It was 4:15am. I was awake. The sweat of a haunting night terror flows down my flushed face. The nightmare of abandoning my loyal blog followers continues to plague my mind. How could this have happened?! I almost FORGOT to update my valued audience. Fortunately it was all jut a nightmare but it put me back on the right track and here I am giving you all a late but deserved check up. Please forgive me for my negligence.
Also, for the sake of your concern towards me sanity please note that the above events did not occur in real life but my guilt for forgetting about you is genuine. Let’s get down to it! And by “it” I mean BRAZIL, outside my window, right now, I can see it! That’s right ladies and gents, we have made it to our final foreign port of call, Salvador, Brazil. What lies ahead I cannot say- no mom and dad, I’m not hiding anything from you, I literally don’t know what the next few days have in store. As these keys click-clack beneath my fingers the Explorer is still in the docking process as we inch closer and closer to the pier. As you may know by now Brazil has been experiencing heavy rainfall and that is exactly what’s going on. Despite the high temperatures and humidity it is still grey and rainy outside but we will not let that bring us down!
I will be exploring Salvador for a better part of the morning then flying down Rio de Janeiro this evening! However, due to the recent rains and mudslide disaster our original plans for Rio have changed. All we really know right now is that we are staying on Ipanema Beach for 3 nights then flying back to Salvador on the 24th. What lies in between shall remain a mystery!
But until that mystery is solved, my friends, I must get ready to seize this wonderful day of arrival. We will be departing on the 25th, which is when you can expect my next update. It is with a heavy heart when I tell you that today marks day 14 of the countdown to Ft. Lauderdale (and I’m now one hour ahead of east coast time). Two weeks. Hmm. My excitement to go home and see friends and family is combating my fear of this voyage coming to an end. These next 14 days are to be cherished like never before, as they will quickly pass us by. I send my love to everyone at home and cannot wait to see some of you in the very near future. Thank you for joining me this morning, take care and check back in soon!
Yours truly,
Christopher J. Constantine
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
DAY 94...BRAZIL
Thursday, April 15, 2010
God bless our homeland Ghanaaa
Hello all-
And good evening from somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Tick-cock, time flies when you are having fun, right? Well, the Semester at Sea clock must be breaking all kinds of records because it’s flying faster than the speed of light. Here I am, day 88 with just 20 DAYS left. What is happening here people?! To any and all parents reading, I now understand how it must feel to watch your children grow up oh so fast. My hat is off to you. And I send my deepest gratitude to you, my dear blog followers. For those of you who have stuck it out this long and have kept up on my hundreds of words of mindless dribble then your impressive stamina shall not go unnoticed! And to those of you have quit on me well…well you’re probably not even reading so shame on you. Alright, enough babbling, let’s talk Ghana!
Ghana, Ghana, Ghana, where do I begin? We arrived in a timely manner (despite our late departure from Cape Town) and I did not have a single minute planned. I stepped off the gangway having no idea as to which direction I was going to walk next. However, despite our plans- or lack thereof- I had a phenomenal 4 days. On day 1, a friend and I took the one-hour shuttle to Accra (we were docked in Tema) and explored the city on our own by foot before meeting a few other friends who had met a local guide. This guide brought us to a ton of great, low-key tourist spots including his home village and a stop to his mother’s house. Given the Ghanaian’s kindness and hospitality we were warmly welcomed and served a delicious local snack and homemade drink (made from a flower imported from the neighboring country of Cote d’Ivoire). That night we stuck around Accra for a bit, celebrated my 21 years of life from the day before, and enjoyed drinks with some locals.
The following morning I had signed up for an SAS day trip to the Shai Hills Game Reserve and Akosombo Dam, two exciting stops. At the game reserve we mingled with a community of baboons and other animals then hiked up a small hill to a massive bat cave. Although Christian Bale was not there, the cave was beautiful and packed full of hundreds of insect feasting bats, un-phased by our intrusion. To escape the blazing heat and humidity, we had a delicious lunch at a local hotel on the banks of the Volta River. Ghanaina food consisted mostly of chicken, beef, plantains, and rice, i.e. very appetizing stuff. After lunch we bussed over to the Akosombo Hydroelectric dam whose massive size provides Ghana with most, it not all of its electricity. Unfortunately, the insides of the dam are not opened to tourists and due to our special access security was strict and photos from the inside were not allowed. However, one the outside we were able to walk across the top of dam and admire the stunning Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake in the world. It was quite a treat to see this area, especially since that dam has been the center of heavy controversy since its construction.
On day 3, being the capricious travelers that we are, 4 of us loaded in to a cab and headed to the town of Kokrobite, a small beachside village. Some friends recommended us this place after visiting the day before and we were knocked off our feet. It’s almost too difficult to describe without visual aid but I would describe it as the simplest but purest form of paradise. All along this coast were soaring palm trees and thick bush sheltering thatched roofed huts and bamboo patios. Even our guide was floored because he had never been there before. Walking along the beach, a friend and I met a few local fishermen which was the job most commonly held by the local males. After a little persuasion they agreed to take us for a ride on their boats and what a treat that was. Just imagine a wooden boat some two or three times the size of a standard canoe, packed with fishing nets and a small outboard motor. That’s what we were in fighting the mighty waves of the Atlantic. Although we didn’t get to fish for red snapper or lobster (it’s an all-day process) we did get to stop and swim for a while. After taking us back to the coast, we headed in to their local village where we had a dance party with the children and played soccer in the streets. It was just endless amounts of fun. Before leaving we met the chief of the village who officially welcomed us to their town. By 9:00pm we were on our 2-hour trip back to Accra, jumping on various “tro tros” (that spelling might be very wrong), which was the Ghanaian bus system. And by bus I mean a small, beat down old van with 4 or 5 rows of seats packed full of passengers zipping about the city. It would have been totally un-navigable had we not been with our guide. It was a very fun and very cheap way to get around.
On our last morning, my plans for what would’ve been an exciting adventure fell through due to the looming realities of returning home. Instead of going to a village to provide basic first-aid to children at a medical clinic, I found myself at an Internet café in the local mall registering for my CU classes for next fall! Although I was oh so close to joining those students, I was reminded of the difficulties that can arise from course registration and felt that took precedence. Unfortunately, due to the one-hour cab ride back to the ship in Tema and our mandatory “on ship time” of 6:00pm, most of my day was spent at the computer. It was ill-fated timing yet I felt that I had made the absolute best out of the prior 3 days. By 5:00pm I was back on board and, believe it or not, was fast asleep no later than 8:30pm. When traveling to these beautiful countries with such limited time, it becomes second nature to run on fumes!
Now our mighty ship is pointed to the sands of Salvador, Brazil as we approach our final port. It’s a struggle to even type those words much less accept them! Rather than fall victim to the inevitable gloom brought on by this journey’s end, I look with optimism towards our future as I plan to make the most out of our final stop. A 3-day trip planned to Rio de Janeiro looks to be yet another thrilling time! However, until then friends I must burry my head in the books in an attempt to make a dent in my ever growing mountain of work. After a time change tonight I will awake tomorrow a mere 3 hours ahead of the US’ east coast time! I do declare that I am very excited to be home again but making this voyage a memory of the past will be a challenge indeed.
Thank you all for tuning in and please check back soon for pictures for Ghana photos and a mid-sail update. I send my best to all!
- Chris
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tema, Ghana!
Day 24
Hello dedicated followers of my global travelers-
And a warm hello to you from the shores of Tema, Ghana. As we speak our ship is gracefully sliding in to the dock. In fact, I am pretty amazed with our punctuality considering our delayed departure from Cape Town. We are right on time!
From what I can see outside my window, Ghana is teeming with adventure and there is much to be had. And so little time as always. We will be here until the 15th when we will make one last journey to...our... final...port (tear). Twenty-four fantastic days remain in our mysterious future with our quest to fulfill our curiosities now at full speed.
Above is a picture of the map currently hanging next to my bed. I have charted my travels around the world so far as seen by the drawn lines snaking around the globe (it includes both land and see travels, starting from New York). I thought you'd might like to see what it all looks it. It may not be on par with a captain's charting so please excuse my amateur work.
As always, I send my best wishes back to my home country and hope that everyone reading is doing well. Take care and check back soon for updates from western Africa.
- Chris
Monday, April 5, 2010
From the tip top of Table Mountain!
In the photo that I am NOT in, you can see near the bottom left one of the new stadiums constructed for the World Cup.
South African faces
Two of the many awesome children we played with during our township visits. They loved having their photos taken.
Half of the hostel room (mentioned in my post)
This bed is for a family of 4 (1 mother, 2 daughters, and a son)
Pictures!
Greetings friends-
It's photo time. But first a quick update. Believe it or not we have been stuck in Cape Town all day due to strong winds (it's now 4:30pm...we were supposed to have left at 8:00pm yesterday). The channel entrance is very narrow so it was too risky to maneuver through. However, as I type I can feel the ship's engines firing up which means we should be leaving soon. I heard earlier that our arrival to Ghana will not be affected!
Okay, above and beyond are a few photos from my South African adventures. Give them a look and enjoy! These first two are:
- The view of Cape Town from my cabin window
- Hillary and me on Robben Island with Cape Town in the background
- Chris
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A great city- Day 77
Hello folks-
And a Happy Easter to you from Cape Town! It’s about 10:30pm here and we have been delayed from leaving port. The winds have been very strong all day and the port actually closed meaning we can’t get tugged out until it re-opens. Hopefully we’ll be out by some time tonight but I don’t know if this will affect our arrival to Ghana. We shall see.
Cape town is yet another fascinating city to add to the list. It was completely different than what I was expecting and I loved every minute of it. I had a field trip on the first day to the HOPE Clinic in Cape Town’s second largest HIV/AIDS children’s hospital. While the 2-hour lecture from one of the heads of the HOPE program was interesting and informative, the rest of the trip was kind of a let down. We were told we would get to play with kids and patients however because of a recent measles outbreak the ward was closed. The guy who spoke to us is a German Catholic Priest who had a lot to say about his tenure and his 13 years of experience with this program. His contract at his current church was not renewed because of some of his work with AIDS and his teachings in STD prevention methods). It was pretty interesting to hear, as I would never have guessed that. He was not infected with the virus. The rest of that afternoon I met up with a few friends and we just walked around town for a bit. The waterfront area was really nice and developed. It had a big mall, lots of nice restaurants/ bars along the river, shops and all that fine stuff. Docked next to our ship is the world’s 6th largest privately owned yacht, owned by the CEO of Oracle. I got to meet some of the crew working on it and they said the guy isn’t even in South Africa. I guess that’s what someone can do with tons of money!
The following day my friend and I visited Robben Island and saw the jail cell where Nelson Mandella was held. Despite its symbolism the island was large and beautiful and offered a wonderful view of Cape Town, 17km across the water. The tour guides of the prison are all ex-cons who live on the island for free so it was really cool to get an inside perspective. Our guide spent 9 years inside as a political prisoner with Mandela.
That same afternoon was an experience that I will never ever forget. We got a driver to take us to (and escort us in) one of the many townships. If you don’t know, townships are the slums of the city with thousands of people living in shacks made from rotting wood and rusted scrap medal. It was very moving. We visited an “apartment building” and walked into a bedroom just big enough to park a Mini Cooper in, with 3 beds, each one for an entire family, sleeping 16 people in total every night. Just imagine that. I spoke to one of the guys who slept in there and he was someone I’ll never forget about. He hated his life, he hated where he lived and just had a lot of emotion behind him. Very powerful stuff. Afterwards we walked around outside and ended up passing out tons of stickers to all this amazing little kids who just loved playing with us. Our tour guide had to beg us to leave because we were having so much fun with them. I was holding this little girl who took my sunglasses off and put them on her face. My friend fortunately snapped a photo so you’ll get to see that. We then went to a local pub, had a beer with some really really nice locals and played some pool.. Funny side story: a woman gave us a tour of this B&B she is running and on the wall were some letters sent to her from recent guests and one of them came from Mamaroneck, New York! Pretty wild…small world! On our way home we drove through the largest township in Cape Town housing over 1 million people. It was truly an unforgettable sight. I met so many wonderful adults and children who had almost nothing but the clothes on their back yet they carried the brightest of smiles and seemed like some of the happiest people on Earth. Amazing.
The next morning we hiked Table Mountain and despite the surprisingly difficult 2.5-hour trek, it was worth ever minute from the top. We got a 360o view of South Africa that literally left me speechless. My camera was working overtime up there so you’ll see plenty of photos. The hike was long, steep, and was way beyond any trail in Chautauqua Park! It was quite fun though and again, very worth it. We had lunch at the top then took the cable car down. The inside of the car rotated as you descended so no matter where you stood you got a 3600 view, pretty neat. After that we got a driver out to Stellenbosch, one of the many beautiful wine lands of South Africa. After pulling off to another reserve and pet some African Cheetahs (lots of photos) we went to a local winery for some tasting. I learned some different words to describe wine like “smoky” or “passionate.” Bust those out at your next cocktail party and you’ll be a hit. We spent the rest of the afternoon/ evening there at this really peaceful outdoor bar looking off to endless rolling vineyards eventually meeting the mountains on the horizon. Just perfect. That night we went to a great restaurant with delicious food and live music. We were supposed to stay at a hostel but arrived too late and could not get checked in so we just hopped a cab back to Cape Town, no big deal.
Yesterday a few of us walked around a bit then caught the Chelsea v. ManU match. I know it’s a lame thing to do being in Cape Town and all but let me tell you it was an experience. We were in this local pub, being the only Americans in the place, surrounded by die hard Chelsea and ManU fans from England, meeting lots of people and having a great time. It’s one of those “you had to be there” things but it was worth the afternoon. Chelsea won 2-1, in case you were wondering.
Unfortunately the shark diving for today was canceled. The bad weather I mentioned caused some pretty rough seas and the company couldn’t go out. I am a little bummed but was happy to have another full day in town. Although, sitting in a cage surrounded by great whites would’ve been awesome.
Now, here we are stuck on the ship with Cape Town knocking at our windows but we cannot leave…it’s torture! But it was time very well spent and will be another chapter of memories. At the same time I refuse to believe the fact that we are approaching our penultimate (hey hey SATs) port and that as of tomorrow we will have exactly one month left until Florida. I’ve asked the captain to hook a right leaving Brazil and take us to Europe but he said no for some reason.
Anyways ladies and gents that is all from me. I am feeling great and hope everyone at home is wonderful. As always thank you for reading and have a Happy Easter and enjoy the day. I miss you all!
- Chris
PS Pictures to come soon so check back in!
