General Information

Hi Everyone,

Just a couple of administration notes:

• Kerry has provided a lot of new pictures and asked that they be posted on previous posts. So if you have already read the old posts take another look and check out the pictures.
• I have added a * to the end of the post title if it contains pictures so you know to check them out again.
• One other quick note that some might find helpful is the option at the bottom of the blog page that allows you to subscribe to the blog so that it will pop up in Outlook just like a new email via an RSS feed. (please feel free to email me - andy@agodfrey.com - if you have questions.

Uncle Andy

Glimpses of Ship Life *

Animal house

Neptune day

Sleeping on the deck pulling into Puerto Rico

Dinner for Lauren's birthday.

First Look at South Africa *

Helicopter tour

Oh holy South Africa. My only regret is that we couldn’t have spend a crap load of more time there. We woke up before the sun to watch us pull into port, cape town was lit up bright down below table mountain which takes hold of the scenery. Our first day we pretty much left up to exploring the waterfront, which was the area where we were ported. We did some shopping at the local craft markets and found some great buys. That night we had an amazing dinner and had our first taste of South African night life.

Cape Town from a helicopter

The next day I took a trip to a township, walked around and interacted with the people who lived there. The kids were so cute and loved us taking their pictures. After we headed over to District six, which is a area of cape town that during the apartheid was totally demolished, and everyone living there was evacuated. A museum in its memory has been filled with street signs, photos, and other memorabilia from the sight that is now just rubble. Our last stop was a trip to Robbins Island, which was where Nelson Mandela was held for 19 years. All the tour guides were ex prisoners and still currently live on the island, where we were told the ex guards still readily visit. We saw Mandela’s cell and were told a lot of interesting history of the sight. On our ferry ride we saw some whales, dolphins, and seals which was a pretty sweet added bonus. The next day I left for my safari at Kruger park. We stayed at Sabie River resort which was so gorgeous. They treated us wonderfully. The food was all traditional African food and was so delicious. We tried ostrich and had a whole lot of barbequed meat and all kinds of other goodness. Out on the Safaris we saw a lot of animals. We were especially looking for what are known as the ‘big five’ which are lions, buffalo, elephant, rhino, and leopards. We only saw two of the five, which was a bummer but we also saw giraffes, zebras, a whole lot of impalas, croc, hyiena however you spell that, and a few other random animals. All in all it was a great trip and how could you ever complain about taking a safari in Africa? Exactly.

Dancers during our dinner

So moving on. On the last day of our safari we had some free time before our flight back to Cape Town so someone took the initiative to set up a trip to a township. I’m tempted to say that this was the best part of my safari trip. Our guides first took us to a spiritual healer. She performed some of her rituals and our guide explained everything to us, then she let us check out her house and surrounding huts. It was such a cool thing to get to see. Our next stop was Ringetani village. There the boys and girls performed their dancing rituals for us. The girls sang beautifully and the boys danced, and pulled us up with them and showed us some of their moves. Everyone was all dancing together. Then they showed us all of their daily chores and activities, the games they play, and how they spend their time. Some of us tried out their chores and realized how much hard work is put into keeping a village together..These were such amazing once in a life time opportunities and just makes me realize how amazing lucky I am. Getting back from Kruger we headed straight out from the ship to a dinner our friends had reserved at Moyo, which was a tree top restaurant that was soo good.

Township women

Our table was up in a tree, there was great music being played by African people who would come by our table and play for us. The whole thing was amazing and it was fun to get back with the group and tell each other all our stories from our different trips. That night we went to a club with no semester at sea kids which was awesome and met a bunch of locals. Our last day in port we had a million things we wanted to do.

Cape Town, South Africa township

Table Mountain

Hike Table Mountain, skydive, see penguins, and a list of other things. Unfortunately none of this actually happened. We did however get some good meals in, took advantage of some free internet, and hung around until we had to be back on the ship- explanations for all this to be given at a later date. Back on the ship we had an amazing opportunity to watch a high school choir perform for us. They were so amazingly talented. All in all, Africa was great, and leaving it was tough. But next stop is Mauritius and its looking to be like spring break semester at sea. Cant wait. Xxoo Keg on the high seas.

Mentally preparing for the helicopter ride

Greetings from Brazil! *

Hola, Tudu Bain! Brazil was Amazing! Of course it was, every country on this glorious trip I’m taking is Amazing!.. Before getting into Brazil we took a few classes to brush up on my non-existent Portuguese. It came in so much handy in port.. The first day there we did some exploring of Salvador.

Salvador, Brazil

The city is gorgeous, the steep mountains are just lined with houses and buildings and although the city is very poor, the spirit of the people there is so inspiring. As you walk through the cobble stone streets the beautiful architecture towers above you, your eyes are just jumping all around. We found a little café and had some good food and then started to celebrate Carnival! To get into the main part of the town we were in, you had to take this elevator up. It was really strange but really cool. When you get to the top the view of the water and marina is so pretty. That night we went out for one of the most fun experiences of my life.

Getting ready for Carnival

Carnival was about 3 million people dancing and drinking in the streets. Music everywhere, streets were just packed to capacity. It was really amazing. These huge trucks with speakers drove through the streets with bands and people dancing everywhere.

Carnival

The people of Salvador were so great and so welcoming and none of us really felt unsafe our entire stay.

Carnival

The next few days we hung around Salvador, did some shopping, had some great food and drinks, and went to the beach.. It was a good port to spend a few days in and relax. One night we went to a club futbol game.. Bahia vs. Poçoes. The game was so much fun. We sat with a bunch of local people and cheered along and really got into it. We chimed in when they sang their cheer.. well, the chorus, which was BAHIA! BAHIA! BAHIA!.. and that’s all we really could figure out. The last day we just hung around did some more shopping and checked out one of the churches. There is just so much interesting history in the city, I could’ve stayed a lot longer and would’ve checked out a lot more or the city. Now we’re back on the boat.. back to work ..

Me and Teagan

slaving away, sun bathing.. etc. Next stop, South Africa, where I’ll be safari-ing at Kruger and doing some service work. Pictures take way too long to upload, but hopefully at some point I’ll be able to find an internet café to take care of that in. Talk to you all soon!

Group shot

Reporting from Puerto Rico *

Our hike in the rainforest

HEY!! Sorry I’ve taken so long to get this thing up and going. Its really nice having absolutely no internet, email, etc. in your life for days at a time. But I’m finally ready to spill.

This trip has been utterly amazing. There has not been one low point thus far. I feel like I’ve been aboard for weeks, when in actuality it’s been only about 13 days. I’ve found a great group of people and am still meeting people everyday. Life on the boat is great. I only have classes every other day .. the rest of my hours are filled with sun bathing and eating moderately delicious meals. My classes are pretty decent .. a poetry workshop, art history- sacred sites, and a lame history course that may be the partial death of me and my only complaint on this entire experience so far.

Our first port was Puerto Rico.. which was Amazing. Traveling to all these remarkable countries I definitely under estimated the potential of Puerto Rico. The night before pulling into port we grab blankets and sleeping bags and sleep out on the deck to catch the sunset and the first glimpse of land.. it's incredible and we decide it should be a tradition on every night before port. Our first day we ventured into El Yunque rainforest to do some hiking. La coca was our first waterfall stop, the second stop at Yokahu Tower, we climbed to the top and saw some great views of San Juan. Our last stop was at La Mina falls.. Breathtaking.

Hiking in El Yunque

We swam in the water and relaxed under these amazing falls. On our route back our cab driver let us in on Puerto Rico’s most amazing gift.. Chicken on a stick, and Medalla. I wont even go into detail on these two products because there are no words. That night was our first taste of Puerto Rican night life where we found some great local bars and a popular karaoke night where we sang our voices away. The next day we woke early and headed to the beach, Isla Verde. Surrounded by resorts and hotels it’s a big tourist spot but it was gorgeous..

Swimming under the waterfalls

That night I did a trip to bioluminescent bay where the water actually illuminates because of the micro organisms that live in the water. Our tour guide, Captain Suarez, was so incredible, and although the state has outlawed swimming in these waters, Suarez let us take a dip and we swam and glowed in the pitch black night. It was an amazing experience and kept having to remind myself we were still in port numero uno. The next day we venture our into old san juan and find a great little café stuck in the middle of a busy street. The food is mind-blowing and the food coma sets in. We walk it off and spend the rest of our time in port before having to be back on the ship sitting on a cliff over looking the water. Since leaving Puerto Rico we’ve been in class, hardly working, and working on that tan. I haven’t one complaint in the world. We’re pulling into Brazil tomorrow morning just in time to catch the last day, and the best day, of Carnival, the biggest party in the world. I don’t have too many plans in Brazil besides a futbol game, tasting all the local food, swimming at all the beaches, and having an amazing time. Letters and emails are great!! Semesteratsea.com has a send a postcard link, this site is free for me and is perfect for sending emails. Thanks for following me on my journey and hopefully my next entry will be even more exciting and a little more timely.

Xo from the high seas

–ker.