cape town and kwazulu-natal, south africa

we're shipping off from cape town tonight, and I'm so sad to leave, had a truly amazing time here. for now I just want to upload as many pictures as I can from my safari in kwazulu-natal and from the top of table mountain in cape town which i hiked up (!), and I'll add the text in a few days. the world cup is going to be held in cape town in 2010, so if anyone's considering attending, I can't recommend this city highly enough. enjoy the pictures, talk to you all soon!












more to come soon!

salvador, bahia, BRAZIL, BRAZIL!

bongia

(good morning in portuguese, though its nighttime in the middle of the atlantic as I type)

we arrived in brazil early on tuesday morning, february 5^th. it was at about 5:30 am, and this time my roommate coretta, our friends and I made it up to the top deck forward to watch as we pulled into the bay area of salvador. the sun was just rising over the city skyline; it was beautiful.

that morning coretta and I went on a SAS-organized orientation of the city. we took a bus around salvador, and the first thing we saw were the favellas, which are the ghettos of the city. salvador is divided into two sections: the old upper city, called pelourinho, and the lower city, which is newer. this is because when the portuguese first settled the area, they built their city on top of the hill for defensive purposes, so as the city has expanded into the lower area, the favellas have developed on the steep slopes that dive the city. they are packed and stacked around each other, and really demonstrate the opposite extremes that you find in brazil: extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

the bus took us around the lower and then out to a more rural area, where we visited a small art gallery near an old harbor. in contrast to the busy streets near the ship, this area was peaceful, and everyone seemed to move with a much more relaxed attitude. the buildings in the area were all very old, and many were run down, but the colors and aesthetic designs were beautiful. most were pastel colored, with ornate trip details, most covered with peeling white paint.

after we finished wandering around the gallery we were dropped off near pelourinho, and walked up one of the steep cobblestone roads that lead up to the old city. we arrived on fat tuesday, so the streets were packed with locals in costumes. one particular carnaval group, called the “filhos de ghandi,” or the children of ghandi, was gathering in a square as we walked by.

in salvador, the last day of carnaval culminates in an all-night parade of different musical acts through the streets on huge floats. each float is run by a different carnaval group, such as the filhos de ghandi, who are each identifiable by the carnaval costumes that they wear. as the parade wind through salvador, the members of each group travel with their float, either on it or around it, and many floats have bathrooms, beds to rest on, and open bars provided for their supporters. the trick to being part of one of these carnaval groups is that you have to pay for the costume, and depending on the popularity of the group, it can get pretty expensive, sometimes upwards of the equivalent of $400.00 here again, you can see the extreme social inequality of brazil: throughout the entirety of the parade, there are rope-holders, who keep in place on both sides of the floats a rope barrier to keep the revelers of the streets, who don’t have to pay anything, away from the group members, who clearly have money to spend on this status.

the filhos de ghandi, who were created just after ghandi died in memory of him and in support of peace, wear white and blue costumes, with turbans on their heads, long robes, stacked bead necklaces, and sandals on their feet. there were thousands of them in salvador that day, and they seemed to be the most popular group. our tour finished with a walk through pelourinho at around 3:30 pm, where the carnaval parade was just beginning. then we took the public elevator down to the lower city. the elevator is a really unique aspect of salvador; there are four large elevators that run all day and late into the night, and provide public transportation between the two levels of the city. during carnaval it was a free service, and for the rest of our stay it was ,05 R each way, which is the equivalent of about 2 cents American. it was so helpful, and a cheap way of getting around- it was the only money that I spent on transportation, since the elevator was a 5 minute walk from the ship, and everything I wanted to do was either in the market place below or in pelourinho above.

the weather was hot and humid in brazil, so when we got back from our walk, coretta and I showered and napped to prepare for that night. semester at sea had warned us exhaustively on the dangers of pick pocketing, robbery, and sexual harassment during carnaval in salvador (though its not quite as dangerous as in rio), so were all overly cautious that night. we organized on the ship that night in a group of about 15, and although most of us were girls, we made sure to have a few guys in the group for safety. I had on a money belt tucked safely under my shirt, and our group made it through the night with no trouble whatsoever. the streets were packed with thousands and thousands of partiers, and it was pretty crazy, but almost all of the locals that we interacted with were friendly and just having fun themselves. we found a spot on the sidewalk right in front of the rope line, and we danced for hours as the different floats went by. one local couple we met helped fend off creepy guys, and the woman was so sweet; she taught us some brazilian dance moves and took pictures with us. it got a little packed at certain points, but we all held on to each other so we wouldn’t get swept away by the passing crowed, who were moving with the floats. brazilian men are pretty forward about complimenting women, especially during carnaval when kissing strangers is part of the tradition (same as with karneval in germany). a few of the girls I was with got kisses planted on them, but I fended off all advances; for the most part, you only got kissed if you wanted to. this is pretty gross, but it would be an inaccurate description of carnaval if I didn’t mention it: though there were port-a-potties available, they were overcrowded, and it seemed to be an every day practice for men to just pee in public. at one point I looked behind our group and saw about 6 men, all lined up along the wall. the sidewalks were covered in urine, and it was a smell that you just had to get used to. it was better after carnaval though, and confined to just the sidewalks along the roadways. okay, anyways… we had a great time, it was so much fun dancing to all the crazy music. we left the streets at around 1am, which was relatively early since others stayed out till dawn, because many of us had early trips the next morning. two of my close friends left salvador at around the same time that we left the streets to go on a 4 boat day trip down the amazon, which they said was incredible.

the next day, coretta and I went on an all day boat trip to the small islands which lie just off the coast of salvador, and make up the bay area. these islands were often used in the colonial times to help arriving europeans adjust to the warm climate, as well as the various sicknesses that came with the new environment. certain religious groups would spend up to a year living on these islands before settling in to salvador. the first we visited was tiny, and was home only to a beautiful beach with a bar and some lounge chairs, as well as an old christian church and graveyard up on one of the hills. it took our old wooden motor boat about 90 minutes to get there, and there were a few sailboats docked in the bay just off the beach, so it looked like locals frequented the area. after swimming in the turquoise bay water, which was ridiculously warm (like a bath tub!), and relaxing on the beach, we motored over to itaparica island, which is the largest and most visited island off of salvador. our group had some traditional brazilian food served to us in a waterfront restaurant right near the docks, and afterwards had time to explore the island for about an hour. coretta, one of the nurses from the ship, and I found a small cobblestone square with a store that served amazing homemade coconut ice cream for only one real (less than one american dollar), which was a great treat in the hot sun. we were able to walk around an old church before returning to the boat for our trip back to salvador. exhausted from the long day and from the late night before, we just rested that night.

on thursday the 7^th we slept in a little and then went shopping in the lower city marketplace and in pelourinho of the upper city. I was totally enchanted by pelourinho; during carnaval the old city had seemed crazy and dirty, but when the celebrations were over, it turned out to be a laidback, charming area, with street vendors, beautiful fountains, live music, small winding cobblestone streets, and vibrant local artwork displayed on the sidewalks. though many SASers traveled to rio or the amazon, I was happy to really get to know salvador.

that night, the 300 or so SAS participants that were not traveling in other parts of brazil went to a state futbol championship game. this was not a national game, with hundreds of thousands of fans, but the stadium was full at about 4,000, and it was really fun. it was bahia vs. some other brazilian state, and we were all rooting for the home team bahia, because this is the state that salvador belongs to. there were lots of loud, cheering bahia fans, and it was really fun to join in with the chants. bahia ended up winning 2-0, and while at the game I was able to try some brazilian street vendor food, like this barbequed sausage on a stick that was dusted in flour fried in palm oil (I know, so healthy. but delicious, I wish I could remember the brazilian name), and again, coconut ice cream. the ice cream vendor walked through the stands balancing a large ice cream cooler on his head, and it was pretty impressive. I was sure he’d drop something on someone, but he had perfect balance.

the next day I went on an SAS-organized trip to the afro-brazilian museum in pelourinho, which was dedicated to african religion of candomblé. our guide was a member of the belief himself, so he was very informative, and described in great detail some of the practices of the tradition, like possession. candomblé was brought to brazil by african slaves during 16^th through the 19^th centuries. the major candomblé gods were given christian names once in brazil so the religion could be passed off as a belief system of christianity. this was done in order to maintain the religion under the rule of the portugese, who wanted to eradicate any african practice that created a sense of community among slaves, especially a religion that they would have considered witchcraft. candomblé has about 12 orixás, or gods, each presiding over a different aspect of life. each follower of candomblé is chosen by an orixás during their initiation, and this figure becomes their personal god, whom which they have to answer to. our guide described how he had been punished by his orixás on a few occasions, and had been possessed by him as well. the museum had beautiful life-size wood carvings of each orixás, which were adorned by glass beads and a carving of the animal that is associated with each deity.

after the museum we traveled to a candomblé house just outside of the city which was pretty cool, there was a small community of candomblé followers that lived around the house. this space was used for religious ceremonies, and we were able to see three new initiates who had just joined in the past few days; they demonstrated some of their chants for us. among the buildings around the candomblé house was a weaving house where the clothing for the ceremonies are created, using an old foot petal-powered loom. the cloth was beautiful, and they were offered for sale as well, but they cost over a hundred dollars, so I couldn’t get any. they were fairly priced though, because the man who was working the loom told us that the larger pieces took up to 10 days to complete. (the woman in this picture is wearing traditional afro-brazilian candomblé dress.)

that night a few friends and I went out to eat in pelourinho, which though crowded and wild during carnaval, became calm, charming, and laid-back after the party-goers left. we ate at a traditional brazilian restaurant, where the platters were large and shared, and came out still cooking on a small tabletop grill. the food was great and so was the atmosphere; there were local musicians, a guitarist and a vocalist, and we listened to them from our outdoor table on the cobblestone street. sooo delightful.

the next morning was one of the best experiences I had in brazil: I took a capoeira class. capoeira is another brazilian tradition that has its roots in africa and was brought over by african slaves hundreds of years ago. these traditions have been preserved throughout brazil, but they are especially strong in salvador, because it was the capital of the country during many of the years of slave trade. it is the city with the highest percentage of african decedents in all of brazil, so salvador has a strong african culture and identity. capoeira is a form of martial art, but it is also a lot like dancing. it was created in brazil as a way for the african slaves to maintain their defensive abilities and strength, though the slave owners forbid them from actual fights. there were capoeira demonstrations throughout the squares of pelourinho, but I really wanted to take a genuine class rather than just watching from the side lines. so early on saturday morning, our last day in salvador, myself and four SASers that I had met in one of my classes walked into pelourinho to find ourselves a beginners class. we found a small school called the associação de capoeira, which was on the top floor of a storefront building, and consisted of an open studio and small reception office. we paid the 15 reals and got an amazing hour-long beginners class. our instructors capoeira nickname was mestre bamba, and he was amazing. he spoke very little english but was a great teacher, he was able to communicate brilliantly and didn’t let us half-ass it- we were working hard the entire time. I thought I’d be fine because of my ballet training, but the class was really intense. we did lots of squatting and kicking, cartwheels, and tumbles. the way capoeira works is that one learns a repertoire of both defensive and offensive moves, and then during demonstrations and in-class exercises, you match up against another, enter the ring, and free-style fight using the moves you both know. we got to experience this first hand at the end of the class; there were three advanced brazilian capoeira students at the studio who had been instructed separately from us by mestre bamba throughout our time there. the last exercise of class paired each of us against an advanced student, and we took turns entering the ring and free-style fighting. all us newbie americans were really nervous, but it was so fun. the brazilians were as nice as can be, and helped us out by going for a duck first, so we could kick, and then they would reciprocate. afterwards we all shook hands, we thanked mestre bamba, and took a picture with him. he gave us his card and told him to e-mail him the picture so he could put in on the wall. it was such a great local experience, something I had no idea that I could do and something that is so unique to salvador. I’m so glad I went! even though I was ridiculously sore for days afterwards, to the point of hobbling up and down stairs, and bracing myself as a sat down or stood up.

after the class my exhausted friends and I went to a very cool hostel/internet café that was located in the upper city, right by the elevators. we had açai, which is an amazing brazilian dish that really healthy, and especially good to refuel after a work-out. it’s a cross between italian ice and yogurt, but really just hard to describe. it’s made from crushed açai berries, which are native to brazil and are very high in antioxidants. the açai dish is deep purple and very cold; it’s icy and so refreshing. it’s usually served with sliced fruit; we got a bowl with banana and a bowl with mango. it also comes with granola, which I like to sprinkle in at the end, when all the ice is melted and the fruit is gone. it’s so delicious, you have to get it if you’re ever in brazil.

in celebration of our time in salvador, there was a huge cook-out on the ship during the hours before we left port, with a great spread and live music. the food ship had been getting a little repetitive, so everyone was grateful for potato and pasta salads, hot dogs, kebobs, fresh brazilian fruit, and ice cream. it was a perfect way to end our time in brazil, which I absolutely loved. I’m definitely going back, I have to see rio, the amazon, and the iguaucu falls, (all of which were visited by different SAS trips), but I am so glad that I stayed in salvador, I really loved the city. more to come, this time on south africa! i'll be uploading the pictures from my safari tomorrow, and hopefully a full account of my time here will follow. this is so amazing, i am absolutely loving my time on semester at sea.

puerto rico, that lovely island

sooo, I’m a little behind. there’s always so much to do on the ship, even while we’re at sea, and now that classes are underway I have lots of reading to do. after one day of classes we docked in san juan, puerto rico on saturday the 26^th of january. we pulled in to the bay area at around 8am, and although I didn’t make it up onto the top deck to watch the arrival, I woke up as the sun was rising and watched the skyline outside my window while still in bed. customs officials boarded at around 9 and my friends and I make it out of the long line and onto the docks by 10:30.

we wandered around the streets of san juan just taking it all in, and before long we reached the ocean side of the city, where we got to experience a beautiful coastline. the beach was almost nonexistent because of steep cliffs which were covered in jungle plants and palm trees. the waves coming in off the atlantic were huge, and I took some great pictures- all I could think was how logan and my dad would love surfing there, if not for the rocky shoreline.

for the rest of the morning we wandered around old san juan, which is the really beautiful part of the city with narrow cobblestone roads and pastel colored buildings. we visited a few of the old forts along the waterfront and then returned to the docks.

in the afternoon we made a much needed trip to kmart (i know its wrong, but it’s better than walmart, right?) to pick up all the cheap american goods that we had forgotten. for dinner we went to a nice puerto rican restaurant in old san juan, and I had sweet bread and shrimp monfongo, a local dish made of mashed-up fried plantains and grilled shrimp. soooo delicious!

that night I had my one SAS-organized field trip, to a bioluminescent bay. it was an hour and a half coach bus ride from san juan out into the country side, and by the time we were getting in to our two person sea kayaks, the sun was just setting. it was a 20 minute kayak trip from the harbor starting point to the bio bay, and we had to paddle through a narrow canal that was surrounded by jungle, with low hanging trees and low flying bats. it was wild! literally. we saw a huge iguana up in the trees, and you could hear rustling and howling all around. at one point the waterway was so narrow that it was pitch dark, and the only light you could see was the red glow stick attached to the back of the kayak in front of you. the closer we got to the bio bay, the more phosphorescents would light up around our paddles. it was so very cool.

the bio bay was a huge open body of water, completely surrounded by trees. it was really dark so the stars were especially bright and beautiful, and everyone seemed pretty impressed, although I think that the stars are just as bright on cape cod J. we were in the bio bay with the second highest concentration of phosphorescents in the world, and it was pretty amazing. any agitation in the water illuminated thousands of little lights, and if you let the water run down your arm, it stayed lit. after I got back my friends and I went out to some local bars near by for a few hours, but we came back relatively early because we were all exhausted.

the second day was spent exploring the open market and lower bay area of old san juan, which was a cool scene- there was live music, old couples dancing, home made sweets, and a beautiful fountain, all in an old cobble stone square. in the afternoon we found a locals’ beach on the ocean side and relaxed there for an hour or so, and I got to go swimming. the beach wasn’t so clean but the water was nice, and pretty warm for january. that night a group of about 20 of us went out in search of local music and dancing, but since it was a sunday night the only action we could find was at senior frogs. we enjoyed ourselves though, since the place was packed with semester at sea students and crew members.

our last day was mellow, especially since we had to stay near to the ship so we wouldn’t miss departure time. since puerto rico is a commonwealth of the U.S. (like massachusetts!), I was able to make a few phone calls home from friends’ cell phones, and I got to talk to my mom and dad, logan, clementine, and my boyfriend. I really loved san juan, but it was a little too american- I saw atleast 3 different starbucks! so we were all excited to get on our way to salvador, brazil, which took a week of travel time at sea.

during our time on the ship I fell into my routine a bit better, and got used to my schedule of two to three academic classes a day, three hours of work study a day, and a yoga class every other day. I obviously look forward to time in different ports over time at sea, but I’ve been enjoying myself a lot on the ship.

on saturday the 2^nd of february we crossed the equator, and I was up on the top deck when the horn sounded, announcing our entrance into the southern hemisphere. it’s exciting because I’ve never traveled to the southern half of the world before, but the physical crossing was pretty anticlimactic- they really should project some sort of yellow line onto the sea, or a line of buoys. haha, yeah right. (the photo below was taken on the bow of the ship as we crossed the equator.)

as for super bowl sunday, a group of about 200-300 students signed a petition promising not to use the internet during the hours of the game (the net is sluggish on the ship because of limited bandwidth, and even worse when everyone’s online), and we gathered in one of the dining rooms around someone’s lap top, which was streaming a new york-based radio station that was covering the game. there were speakers hooked up, a dry erase scoreboard, and although it cut out a few times and I was surrounded by obnoxious giants fans, it was a really fun experience. I located a hearty group of new englanders and we cheered loudly enough to drown out those giants fans at a few key parts of the game. well, until the last two minutes. that’s all I need to say about that.

time is flying by; after five amazing days in salvador we’re leaving brazil and setting out across the atlantic towards south africa. I promise an entry on brazil in the coming week. right now I need to do some reading and homework (pfff, can you believe we have to do work?)

as for the pictures, I’m sorry but I just can’t upload them from the ship, the internet is far too slow. I have some great ones though, and I’ll be posting as many as I can, hopefully from an internet café in south africa. it was just way too risky to bring my lap top off the ship during carnival in brazil!

love to all.