Sunset leaving Hawaii

Waikiki

Coastal lookout point

Akaka Waterfalls

Crater atop Mauna Loa

More Pictures

Hi friends, family, and strangers,
Above are some photos from my Hawaiian visit. They're all from Hilo with the exception of one. I'm not sure in what order they will appear in but you can tell pretty easily which is which. I think they are from most of the spots I described in my post about Hawaii. The photos include:
- A shot from what I call the "lava beach"
- The crater atop Mauna Loa
- The Akaka Waterfalls
- A shot from a beautiful coastal lookout point
- The view from the hotel room in Waikiki
- The sunset we sailed in to leaving Oahu for Japan

We're still cruising along in the middle of the Pacific. They have not done the daily update yet but I'm assuming we're a little less than 3,000 miles from Japan. The seas are calm, the weather is perfect, and everything else is going wonderfully. Enjoy those photos. I will post many more once I explore Japan. More soon!

- Chris

PS Sorry for multiple posts, that's the only way I can put up more than one picture.

MV Explorer

pictures!...I hope

Hello hello friends and family-
I had posted recently saying I would not be able to post pictures until I get to an internet cafe with better internet but oh how I was wrong! A friend (yes, I have made friends) shared with me a way to compress a photo in order to send it through email. So, as my first of many gifts to my loyal followers (I'm sure there are oh so many out there) I have decided to test this trick out. I deeply hope this works and to ensure it does I will burn precious internet minutes by actually logging on the blog site and taking a look. If it does not work I will delete this post (so I apologize if you read this before I do so).
Without further ado, attached is a photo of my big beautiful floating home, the one and only "Explorer". Isn't she lovveeelyyyyyy.....song? Anyone? No, okay moving on. There she is docked in Hilo, Hawaii. It is 590 feet long, 7 decks tall, roughly 25,000 lbs, screaming with the power of 45,000 horses, and can clip along at a top speed of 25-30 knots (although we never average more than 14 knots on our longer trips). I will post more photos from our Hawaiin trip soon. Oh and I'm sorry if the quality is not so hot. Enjoy!

- Chris

DAY 11!

Hello adventure trackers! I am back on the seas once more, the lights of Honolulu fading in the distance. As I posted previously I promised to share with you my highlights from the wonderful islands of Hawaii. What a past few days it has been!
        We arrived at our first port of Hilo, HI (located on the Big Island) at 5:00am on the morning of the 25th. It was refreshing to see and feel land once again after eight straight days on the rolling Pacific. After waiting a few hours to clear all 900 of us through customs (we had just come from Mexico) we were free to disembark, and disembark we did! A few friends and me packed our bags and ran off inland to explore our first stop. We all couldn’t have been happier to be there and just to be off the ship. We came across a nice little local café for some breakfast and got some good exploring tips from a few of the locals. Our group went different ways and eventually it was just my buddy Eric and I with nothing but the whole day ahead of us. We moseyed along the streets of downtown checking out some cool spots until we got a call from a friend who had just rented a car with a group of girls and offered to join them on their adventures. We drove about 45 minutes to the southeastern tip of the Big Island to a private little community and came across this amazing “beach” right by the ocean shore. I say “beach” because there was actually no sand at all but rather these heaps and heaps of an old solidified lava flow from the nearby volcano of Mauna Lea. The lava had settled and formed dozens of little tidal pools that were teeming with all sorts of colorful marine life. Some areas were as deep as 10-12 feet allowing for some worthwhile snorkeling.
        After a few hours in the sun we packed up our minivan and headed about 45 minutes back inland to the Volcano National Park. We pulled up to this incredible look out spot right above a massive caldera billowing steam and sulfur. A dozen photos later and the overwhelming stench of eggs and we were in the van on our way back to Hilo, stopping at some steam vents along the way.
        We checked in to a hostel, got in our finest attire and hit up a local restaurant for some amazing food. By the time we finished stuffing our faces we were all running on fumes from a great day of traveling and hit they hay at the hostel.
        The following morning we were up and recharged early and ventured off to the Akaka Waterfalls. It was beautiful. The falls spilled from over 100 feet high in to this water carved cove below. A little stone path led us deep in to thick Hawaiian vegetation until a little clearing revealed this incredible waterfall. On the way back in to town we took a few scenic routes along the coast and found some neat little spots tucked in the shore. We got back to town, tried some Kava (google it), relaxed in a park and headed back to the ship. At 8:00pm (or 20:00, I’m such a sea chap now), we sailed off for Honolulu and by the time I awoke the next morning we were already docked.
        Honolulu was a big change from the Big Island. It’s a pretty large and busy city with skyscrapers towering all over. A fine group of us made our way up to Waikiki and hit the beach, which is where, I am quite proud to say, I caught my first wave! I know I know hold the applause please. It was such a blast (and pretty tiring) but I definitely plan to surf again soon. I’d like to take this time to give dear brother Colin a shout out and a heartfelt thank you for helping me out with a gracious discount for a room at the Marriott right in there in Waikiki (Tyler and Justin, time to step it up). We had a great time exploring the nightlife and all that fun stuff. This morning we got up, hit the beaches once more then cruised on over to Wal-Mart…so Hawaiian! We loaded our carts with much needed supplies- cheezits, shampoo and Aleve- got some lunch and hopped back on the Explorer.
        And now here I sit, on the top deck sailing along the coast of Oahu bound for Yokohama, Japan! A long 12 day sail lies in front of us but thankfully we’ll keep our sanity by having 12 straight days of class. Again, a long 12 days. I am quite excited to be leaving America for the few months ahead as I am sure they’re going to be life changing. No plans for Japan yet but knowing this trip and the people I’ve met it’s going to be incredible. I got to talk to some of you before I left so it was great hearing friendly hometown voices! Unless you’re my mom or dad I’ll be off the cell phone pretty much until May 5th but I am always reachable by email at cjconstantine@semesteratsea.net. Drop me a line!
        Okay. That’s it. My fingers hurt and I’m sure if you’re reading this by now you’re bored to hell. Thanks for tuning on in this lengthy post! I send my best across the ocean to everyone on land and hope all is well. Take care and check back soon for more mid-Pacific updates.

-       Christopher Constantine

PS I have tons and tons of great photos from Hawaii however I cannot post them through our on ship Internet so as soon as we hit Japan I’ll pop in an Internet café and post a few favorites. 

Hello dearest friends and family! I just spent the last 10-15 minutes typing what I thought was a great post to share my last 36 hours with you HOWEVER  this crummy email system took on a new meaning of the word "send" and decided to log me out and erase my draft. I promise when I have more time I will rewrite it to the best of my memory. We had an incredible time in Hilo, Hawaii these past 2 days and we are now zipping across the seas to Honolulu for an expected arrival of 6:00am tomorrow (01/27). I am doing wonderfully and this trip is beyond my words. I miss you all at home and hope everyone is happy and healthy. More to come soon as the adventures will continue!

- Chris

Hi again!
I know it has been some time since my recent post. In my defense, not many drastic changes occur every day sailing across a massive body of water. We are on the eve of Hilo! I've been hearing around the ship that we might be arriving as early as tomorrow afternoon. We are somehow ahead of schedule so it'll be nice to have some extra time on the islands. We have covered nearly 2,000 nautical miles and have just a few hundred left. It's probably best we get in early seeing as most everyone on board is getting a craving for some sweet solid land.
 I've been meeting a plethora (thank you SAT vocab) of kids on this boat and have engaged in tons of different itineraries for each of the ports, all of which sounds incredible. I already have an overnight trip planned to the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam and a couple of day field trips in South Africa, India, and Ghana. Once I get a solid idea and what they're all about I will be sure to let you all know.
 The weather has been perfect. Sunny, blue skies, 70+ degrees. Paradise! It's funny to see how many kids actually underestimate the power of the sun. I've seen enough tomatoes to keep Heinz in business for centuries! Yup, that's what a joke sounds like.
 And on that note I'm going to go ahead and get scooting. The seas have calmed down after receiving massive swells from California's storm. I have yet to see any sort of marine life but I'm sure there will be plenty of that. We are all excited to get off the boat and explore! I'll have normal cell service in Hawaii (i.e. not $23,567.91 per minute like in India) so you lucky ones will be getting a call.
 I hope land has been wonderful and solid. Take care all of you and more to come soon.

- Chris

Hello hello-
Not much has changed since my last update so I'll keep things brief. The sailing has been a little rough these past 36 hours. They announced yesterday that the captain redirected our course to Hilo to avoid a major storm brewing off the coast of California. Even  though we avoided the storm we're still getting the surges from it and have been rolling on 10-15ft swells since yesterday afternoon. It's a bit tough to adjust to and it certainly makes walking around the halls interesting but nevertheless everyone's getting by (with the exception of a few unadjusted students who can be seen sprinting for the nearest bathroom covering their mouths on their ghost white faces). We'll hopefully be out of all of this tomorrow.
   Since we've left Ensenada we've gone ~1,700 nautical miles and have ~1,300 more to go. Not only did we go 300 miles off course to avoid the storm but they also slowed our speed a fair bit so I can't imagine we're going to arrive at Hilo on time.
  The weather gets better by the day as we get closer to the islands. Today it was crystal clear skies with a good breeze and 75 degrees... i.e. just kind of weather that makes you want to do nothing but study, right?! No but seriously...
  That is all I can think of for now. Hope all is well on land!

- Chris

Hello from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean! We have finally made it here out to sea and the past 36 hours have been surreal. I arrived at the port of Ensenada, Mexico Sunday afternoon and boarded the big and beautiful MV Explorer. Most of the day was spent just getting settled in and getting familiar with the ship.  My roommate hails from Orange County, CA and is a great guy. My cabin is a standard size outside double on the 4th deck. It's a great sized room and should make for a comfortable living area these next few months. The rest of the boat is beautiful and immaculate. I think it was used as a luxury cruise ship before joining SAS. The remaining signs that read "casino", "club lounge", and "dance floor" are all terribly misleading.
   There were some immigration issues on Sunday night that prevented us from leaving on time but around 7:00pm Pacific time we were on our way in to the vast, dark seas. So far so good with my sea legs. I'm more tired than anything else though. We were told in our first orientation meeting Monday night that we were heading in to some rough waters which was a bit discomforting but the rocking of the boat just made it that much easier to fall asleep. This morning we awoke around 8:00am to nothing but a blue sky and the endless ocean, no land in sight! During breakfast our captain made an announcement updating us on the first night's sail. With an average speed of 20 knots we have traveled a little over 330 nautical miles and have about 2,100 nautical miles to go until we hit our first port at Hilo, Hawaii. The weather so far this morning has been perfect and the water is a little choppy but manageable.
    Everyone on board seems very nice and we're all equally excited for the months ahead of us. Until Hilo, we will be at sea for the next seven days taking classes and getting to know each other better.
   I hope all is well on land! More soon...

Best,
Chris

DAY 1

Hello all! Thanks for tuning and reading this. For the next few months this will be a main form of communication from me so check in every now and then if you’re interested in how my trip is going. I will try and post here as much as I can and I will also post a few photos after each country.
After a pleasant visit with some family in Oklahoma, I’m now in San Diego, CA waiting to set sail tomorrow out of Ensenada, Mexico bound for Honolulu, Hawaii. All the students are meeting in San Diego then are getting bussed down to Mexico. I’m not sure why that is but either way I’ll soon be aboard the glorious MV Explorer heading off to sea. My trip has already begun because this is the first time I’ve been to California so it’s already a new experience. I’m beyond excited but also a little nervous and a little jittery but I’m sure that will fizzle away once I get settled in. Not quite sure how my sea legs are going to do in the beginning so my first friend might be my bathroom toilet? Yikes.
Anyway, once I leave Hawaii my contact with the states will be pretty limited so I apologize if I’m incognito for the next few months. I will try my best to keep in touch. Just in case you were wondering, my list of countries is as follows (in order):
- Hilo/ Honolulu, HI
- Yokohama/ Kobe, Japan
- Shanghai, Hong Kong, China
- Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
- Chennai/ Cochin, India
- Port Louis, Mauritius
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Tema (Accra), Ghana
- Salvador, Brazil
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I’m prepared for an incredible trip and a life changing experience. I have no idea what to expect but that’s half the excitement for me. The next 110 days are going to be remarkable and I will try my best to share it with you all.
I’ll be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on May 5th so for those of you who I will not talk to till then, be safe and take care!

Best,
Chris