as a Hindu you must bathe in the river to come back better in the next life. With the morning light we were able to see just how dirty the river is. Our guide talked about how the river is actually really clean and flowing and pure and heals people.....we were all in shock hearing how he really believes the river is clean and how people drink out of it meanwhile there is trash and grunge floating all over it.

               Being on the water while the sun was rising really was incredible. The sunrise itself was gorgeous but seeing the people bathing and seeing the buildings and people on the shoreline was even more fascinating. We saw groups doing yoga but it was far from any yoga studio I have ever been in! There wasn't a specific thing each person did in the water but I noticed everyone did their own thing- some more energetic and sort of thrashed around while others calmly dunked their heads. Even little kids were playing in it. We boated for a bit then saw a "gymnasium" right on the shore up some steps. It was basically an outdoor dusty roped in area half the size of a tennis court with a rope to climb a tree and a few metal cans that I assume are weights. Not really sure why our guide brought us here but it was still interesting to walk through more of the dusty streets and just see more of the intense poverty.   We got back on the buses and headed back to the hotel for breakfast, quick change, and back on the bus to see more in Varanasi.

               We went to a Tibetan university which was pretty boring - but it was interesting to see how nice the school was in comparison to the outside streets.  Then we went to a park with some ruins and a pagoda called Sarnath! It was built in the 1100s and was surrounded by green grass, which was the only green we saw our whole time in Varanasi. It was pretty to see and we were able to walk around for a bit then head to a more local lunch spot. After curry and naan it was back to the airport to head to Delhi- more lines and waiting to get our whole crew on- but a few hours and a nice nap later we made it do Delhi.

 

Agra

 

               We checked into our hotel in Delhi which was really nice ( I have been shocked at how nice the hotels we stayed at were!) got dinner (more yummy curry and naan!) and went right to bed.

               Another early morning- 5am- to get on the bus to head to Agra. 4 hours later we pulled up to the Agra Fort- on the opposite side of the river from the Taj Mahal. The “fort” is massive and spans at least a mile of walled in green space with gardens, mosques, and buildings. It was beautiful to walk around and take pictures. Then we got back on the bus to head to our hotel- the Jaypee Palace! This hotel was really fancy with a huge swimming pool (that we sadly had zero time to enjoy) and had the most incredible buffet lunch of indian food, and had many lounges and gardens. Upon checking into all of the hotels we had to scan our luggage through airport security xrays etc, which is something I am not used to.

               After, we got on the buses to go to the Mother Teresa Charity Home in Agra.  This is a home for people with mental disabilities ages 6 months to 97 years old. It was really intense because there were so many people all with varying degrees of disability but at some points it seemed like we were just watching animals through cages. We were encouraged to interact, play, and talk to people which I definitely took advantage of and had a really nice time connecting with a few people but I was still just so overwhelmed by the home with all the rooms of people with different disabilities. I was happily surprised at how clean and well kept the home is and to know that the people get good care and lots of human interaction.

               After this visit we were off to the Taj Mahal (quite a contrast of emotions going between these 2 places) but it was AMAZING! Literally it is the most majestic and beautiful building I have ever seen in my entire life! It was built by a king who lost his wife in childbirth so he wanted to construct the most beautiful building in the world to commemorate her, the most beautiful woman in the world. It took 20 years and 20,000 men, all who got their hands chopped off after completion so the building could not be copied! We had the best time walking around, taking pictures, and trying to really soak in the beauty.

               After the Taj it was dinner (more naan and curry!), showers, and bed! Meanwhile all along this trip it was awesome to meet and have conversations with people on the ship who I had never met before! Bridget and I were roommates every night (random- we didn’t even request eachother!) but we slept like babies in our big beautiful room and woke up at 7:15am (our latest morning of the whole trip) to drive back to Delhi!

              

Delhi Again

 

               Another interesting bus drive looking out the window- lots of poverty, trash, etc around the cities but most of the drive was on a highway with lots of farmland on either side. I also listened to harry potter on literally every long plane flight and bus drive- kept falling asleep so had to rewind and find where I was (not like I don’t know what happens though!)

               Upon arriving in Delhi we drove around for a long time seeing the main sights from the bus- this was really annoying because all I wanted to do was get out and walk around. We saw the India gate- which was built after WWI as a memorial and it reminded me of the arc de triumph in paris.  We also drove past the president’s palace, famous mosques, etc.- cool to see but wish we could have gotten out and explored. Then we got lunch at a local restaurant with more naan and curry. Then we headed to explore the Qutub Minar- the highest pillar in India (but 5 ft shorter than the Taj!) which includes an old mosque with surrounding gardens- very beautiful and good to walk around and stretch our legs after so much sitting. Then checked into the same awesome hotel as before and got our first real “free time” of the trip!

               We headed out in hopes of finding a bazaar, but instead just walked around more streets and shops. At one point we started getting water balloons thrown at us by little kids because it is almost some festival in delhi so they are making water color balloons- I didn’t get wet but the locals were joking and laughing with us! The streets were pretty busy with people and it was fun to see local vendors and people just watching the world go by.  3 of us went into a Sheik temple, which was really interesting. We had to take our shoes off and we were actually the only white people in the entire place. The people were all praying and while we were not looked at strangely or anything, we were definitely outsiders. It was sunset at this point so the sky was very beautiful against the massive white marble temple.

               We got henna from some people on the street who were so good at it and so fast. I got some on one of my hands and it looks really cool! After getting henna I walked back to the hotel with a girl named Madeline and one of the guys on our trip. We had more curry and naan and lots of hot gooey brownies with vanilla ice-cream!

               Got to bed by 11:30 with our alarms set for 4:25 am to catch our flight. Made it back to the ship safe and sound and with plenty of time. It is now 7pm and I am about to go to bed- I can hardly keep my eyes open!

 

               There are 6 days on the ship till Mauritius where we only have 1 full day there then 6 more days then South Africa! I am really excited to have some time on the ship to catch up on sleep, hanging out with friends, and school work- I have 2 tests and an essay before Mauritius!  I apologize to anyone who has emailed me within the past week- there was no wifi in India (except for the last morning for 20 minutes) so I haven’t had the Internet or the time to respond- but I will soon!

 

 

India Tomorrow!

Past 4 days on the ship have flown by and we get to India tomorrow
morning! There has been great weather which means good tanning, been a
lot of birthdays which means a lot of ice cream cake, and all clear
nights which means great stars!

I have a field lab for my English class the first day and then I am
doing a Semester at Sea trip which starts the second day

For the field lab we are going to be doing a lot of sight seeing around
Cochin with a tour guide and my professor is a bit scatter brained so
who knows how it will pertain to our class but at least we will be able
to get a good tour of the city.

The itinerary for the trip starts the next day and includes an early
flight to Deli (3am leaving the ship), touring Deli, Agra, TajMahal,
Agra Fort, Varanasi, River Ganges, and more! I have no idea what to
expect and I am so extied! I know Bridget is on my trip and my ship mom,
Alicia, but other than that i think it will be alot of new people which
i am really excited about!

I am really excited for this port and I will be sure to blog about it
when I get back!

Pictures from Inle Lake