When we went downstairs in the morning Louis wasn’t there waiting for us like he said he would be. People were asking where we were going, and once we realized he wasn’t there we asked how much it would be and someone said a price, but it was higher than what we were quoted, and we said, “We were told by someone else yesterday that it will be lower” and she said, “I will take you for that price” and we were very content. Our tour guide was really awesome. She first took us to the Gatun Locks and we arrived just as a boat was passing through the middle locks so we were able to see it. We quickly bought tickets and went up to the observation deck. It was really cool to see the boat there. We then took the scenic route around to Panama City. We went to this place where there are 3 islands that became connected with the construction of the Panama Canal, called the causeway. They needed to put the dirt somewhere so they built a road between these islands. We got lunch at one of these places and it was absolutely delicious. I had some Panamanian empanadas, Jumbo Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, fried yuca and a cantaloupe shake.
After lunch we saw historic Panama City with all of the architecture, and we were told the story about the church with the golden altar that was trying to hide the gold from the pirates a long time ago so they painted everything black, and apparently it worked because everything is still intact today. While we were there we saw where the President lives, and we saw many other things too. I can’t name all of them.
We then drove around downtown Panama City so we were able to see all of the really tall buildings. The real reason of that though was because I needed to get my Hard Rock Café T-Shirt. I bought it and I was really excited. We then started heading back to Colon and again it was siesta time. Our tourguide was amazing and showed us all of the important parts of Panama City. We realized towards the end why she was willing to give us such a good deal. Most of the Semester at Sea people were already in Panama City, and she isn’t really a taxi driver so she can’t just pick people up off the streets. She works in Tourism at the Sheraton, so basically she is a hirable car, but not a taxi. This was really what we wanted because it gave us the freedom to do what we wanted, but we were able to see all parts of Panama City.
We came back and then went to the grocery store, and I bought some juice and chocolate and Yuca Chips that looked really good. We then went into a souvenir shop and I bought some souvenirs, and then we decided that we had all spent enough money for the day so we came back to the ship.
Monday, May 30, 2011
PANAMAAAA!!!!!!
May 29, 2011
Here is the description for the trip I did today. We went to an Indidan Village: “This adventure to the Chagres National Park and the Emberá Indian Village begins with a drive to the Corotu Pier where a dugout canoe, or cayuco, will be waiting to transport the group up the river through spectacular rainforest. Here is an experience for immersion in the unique native traditions of a remote Emberá Indian village, deep in the heart of the rainforest. On arrival at the village and surrounded by lush forest, be greeted by the traditional music of this fascinating culture. After experiencing several ceremonial dances, learn more about the customary lifestyle of a people virtually unchanged by civilization. The local shaman will describe some of the medicinal plants and herbs found in this environment, many of which are still a vital part of everyday life. Feel welcome to use the body paint as the Emberá do, with a natural fruit dye called Jagua. Enjoy food served and prepared in the Emberá community, such as fish, fried plantains and tropical fruits. Finally, there will be an opportunity to purchase finely-crafted artifacts made by these skilled artisans. After spending the day in the village, return to the shores of the Corotu Pier for transfer back to the ship. Note: If you would like to swim there will be an opportunity”
All of this was actually true. We drove almost 2 hours to get to Chagres National Park. When we got to the pier there were dugout canoes waiting for us to transport us. These canoes surprisingly were not the type of canoes that you row. They had a Suzuki engine on them. We were then transported to where the people lived, yeah it was the rainforest, but it was very clear where the rainforest part of the wilderness and the river was. The water in the river was very brown from the sediment running off into the water from all of the rain. When we arrived they were playing traditional music for us. We then moved into the “marketplace” and then the shamans did a traditional dance, and then they showed us one of their traditional dances that they do when they “party”. We used the body paint, one of the younger girls painted a traditional symbol on my arm. We then enjoyed fried plantains and tilapia served in a life shaped like a cone. I decided I am not a huge fan of the plantains, but the tilapia was really good and fishy. It was very rich though so I couldn’t eat too much of it, and it still had all of the bones in it. We then had an opportunity to buy souvenirs from the people who had made all of them. The part that wasn’t necessarily accurate in the description is that we would have a chance to swim. Well I suppose we could have swam if we had wanted to, but there was no way I wanted to when we heard that there were crocodiles in this river up to 3 meters long! As soon as I heard that in the bus on the way over I was like, NO WAY am I going to swim there! While we were in the motorized dugout canoes headed over to the Indian Village, we saw a decent sized crocodile on the river bank. Unfortunately I didn’t end up getting a picture of it because I didn’t really see it until we were almost past it. They do a pretty good job at camouflaging.
After the Indian village we headed back to the bus and it was siesta time. Basically that meant that everyone was exhausted and it was nap time on the way back. I didn’t sleep on the way back because the bus ride was too bumpy. I then came back and took a shower. I had talked to a friend about maybe going out to go get some local food so we went down to the gangway. On our way we found a group of people who were also going out so we decided maybe we should go with them, but they seemed to be taking forever, and they couldn’t make up their minds. They then finally decided that they didn’t want to go out because there weren’t many places around. My friend Erin and I, decided we were going to go anyways and just see what was around, and if it wasn’t anything good we would come back and eat dinner on the ship. Then this girl named Rachel asked if she could come with us just to look around, so she did.
We then started walking outside and someone asked where we were going, and we said we wanted Panamanian food, so this tour guide named Louis walked with us all the way down to the other side of the wharf to get the Panamanian food. On the way over we asked what time it got dark and he said “Oh about 45 minutes from now”. So we said “We should eat fast and get back before dark.” And he said, “Oh no! I wait for you to be done!” and we said “OK”. But got there and the place was closed. While we were walking over there we were asking how much it would be for a taxi ride to Panama City, a tour when we got there, him to wait for us for lunch, and then bring us back. He gave us a reasonable offer. We honestly didn’t think this was a bad price because we had heard that it could be up to $100 each way just for the taxi ride, and there were 3 of us splitting the bill. He told us that he would be out there at 7AM waiting for us to come down in the morning.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 25, 2011
Today I did at trip called the North Coast Hop and Beach Stop. We got on the busses first thing this morning. In my bus we had Bas the bus driver and Derik who was our tour guide. We pretty much had the best tour guide ever! He was awesome. On our way to Maracas Bay we stopped at many different places most places we didn’t get out of the bus, but a few places we did. He showed us all of the historical places in Port of Spain. When we got up to the Queen’s Savannah we drove all the way around it. On the part we didn’t get to yesterday we saw the Botanical Gardens and the zoo. We then went up this big hill called the Lady Young Road, and then we got out at the Lady Young’s Lookout from there we got a panoramic view of the city. On our way up to there we saw this Hilton Hotel that was built into a hill right near the Queen’s Park Savannah. The lobby to this hotel was at the top of the hotel and then the rooms were below. Our tour guide was saying how during Carnivale when people aren’t necessarily clear headed and then they get in the elevator and press 6 and it goes down it can really confuse them!
We then continued on our journey through the mountains and the rainforest. We came to a place called turtle point. The mass of land looks like a giant turtle from this spot but one is a hill and one is an island behind it. We then continued on and we went to a cocoa plantation. Our tour guide pointed out all of the trees and the cocoa pods, and then he found one on the ground that was already broken in half so he opened it up and showed it to us. It was really cool to see how they were grown. After that we finally made it to Maracus Bay. I heard that it is one of the best beaches in the world, and people go there from all over the world. It was gorgeous and the water was really warm. It wasn’t too warm though because it was still very refreshing.
After we went swimming for a little while we walked for a little ways to the fishing village that was right near the beach. We assumed that there would be people selling crafts there, but there weren’t. We walked a little ways but then turned around because we didn’t want to go into this sketchy looking neighborhood. We then went back and decided that we would go back and get lunch. For lunch we had bake and shark, another Trinidadian Delicacy. It was basically a doughy pastry type thing with fried shark in the middle. Shark tastes kind of like a combination of chicken and fish. It is more the consistency of chicken, but tastes a little bit like fish, but shark is a very mild fish and doesn’t really taste like fish at all. I am aware that this description makes absolutely no sense, but the bottom line is that it was delicious. I put a little bit of ketchup and some pineapple slices on the shark too. I had tomatoes and lettuce on my sandwich but then realized that I probably shouldn’t be eating those because we were told if you can’t peel it don’t eat it. I also had put some pickled mangoes on my sandwich but those were pretty gross. I also tried this soda stuff that tasted kind of like really sweet ginger ale.
While we were eating lunch it started pouring rain. We were lucky because we were under a tent, but then soon after it started I got soaked because the rain was running off the top of the tent onto me because I was right at the edge of the tent. I then had to relocate in order to stay dry. We then just sat around for a little while before getting back on the bus because none of us felt like getting wet again in the water because by that point we were mostly dry.
When we got back to the bus I saw that my bus driver and my tour guide had gone out and picked fresh mangoes off of the tree for us while we were at the beach. We couldn’t eat them until we got back to the dock because they were too messy, but they were delicious. I don’t think I have ever had a better mango! Once we got back it was time for on ship time, which meant that we weren’t allowed to leave the ship again. After dinner we had small group discussion about what we saw and experienced while we were in port. I thought the discussion was mandatory so I went, but it turned out that there really weren’t that many people there because it wasn’t mandatory. It was still fun though getting to listen to other people’s experiences in the ports.
After this I worked with my group on my Engineering a New Tomorrow project and the goal of the project is to identify an opportunity which if addressed successfully will lead to improved quality of life. For our project we are proposing the idea of ecotourism. We haven’t made too much progress on our project yet, but we at least have a starting point.
May 24, 2011
Today we arrived in Port of Spain. It was really cool!! We got to see the whole city and we got to see the boat pull into our first port. The one thing I didn’t like was how the oil rigs are right on the waterfront because one of Trinidad’s biggest exports in petroleum. We planned to get up early so that we could get off the ship as soon as possible. Our plan kind of backfired because it took until 9AM for the ship to get cleared. None of us were allowed off the ship until the boat was “cleared”. I am not totally sure what that meant, but all I know is that it is pretty important. We then walked around Port of Spain. It was over 90 degrees outside with a feels like of over 100 due to the humidity. We were told to go to Independence Square so we did, but there wasn’t a ton there. People needed to change money too, so we went to the bank. That seemed to take FOREVER, but I didn’t mind too much because the bank was air-conditioned. It also took a while because people were trying to figure out how much money to take out because of the exchange rate. I took out about $15US and that lasted me the rest of the day plus I have some left for a souvenir. I spent money on a cold drink, lunch, and souvenirs. We then walked up to the Queen’s Park Savannah which is where Carnivale is held every year. It is basically just this really big open park area. We started to walk all the way around it, but soon realized how big it was. It was huge! It is considered one of the largest roundabouts in the world because it is only one-way traffic. We quickly decided to turn back instead of continuing on that part of our adventure. We then kept an eye out for native foods. We saw signs for Chinese food or for KFC (they are on every corner here), but we wanted something that we couldn’t get at home. For lunch I had a chicken pie (not like pot pie) it’s this doughy pastry thing, with chicken inside. It was really good. It is considered a Trinidadian specialty. I also had passion fruit juice with it. I later found Ribena (blackcurrant juice)!!! This is one of my favorite types of juice now, but you can barely find it in the U.S. The only place I have ever found it was the international foods section of Wegmans, only because Wegmans is the best place ever. For those of you who have never been to Wegmans you are missing out. It is only the best grocery store EVER located all over upstate New York. Anyways, after lunch we were getting pretty tired, and one of the girls in my group had to go back to the boat to go on a trip that afternoon. When we got back to the boat we were exhausted from being in the heat for about 4 hours! After we showered and everything I taught my friend Sarah how to play Canasta. We started playing on the pool deck, but every so often a big gust of wind would come and blow all of the cards away. We decided to move inside to the AC to finish our game in peace. After Canasta it was naptime!! I turned on Princess Diaries and didn’t get through more than the first 20 minutes of it. After dinner I came back and did all of my work so that I wouldn’t have to do any work the next day, but I was practically falling asleep. I felt like I was 100 years old!! I couldn’t stay up any longer and managed to go to sleep at 8:30PM maybe 9:00PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 23, 2011
Today was C3. We talked about agrarian and horticultural societies in sociology today, and we learned how to tell time and the months and the seasons in Spanish class. We then had a presentation for Engineering a New Tomorrow (ENT) on water and infrastructure. After that it was dinnertime and I tried something called Callaloo soup. This was something that I had heard about on the Cosby Show oddly enough (I was kind of addicted to that show for a while). I have heard that it is a Caribbean delicacy. I also heard from a native Trinidadian that Callaloo soup is typically a bit spicy, but what I had tonight wasn’t at all. It had all sorts of fresh vegetables in some type of broth. I can barely even describe it, but it was really good. I tried to do some work outside today, but it was WAY too hot for me. I couldn’t handle it. I had to go inside to finish my work. After dinner I met up with my group for our ENT project, it was a bit awkward at first because I had no idea what one of the people in my group looked like. We discussed where we were from, and the other girl in my group was from a really small town in Kentucky and the boy in my group was from a small town in North Carolina. While we were talking we were comparing stories about Tractor Supply Company. What a country thing to do!! We decided that we were going to work on a project about sustainable tourism and how that could help some of the economies in places where we are going to visit. We then had pre-port. That is where you learn all about the place that you are going to visit. We learned about the culture and what not to eat and drink, and where not to go. We also learned about landsickness (where you get sick on the land because you still feel like you are moving even though you are on level ground).
May 22, 2011
Today was C2. I think this was actually the first time I had class on a Sunday. I was used to always having class on Saturdays because I had 4 years of that in high school. We passed by Puerto Rico today and that was really pretty, and then later we passed by the Virgin Islands at night, and they were really pretty with all of the lights. I’ve been learning a lot in all of my classes. My professor has been basically everywhere in the world. She isn’t one of those professors who just pretends to know what she is talking about in relation to all of these exotic countries, but she has actually been to all of them. We have been reading a lot of the work that she has done in all of these places. In Spanish class I have really been learning a lot because we are forced to talk only in Spanish, and everything that she says is in Spanish too. Of course a few times I caught myself saying “oui” instead of “si”, but that will get better over time hopefully. My goal is to be able to at least have a basic conversation with someone while we are in a Spanish speaking country. Some people saw dolphins today, but I somehow missed them. I was busy doing other things. Tonight we met our extended families of the boat. My “parents” are professors at UVA, they seemed like pretty cool people and I really liked the people that were in my group as well. Tonight we had a game night with lots of getting to know you type activities. The first one I did was called team challenge. In this activity we were given a pile of materials and we had to figure out how to build the tallest structure. My team was doing pretty well, but then part way through it we were told to rotate tables, so we had to keep working on a sculpture that another team was working on. We thought we were doing pretty well again, but then they had us rotate back to our first project, but the people that worked on it after we rotated it were completing it in a totally different way from what we had imagined. This made it really hard to finish our structure. Our structure had to be freestanding and stand up for as long as possible. Due to the rocking of the boat (or at least that’s what we were blaming it on) we didn’t win ☹ We still did pretty well though.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 21, 2011
Today was what was called C1 (class day 1). Yes, sadly we had to start classes on a Saturday, but I suppose when you are in the middle of the Caribbean Sea you can’t really complain too much. I woke up and then went to breakfast. After breakfast was my Gender and Subsistence Technology with relation to the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). Our professor seems like a very cool person. She has traveled everywhere and clearly knows what she is talking about. We then had lunch because classes are about 2.5 hours. After lunch it was time for Spanish class. That was very amusing because she asked us to introduce ourselves and of course I speak Spanish with a French accent (I need to work on that). Yesterday she sent us an e-mail that was written completely in Spanish, but I think I was able to make out most of what she was saying. Today she only spoke to us in Spanish, it made class difficult, but I think I will really learn a lot. We then had to have conversations with the other people in the class, but that was a bit awkward considering we only knew how to say “Hi, how are you? I’m good and you?” and “What is your name?” After Spanish we had our seminar called Engineering a New Tomorrow. We learned how we are going to try to change the world, and that we all have to come up with our own solutions in small groups. After the seminar it was dinnertime. Dinner was yummy but nothing spectacular so I won’t really write about it. After dinner I did work on the pool deck, and watched the sunset. It is strange because I somehow feel jetlagged, but I am still on East Coast Time. I suppose I’m just not quite as used to getting up early on a regular basis anymore. I miss everyone at home, but I am having a lot of fun!!
P.S. I guess people were wrong by saying that today was going to be the end of the world at 6PM because I am still floating on a boat (I think to Trinidad) or maybe the world is gone because I can’t see any land from here. There is nothing except the boat, the ocean, the sun and the clouds.
P.P.S. Miss you!! I will write again soon.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Adventures!
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| From Semester at Sea |
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| From Semester at Sea |
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| From Semester at Sea |
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| From Semester at Sea |
I was just contemplating going outside to the pool, but then it started raining. I was like "Oh great! Thanks! I must have brought the rain with me!" I knew that I could still go swimming even if it was raining, but with the thunder I decided otherwise. I then went to dinner with Julianna, a friend that I knew from Vermont Academy who lives in the Bahamas, and I tried some Grilled Conch, a Bahamian specialty. It was delicious.
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| From Semester at Sea |
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| From Semester at Sea |
We then wandered around the fish fry area and went to a bar. I tried a Bahama-Mama. It has pineapple juice, orange juice, and grenadine. That was really good too. While we were at the bar we were entertained by watching the contact sport of Dominoes. People were getting into it and slamming the dominoes onto the table and I think every time someone slammed a domino onto the table I jumped. After that I returned back to the hotel, and again I was going to go swimming, but I was way too tired so I just had a quiet evening to myself.
Today I got up early and eagerly awaited the arrival of my roommate for tonight. After she arrived we decided to go downtown and I found my Hard Rock Cafe!! For those of you who don't know, I collect Hard Rock Cafe T-Shirts from all of the places that I travel, or where someone else has travelled and brought me back one. So for me this was a big deal. This was a higher priority than the beach or the pool, because I figured I could get tanned during the rest of the summer, but this was my only chance to get a Nassau T-shirt. We also wandered around the Straw Market and haggled a bit. I don't know how I am going to fit these things into my suitcase, as it was completely full when I arrived, but I will be able to do it. We finished the morning/early afternoon off with some good, old fashioned Edy's Ice Cream. And then we got on a Jitney (bus) and headed back to the hotel. The plan for this afternoon is the beach and then the tourist bar named Senor Frogs tonight, and then tomorrow Semester at Sea begins. I can't wait!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Ready for Adventures
I will not be checking my facebook on a regular basis while I am away, so this is probably the best way to keep track of my adventures.
Now maybe it is time to start packing. I will hopefully write again soon, but I have no idea when I will have a chance to update.