Manaus, Brazil (The Amazon!)

So after traveling for days up the Amazon River, we finally arrived at our second to last port of call, the city of Manaus. It was quite the journey; brown water, HUGE bugs, and the smell of smoke became all too familiar to us on the ship. It’s true what they say – they really are burning down some of the rainforest.

Haley, Ashley, and I joined our Resident Director, Renee, and a bunch of other acquaintances for a real-life Amazonian adventure. We had a loose idea of what we’d be doing, but for the most part, it was a very pleasant surprise.

First day, we make our way toward our jungle lodge. We take a bus, a boat, another bus, another boat, and then we hike for about 25 minutes. So needless to say, if anything were to have happened to us out there, it was quite the trek to get help. On our first boat ride, we stopped briefly at the famous “meeting of the waters.” The Rio Negro meets the Rio Soloman, the first being black and the latter brown. They meet, but since their temperatures, velocities, and pH are so different, they don’t mix. It’s a pretty cool thing to see.

So now we’re at our lodge, and it’s so sweet. We were all to sleep in this big room with a bunch of hammocks and beds and plenty of mosquito netting. From here, our guide, Marcus, showed us to a local family’s house where we saw how they grew pineapples, cashews, and some weird potato thing. He introduced us to another plant with buds we could break open and use as face paint. Then we played some soccer. It was a lot of fun since none of us are very good, but it was just so so hot. I’ve never sweat so much in my entire life. (Until the next day)

That night we went out in our little makeshift large canoe/speedboat in search of some kaymen, the Amazon type of alligator. Marcus found a few baby ones pretty quickly, and we all got to hold them. At night, there are these crazy jumping fish that are stirred up by the motor of the boat. There were hundreds flying out of the water all around us getting at least a foot of air. One even wacked Haley right in the face!

Day 2 began with real scrambled eggs (I had forgotten what those taste like) and plantains so we were off to a good start. We hiked back to our boat and took a short ride to another hiking destination. It was on this trek that we saw our first snake, one with a bite that would kill you in 3 hours. Yikes! We wandered around the forest, which was an area that would normally be under water during their wet season. There are water lines on everything. It’s a hard thing to imagine.

The next critter we ran into was our great friend the sloth. Now I had seen one of this awkward, fairly ugly guys in Costa Rica before, but I was still pretty excited. Although this sloth was still Chubaca-esque and creepy, he was tiny and just a little bit cute. His movements were just so robotic and his claws off-putting, that  you can’t help but be a little bit freaked out.

On our hike back to our boat, we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of a toucan! It was brief but still incredible. We had lunch at a floating “restaurant” right on the water. Rice is their staple, and the pineapple is incredible… almost on Ghana’s level. So delicious.

So then we road around in our boat for awhile, we would spot kaymens and dolphins and all these cool birds. We eventually brought out our fishing rods for some piranha fishing. It was so fun! I caught 3 I think before catfish started being more attracted to my bait than the piranhas. People would drop them attempting to de-hook them so we had about 4 swimming around in the bottom of our boat at one time. Not cool. I think the most someone caught was 15 piranhas!

We returned to our lodge and had the entire evening free to just do whatever. We all sat around with a few drinks and just enjoyed ourselves. The people I was with I had met before, but I had never spent any real time with them. They were all so awesome! We had a great time sharing stories, worries, and just getting to know each other. It was really nice to be with such great company at our last “real” port.

The next morning began with an intense jungle trek, like in the real jungle. There was no path. It was kind of nice to have to watch where you were walking at all times because then you could act like a bajillion critters weren’t either flying or crawling all around you. About an hour in, Marcus sticks a twig in this hole a taunts this HUGE tarantula out and up a tree. I mean, I knew they were big but not that big. I became extremely aware of every hole in the ground for there on out. We even got to sample some Brazil nuts right off the rainforest floor.

We really went all out in our last “real” port. As always, I hadn’t expected to have such a great time. We did absolutely everything we wanted to and were with some of the greatest people; I couldn’t have imagined a better trip. 

Rio!

Listen to the song “Take You to Rio” by J-Biebs (Justin Bieber). I bet some of my friends’ playcounts were upwards of 50 in the two short days we had on the ship from Montevideo.

Rio was incredible. It’s sheer beauty is just overwhelming. There’s something just so awesome about a city complete with mountains, beaches, rainforests, and lagoons. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Our first day was another nice, relaxing one. Ipanema beach was our first stop. It’s right next to Copacabana, yet another tune that was constantly stuck in my head. I could have done without all of the bare bottoms, but nothing could ruin the beautiful weather and beautiful views. The water was FREEZING like some of the coldest I’ve ever felt. But it was so hot that you just had to deal.

 We drank from coconuts, purchased new bathing suit tops, and grabbed some lunch all right there on the beach. I could have stayed there forever. We all got a bit too crispy and then headed to a nearby market.

The day was our sight-seeing day. We had made friends with a cab driver the day before and got him to drive seven of us around all day for a great price. First thing, we headed to Corcovado (also known as Christ Redeemer) in the Tijuca National Rainforest right in the city. Along the way, we stopped a few times for some great views/photo opportunities of the city. Although their favelas (slums) have a bad reputation and are considered extremely unsafe, they’re still beautiful.

Corcovado was so cool! The view from up there is insane, and the HUGE Jesus statue is just awesome. You can see every inch of Rio. There’s a saying in Brazil that God is Brazilian seeing as they’ve been so blessed in terms of natural resources, precious stones, few conflicts, and zero natural disasters. I see their point.

We spent a few more hours in Tijuca just driving/walking around. We saw some waterfalls and had lunch in a real-life rainforest café ;) I forgot how much I like rice and beans. 

That afternoon we then went to Sugarloaf mountain. It would have been cool to hike the first half of it (the second it just a BIG rock), but the cable car proved to be much more time-efficient.  Our driver went up with us, and it was his first time ever! It was a cool thing to be a part of.

The first car takes you up to the top of the smaller mountain where there’s restaurants and shops and a helicopter-landing pad. Then you take the second car up to the very top of the second mountain. You’re literally in the clouds. It was pretty windy that day, but the views from both mountains were awesome. You could see Corcovado in the distance. We walked around for awhile and then headed back down.

That evening we went to a REAL Brazilian steak house. Here I am again eating more red meat. I’m almost learning to like it ;) There were buffet-style side dishes and sushi, but then the meat was carried around on spears by the servers. They’d place the spear on your plate and then slice your piece off with an uncomfortably large knife. IT WAS SO GOOD. We had filet mignon, pork, ribs, lamb, and an array of other things. The following photo captures how we all felt afterward quite perfectly:

I spent my last day in Rio on a field lab for my business communication course. I actually didn’t mind all that much since it rained pretty heavily all day. We took a tour of the H. Stern assembly line (the world’s second largest jewelry manufacturer) and then listened to a presentation by one of their vice presidents. It was interesting, just had more of an international marketing focus.

Due to the weather, we had to trade our walking tour in for a bus tour AKA a nap. I tried my best to pay attention, but sometimes my eyelids just have minds of their own. Last thing was a brief stop at Rio’s Office of Tourism. We listened to a presentation by the Director of Public Communication who revealed to us the layout for the next summer Olympics. That was extremely cool. If and when I return to this beautiful city, there will be very little that I recognize.

Although I could have used many more days in Rio, I’m extremely excited for our next Brazilian port, Manaus.  I have a great trip planned with great friends and plenty of bug spray. Can’t wait to battle the bugs of the Amazon! Wish me luck :)

Uruguay

My time spent in Uruguay was extremely relaxing. After some of the frustration my group of friends and I had experienced in Buenos Aires, it was much needed.

The first day we did some more wandering (we’re really good at that) around Montevideo. The city is small, but very cute, and we visited some more market squares and what not. We grabbed some ‘chivitos,’ their delicious steak sandwiches, for lunch.

A bit later we were walking some more and were asked to join in a soccer game. Haley, Ashley, and I jumped at the opportunity! We were just so awful, but it was a lot of fun. We sat and talked with the guys for awhile, and a few of them asked us to hang out later. We set a meeting time and a place, but I honestly didn’t expect to see them again.

Haley, Ashley, and I then rented some bicycles. It was a thousand times nicer (and more fun!) than just walking around. We covered a ton more ground than we would have on foot. We rode up and down the coast passing by soccer and rugby fields, local beaches, and even a naval base. It was so awesome until my back tire went flat. My sit bones are still feeling that…

So at 8:30 we met those boys in the main square of the city. It was here that we learned they were only 17 years old. However, one of them didn’t look a day over 13.  Oh well, we still had fun. The really fun part was that only one of them could sort of speak English.

I was so surprised by how well we did speaking! Haley has taken more Spanish than Ashley and I, but we all just kind of help each other out. We could keep the conversation going with questions and what not, but what we could get from their answers varied. I can get the gist of the conversations. They took us to play pool before we met up with the rest of our friends for Jessie’s birthday dinner.

For the next two days, Ashley, Haley, Paige, and I headed to Punta Del Este, an extremely popular vacation spot in Uruguay. Summer begins in the next few weeks so we were lucky enough to be there during the off-season. Right across the street from the bus station was the infamous “big hand in the sand.” After taking our pictures, we headed to our hotel and then right to the beach.

The beaches were beautiful. The water was a little iffy, but nothing worse than New Jersey. The first evening we went out for a lovely Mexican meal complete with hand-squeezed margaritas and mojito-ritas. So delicious.

The last day we sunned ourselves some more and then hopped on the bus back to Montevideo. I really enjoyed myself in this port, but again I’m feeling guilty/strange for not “doing more” or seeing more. The quality time with my good friends was a good trade-off. 

Argentina

 I’m feeling strangely about my time spent in Argentina. I don’t feel like I accomplished anything, or saw much of anything either. I sound like such a “travel snob” (in the words of Justine Wronowski).

I spent almost my entire time in the city of Buenos Aires. BA was extremely large and extremely overwhelming. We had to take taxis everywhere, and I was never able to grasp the layout of city or the ability to navigate it on my own. Despite some minor disappointments, I still had a great time with my great friends.

The first day a group of us wandered off of the ship to explore. Our first stop was the Theatro de Colon. I didn’t go on the tour, but I would love to eventually attend a show there. The ceiling is inlayed with 14 carat gold! Then we went to the Casa de Rosa (Pink House). It’s the equivalent of our White House except that you can get a heck of a lot closer.

After that, we attempted to travel to the best ice cream shop in the world according to National Geographic. On the way, we stopped at probably the only vegetarian restaurant in the entire country. (We weren’t aware it was vegetarian.) Basically, the number one thing people told us to eat was MEAT. Epic fail on our part. This fail was an uncanny preview of how the rest of our stay there would pan out.

After a subway ride and about an hour-long walk, we come across the address to the ice cream shop. It is here that we read the plaque commemorating the shop, which had moved 30 minutes away in 2010. So we settled for some ice cream about 2 blocks down the road.

That evening we set out for a lovely meal. We would finally consume this incredible meat that everyone was ranting and raving about. I’m not much of a red meat-eater, but I felt like I couldn’t not eat it. Everyone was correct – the steak was incredible. I had these medallions wrapped in lomo (bacon) with grilled vegetables. Yum. We also had delicious empanadas and cow tongue (!!) for an appetizer. It was tasty but strange. You just can’t think about it.

The next day was another strange one. We set out to attend either a soccer game or a polo match but none of which we could find reliable information on. We had heard that they were going on, but no reliable sources existed to get us to an exact location at an exact time. So we walked around a whole bunch more, grabbed some lunch, and then did some shopping. Recoleta is the main market district in the city, and it is awesome. There are probably 200 stands were people are selling their art or their jewelry and other goods. My wallet took a beating that day.

That night we went to a professional tango show. Despite now being able to understand the singing numbers, it was awesome. The dancers were amazing! Argentinean Tango is much more passionate and sexual than the U.S. or International version you’d see on “Dancing with the Stars.” It was just so great.

The third day we joined up with some other friends and headed to Zoo Lujan. At this particular zoo, you were able to pet the animals however exotic they were. We’re pretty sure they like drug the lions and tigers (not the baby ones) so they’re super sleepy, and despite my feelings on what they do, it was still really freaking cool. We fed elephants, pet the large cats, and then held the baby ones.

That evening we all went out for some famous Argentinean pizza. It was incredible! Easily the best pizza I’ve ever had.

The last day in Argentina we wanted to go to a polo match. Like almost everything else we had planned to do in this port, it just didn’t work out. We spent the morning attempting to meet up with Ashley’s roommate from home, and after hours of wandering around train and bus stations, we finally found her! We then went to the neighborhood of La Boca which is most known for it’s brightly painted buildings. It was a really neat area with a ton of outside restaurants, performers dancing tango in the streets, and souvenir shops. We grabbed some lunch, walked around, and then headed back to make on-ship time. 

SOUTH AFRICA

I am going to have the most difficult time putting this particular port into words.  The things I was doing, what I was seeing, and the emotions I was feeling were just unreal. It was exhilarating, overwhelming, and just incredibly awesome. I may have too many things to say about it.

First day, I tackled Table Mountain. I consider myself somewhat in shape, and it was a STRUGGLE to get to the top. The rock steps reminded me of Huntingdon’s “1,000 steps,” but there were many many more than 1,000. And they were HUGE. Short legs were a large disadvantage. The top was completely covered by fog when we first got up there. I compared it to the Land Before Time’s “Land of the Mist” if you’re familiar with that. You couldn’t see a thing.

There’s a restaurant up top as well as a gift shop so we just hung around for awhile. It was shortly after our meal that the sun came out and the fog passed! And the view was astounding. We popped a squat right on the edge, uncorked the bottles of wine we brought up, and just took it all in.

When the fog decided to return, we took the cable car back down to the bottom. We decided along the way that we should hike Lionshead peak right next door. We thought it’d be a great place to watch the sunset over the water. (It would have been without the fog.) This was the most intense hiking/climbing I had ever done. I was literally on my hands and knees for most of it. At some points, there were rungs fastened to the side of rocks in order for hikers to literally ‘rock climb’ up. It was crazy! I was terrified at the thought of making my way down.

We couldn’t see a thing from the top; it was mildly disappointing. But there were conveniently university students at the top with us, and they showed us a few pictures of what it would look like without the fog. I would have loved to see it in real life. Some day. Getting back down wasn’t as horrible as I had anticipated.

Early the next morning, I departed with a new group for my extreme activity trip. We had a long drive ahead of us to Mossel Bay (about 5 hours). Fortunately we were driving toward nice weather. Everyone else I had talked to on the ship had their shark diving trips cancelled so we all had our fingers crossed. Under the impression we were bungee jumping that day, we were all caught a bit off guard when we pulled up in front of “White Shark Africa.” I guess we’ll go shark diving today then.

It was unreal. The boat ride was about 10 minutes out to this seal-infested rock. The worst smell I have ever smelt. A bit closer to shore than I would expect but I guess it’s all right during the off season. We were forewarned that luring in a shark could take hours so after the initial excitement wore off we all sat back to relax. Not 10 minutes later, we hear the call… “SHARK!” And immediately we’re all up against the side of the boat looking down. They call for the first six divers.

I guess people were timid so they call for three more. My friend, Dylan, grabs me by the arm and says, “We’re going.” And before I have time to process what I’m about to do, what I’ve been waiting to do for so long, I’m suited up and climbing off the side of the boat.

Now I knew shark diving would be pretty freaking cool but not THIS cool. The first shark was a little guy. He swam up by the cage a bit, but the water was pretty murky. It was just as cool to look at him from just above the water. Another medium sized shark hung around for awhile, and then there was Bruce. We called him Bruce because he was just so so big. Like Bruce, from Finding Nemo. (Later we learned the dive guys had actually already named this female shark Trixie but whatever)

We got real up close and personal with Bruce. At one point he decided to do a little taste-testing of our cage. It’s actually a moment I’ll never forget. I don’t think it was fear that I was experiencing, but it was definitely something unlike anything else.

That evening we stayed in a great hostel right on the beach in a small town called Sedgefield. We all packed in their hippie van and drove up to a lookout spot called “Cloud 9” for sunset. It was unreal.

The next day was bungee jumping. Oh boy. I was not scared for this either as I again found myself unable to fathom what I was about to do. It wasn’t until I saw the bridge that I was like “holy shit.” Thank goodness I’m not afraid of heights.

When your feet leave that platform, your mind goes completely blank. Your brain literally cannot comprehend that you have just leapt off of a bridge by choice. Then you scream and love life.

The next day I did a SAS cycling wine tour. It was pretty cool, but the weather was sub par. It was nice to meet a few new people. Wine country is absolutely beautiful, and they have some stellar wines you can’t find anywhere else.

The last day was my field lab for Infectious Disease in Humans. We began our trip at a hospital where we listened to an HIV/AIDS presentation by the organization Hope Capetown. It wasn’t anything that we hadn’t heard before or just learned in class a few days prior.

Lunch was the best meal I’ve had on this ENTIRE trip so far. Ostrich is delicious!

Lastly we went to the first heart transplant museum. Who knew it happened in Capetown on December 3, 1967? Not me. It was awesome. We watched a film on the doctor who did it, Dr. Christian Barnard, and toured the “theatres” (operating rooms) where it happened. They have these creepy wax figures set up now to show what happened and how many people it took. They even still have the original bypass machine!

I’ve loved every place I’ve been so far, and I always say that I’ll be returning, BUT I will most definitely be returning to South Africa.  It’s incredible. Everyone should visit this beautiful country at least once in their lifetime. 

Neptune Day!

Now as you may already know, I had been attempting to prepare for Neptune Day for awhile. However, the faculty and staff on the ship make that incredibly difficult when they refuse to tell you ANYTHING about what happens that day, including what time the ceremony begins.

It began with a wake-up crew, very similar to that of Mountain Day at JC. There was yelling, banging pots and pans, whistles, and the like. I jumped up immediately and jumped in the shower to wash and then dry my hair for the last time.

Pollywogs (haven’t crossed the equator yet) were about to become shellbacks (have crossed).

Once up on the pool deck, a parade of costumed shellbacks (faculty and staff) marched in followed by two of our deans dressed as King Neptune and Queen Minerva. It was quite the spectacle. Each had specific roles to play in the ceremony.

We began by pairing off to have “fish guts” poured on us. It wasn’t really fish guts, just some green slimy substance. Then to the pool to rise off. Next step was kissing not one, but two fish. I could have done without this. We bowed to the queen and then kissed the king’s ring. After that my drawing professor and other woman sprinkled “salt” (actually raw sugar) onto us while saying some chant.

Then to the hair cutting. The sound of all of the razors going was so creepy. I watched quite a few people get it done before I was pushed into the chair. HOLY COW, it was intense. A rather large crowd gathered, many a photo were taken, and my name was even chanted for a bit. It was the strangest, coolest thing I’ve ever done.

The worst part was walking around with my ponytail in hand. Ew.

I was 1 of 6 women to get their head shaved that day, and I’m still loving it. We’ve all received really great reactions from everybody on the ship. We’re kind of well known. It’s really nice; now everyone says hi to me! J

My showers are so incredibly quick. 

Ghana

Four days was not nearly enough time to spend in a place like Ghana. I am so thankful to have been exposed to Western Africa previously this summer. You need an extensive amount of time to process what you see.

The people of Ghana, and I believe it’s similar throughout West Africa, are just amazing. They are the kindest, most welcoming, happiest people you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. I’m always astonished by how quickly I form relationships and bonds with the individuals I interact with. It’s always so difficult to say goodbye.

On our first day there, I was signed up for a faculty-led overnight trip to Winneba, the sister city of Charlottesville, Virginia. The first portion of the trip involved University of Winneba students coming onto the ship with us for a tour and lunch. It was so nice to just sit and talk with these young people as opposed to running around trying to check every major tourist site off our lists. We got to ask any question we wanted about their education, their culture, their families, anything. And they asked us similar things in return. I absolutely loved it.

Then we traveled to Winneba and spent more time with the students at their university over dinner and music and dancing. African food is just too delicious. And the fruit, OH MY GOODNESS. I’ll never be able to eat pineapple again. The university was extremely impressive. I have been using Gambia as my form of reference, and Ghana is quite developed in comparison. The poverty is still extremely evident, but their education system seems great – for those that can afford it. It was unfortunate to have to leave the students, but they’ve definitely left their mark. It was a great way to be welcomed to the country.

The next day we spent the morning visiting six schools, a mixture of both public and private, to deliver books from the Charlottesville Public Library and toothbrushes from an organization called Global Grins, started by two SAS alumni. It was incredible. We basically got to run around with children, sit in our their classes, and speak with teachers. My experience in an English Composition class was the most memorable. They were learning how to write argumentative essays, and I had an extensive conversation with a young girl sitting beside me about how she thought teachers were more important than doctors. Incredible.

Later that day we visited the beach to see the fishing boats before we went to meet with the chief fisherman. The fishermen were a little bit rough on the outside, but they were very receptive to our questions. They lead a difficult, strenuous life. Then we visited a local market. It was a bit overwhelming but nice to just walk around and take it all in. It was the least touristy, most legitimate experience I think I’ve had so far. This was the place everyone would go to pick up food for dinner; snails the size of my fist, any type of fish imaginable, vegetables, random animal parts, anything. We weren’t given any type of special attention, and that was the best part.

My next trip was to Kakum National Park to do the canopy walk. It was incredible. A little freaky at first – its just boards bolted to ladders hanging from very tall trees. The view was unreal. Afterwards we attended a performance by a bamboo orchestra. Their ‘theme’ for the show was forest conservation. Along with the music, a little skit was performed by dancers that supported the theme. Of course, we joined in dancing at the end, and that just always makes my day.

The last day I had a SAS “service visit” to a school. I was immediately disheartened when we pulled into the parking lot. It was the most beautiful school I’ve ever seen in Western Africa complete with a computer lab and a big screen TV in the library. I was astonished. We couldn’t have picked a more well-off school. And then to top it all off, we didn’t do one ounce of service. We did a school tour. We got to sit in on a few classes and speak to students, which don’t get me wrong, was great, but definitely not want I was expecting to do. I had a great time with the kids during lunch period playing games, but other than that, I was extremely disappointed. In my eyes, my last day in Ghana was wasted.

It sucked to end on a bad note, but I had an incredible time in Ghana. I will most definitely return. All of my experiences, both good and bad, have sparked a lot of thoughts and feelings that I’ll hold with me forever. I don’t know what difference I can make now or ever, but a girl can dream.