Sunday, September 20, 2009
Running on the ocean: Photo edition
A while ago I wrote about running on the 7th deck. Ana got some pictures of me the other day so I thought that I would share them you you all back on land.
Friday, September 18, 2009
We'll always have Marrakech: Part 2
The morning began sooner than I expected as I was awoken by the call to prayer an unfamiliar sound but something I figured out pretty quickly. Being in an Islamic country during Ramadan was a unique experience. Our tour guides followed the Ramadan custom of fasting from sunrise to sunset. Our tour guide Mulay’s voice was strained by the middle of each day as he spoke a lot but could not sooth this throat with water. I felt guilty sitting next to Mulay for the 9-hour bus ride as I occasionally took a sip of water from my Nalgene.
The 9-hour bus ride was not as bad as one might imagine, at times it was exciting, other scary and thanks to my well-honed skill of falling asleep in cars, sometimes restful. Driving through the Atlas Mountains making hairpin turns and blind curves reminded me of the Mullholand Madness ride at California Adventure. Being in the front seat often made it feel like I was hanging over the edge of the cliff knowing the tires were still a few feet behind me safety (as I kept telling myself) on the road.
We arrived at a restaurant for lunch and took over the entire second floor of the restaurant when another LLC, Ana pointed out the time to me. While I had previously given thought to the day, September 11th, I did not try to compute the time to east coast time. It was approaching 9:20am in the east coast. Ana asked if she should ask for a moment of silence when a student at our table realized what she was asking and said, that we should. Ana stood up and addressed the 170 SAS participants on our trip. I could see the emotion in her face and hear it in her voice as she called for everyone’s attention and stated that the time was approximately 1320 or 9:20est. All side conversation halted as students realized what she was doing. She asked for a moment of silence to remember those who were no longer with us and for all those affected. A minuet later she thanked everyone and students went back to their conversation and waited for what would be another great Moroccan meal.
Back on the bus we continued along our way, passing small towns and wishing that we could stop allowing us to get some photos of the people and communities. There were many moments that I wanted to capture along the way. The landscape was equally beautiful. If you have ever seen the movie Babel the opening scene with the bus traveling along, we were on that road. Nonetheless the drive continued and then almost without warning the bus pulled of the road and a small pack of camels waiting for us. My bus was the first to arrive and I knew that things were about to get interesting.
My bus alone held 43 passengers and as I have said multiple times we had 170 total in our group. It was then confirmed what was previously chatter among the students that there was 1 camel for every 2 people. So it was up to us to decide with a partner if we would ride the hour to the camp today and walk out tomorrow, or split up both ways allowing both people to ride each day. Now, remember the Life Long Learners I mentioned in Part 1. My poor LLL Louaine used a cane and also needed assistance to step on and off the bus. With the news of camel sharing I was suddenly preparing myself to walk both ways in order to allow at least one LLL ride the entire way.
Ultimately I rode for a bit and had a great time and plenty of laughs with the students around me. Along the way the SAS photographer Steve got a few good shots of me and then I switched with him. While I had assumed that Louaine would ride the entire time thus was not the case. She was complaining about being uncomfortable and she wanted to walk. Fantastic! So, I watched my group journey into the sunset as I slowly walked with Louaine as groups from the other three buses passes us by.
Eventually camp came into sight and one of the tour guides called us over as the rest of the group was making an extra loop buying the crew some additional time to finish setting up for us. I will say, once walking Louaine never complained and really was a trooper but I was happy to get to the camp and take a few moments to myself after the long bus ride and slow walk with Louaine before the rest of the group arrived.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
We’ll always have Marrakech Part 1
After a great time in Spain we said adios and set sail for Morocco. It was a very short trip, only one day and most of it was spent off the coast of Gibraltar to refuel. Preparing for the forewarned rough seas entering Morocco, we were all reminded to remove heavy items from desktops and not to stand in doorways for fear of swinging doors and severed fingers. I went to bed expecting to be woken up due to the tossing when at 5am I was startled awake by water splashing against my window with great force. ‘Here we go’ I thought and jumped to look out the window only to be greeted by the window’s cleaning sprinklers and calm seas. A bit anti climatic if I say so, but I quickly went back to sleep for a while longer before going out for sunset.
The arrival to Morocco was nowhere as enjoyable as Spain. It was cloudy and it rained briefly as Ana and I stood outside waiting for the city to come into sight. We had been told that Morocco was an industrial port and that we would have cranes and shipping containers all around us. I don’t know why I thought the admin team was exaggerating but as the ship approached the port it became very clear that the admin team had actually been kind with the description. Not only were we between shipping containers and cranes but also the entrance to the port and gateway to the city was a good half-mile walk. While SAS did provide a shuttle to the port entrance I was told the service was questionable at best.
While the ship found its final position I being somewhat disappointed ran back to my cabin to get the rest of my things together for my 4 day/3 night trip to Marrakech and the Sahara. A quick breakfast and then it was time to gather with the 170 other people who would be joining me. We picked up our passports and a boxed lunch and made our way to the buses. I received my roster of students I would be somewhat responsible for as a bus leader (each trip as 1 trip leader and then bus leaders should numbers require it) and I quickly I had a few concerns. My students were great but I had 3 older life long learners. I thought that a camel trek and camping in the Sahara might be a bit of a challenge for some of them. I tried to stay positive until one woman walked off the ship with a cane. More on that later.
The first portion of our journey was a 2 hour bus ride to Marrakech during which our tour guide Mulay told us about the 5 pillars of Islam, and various facts about the area including that they usually only have rain 20-25 days a year. Pulling away from the ship I was I relived to be on a SAS excursion as I was intimidated by the conditions of the area and less then welcoming feeling even from the comfort and safety of my tour bus. I looked with concern as I saw some of our students standing at the port gates looking back and forth before crossing the streets that were anything but pedestrian friendly. Lanes were just an idea and stop lights a suggestion. Scooters, taxis, and semi trucks filled with who knows what zipped back and forth.
Happy to get off the bus upon our arrival in Marrakech we were taken to lunch just outside of the ‘famous’ Jemaa el Fna Square in the old part of town. The meal was really quite good and my ever-prevalent food fear was put to ease for at least one more meal. After lunch the sky looked dark and I realized that once again living in southern California had made me forget about weather. I did not bring an umbrella or raincoat on this trip. I pictured them hanging in my closet on the ship and just shook my head hoping for the best.
Walking through the souks or markets of the square we were invited in to each shop by eager owners hoping to make a sale. Ana, Eddie and my favorite computer-lacking student Lucas who clung on to us were in the back corner when the winds picked up and the sky turned black. Looking down the isles to the outside dresses, scarves, and ropes of hanging shoes began to flail about. It was a bit scary as we tried to get out and under some substantial structure as apposed to the haphazard draping of various tarps and flags over the souks. Street venders with henna tattoos, snakes and various types of food also ran for protection as their umbrellas previously shielding them from the harsh afternoon sun had gone cart wheeling across the square due to the high winds. The rain came down in sheets and at the same time the afternoon call to prayer and ended and what seemed like hundreds of men spilled out of the mosque as we all crammed together hoping the rain would quickly pass.
Hearing different languages being shouted back and forth, smelling fish and various other meats, spices, incense, while being crammed in the mosque entry was pretty overwhelming. I looked at Ana, Eddie and Lucas with big eyes trying to take the experience in. We eventually had to make a run for it in order to make it to our bus on time. Pretty wet and feeling pretty nasty we arrived to our hotel and we had a few hours before we met again for dinner.
Dinner as described in our field book was as follows “a Moroccan dinner with folklore show and horse fantasia at Chez Ali.” Dinner as I describe it was the worst of Epcot Center at Disney World and Medieval times combined. All 170 of us are paraded through this manufactured little town as packs of performers danced, sang and played instruments expecting money after students took photos of them. We eventually were taken into our dining room where throughout the evening what must have been a dozen groups of musicians and dancers walked through to perform for us all while looking dead inside and truly hating their life. At least at Disney they have learned the art of the fake smile. The food was great, in-between the musical interruptions every now and then.
We were then escorted back outside to find our seats around the area for the horse fantasia. Words cannot do this production justice. It began with a parade of people, who I will call the cast, including all the musicians and dancers we had gotten to know during our dinner. The music I’ll assume was traditional Moroccan music. Then a sort of float/platform/stage was brought out to the center of the ring and a belly dancer performed followed by a fire performer, a group of guys doing tricks on horses to the music of Star Wars, guys shooting rifles and the big finish was a short fire works show set to O fortuna – a classic piece of loud intense opera, you would recognize it if you hear it. We all left wondering what we had just experienced. Returning for our hotel I was eager to get to bed knowing that we had an 8 hour bus ride to the Sahara the next day.
The arrival to Morocco was nowhere as enjoyable as Spain. It was cloudy and it rained briefly as Ana and I stood outside waiting for the city to come into sight. We had been told that Morocco was an industrial port and that we would have cranes and shipping containers all around us. I don’t know why I thought the admin team was exaggerating but as the ship approached the port it became very clear that the admin team had actually been kind with the description. Not only were we between shipping containers and cranes but also the entrance to the port and gateway to the city was a good half-mile walk. While SAS did provide a shuttle to the port entrance I was told the service was questionable at best.
While the ship found its final position I being somewhat disappointed ran back to my cabin to get the rest of my things together for my 4 day/3 night trip to Marrakech and the Sahara. A quick breakfast and then it was time to gather with the 170 other people who would be joining me. We picked up our passports and a boxed lunch and made our way to the buses. I received my roster of students I would be somewhat responsible for as a bus leader (each trip as 1 trip leader and then bus leaders should numbers require it) and I quickly I had a few concerns. My students were great but I had 3 older life long learners. I thought that a camel trek and camping in the Sahara might be a bit of a challenge for some of them. I tried to stay positive until one woman walked off the ship with a cane. More on that later.
The first portion of our journey was a 2 hour bus ride to Marrakech during which our tour guide Mulay told us about the 5 pillars of Islam, and various facts about the area including that they usually only have rain 20-25 days a year. Pulling away from the ship I was I relived to be on a SAS excursion as I was intimidated by the conditions of the area and less then welcoming feeling even from the comfort and safety of my tour bus. I looked with concern as I saw some of our students standing at the port gates looking back and forth before crossing the streets that were anything but pedestrian friendly. Lanes were just an idea and stop lights a suggestion. Scooters, taxis, and semi trucks filled with who knows what zipped back and forth.
Happy to get off the bus upon our arrival in Marrakech we were taken to lunch just outside of the ‘famous’ Jemaa el Fna Square in the old part of town. The meal was really quite good and my ever-prevalent food fear was put to ease for at least one more meal. After lunch the sky looked dark and I realized that once again living in southern California had made me forget about weather. I did not bring an umbrella or raincoat on this trip. I pictured them hanging in my closet on the ship and just shook my head hoping for the best.
Walking through the souks or markets of the square we were invited in to each shop by eager owners hoping to make a sale. Ana, Eddie and my favorite computer-lacking student Lucas who clung on to us were in the back corner when the winds picked up and the sky turned black. Looking down the isles to the outside dresses, scarves, and ropes of hanging shoes began to flail about. It was a bit scary as we tried to get out and under some substantial structure as apposed to the haphazard draping of various tarps and flags over the souks. Street venders with henna tattoos, snakes and various types of food also ran for protection as their umbrellas previously shielding them from the harsh afternoon sun had gone cart wheeling across the square due to the high winds. The rain came down in sheets and at the same time the afternoon call to prayer and ended and what seemed like hundreds of men spilled out of the mosque as we all crammed together hoping the rain would quickly pass.
Hearing different languages being shouted back and forth, smelling fish and various other meats, spices, incense, while being crammed in the mosque entry was pretty overwhelming. I looked at Ana, Eddie and Lucas with big eyes trying to take the experience in. We eventually had to make a run for it in order to make it to our bus on time. Pretty wet and feeling pretty nasty we arrived to our hotel and we had a few hours before we met again for dinner.
Dinner as described in our field book was as follows “a Moroccan dinner with folklore show and horse fantasia at Chez Ali.” Dinner as I describe it was the worst of Epcot Center at Disney World and Medieval times combined. All 170 of us are paraded through this manufactured little town as packs of performers danced, sang and played instruments expecting money after students took photos of them. We eventually were taken into our dining room where throughout the evening what must have been a dozen groups of musicians and dancers walked through to perform for us all while looking dead inside and truly hating their life. At least at Disney they have learned the art of the fake smile. The food was great, in-between the musical interruptions every now and then.
We were then escorted back outside to find our seats around the area for the horse fantasia. Words cannot do this production justice. It began with a parade of people, who I will call the cast, including all the musicians and dancers we had gotten to know during our dinner. The music I’ll assume was traditional Moroccan music. Then a sort of float/platform/stage was brought out to the center of the ring and a belly dancer performed followed by a fire performer, a group of guys doing tricks on horses to the music of Star Wars, guys shooting rifles and the big finish was a short fire works show set to O fortuna – a classic piece of loud intense opera, you would recognize it if you hear it. We all left wondering what we had just experienced. Returning for our hotel I was eager to get to bed knowing that we had an 8 hour bus ride to the Sahara the next day.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Spain, day 4
It was our last day in Spain so a group of us went out to purchase stamps, gifts and a few general groceries. The grocery had just put out a bunch of fresh rolls so we took the opportunity to have a cheap and easy lunch. Picture it, case of soda, a few warm rolls, a package of ham and group of Americans right outside the store. We all had a good laugh knowing that the locals must have thought we were ridiculous.
Hanna and Ann decided to go to the beach but Ana, Grant, Eddie and I continued our exploring. I’ll let you guess what we did next. No, not a bullfight, ok yes we people watched but that’s not the answer I was looking for. We got a final round of sangria before heading back to the ship to begin staffing the re-embarkation process. To take an excerpt from my co-worker Bridget’s blog:
Based on feedback from previous voyages the hours before all passengers must be on the ship prior to setting sail is a mess for the security team. All bags must be searches and all passengers are patted down leading to pretty long lines. Tom our SAS security officer is determined to make this, the 100th voyage better than those before hand. So, two hours prior to on ship time, the LLCs got into place and like we did in Halifax further developed our skills as future TSA baggage screeners. We did our best to welcome students back with a smile as we diligently searched for any contraband. This time we included to our list of those items previously mentioned any twist off beverage bottles and packaged meat. While students were encouraged to try the ham in Spain, we could not allow them to bring it on the ship for health and safety reasons. Some students were disappointed but none of them gave us much of a hard time. A few even took the opportunity to open the packaging and devour the entire package before boarding and to be honest the staff took care of the rest.
No one was late and we set sail as scheduled. The waters were pretty rough last night and they are warning us of another bad night ahead tonight. The entry to Morocco was so bad for the summer voyage that they were delayed an entire day, and had to cancel all the first day excursions. I really hope this is not the case tomorrow as I am scheduled to leave for my Marrakech and Sahara camel trek excursion tomorrow.
I hope all is well back in the states. Thanks for following along,
P
Hanna and Ann decided to go to the beach but Ana, Grant, Eddie and I continued our exploring. I’ll let you guess what we did next. No, not a bullfight, ok yes we people watched but that’s not the answer I was looking for. We got a final round of sangria before heading back to the ship to begin staffing the re-embarkation process. To take an excerpt from my co-worker Bridget’s blog:
Nothing compares to the versatility of Student Affairs folks. As a Living/Learning Team, we expect to be a part of any process, procedure, event, or issue. We rarely question late nights, we loathe early mornings because of the late nights (but we'll do it anyways), and the best part of it all is that we are damn funny and have the best stories. We're in the trenches, so not only do we have our fingers on the pulse of what's happening in students lives, we are part of the heartbeat. We set the rhythm and serve as the pacemakers. We can speed you up, slow you down, and if necessary pull the plug if it's just not working.
Based on feedback from previous voyages the hours before all passengers must be on the ship prior to setting sail is a mess for the security team. All bags must be searches and all passengers are patted down leading to pretty long lines. Tom our SAS security officer is determined to make this, the 100th voyage better than those before hand. So, two hours prior to on ship time, the LLCs got into place and like we did in Halifax further developed our skills as future TSA baggage screeners. We did our best to welcome students back with a smile as we diligently searched for any contraband. This time we included to our list of those items previously mentioned any twist off beverage bottles and packaged meat. While students were encouraged to try the ham in Spain, we could not allow them to bring it on the ship for health and safety reasons. Some students were disappointed but none of them gave us much of a hard time. A few even took the opportunity to open the packaging and devour the entire package before boarding and to be honest the staff took care of the rest.
No one was late and we set sail as scheduled. The waters were pretty rough last night and they are warning us of another bad night ahead tonight. The entry to Morocco was so bad for the summer voyage that they were delayed an entire day, and had to cancel all the first day excursions. I really hope this is not the case tomorrow as I am scheduled to leave for my Marrakech and Sahara camel trek excursion tomorrow.
I hope all is well back in the states. Thanks for following along,
P
Spain, day 2 & 3
After a quiet night of duty it was off to Seville! A bunch of the LLCs, and a number of students were on the 11:00 train. The station was right next to the port so it was an easy walk from the ship but being my fathers son, I wanted to leave the ship at 9:40. Arriving at the station with PLENTY of time I got some Euros from the ATM and looked at my map of Seville. The two hour ride was nice and allowed some of us to see the outlying areas between town and others to read and fall asleep.
When we arrived Grant and I took a cab to our hotel and were pleased that they let us check in a bit early. We dropped off our things and took to the streets to explore. A word of caution, Seville is a pedestrian friendly city, but not so navigationally friendly. Maybe having grown up in a town that was a square grid system with each mile simply named by its mile number, set me up for failure. I usually think I am pretty good with directions, N.S.E.W, using a map and the such, and Grant made it clear from the beginning that he would be close to useless in this area. However, I was THAT GUY looking at the map at nearly every intersection. I got frustrated looking for the Cathedral so Grant provided the only support he knew how by suggesting we stop for some Sangria. I headed his advise without question. After a nice break we made a second attempt to find the Cathedral. Practice makes perfect.
In our journey we tried to do our part in the economic support of Spain making a few small purchases of post cards, a fan and things. As in Cadiz, the jean cargo man Capri pants were quite popular along with the mullet as Augustine said they would. I regret to inform you that I did not take the chance to photograph this phenomenon but I’ll keep my eyes out for fellow travelers who may have captured and evidence.
When in Spain we wanted to do as the Spaniards do, so we went back to our hotel for a siesta or a disco nap as a few friends back in LA call it to prepare for our evening out. Around 9:30 we went for dinner and I was pleased to see the menu was tourist friendly by having the items listed in three languages. After a few glasses of sangria (if you haven’t already picked up on it sangria will be a reoccurring aspect of my time in Spain) and a great dinner we made our way to a sidewalk café where we responsibly enjoyed, you guessed it, more sangria!
Prior to leaving the states Grant found a regular Sunday drag show so that was our goal for the evening. The show was fun and the music all in Spanish was passionate but impossible for me to understand. (Sorry Senora Nicho, my Spanish has only gotten worse from its already terrible skill level back in high school.) Grant feeling a little more linguistically inclined tried to order me a Vodka cranberry but I quickly learned that ‘vodka y cran’ wasn’t right and that I should not trust Grant. I got a tall glass of straight caramel vodka. I spent the evening sipping on it until I got myself a glass of soda and mixed them. If I remember correctly Grant asked for a mohito but I do know he did not get what he expected. At 4:30am the show came to an end and the bar quickly cleared so Grant and I called it a night.
The next morning Grant and I, no worse for wear after our evening of mystery drinks, checked out of our hotel walked around a bit more, got ‘lost’ a bit more, did some more shopping then made our way back to the train station for our ride home. Just like the ride there we had a number of students on our train and Grant and I both spent the two-hour trip reading.
Back in Cadiz I took some time to catch up on some journaling at a small café along with a glass of Sangria (its just that good) and enjoyed a quiet evening.
When we arrived Grant and I took a cab to our hotel and were pleased that they let us check in a bit early. We dropped off our things and took to the streets to explore. A word of caution, Seville is a pedestrian friendly city, but not so navigationally friendly. Maybe having grown up in a town that was a square grid system with each mile simply named by its mile number, set me up for failure. I usually think I am pretty good with directions, N.S.E.W, using a map and the such, and Grant made it clear from the beginning that he would be close to useless in this area. However, I was THAT GUY looking at the map at nearly every intersection. I got frustrated looking for the Cathedral so Grant provided the only support he knew how by suggesting we stop for some Sangria. I headed his advise without question. After a nice break we made a second attempt to find the Cathedral. Practice makes perfect.
In our journey we tried to do our part in the economic support of Spain making a few small purchases of post cards, a fan and things. As in Cadiz, the jean cargo man Capri pants were quite popular along with the mullet as Augustine said they would. I regret to inform you that I did not take the chance to photograph this phenomenon but I’ll keep my eyes out for fellow travelers who may have captured and evidence.
When in Spain we wanted to do as the Spaniards do, so we went back to our hotel for a siesta or a disco nap as a few friends back in LA call it to prepare for our evening out. Around 9:30 we went for dinner and I was pleased to see the menu was tourist friendly by having the items listed in three languages. After a few glasses of sangria (if you haven’t already picked up on it sangria will be a reoccurring aspect of my time in Spain) and a great dinner we made our way to a sidewalk café where we responsibly enjoyed, you guessed it, more sangria!
Prior to leaving the states Grant found a regular Sunday drag show so that was our goal for the evening. The show was fun and the music all in Spanish was passionate but impossible for me to understand. (Sorry Senora Nicho, my Spanish has only gotten worse from its already terrible skill level back in high school.) Grant feeling a little more linguistically inclined tried to order me a Vodka cranberry but I quickly learned that ‘vodka y cran’ wasn’t right and that I should not trust Grant. I got a tall glass of straight caramel vodka. I spent the evening sipping on it until I got myself a glass of soda and mixed them. If I remember correctly Grant asked for a mohito but I do know he did not get what he expected. At 4:30am the show came to an end and the bar quickly cleared so Grant and I called it a night.
The next morning Grant and I, no worse for wear after our evening of mystery drinks, checked out of our hotel walked around a bit more, got ‘lost’ a bit more, did some more shopping then made our way back to the train station for our ride home. Just like the ride there we had a number of students on our train and Grant and I both spent the two-hour trip reading.
Back in Cadiz I took some time to catch up on some journaling at a small café along with a glass of Sangria (its just that good) and enjoyed a quiet evening.
Spain, day 1
After a great night with our pre-port staff party, I was up dark and early to watch the sunrise as we made our way into the port of Cadiz. Ana called at 6:30am and soon after I met her on a very blustery Deck 8 forward. Some students were already there and many others quickly joined as we began to see the lights of Cadiz appear in the distance.
The moon was still holding court when we got up at 6:30am to celebrate our arrival in Spain.
Approaching every port Captain Jeremy steps down and allows a port pilot to take over. These specialized pilots know all the nuances of the port; the ocean floor, the currents, the tides, the docking positions etc. It’s like having valet parking every time. In something that looks like a stunt out of a James Bond movie the pilot boat comes towards the ship, flips around along side our ship and the pilot jumps on board just before the small boat turns and peals away from the edge of our much larger ship. We have been told that it is always neat to see but when the water is rough it can be down right nerve racking.
Not a techincally great photo but I still love it.
Slowly the sun began to set the sky on fire as if fighting the moon for its position still high above. Second by second Cadiz reveled more of its self to us the; cathedral’s dome and spires and monuments in the center of a square a few blocks in. The ship found it final position for the next few days and the immigration crew stepped on board and began to review all the passports while Ana and I made our way to the cafeteria for our first breakfast ‘in’ Spain. Conversations buzzed with talks of the various itineraries; flamenco show, Barcelona, Seville, Gibraltar, exploring Cadiz, and of course many students excitement to go to the clubs. Having been prepared for a potentially long clearing process, some times taking up to 6 hours before anyone is allowed to get off the ship, I made my way back to my cabin to catch up on the sleep I missed.
The MV Explorer's lights turn on to indicate its arrival in Cadiz!
I was not even in my room for 15 seconds when over the ships announcement system the LLCs were asked to report to the fac/staff lounge to distribute passports. This was news to us, and not well received news by a number of my colleagues who were woken up by that message. Of course we did what we had to do but afterwards I went back to bed for a few hours before meeting a student to go get a new computer.
Lucas’s computer crashed on the 2nd day of the voyage and came to me the prior evening after our pre-port meeting in which students reminded of general travel safety including the standard ‘do not walk alone’. Well Lucas had planed to go purchase a new computer on his own but came by to check if it would be ok. Sensing his concern I offered to go with him, as I had no real plans other than walking around the city that day as I was on duty that evening. Well I meet Lucas and we take off. I expected Lucas to be prepared with a map, directions, and a plan in general. When I asked where we were headed he said that he wasn’t sure, he just planed to ask the cab driver. I then told him that I didn’t have any Euros, of course nor did he. We begin walking. He asked for directions three times and we finally made it to the store. Not so surprisingly all the computers and Spanish keyboards. Ultimately he chose not to buy a new computer. Seriously. He is just lucky I made it back to the ship in time for lunch.
That afternoon I met up with some students and Steven our SAS photographer for a bit of a casual walking/photo tour of Cadiz. It was nice to explore a bit as well as get to know a few more students all while getting some nice photo tips. I had to return to the ship for duty so I left the group began the walk back through the small streets. I was a bit anxious about the first night of Port Duty but confident that I would be able to deal with whatever came my way. I'm pleased to say that I did so flawlessly as I didn’t get a single call.
The moon was still holding court when we got up at 6:30am to celebrate our arrival in Spain.
Approaching every port Captain Jeremy steps down and allows a port pilot to take over. These specialized pilots know all the nuances of the port; the ocean floor, the currents, the tides, the docking positions etc. It’s like having valet parking every time. In something that looks like a stunt out of a James Bond movie the pilot boat comes towards the ship, flips around along side our ship and the pilot jumps on board just before the small boat turns and peals away from the edge of our much larger ship. We have been told that it is always neat to see but when the water is rough it can be down right nerve racking.
Not a techincally great photo but I still love it.
Slowly the sun began to set the sky on fire as if fighting the moon for its position still high above. Second by second Cadiz reveled more of its self to us the; cathedral’s dome and spires and monuments in the center of a square a few blocks in. The ship found it final position for the next few days and the immigration crew stepped on board and began to review all the passports while Ana and I made our way to the cafeteria for our first breakfast ‘in’ Spain. Conversations buzzed with talks of the various itineraries; flamenco show, Barcelona, Seville, Gibraltar, exploring Cadiz, and of course many students excitement to go to the clubs. Having been prepared for a potentially long clearing process, some times taking up to 6 hours before anyone is allowed to get off the ship, I made my way back to my cabin to catch up on the sleep I missed.
The MV Explorer's lights turn on to indicate its arrival in Cadiz!
I was not even in my room for 15 seconds when over the ships announcement system the LLCs were asked to report to the fac/staff lounge to distribute passports. This was news to us, and not well received news by a number of my colleagues who were woken up by that message. Of course we did what we had to do but afterwards I went back to bed for a few hours before meeting a student to go get a new computer.
Lucas’s computer crashed on the 2nd day of the voyage and came to me the prior evening after our pre-port meeting in which students reminded of general travel safety including the standard ‘do not walk alone’. Well Lucas had planed to go purchase a new computer on his own but came by to check if it would be ok. Sensing his concern I offered to go with him, as I had no real plans other than walking around the city that day as I was on duty that evening. Well I meet Lucas and we take off. I expected Lucas to be prepared with a map, directions, and a plan in general. When I asked where we were headed he said that he wasn’t sure, he just planed to ask the cab driver. I then told him that I didn’t have any Euros, of course nor did he. We begin walking. He asked for directions three times and we finally made it to the store. Not so surprisingly all the computers and Spanish keyboards. Ultimately he chose not to buy a new computer. Seriously. He is just lucky I made it back to the ship in time for lunch.
That afternoon I met up with some students and Steven our SAS photographer for a bit of a casual walking/photo tour of Cadiz. It was nice to explore a bit as well as get to know a few more students all while getting some nice photo tips. I had to return to the ship for duty so I left the group began the walk back through the small streets. I was a bit anxious about the first night of Port Duty but confident that I would be able to deal with whatever came my way. I'm pleased to say that I did so flawlessly as I didn’t get a single call.
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