February 21, 2007

The Boipeba Island Adventure

My first day in Brazil started at 7 AM. I had planned to wake up with the sunset at 6:!5, but it decided to rise an hour early so we unfortunately missed it. It was overcast anyways so I’m not so sure it was a sight to see.

After orientation and pre-port stuff (at every port we have a visitor come on board and talk about the country before we get off the ship) I took off for Boipeba Island, south of Salvador, on the coast of Brazil. I didn’t have any idea what to expect from the trip. All I knew was that they just got electricity 15 years ago and their greatest form of transportation was a mule. I was very nervous pre departure because I hadn’t met my group yet and was concerned it might just be filled with our lifelong learners (elderly people traveling with the ship). So at 10:15 on Saturday I met up with my 14-person group in the union and was excited to see my small group. There were 11 girls and 3 guys, and two of the ladies were members of our SAS staff.

I knew we had a day of traveling ahead, but didn’t know it was going to take all day. We left Salvador with Charles, our group leader and owner of the Santa Clara in Boipeba. We drove for a few hours before stopping and enjoying our boxed lunches. During that time we got to see the outskirts of the city and how the urban areas eventually turn into their rural population. Around 3:00 we stopped at a small town that is known for having the best ceramic making business in the state. We arrived in our small tour bus, and as we drove in, little boys (11-15 yrs) began following us and just waiting eagerly for our exit from the bus. Charles was telling us how we were the main attraction for the day and they were all very excited to see us. As we started walking around the town, each boy sort of designated himself to one of the girls and called himself her ‘guilla,’ or guide. They wanted to be our tour guide and show us around their town. Many of us know Spanish and tried to use that to communicate with them, but we came to find that Portuguese and Spanish are not as similar as we thought. Double ‘l’s in Spanish are a ‘y’ sound while in Portuguese it’s more of a ‘j’ sound. My little guide was named Antonio Marcus, or something very similar to that. Many of the boys loved getting their pictures taken and would put on big smiles, but there were many of them who were shy as well. We had left over boxed lunches and gave those out to the boys. At first they were hesitant to reach inside and see what food was available, but as soon as the first boy did it they all jumped in. Everything was taken from the box including mayo and relish packets, which they ate as we drove away.

We left the town at 4:30 and headed for a ferry that would lead us to Boipeba. We departed on our vast ship around 5:30 and it took 2 ½ hours of night-boating to get us to this fantastic island. The sun was still shining some light when we started our sail, but by 7-730 there was no light. Our boat didn’t have a headlight or anything to guide us, so we were all pretty nervous about whether we were going to make it to our destination. There was an Amazon trip available through SAS which we figured was very similar to our boat ride to Boipeba. Dark, cold, and buggy.

What all of us were expecting was nothing of what we got. Charles’ little hotel/resort is right on the beach and filled with Pousadas (guest houses) and a very tropical environment. It was beautiful. There are bars right on the beach and people always outside singing and dancing. Charles’ brother, Mark, is the chef in their kitchen. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so well for 3 days. We had dinner around 8:30, and I was able to have my first legal alcoholic drink since during 21. I tried their most popular beer, Skol, and liked it very much. We got to our designated rooms which were great. I had a sweet mosquito net over my big bed and I was so happy to be where I was and not in the dirty city.

The next day we took a 7-mile hike across the island, which is 12 x 8 miles. And 7 miles is a lot longer than it sounds. Its 7 miles. By the end of the trip we were all in our bathing suits and bare feet, obtaining the greatest sunburns ever seen. We stopped at a local community flourishing with puppies, children, orange soda, and baby chicks. They also had two pool tables in a house and I wondered how a community, with no cars or heavy machinery, could get two pool tables through the hills to the middle of this island. We finished our trek around 1 PM (started at 8:30) and had lunch on a sandbar, which is basically just this area in the middle of the ocean where the tide is low and you can hang out on the sand. I was the first to jump in the water and cool off. The water down there is so warm an so salty. It’s not very blue or clear, but still very refreshing.

After lunch we header back to the resort. We took another Amazonian adventure through the mangroves, but this time had a different boat. Five or six of us were able to sit up on the roof of the boat and just enjoy the scenery of the island. It was fantastic and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. We stopped at a floating oyster bar and I tried a very fresh (straight out of the water) oyster with lime juice. It was slimy and I couldn’t really taste it. But I don’t think I like the texture of oysters in my mouth.

Day two on the island we wanted to try snorkeling. It wasn’t very successful, but the water is always nice to be in. During Carnivale on the island, about 2,000 tourists come and visit (which is half the total population) and take over the waters. We were able to swim for a while, but eventually it was time to go because it was getting too busy. During low-tide its very hard to move a boat full of people. Our boat got stuck so we had to borrow the guy’s two down from us (There were probably 15 boats total). That’s not something that would happen in America. He took us to the coast and we began another hike/walk along the island. This one was much shorter and easier, only lasting two hours. The rest of our afternoon was at leisure and I used it to nap in the hammock hanging outside my room and also to take some time to have a beer and see the gorgeous Brazilian sunset. After dinner we went to a performance of oversized puppets. It is part of this man’s Candomble religion, but it was also the oddest thing I’ve ever seen. He creates giant people out of paper mache and hinges them all so they can move and dance to the music he plays through his stereo. It was quite a site.

Day 3 in Boipeba was our last. I used it to go into town to buy some flip-flops and to spend some time reading Angels and Demons, which I finally finished and loved. I didn’t think it was better than The Da Vinci Code until I got to the last 150 pages. We took the same trip home that we took to get here except we made a small pit stop at this place that makes corn everything. So for dinner, we had some corn pudding stuffed with cheese or coconut, corn juice and corn ice cream. The latter two were surprisingly good, and I think people would get use to corn ice cream. We got back to Captain Jeremy and the MV Explorer at 9 PM. I hadn’t had a night out in the city yet and was pleased to see my friends still here and preparing for their night out. It was the last night of Carnivale and I was not impressed at all. The streets smelled like pee and most of the liquid in the streets was pee. There are thousands of people, men grabbing you and kissing your neck, trying to get your attention. We saw a break-dancing competition which was neat, but I was so glad that I had spent the last three days in Boipeba. I felt like the girl who had been invited to the party through her friends’ friend’s friend, and was there with 20,000 of her closest friends. And they all spoke a secret language.

I’m taking a Food and Society class and have to write down everything I eat in the ports. Mark, our chef in Boipeba was just so amazing I wrote down everything he made us anyway. And all we ate was made from scratch in his kitchen. So this is what I was indulging in while in Boipeba.

Day 1, Dinner: Eggplant with mozzarella and tomato; Crab-curry with white rice; Apple Crisp

Day 2

Breakfast: Fresh Arcola (sp?) juice – it’s a red fruit a little smaller than a cherry, Tapioca pudding, fresh fruit cup, banana-bread, western omelet, and amazing coffee.

Lunch: Pasta salad followed by a hummus sandwich on homemade bread with lettuce and the reddest tomatoes I’ve seen in a while. I’m going to try to replicate it when I get back home. And to top off the best sandwich, one of the best brownies I’ve ever had. Seriously Mom, I think it was in the top 3.

Dinner: Clam chowder. Steak is big in Brazil, and supposed to be the best. And I love steak so I jumped at the opportunity have whatever kind I could get. So I had some beef on a skewer with a Thai noodle thing (and sauce), and for dessert, frozen cappuccino covered in fudge sauce and whip cream. And then I ended with some fresh coffee. This was definitely my favorite day for food. And my two favorite meals.

Day 3

Breakfast: More freshness: papaya, melon, Guava juice, tasty bread, potato and olive stuffed in a mini pancake thing

Lunch: Vegetarian lasagna with some of the best zucchini, fresh salad and homemade coconut and coffee ice cream

Dinner: Soft-shelled crab, and a massive quesadilla filled with chicken, veggies and cheese. It was the best ever. We ended with a chocolate bund cake.

February 16, 2007

We had our first Global Studies test this morning. A lot of people were freaking out about it, but it’s the first test so there wasn’t much we could do to prepare ourselves fully. We’re going to Brazil tomorrow and that’s pretty much the only thing on everyone’s mind now. The sun is beating down on us as we work on our tans and finish our last day of classes for the next 5 days.

I’ve got a date with the sunrise tomorrow morning. I figure Brazil, South Africa and India will have the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, so I’ll be advantage of those as best I can.

February 15, 2007

Today is my 21^st birthday! My literature teacher, a very nice, cute older man named Gene, wished me Happy Birthday this morning, which he read in the Dean’s Memo. I thought that was very cute. We’ve had classes for the last 6 days and I think we’re all going a little stir crazy and have cabin fever. I’m sure many internet minutes have been used up this past week. Our longest treks are Puerto Rico à Brazil à South Africa, Mauritius à India. Those 3 separate weeks contain about a week of classes. After we leave India we’ll be hopping around Asia and won’t have a week on the boat until we leave Japan and its finals time. Vietnam is gonna be here before I know it.

We’ve got our first Global Studies exam tomorrow which we’ll all be studying for tonight. 702 students taking the same test at the same time. I’m hoping it won’t be that difficult because its only a 101 class, but they could still surprise us. I’m having a little birthday dinner tonight with my friends, and Caitlin was nice enough to pre-order a cake for me (I heard its an ice cream cake). It was supposed to be a surprise but she kind of ruined that. I’m far from home and all my friends and family, but it’s nice to have a celebration with new friends. And I’ll be going to Brazil on Saturday so that’s a pretty nice way to celebrate.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and I was lucky enough to get in a Skype date with Will. There are some couples on the boat who were able to celebrate together, but otherwise it wasn’t a very eventful day. The ship held a ‘stoplight party,’ in which students wore Red if they were taken, Yellow if they had a ‘kind-of’ and Green if they were single and ready to mingle. They also played “City of God” on the tube to show us what gang life is like in Brazil. And I think they did it to scare us a little so we wouldn’t wonder aimlessly around the country. We’ve been spending a lot of time focusing on Brazil’s different ethnic groups and the difference in social classes. They’ve basically been scaring us so we don’t do anything stupid because apparently, we will get mugged. And we will lose money. But as long as we don’t put up a fight, we should be fine. I’ll be traveling to Boipeba Island and learning about the community there from Saturday to Tuesday and will be out of the city, which I am excited about. I’ll be seeing beaches and living the slow life. No cars, only mules. I’m hoping this will be a great way to see a Beautiful Brazil and not have to worry about dangers in the city.

Adios, San Juan.

February 9, 2007

Our last day in San Juan came and went very quickly. I woke up at 7:15 this morning for a Coastal Bike ride that took me for an easy, 8-mile glide around the coast. It was very easy, and let us see a lot of the beach which was beautiful. Being at port is a little tiring. Everyone is usually out doing something active in the city; a lot of walking and venturing, and that leaves us tired and ready for bed in the evenings. After my bike adventure today, we made one last stop into the city and found a grocery store where we stocked up on granola and breakfast bars in case of emergency. Still tired from my long luminescent bay night and my bike ride, I came back to the ship and treated myself to a nice soft serve cone, some good phone time with Will, and a nice nap on the deck before heading out to dinner. Kevin, our gentlemanly Coast Guard from Ohio, took me and six other ladies out to dinner. He’s sweet on one of our friends so we managed to get a free meal on our last night together in Puerto Rico. I tried a Puerto Rican beer, Medalla, and it was very nice.

A lot of us have homework to do tonight and seven straight days of classes start tomorrow. That’s all that’s going to be happening for a while around here until we get to Brazil on the 17^th. But I have my first African Drums class tomorrow, and that’s very exciting.

February 8, 2007

Thursday evening some lads and myself, probably 28 or so students, took a trip to the Bioluminescent Bay. We left around 4:30 and got there just as the sun was beginning to make its decent. We stripped down to our swimsuits and jumped in our kayaks and made our way through, what I felt, was a smaller version of the Amazon. Shallow waters and large trees that created a canopy over the river. Also included: jumping fish (one went into a girls’ shorts), dark forests, and mysterious sounds from the darkness. Now that the sun was setting, it was very hard to see the kayaks in front of us, so we had to have small red flashing light bulbs on our boats. Catie and I thought we should name our vessel and found Rudolph to be the most appropriate. Kayaking was fun and great for the arms, but once we got to the large, open bay, we experienced the bioluminescence! Our tour guide explained all the science behind it, but basically what it is are small organisms that glow when contact is made under the water. If you stuck your hand in and wiggled it around, it would look as though you had small glowing specs, the size of sand, all over your hand. When you put your whole body in and swam around, the entire area around you would glow. It was really awesome and something that was very cool to see and experience. There are only 5 places on earth with bioluminescence and two of them were recently destroyed or are on their way to being destroyed because of pollution. Very unfortunate.

February 7, 2007

After two days of orientation and classes, we made our first stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 7^th. So far I’ve only seen a little bit of the city, but it looks to be a nice place. Still under construction in a lot of areas, but the view of the mountains is beautiful. I took a trip to the only National Rainforest in Puerto Rico, El Yunque I believe, and saw a lot of greenery. I was hoping for more colors and interesting flowers, but the waterfalls made it very nice and calming.

For some reason, all the kids on the ship and myself are always hungry. We can’t wait until the next meal and skipping one would probably be labeled insane. Unfortunately the food isn’t very good and I’m pretty sure we’re all just eating all the time because it doesn’t fill you up very well. I’ve heard of some people gaining so much weight on past voyages, but after eating at the dining halls for 3 days and hiking in the rain forest, I don’t see how gaining weight is a possibility. I’m hoping to come back in ‘I just traveled the world in 100 days’ shape.

This evening, my friends Sarah and Jenny went to dinner in San Juan and on their way back, ran into a frantic man who had just been attacked in a bad part of town. He was telling them how he and his father were mugged and beat up, and that he needed $12 or so to help get himself back together and to get his father out of the hospital. Sarah, feeling so bad, just dives in her purse and takes out $20 and tells him to keep it all. Later that night at the bar, we run into a nice guy in the coast guard named Kevin, who explains to us that there is a crack addict who runs around town in a business suit making up ridiculous stories in order to get money off tourists. He and his friends did the math and came to the conclusion that he makes $150 an hour off of people he tricks. Not cool.

Patagonia, where are you?

February 4, 2007

Today was check-in day. I had to be at the port between 10-12 to sign in and get all settled. I took my one lonely, torn bag and my dependable new backpack to the port and waited in line for an hour and a half to get on board. Still no sign of other bag; only praying that Kirk was working his magic and yelling at as many people as he could. I got onto the board around noon, met my roommate, a nice girl from Colorado, and took a mini-tour of my ship/campus/academic venture vessel.

2 PM: still no sign of the bag.

4 PM: Emergency evacuation practice. And no bag.

5 PM: Announcement comes on that all bags have been turned in to students and they had been placed in their rooms. Finally! I sprint to my room, open the door, and there it was… an empty bed, empty floor and no underwear. I go back to the office and am prepared to hear the director say ‘I’m sorry, he didn’t make it,’ but alas, I see a fancy name written on a post it. We’ve got plenty of Kates and Sarahs, but there could only be one Marlaena on the boat. I frantically point to my name on the post it and question the man who tells me that security needs to check my bag….my mind starts to reel….my what?.....yes, Patagonia made it onboard and now had to go through a security screening. I do believe my eyes filled with tears and I exhaled for the first time in 24 hours. He unfortunately lost a member of his team (hair straigheners apparently aren’t allowed on cruise ships) but all was well in the end. I showered, put on my OWN clothes, and continued to our first night of orientation. Still no sign of Mr. Tutu, but I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.

Never visit Orlando...Never fly BahamasAir

February 3, 2007

After six hours of solid sleep, I woke up at 7 AM to catch a 10:40 flight from Dulles to Orlando. Everything runs smoothly until we arrive at check-in, and apparently people can still have paper tickets! Who knew! When I bought my plane ticket months ago, I figured that E-tickets were the only things in existence. Unfortunately I didn’t have my paper ticket and my mom and I spent some time running around the airport (with two very heavy bags) trying to solve my no-ticket problem. Eventually it all got settled and some very nice lady at US Airways fixed my problem… three hours later I was racing around the Orlando airport trying to find my next plane. My previous flight was 35 minutes late and gave me only 30 minutes to run around the most awful airport in America…never go to Central Florida…. No signs telling me what gate to go to, and no one capable of showing me where BahamasAir was located. After riding the terminal a couple times, the nice baggage men hanging out behind the airport Church told me exactly where I needed to go. I was the second to last person to board my plane at 1:55 (2:00 departure). Usually when I travel everything runs very smoothly. I’m finally on the trip of a lifetime, by myself, and everything seems to go wrong.

Upon arriving in Nassau, BahamasAir had misplaced one of my bags. I was leaving Nassau in less than 24 hours and one of my bags was missing. All of my toiletries, underwear, t-shirts, bathing suits! were missing. I took my one lonely bag that now had a rip the size of Chile on the side and filed a missing bad report, praying to God the entire time that I would not leave Nassau without all my luggage.

I met up with Caitlin at our hotel (5 miles from our port) and gave her my little sob story. I immediately called my father, completely frantic and incapable of clear and complete sentences, and sent him to work in finding my bag and doing whatever would be possible to get it to me. There was nothing I could do late at night, so we made a stop at Senor Frogs in Nassau, and called it a night at 11:00 PM.