Dominica – “The Nature Island”

After our short stop at Bequia, Dominica was only a few days of sailing away. We anchored right outside of Portsmouth, along with at least a hundred other boats and yachts (we were by far the most beautiful though!). Due to some unfortunate business on the ship, we had a lot less shore leave than anticipated in Dominica, however, we still managed to have a ton of fun!

On the first day, a group of us were wandered down the beach looking for adventure. We stopped at a beach art gallery and asked the artist what he suggested we do on the island. He told us that we shouldn't miss a tour of the Indian River. He found one of his friends who had a boat and we were off. As it turns out, the Indian River is where segments of Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest was filmed (the specific scene is when Jack Sparrow and his crew visit the sea witch in her hut on the edge of the river). The river itself is a protected national park so our guide turned off the engine and took out a long paddle to push us through the water. It was really unbelievable – just like the movie, but better. It was the real life version of the Disneyland ride … I can’t even describe it was so incredible. On the way we also saw an iguana, which was super cool.

For our port program, we rode a bus out of town for about an hour and then hiked through the forest to a breathtaking waterfall. On the two-hour hike we realized how out of shape you become living on a ship. Although we’re building muscle from pulling on lines, our cardio has sure gone out the window. The water beneath the falls was FREEZING (especially compared to the lovely warm Caribbean Sea we have gotten used to!). After the hike out, legs cramping and soaking wet, we boarded the bus again and headed to an area where the scene with the tribal people and the bone cages was filmed. We swam through dark caverns until we reached a waterfall inside a cave. At this point, the current was so strong that our guides had to tow us to the rocks in pairs to get past the rushing water. After everyone was safely on the other side, we scrambled up the rocks to a second pool and waterfall. We then took turns jumping off the first waterfall into the water. It was SO COOL. I loved it. And do you realize that we swam in the same water as Johnny Depp!

We spent our last day wandering around the town and hanging out at the beach. It was great. We ended our day at Big Pappa’s restaurant for a birthday barbeque that a floatie family had set up for their son’s birthday. We spent the evening dancing, eating and laughing. It was really fun. On departure day we sailed full sail off the anchor and out to sea. Only a few short days until the Dominican Republic and more adventures! Can’t wait.

Surprise -Welcome to Bequia!

It seemed like just another day, wake up at 0645 for gym class, oatmeal for breakfast, tidying personal space, but we had no idea what was in store for us. At Colours (morning assembly/ daily announcements/raising of the flags ceremony) our shipboard director announced that we were two hours away from the island of Bequia, a surprise port! We were all SO excited. We still had cleaning and classes (I even had to do my chemistry quiz) but by lunchtime we anchored off the coast of Bequia and the MOB boat dropped a few of us off at some random beach for the day.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the beach and then took a taxi into town. We spent most of the day wandering around the market. We bought t-shirts with the slogan “Live slow, sail fast” and various other small crafty items. We ended up at another beach and spent the rest of the day swimming and relaxing on the beach. It was a really lovely surprise. Can’t wait to see more Caribbean islands!

Granada … My future home!

With strong winds, we arrived in Granada three days earlier than anticipated so we anchored in a bay right outside of the parish of St. Georges (Granada is divided into six parishes, or regions, each named after a Christian saint). If you have ever been on a ship at anchor only hundreds of meters away from a Caribbean paradise, while still having to attend classes, you know what it’s like. For the rest of you, imagine someone licking a cone of your favourite ice cream right in front of your face in the hot sun and not offering you a single taste. It was TORTURE!

Finally it was arrival time and we came dockside mid afternoon, ready for some highly anticipated shore leave. My first impression of Granada was that it was one giant reggae party. Even when we were at anchor, we could hear Bob Marley blaring out from beach parties, buses and bars. The first day we strolled along the Caranage (a sea wall in the main part of town) and each bought a book from the used bookstore. I chose Jane Auten’s Emma. We also bought a couple of groceries (including some exciting North American products that we hadn’t seen for five months such as Arizona Iced Tea and Mott’s Apple Sauce) and rode a reggae bus to the main beach. Although quite a tourist hub, it was still beautiful. It was sandy, the water was turquoise and perfect and we spend a lovely afternoon lazing about in the sunshine reading.

The following day the port program was going to St. Georges University. The university is an American accredited institution that is known for its medical and veterinary schools. The campus was BEAUTIFUL. We toured around and learned about the various programs. Next, we listened to a lecture on Caribbean history and after lunch we walked down to the marine biology building (which was RIGHT on the water and had yet another gorgeous ocean view) and listened to another lecture, this time about marine and land-based local wildlife. It was really cool. By the end of the day, we were convinced that St. Georges University in Granada was for us …

On our full day of shore leave, a group of students and I rented a reggae bus that drove us to the famous collection of waterfalls on the island – The Seven Sisters.  It was AMAZING. We were only able to hike to the first two waterfalls (the others are a lot more dangerous to get to) and we spent an hour or so jumping off the waterfall into an icy pool below. It was exhilarating.

After our waterfall adventure our guides drove us to Guave for a tour of the fish market. On the drive there we stopped multiple times along the road to learn about the various methods of agriculture, banana crops and nutmeg. (Did you know that cinnamon does not originally come in sticks? Cinnamon is the bark off a certain tree that is rolled up and dried). The fish market was really cool. There were numerous stalls selling everything from spice necklaces to smoothies (and of course, fish). Music was playing from a sound system that was set up throughout the market and drummers accompanied the beat. I drank a delicious guava smoothie and ate yummy salted plantain chips – it was all really good! We hung out for a while and then slowly made our way back to the ship, reggae music still blasting from the bus.

For our other port program, we went sailing on a catamaran (because we don’t sail enough, right?). We went snorkelling at a couple of spots around the island. One place we visited was an underwater sculpture museum. It was SO COOL. There were life-sized people carved and set up on the bottom of the ocean! We spent lots of time lying of the deck of the catamaran, just relaxing. It is something I feel I have almost forgotten how to do! Unfortunately, I may have only put on sunscreen once and … lets just say I got a little crispy. Whoops - I definitely learned my lesson!

Despite the sunburn, Granada was a truly unbelievable port. I am super excited to see the rest of the Caribbean! Dominica up next!

Letter home

Hi everyone!

I am currently sitting on the lifejacket bench outside the galley, facing Granada! We are at anchor right outside a small bay. The colour of the water is exactly as you are imagining: blue, turquoise, clear. Reggae music is playing on deck and people are casually doing small tasks and chores.

I have just come off watch. I was really lucky today, I got to go out in the MOB boat (“Zodiac”) with Sune (Chief Mate, Danish). We went out and did a round of the outside of the ship noting what work has to be done. (FYI there are some serious fender scuff marks, three cracked portholes and lots of rust streaks… this means acid washing!) Then we went closer to shore and measured depths for about an hour. We have no records on board of the depths close to shore around the bay that we are anchored in. The measuring device was a rope with a massive shackle at the end of it. There were tape markings on it for 5 and 10 meters and each mater in between. It was actually pretty cool. Dad – I had some serious Nadia-and-Dad-in-the-Zodiac flashbacks. Boating in the Caribbean is a little bit cooler though! It was actually quite a lot of work. I must have hauled ten feet of line with the shackle 40 times! When we were coming back I saw a baby sea turtle. It was pretty cool. And everyone who had to stay on deck was quite jealous…

Before we anchored we had to take in all sail and I was aloft for about half-an hour stowing the main. I really enjoyed it because I was up long enough to get comfortable. Then I got the chance to helm while going into anchor (this is something I’ve always wanted to do). Not gonna lie, I’m pretty bad at helming, but I got lucky getting picked today and I think I’m getting better. We had chilli for lunch today. Very meaty and hot. It was pretty good.

Now that I’ve told you about my day, here is the story of the worst night watch ever…

It all began at 2000 (I was thirty seconds late to watch… I have never been late before!) I spent my deck time hanging out with Johannes and Paul playing “Would you rather”. Okay … that was fun. Next thing I know, I’m on fire watch and on my round I see one of the boys who had just gotten out of the shower (he was fully clothed, don’t worry). What was on the counter behind him, do you ask? That’s right. THIS BOY has been using my towel FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS!! I was so upset. I yelled at him last night and confronted him again today. He makes me so angry sometimes! What was he thinking??? I always wonder why my towel is wet EVERY time I go to take a shower. So after my round I go and tell Johannes, Paul and Captain Halvor about this new discovery – they laugh and sympathize. Thanks! Then it’s my turn to take the helm (which was going ALL over the place and it was really hard to steer) and I slip and face plant on the aft deck. I landed on my wrist and then had to get an ice pack. It’s totally fine, but I was really embarrassed to fall in front of an AB, a mate and the Captain! (Not to mention all of watch six and Ms. McNaughton …) I laughed about it after though. It didn’t hurt, my wrist was only a little sore but I thought an ice pack would be a good idea. Finally it was time to go to bed. But, oh no, not even that can be perfect. On my way to the heads a wave fills my shoes with water. Hmph.

As much as I complain about that evening’s events, it was actually pretty funny. I will never forget that night …

As for my classes, they’re going pretty well. I’m on to unit three in French and I’m reading a play. In anthro, we are dissecting the movie Tarzan and looking at Disney’s cultural power. I’m writing an essay about the character Jane and how Disney represents women (more specifically young heroines). Chem is good too except I’ve made several small stupid mistakes in tests and assignments, but other than that I understand everything. It’s actually quite fun and it makes sense!

OH MY GOSH. I have to tell you about the craziest week ever. Let’s call it the Zombie Apocalypse Sorlandet-style. It all started when Curtis puked on standby. We though it was seasickness because the seas were rough but apparently not … The next day (IT WAS RAINING SO HARD YOU GOT SOAKED IN 2.5 SECONDS) I was on fire watch and George (First Mate, Australia/lives in New Zealand) gave us all cupcakes. I went to deliver one to Theresa (on lookout) and she takes one bite and starts throwing up all over the foxal. I run down (well, we were rocking a lot so running was impossible) to find A – someone to clean it up and B – someone to replace lookout. Erin volunteers to take the lookout and Allison and I being left to clean up the mess. Next thing I know, Erin is puking over the funnels. SO I find Will to take over lookout and Allison and Erin finish cleaning the mess. It was CRAZY. But, that is not all. In the next couple of days no less than 26 students and teachers were all puking into buckets, had nill energy, felt constantly nauseous and experienced bad back pain all the while. I was one of the only survivors in the plague. Everyone who wasn’t sick had to do crazy amounts of work and run the ship. It was NUTS. We did a two hour clean/sanitizing of the banjer on the first day everyone was sick. Then, we had people doing ‘sanitizing rounds’ every half hour sanitizing all the taps, railing, door handles etc on the ship. Every morning after colours all of the invalids would report to Shawn and he assigned them sleeping areas. The nest, both chat shacks and the z-zone were FULL of sick people. Every morning we re-evaluated the situation, cleaned and sanitized all of the sick areas and reassigned people depending on how bad they were feeling. The sick people were like zombies and they dropped like flies. In a bad way, it was really funny. But most of all it was just strange to sail a ship full of nearly dead people. The ones still standing joked about when they would be ‘taken by the plague’. I was SO lucky not to sick. Knock on wood! Anyways, it was all in all a crazy sail.

FYI – we brought crickets on board in the Amazon and it is SO LOUD on deck at night. We are not quite sure what to do about it.

That’s pretty much it for my life right now… I’m having a great time and living the good life. AHHHH!!!! Carribbean J It is beautiful and I can’t wait to go to shore in Granada in a few days time!

Love,
Nadia

Belem, Brazil - THE AMAZON

All I have to say is WOW! The Amazon jungle is the coolest place I have ever visited. It was like my childhood imagination gone wild and come true - sort of like Tarzan or Indiana Jones, but real and tangible. I loved it.

 

Each day as we sailed closer to the Amazon, the water changed colour. A few days before reaching the river, we had a swim call and the water was so clear and blue, that with my goggles, I could see the ship’s hull and a shark swimming beneath us! By the next day the water was a dark blue and the following day it was a murky green. The Amazon itself is a muddy green and brown. The first sight of the river was a bit of a shock; it looks EXACTLY like the Fraser River back home. I was a little disappointed at first. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t think it would look like the river in Richmond. The deeper we got however, the more distinct it became. It is a very impressive body of water.

We were ahead of schedule arriving to Belem, so before we could dock we anchored in the river overnight. The anchorage was an “at risk” area as there have been several pirate attacks reported around Belem. These kinds of pirates do not have eye patches and wooden legs. They come aboard ships to steal goods and electronics, or worse, hold a crew hostage for ransom. We prepared a piracy plan and deployed full night watches covering all the ship’s decks. We also kept all lights on and flashed a powerful beam light around the ship every few minutes. Although it was quite serious at the time, we did joke a lot about going on ‘pirate watch’. Unfortunately, Johnny Depp never turned up! Scarily, while we were anchored there was a pirate attack on a cargo ship nearby. We were very lucky.

Belem itself is a great city. It is home to the largest open-air market in all of South America. Everyone bought a hammock. They are SO comfortable to sleep in on the ship. We also bought jewellery, crazy hats and handmade leather sandals. You could uncover all sorts of treasures in the market. Of course, we were drawn to the food section. About a hundred stalls with rice, fish, chicken, salads and beans sold all-you-can-eat for less than five dollars. What a deal and it was delicious! A couple of us braved the fish market. Hundreds of varieties of fish caught in the river were being chopped and sold. Although it smelled DISGUSTING, it was pretty cool to see.

The port program was the best time of our stay in Brazil. We ventured off on a small tour boat for an overnight trip down smaller sections of the river. Our first stop was a small island that was part jungle, part small community. Our guide (who had lived in the jungle among the Yanomamo tribe for ten years) led us on a hike through the luscious trees. It was SO COOL. As we tramped through the jungle he informed us about the various medicinal properties of the plants we passed. We picked fallen mangoes from the ground, plucked star fruit from the trees and ate lots of Brazil nuts. There was so much edible fruit and plants in the jungle and it was all delicious.

We hiked a little further and discovered a couple of baby parrots perched in the bush. We took turns holding them and one even climbed on shipboard director’s head - very cute. The guide found a tarantula on the forest floor and we each took turns holding it. Surprisingly, although I was more scared then I thought I’d be it was actually pretty gentle.

There was one section of the jungle where our guide made us sprint through the trees. We had to run because it is the season for Brazil nuts to fall from the trees. According to legend, Brazil nuts falling on people’s heads is the leading cause of death in the Brazilian jungle. We also encountered a rubber tree. You could literally peel bits of latex off the tree trunk! 

The most fun on the jungle trip was tree climbing. One of the village elders demonstrated climbing an Acai Berry tree. He weaved a wreath of thick leaves to tie around his ankles and use it as a grip to shimmy up the skinny trunk. Watching him come down was scary. He pretty much let go of the tree and whizzed to the ground. I have never seen old bones move so fast! Luckily, I got a chance to try it and it’s a lot harder than it looks! I climbed pretty high and it was awesome.

Following our hike, the boat sailed further down the river to another island. En route everyone passed out and it was lovely napping on deck as we motored down the Amazon. Later, right after the guide explained that there were three species of piranhas residing in the area, he announced it was time to go swimming! I won’t lie … I was a little freaked out. The water is so murky you couldn’t see a thing (I’m not sure if that was good or bad). Eventually I mustered the courage to jump in and it was refreshing to rinse off after being sticky and humid all day. That evening the family, who owned the dock where we moored, cooked us a delicious meal and afterwards we headed off to bed (in a food coma) nice and early. We slept outside in hammocks and it was the most restful sleep I’ve ever had.

The boat docked at Parrot Island where we were awakened at 0500 by the sound of thousands of parrots as they took flight and head over to the mainland. Frankly, they were just as annoying as the herons in Stanley Park and I felt so sorry for the poor people who live there. Those birds make such a racket! However, I must admit, it was pretty cool to be woken up by parrots …

After that we meandered back to the Sorlandet. We spent the rest of our time in Belem exploring the city, visiting the market and contacting family and friends back home. I had a really amazing time in Brazil and I am looking forward to Grenada and the Caribbean!

Fernando de Noronha … A hidden little paradise

Fernando de Noronha is a small island off the coast of Brazil. It was our first sighting of land after the two-week long Atlantic crossing and it was a very welcome sight indeed! It seemed we were away from reality for a very long time, stuck in our microcosm community on board the Sorlandet with no contact with the outside world. I’m pretty sure we were all a little stir crazy by the end of the long crossing we were eager to get ashore.

Fernando is, in short, paradise. Our ship anchored a little way off the island’s coast and the tender (small wooden white boat on board the Sorlandet) shuttled us to land. On the short trip to shore about a hundred dolphins swam alongside the tender. People (tourists mostly) snorkelled in the bay and we had to watch out for sea turtles. The small boat dropped us off (in groups of six) on the sandy white beach and we were off.

It was very warm on the island and there was one dirt road leading from one end to the other. Our first stop … the grocery store! There was one on the island for all the locals and we quickly cleared out their stock. After a filling lunch we hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take us to a nice beach. The taxis were CRAZY! They were like small dune buggies or miniature jeeps and they were entirely open. We perched on the back with the wind blowing through our hair as we raced along the island. It was so much fun!

The beaches were absolutely GORGEOUS. Although the best beach was a bit of a hike, it was well worth the effort. First, we marched along a smaller dirt road until we reached a cliff. Then we climbed down iron ladders cemented into the rock face. After two flights of ladders and a long narrow staircase made of rock we reached the hot sand and it was nearly deserted. The water glistened a clear, brilliant blue and felt so refreshing. We spent hours body surfing, engaging in  chicken fights in the water and snorkelling. Some of us saw sea turtles and mud sharks. It was really cool!

Too soon it was time to leave this little paradise. We had only two days to spend in Fernando and on the last night we barbequed the Mahi Mahi we caught during the crossing (we keep five fishing lines off the back of the ship at all times). It was delicious, and although we were very sad to leave Fernando ...

... we were even more excited to reach the Amazon!