Ghana part 2

We just left Brazil.  ☹  This is so depressing.  It’s our last port but it hasn’t hit me yet.  Like, where did the last 4 months of my life go?  I have always had a countdown going until the trip but I never thought that it would end so quickly…considering it took FOREVER for it to begin.  I honestly had a countdown going for like a year in advance.  Ugh it’s just so crazy!  Like when I leave this boat I really am not coming back… it’s not like at Monmouth where I leave for a semester or summer and I return… I’m not coming back to the boat.  CRAZY!
But enough about that…let me finish Ghana so I can fill you in on BRAZIL!
The 2nd night in Ghana was Jaime’s 21st birthday.  We stayed in a hotel where there was a casino and i gambled for my first time!  and i was up!  and then i lost it.  Granted i also only gambled with like 20 bucks but still.  I got up to as high as 40!  The next day started with us laying by the pool for about an hour until check out. After laying out by the pool we decided to go to some museum that one of the tour guides at the hotel suggested.  It was for the first president of Ghana.  It was the most bizarre museum ever.  Hahah.  Like it was a park and then we walked under this statue type thing and then it was his tomb and next to that was his wife’s also.  And then his car was just randomly parked there.  And then we went into a building and it was all pictures of him and his furniture from when he was in office.  It was just very bizarre that the car that he used to drive was just parked under a tree.  It was interesting though because we learned about him and we have never heard of him and our tour guide was shocked that we have never heard about him.  We also have never heard about any of the leaders that were in the pictures with him.  There was also a tree planted by Nelson Mandela in the park.  After the museum we just went to the Accra mall for a little before going back to the ship. 
        The last day I went to the beach with Amy and Katie.  And basically the markets came to us.  Haha.  There were so many vendors and people selling stuff on the beach they would just come up to us with their stuff and we didn’t even have to move from our beach chairs.  I went in the ocean but not far but the water was very warm!  We were at the beach until about 2 when we went back to where the shuttle was to catch the 3 oclock shuttle back to the ship.  In all, Ghana was really good.  I’m really glad I got to go there and see REAL Africa and something other than South Africa.  The only sucky part though was that there was always so much driving and traffic that it was hard to do a lot in a such a short time.  Each day you really only had enough time to do 1 or 2 things because it depended on what part of the country you were going to and with traffic and there was so much i still wanted to do but there was not time!  But I’m really glad we got to go. 
So that is Ghana! 
Brazil will be coming shortly. 
Now I am on the ship for the next 9 days, and then to FLORIDA.  This is just insane.  

First half of Ghana

Tomorrow we get to Brazil!!  Our last port… other than Florida.  It is crazy how fast this trip is going and how we only have 2 weeks left now. And we are now 1 hour ahead of home!  CRAZY But let me tell you about Ghana…
        Our first day in Ghana was Sunday, April 11th.  Since it was a Sunday, a lot of things were closed.  The first thing we did was go all over Accra (oh yea we were docked in Tema which is about 45 minutes from Accra) so we went all over Accra trying to find an ATM that accepted Mastercard.  After we FINALLY found one, we went to the Accra mall because our taxi driver told us that Makola market was closed and so was the cultural center, so we went to the mall.  When we were at the mall we ran into Emily and Kalee and they told us that the cultural center was actually open, so we went there.  The cultural center by the way is a market in Ghana where the people sell things they made… it’s a bunch of crafts and tshirts.  Lauren (my sister)’s friend Nana told me the markets to go to but he also warned me that they are pretty intense because everyone is telling you to come to their shop.  I thought I was a pro at markets though at this point because I survived the Silk Market in Beijing and Green Market Square in South Africa.  Well, as soon as we got to the market, I think everyone knew our names and where we were from within 5 minutes.  They were all very friendly there and wanted you to see their shops.  I thought it was better than the Silk Market because at the Cultural Center they didn’t hit you or grab you, but they actually taught us cool handshakes and just wanted us to look at their shops… and buy.  Hahah.  The one guy actually said to me (after I turned down his price), “listen Christine… I tell you a price, and I know your not going to take it.  You are going to get me down real low and I just give you a price because sometimes people pay the whole thing… but you’re smart”.  I made out pretty well there.  After the cultural center, it was about 3 o’clock and we brought Jaime to the shuttle because she was going back to the ship and me, Steph and Tess stayed out because we were supposed to surprise Jaime at dinner that night.  We went back to the mall to get some party supplies and get ready and then we went to go to the restaurant where we were supposed to meet and surprise Jaime for her dinner (she was going to be with Sarah) but guess what… Monsoon was closed!!  So we didn’t know what to do.  We went to where the shuttle drop off was and we waited for an hour and a half waiting for the shuttle that never came… and we made friends with the security officers there.  After we waited for what seemed like forever… we just decided to get some dinner and then just go back to the ship on the 9 oclock shuttle.
        The next day I had to wake up very early (at like 6:30 I think) because our trip left at 7 am (or at least was supposed to).  I went to the Elmina and Cape Coast Slave Castles.  So yea, we were supposed to leave at 7 but the one bus was late so we ended up sitting there on the bus, waiting for the other bus, for an hour.  We ended up leaving at like 8:20.  It took us 3 and a half hours to get to the Cape Coast Slave Castle.  Quick FYI… Obama and his family visited there when they visited Ghana in July 2009.  It was pretty intense.  We went into the cells and the lights were out so that we got the full effect of it and it was so hot.  And the dungeon we were in would hold 1,000 slaves and there were only 20 of us in there and I thought it felt a little cramped.  Places like that creep me out though too because when your in a place like that and you can feel the heat and the tour guide is telling you what they would do to the slaves just gives me an eerie feeling because you can visualize it so well.  It’s like when I went to the concentration camp in Austria and we went through the showers, it just gave me the eeriest feeling ever.  After we came out of the dungeon, we went to the “Door of No Return”, which is the door that the slaves would go through and then out onto the waiting boats to bring them to the ship that would take them to the Americas.  It was cool though to go through the door because on the other side, it’s all the local fishermen and all their boats, because the castle is located in a fishing village.  We came back through the door and then went into the cell where they would put the slaves who attempted to escape and would be put in to starve to death.  After Cape Coast, we went to lunch at the Elmina Resort.  It was on the beach and lunch was awesome!  The chicken there was so good!  It looked like it was going to be spicy because it was in the red sauce but it ended up being really sweet and really good!  After lunch, we went to Elmina.  The Elmina Castle was built by the Portuguese back in the 1400s and is the oldest European building in Africa (I learned that in my Sacred Places class).  Here we went into different dungeons again and learned that the governor (I forget of what… but he was European) actually lived in the Elmina Castle and would pick and choose which female slaves he wanted to rape.  It’s so sad that people can be so mean to other people.  I just don’t get how people thought it was okay to do this stuff.  At Elmina we went to the Room of No Return, instead of the Door.  There was a door there also but the slaves would wait in a tiny room before leaving through a very, very tiny door out to the awaiting ship.  What was most shocking at Elmina, is that over the cell where they would put slaves that attempted to escape, was a skull and cross bones.  It was the cell where they would put slaves and they would die because of the heat, and they wouldn’t be given food or water.  Its just so upsetting. 
        After Elmina we headed back to Tema and the ship.  On our way back we stopped and saw a coffin shop!  The coffins were so cool!  They actually decorate their coffins and they aren’t just plane old boxes.  The ones we saw were in the shape of a truck.  Theres all different shapes you can get and they usually symbolize what you did in your life.  For example, if you were a baker, you could get a bag of flour on it.  It’s so interesting!  We got back to the ship at about 7:30 that night.  It was a nice long day of driving but that was all of Ghana because you take local roads because they don't have huge main highways.  it's a really cool way though to see all of the country
 Ok actually it’s time for bed… I’ll write more when I come back from Brazil!  CRAZY! 

the rest of south africa!

        Sorry for the delay!  I was in Ghana for 4 days and then we had classes and I just have been mobbed with work.  So let me back track and get back to South Africa (aka my favorite port so far).
        On the 4th day there, I was going to do a township tour.  I couldn’t find LB but he told me who he booked it with and for what time it was leaving so I went to the place and told them I wanted to be on it and the guy told me to meet at the circle at 1:30.  I decided to go a little earlier than 1:30 to see if I saw LB but I couldn’t find him and I didn’t want to go on the tour by myself and I saw Kayla and all them and decided to just go out with them.  We ended up doing the hop on hop off bus… which is a double decker bus that goes through out Cape Town and you get headphones.  I know it totally sounds corny but it was a really cool way to see the city.  We went shopping at Green Market Square…because that was one our stops  When we were at Green Market square I saw our german friends from the wine tour!!  It was so exciting!  They were telling me what they had did since the last time I saw them.  After Green Market square we just took the bus for awhile until it took us to the base of Table Mountain and then we just took a cab back to the ship because at this point it was 5 o’clock.  That night we went out to Long Street because it was our last night.  I met up with Kelly McNulty there and that was exciting to hang out with someone from home!  She’s studying abroad in Cape Town  and it was just nice to see someone from home. So yea we went out with her and her 2 guy friends and went all over Long Street.
        The last day we were supposed to hike and repel down Table Mountain… well… it was CANCELLED!  It was waaaaay too windy out and Table Mountain was actually closed and I was PISSED!  But I am happy that I at least got to go to the base of it the prior day and see the view… even if it wasn’t the absolute top.  Instead of hiking and repelling Table Mountain, me, Ricardo and Andrew did another trip that the tour group set up for us.  We went to this canyon about an hour away and hiked that and went repelling and cliff jumping.  It was an awesome trip.  We drove like an hour away from Cape Town and stopped at this cute little restaurant/hotel and had breakfast there.  And from there we hiked over to the place for our real hike.  It was a kinda tough hike because we were climbing over rocks and we were in like a canyon.  We hiked to these pools that were in the middle of the canyon and our guides Nico and Julian set up the repelling for us.  We repelled I think it was 60 feet down into these pools.  Omg it was the scariest thing ever!!  I was shaking the whole time.  And we were barefoot so I had like no grip at all and I actually slipped at one point and hit the rock with my arm but even though that sounds scary… it was so fun!  Haha.  I would have rather of just did a quick zip down the line then have to walk backwards and slipping on the rocks.  When we got to the bottom and into the water, we had to rock climb back up to our bags… WITH NO HARNESSES!  I was shaking again and I felt bad for Andrew and Ricardo because they were behind me and I was going slow.  Hahah.  But I was scared because as soon as we started to rock climb our leader guy slipped on the rocks and fell into the water!  So yea… I was kinda nervous!  When we got to the top we had lunch and then we went cliff jumping.  I really did attempt to get to the 7 meter jump but again we had to rock climb and when I was climbing I slipped and decided I would not rock climb anymore and would do a 1 meter jump.  Hahaha.  It’s pathetic I know but I did not want to risk my life.  Andrew and Ricardo did the 7 and 9 meter jumps and then they actually moved onto I think it was a 24 meter jump maybe?  I forget.  But it was high!  And I sat on the cliff and watched. Our guide was telling us that they had guys come in and scuba there to try and find the bottom and they couldn't find it.  how insane is that!? Hahah.  After they jumped, we hiked back down to where we started, grabbed another late lunch and headed back to Cape Town because at this point it was 3 ish.  When we got back to Cape Town, Ricardo and I just did some quick shopping and then headed back to the ship.  I’m really glad I got out of Cape Town and saw other parts of South Africa.  The people at the place we ate were so nice too.  It was just nice for a new scenery. 
        Like I said earlier… Cape Town was my favorite port… that and Vietnam.  We were talking about it tonight and Cape Town was just a good time the whole time.  There was always something to do and still so much to do even though we are gone.  I definitely want to go back and experience more of it.  It was wonderful weather too… besides the fact it was too windy to climb Table Mountain… and where we were docked was a perfect location!  I suggest everyone to visit Cape Town!  It is absolutely beautiful and just so much history and culture. 
        Well I should probably go do some work.  It’s the end of the semester and of course, everything is piling up and miss procrastinator that I am needs to get on it. 
        I’ll write about Ghana tomorrow!

South Africa III

The morning after Stellenbosch, Katie, Tess and Megan had left early because Katie and tess were running the 5K in Cape Town and Megan had a field trip.  When we woke up, we had a cab coming at 10 so we sat and talked to the 2 british girls that shared our room with us.  They were so cool.  They were on “holiday” as they say and they are in med school.  They were so nice and were just asking us about Semester at Sea and what else we were going to be doing in Cape Town because they had just came from there.  We got our taxi at 10 back to Cape Town and our driver kept telling us to climb table mountain that day because they were calling for bad winds the other 2 days we were there.  We did not listen to him because we were scheduled to hike table mountain on Sunday, our last day there.  So instead we just shopped the whole day… because by the time we got back to the ship and showered and got ready for the day and waited for Katie and Tess it was close to 1 so we just decided to wander around the wharf and go to the mall and craft markets and just get our shopping in for the day.  So it was a pretty chill day.  That night, we had reservations for Mama Africa’s which is a restaurant on Long Street.  We got ready pretty early and then walked out to the rocks and watched some of the sunset before heading to dinner.  The inside of Mama Africa’s is so cute!  It’s decorated in like bamboo walls almost and all these African decorations.  They also had a live band that night which was awesome.  The singer sounded like a girl but he was actually a guy and they were playing like recent songs but with an African flare to it.  Dinner was so good too!  I had chicken mango kebabs and they were amazing. After dinner, we decided to call it a night early because our bodies needed a rest.  So yea… that was the 3rd day...it was pretty relaxing.
We get to Ghana tomorrow and it is the first time in a long time that I am not updated on the previous port before arriving at the next and I am so sorry.  Time seems to be going in fast forwarded and I don't know where my days go!  I have also been trying to catch up on work also so journaling took a back seat.
Talk to you after Ghana!!

Stellenbosch

The second day began with a nice car ride at 9 am out to Stellenbosch, which is about a 40-minute drive outside of Cape Town. It’s the wine lands. Jaime’s friend did Semester at Sea last semester and told us to stay at this place called The Stumble Inn (great name right?!) and you can also do a wine tour through them and we ended up spending the night there also because it was like a combo pack to do a wine tour with them and then spend a night there. OH! I went with Katie, Tess, Jaime and Megan. Our wine tour started bright and early at 10:30 am and went until 5 pm. Long day! It was a big group of us and we were in 3 vans. There was a bunch of people from England and then people from Germany. In my van it was Katie, Jaime, Me and a German couple Adrian and I forget the girl’s name… it was a hard name to remember/pronounce. Our driver’s name was Artie and he was AWESOME! We got to the first winery and it was called Simonsig. We went to a wine cellar and got to see all the wine barrels and that was cool. We actually got to see them like making the wine and it being put into the barrells and all and saw the owner's son who like runs it now. Then we had our tasting and we learned how to be REAL wine tasters. It goes like this... you swirl, tilt the glass til the wine is about an inch from the top, smell it, take a sip, after you have the wine in your mouth you suck in a little air, swish it around your mouth so it covers all your taste buds and then you either swallow it or spit it out. It started with a white sparkling wine, and then we had a choice of 3 more wines. After that winery we went to Fairview…where I got a sticker that said.. OFFICIAL TESTER. There we got 5 more glasses and CHEESE! Now, for those who do not know me, I LOVE cheese. Kara (my sister) says I’m going to turn into a cheese quesadilla one day because i just love cheese so much and anything to do with cheese. So anyway… we had some wine there. And THE BEST cheese ever. My favorite one was the garlic and herb goat cheese. Omg amazing!!! I had like 5 cubes of it I just couldn’t stop eating it. After that we went to lunch and then to ANOTHER winery. This one was BEAUTIFUL… it just had a beautiful view of the mountains and vineyards (the Franscchhoek vineyards to be exact… I have the sheets next to me that’s how I remember all the names). This one was called Dieu Donne Vineyards and was beautiful. Here I met one of the guys in the other vans who is from Jamaica but lives in New Jersey. How crazy!! We took a lot of photos here because it was beautiful. After that vineyard… we went to our last one which I actually don’t have a sheet for and don’t know the name of. But this one was really pretty too. After this, we just went back to the Stumble Inn and took a power nap before exploring the nightlife of Stellenbosch.
Until next time!

Cape Town! part 1.

We left South Africa today about 2 hours ago.  We were supposed to leave last night but it was too windy out and the port was actually closed and we could not get out.  When I woke up this morning… we were still in Cape Town!!  Ugh it totally sucked because it was like we were being held prisoner on the ship and all anyone wanted to do was to get off the ship.  SO ANNOYING!  But now we have left and are bound for Ghana. 
        Now let me recap South Africa…
        Our first day here was on Wednesday, March 31st.  A bunch of us all woke up to watch the sunrise and see us pulling into the port.  It was awesome.  I was so excited to be there!!  The sunrise wasn’t too great because it was cloudy out but it was still awesome.  We also saw seals when we were pulling in!  I had an FDP that day that Steph came on with me and then I went to her FDP later that day.  My FDP was the Three Faiths Pilgrimage for my Sacred Spaces class.  It was boring but it was cool because it was a walking tour so we got to see so much of Cape Town.  We went to Bo Kaap, which is the Muslim neighborhood with the brightly colored houses, and we went to a Mosque there.  Kinda boring, but the houses there were so cool just because they are so brightly painted.  After the mosque, we walked to a park where we saw a synagogue and walked around the park before grabbing some lunch.  After lunch we went to the slave lodge where slaves lived.  After that, I went to Steph’s FDP which was at the planetarium which was just on the other side of the park.  It was pretty cool because we learned about the southern hemisphere sky and all the constellations that we can’t see at home because we are in the northern hemisphere.  Did you know that there is a constellation called table mountain?  Well now you do!  It has… I guess you would call it a dusting of stars… like.. it looks like the milky way if you ever see it in the sky… it has like a light, dusty look to it… and that is supposed to symbolize the table cloth which is what they call the cloud that always comes over table mountain.  The table cloth is an old myth about a smoking contest between a pirate and the devil.  The pirate who lived on the base of Devil’s Peak was outside smoking a pipe when a man challenged him to smoking and they had this contest to see who could smoke the most and the pirate won and when they were down, there was a cloud that formed over table mountain.  So now whenever a cloud forms over table mountain it’s called the table cloth and it symbolizes the smoking contest… and that is also how Devil’s peak got it’s name.  And then we learned about the southern cross and the 2 pointer stars.  It was pretty neat.  I stargaze all the time with Steph and the only constellation I know is Orion’s belt.  Hahah.  So now I learned some more…. Even though I won’t be able to see them after this trip. That FDP went until about 5:30 and then we just came back to the ship and grabbed some dinner and showered and then got ready to go out. 
And that is all the time i have for tonight!  More later!!