Dakar, Senegal

It has been so long since I last wrote. Life has been very busy onboard with final exams, Christmas, crew change, new staff and students and first semester floaties going home. After leaving Morocco, I ended up getting sick with one thing after the other. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Las Palmas in the Canary Islands (also we were in dry dock), but I eventually recovered and was up and running for the sail to Dakar. 

There is no one word to describe Senegal. The culture there is again very different from anything I have ever been exposed to. There were lots of ups and downs about the experience here but being in Dakar and exploring the surrounding areas was truly amazing. What were the downs? How could I regret anything about my amazing adventure to West Africa? Well … it all started in the first ten minutes of shore leave. Firstly, we drew lots of attention from the locals. Street vendors followed us for several blocks trying to sell us their merchandise. There were women with baskets perched on their heads filled with brightly coloured bead necklaces and handmade dolls, young boys walked alongside us trying to sell us sunglasses and a variety of artists wanting us to buy their work. It seemed as though because we were white, people assumed that we had money and were ready to buy. People were CONSTANTLY bothering us to buy their goods. It was really exhausting and we had to look out for each other as the throng of people that circled us wherever we went in the city could easily separate us. Anyway, before we could make any purchases. we had to get some money. I was the last in line for the bank machine and, just my luck, the machine swallowed my visa card. So, I had no money although eventually I managed to get some exchanged so no harm done. Another downer was that everything I ate did not like me. I was sick every single day while we were in Senegal. No details necessary, but it was not fun. Don’t get me wrong, none of these unfortunate events made me regret my time in Senegal. In fact, I learned a lot from the “downside” and it made my experience more real. 

Because we were in Senegal for such a long time, we did lots of really cool things. First, we met with Senegalese youth from an organization called SYTO (based in Senegal; promoting youth travel and cross-culture experiences). The students joined us in various activities throughout our stay in Dakar. On the first day that we met with the students, we each presented a skit to teach each other about our cultures. Their skit was about traditional lifestyles among different Senegalese tribes. Our drama team did a skit called ‘A Day in the Life’ where they demonstrated everything we do on board from wake-ups to galley duties. Then, a well-know storyteller came and we all sat in a massive circle around the room and listened to his tales. After lunch, we had a discussion forum were we split into groups and talked about things related to Senegalese culture such as politics, daily life, youth unemployment issues etc. It was really cool to talk to people around our age and have them participate in the other cultural activities we did. 

We also worked with the American ‘Peace Corps’ organization on a cultural project. For my cultural project, I chose to go to a nearby village called Popenguine and paint two new kindergarten classrooms with pictures and the alphabet. 

We also spent time playing with the kids and talking to the CYTO students. Being able to speak French was SO useful. Lots of the CYTO students could not speak English, and as one of the few French speakers I could easily communicate with them and I made some great friends.

Another thing we did in Senegal was travel up to the SOS Village Orphanage in Louga. The bus ride from Dakar to Louga was five hours in the blazing heat. We sat in uncomfortable seats with sweaty backs. One of the buses had a tire blow out when we were in the middle of nowhere, which made the trip a little more eventful. About one hundred children lived in the  SOS Village. There were ten houses, each with a “mother,” host and ten kids of mixed ages, genders and religions. This is where my French was most useful as I made some strong connections with some of the older girls living at the orphanage. I had a lot of fun and I was surprised by their quality of life in the orphanage. They are very lucky to be there. The children there have a “mother” to care for them, a safe home, food to eat and a decent education.

One of the girls African braided my hair, I read French stories with another and we played some basketball all together. While they braided my hair in African braids (which was really cool!), we all talked about their daily lives and hopes for the future. A girl named Jatis told me that she wants to be an airplane pilot when she is older. That same girl gave me a small leather bag. She insisted I keep it to remember her. I was hesitant to accept because she has so little but she persuaded me to keep it and in exchange I gave her a pair of earrings as a gift. Her generosity and thoughts behind her actions were overwhelmingly selfless. She was so kind and considerate. It amazed me how she could have so much happiness and joy even when she lives everyday without parents. I learned a lot at the orphanage and this particular memory will stay with me forever. I will remember those girls and their hardships; but most of all I will remember their joy. They have a good life, even if they have no parents and they are so thankful for what they have. 

We also took a quick trip over to Goree Island, which was one of the main slave trade ports and the ‘muster point’ where slaves were organized before being shipped over to the Americas. Millions of slaves died because of the terrible living conditions in the slave houses on the island and millions more passed through before crossing the Atlantic. It was sad, but quite incredible. The island itself was beautiful with brightly coloured buildings, cobbled streets, music playing and the feel of paradise.

On our last night in Dakar we went to a drumming and dancing festival that was put on especially for Class Afloat. We learned some traditional Senegalese dancing (which, in our culture may be considered vulgar and very sexual, but is perfectly acceptable in Senegal). Four dancers (all men) in very revealing lion costumes danced with energy that I have never seen before. It was INCREDIBLE. Little kids from the surrounding neighbourhood also joined us in the dancing and we had an amazing night full of music and laughter. I loved it.

My time in Senegal really changed my idea of ‘Africa’. There is no single story of Africa, which is something I have learned for sure. The idea of Africa as one entity is entirely untrue. Senegal was so different from Morocco, which is so different from every other country in Africa. They each have their own traditions, values and beliefs. I also learned many things from the people of Senegal including some of their core values and morals that are evident in their community. Something that was really neat about Senegalese people was the fact that whenever there was food, it was shared equally among everyone present. The people always wanted to make sure that everyone had enough to eat and no one was left hungry. I also learned, from the more impoverished people that I talked to, that no matter your situation or your standard of living, there can always be love, joy and peace. The people who had barely enough food to feed their families still smiled and laughed. This taught me that happiness is more than meeting all of your basic material needs. There can be joy no matter what. Happiness is a lot bigger than money. 

Can’t wait for the Atlantic crossing! Catch ya in Fernando ...

Merry Christmas from Dakar, Senegal

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Morocco - Our First Sight of Africa

Morocco is so incredibly unlike any other country I have ever been to. It was our first port outside of the European bubble and the difference was dramatic. First of all, I was culture-shocked. The way of life, social rules etc. are very different in Morocco. Dress is extremely conservative (to the extent that wrists and ankles must be covered at all times). This is especially important for women. Also, no dating permitted! Marriages are one hundred percent arranged and it’s the man’s family who must initiate these arrangements. Once an offer is put forward, a woman’s family will research about the man and their daughter will have an opportunity to speak to him in private for about an hour before she makes her decision. Girls usually marry when they are eighteen or nineteen and never after they turn thirty. Moreover, men always marry younger women. Women also will not be able to marry if they are not virgins. In fact, a certificate of marriage will not be signed if it is not medically proven that she is a virgin. If she is not, her family will disown her and the marriage will no longer be considered. Polygamy is also an acceptable practice here, however, the King has made laws to discourage the idea (that is, restriction on the number of wives, formal permission from all present and future wives to give consent etc.).

The education system here is mandatory, but not enforced. There is still a tremendously high illiteracy rate and many children do not go to school. Women can go to school, but they generally prefer to quit their studies if they receive an offer of marriage.

There is very little "starvation" in Morocco. The reason for this is because of the community based culture of the country. If you are hungry and you go to a restaurant, someone will feed you. They are also very careful about equal division of water and crops in smaller villages. Morocco is also unique in the way that they are nearly completely self-sufficient for food and producing exports.

As visitors in Morocco, we were very noticeable. Wherever we went, people stared. My blond hair was a particular attraction. We were also offered hundreds of camels for some of the girls on the ship. You don’t know whether or not to be flattered when a man in a shop asks you “How many camels?”

There is also a great bartering culture in Morocco. No shopping is at a fixed price. Although I am not very good at it, it is still a lot of fun! You can joke around with the shopkeepers (some invite you to drink tea with them), they are generally quite nice even if they are sometimes pushy.

On the way to our desert camping adventure (the best port program ever!), we stopped in several small towns and villages. We saw tree-climbing goats, visited hand-made carpet shops and factories and went to a pottery town to learn how they made pottery by hand as well as got henna tattoos from the pottery painter. We bought oranges for $0.80 a bag, ate dates from street vendors and bargained our way through the souks (large markets). Souks are really cool: imagine everything you can buy at the Canadian Superstore and garage sales Moroccan-style - outside, messy and alive with interesting smells and spices in the air.

Dear future Class Afloat Students,

Save all your spending money for Morocco!!!

Sincerely,

Floaties of 2011/12

The only trouble is, we have so little space in our trunks we cannot buy anything too big, bulky or fragile. Everything is inexpensive and beautiful. If only, if only …

Imagine, we did all of this even before we arrived at the desert (which was the coolest part of all)! We pulled up in the bus and our fleet of camels were ready for us. My first camel (I named Gary) was EXTREMELY uncomfortable. I was falling off the entire time and everyone made fun of me! (Especially all the horse-riding Calgarians.) The second camel was a lot better and really fun to ride. It was pretty surreal though, like being in a movie. We alternated between walking and riding for a couple of hours until we arrived at camp.

 

The camp was a u-shaped compound with mud huts on the left and right and one large room at the back, which was the dining room. The walls in the huts were covered with brightly coloured fabrics. It was a lot fancier than I expected – we even had beds! At sundown, we sat on the highest dune and embraced ten minutes of silence (an absolute record for our crew!) as we watched the sun sink behind the vast desert. After sundown, as it was still light out, we had dune battles. We jumped off the dunes, pushed each other playfully and rolled down the sand hills. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! After that, there was sand EVERYWHERE. It likes to collect in pockets, hoods and everywhere else it shouldn’t. It was still light out after that and we spent some time sitting amongst the dunes, reflecting about our journey thus far and talking about life.

Dinner was CRAZY. I have never eaten so much food in my life. We had bread, soup, tajean (cooked meat) and cous cous followed by a large array of fruits. It was all DELICIOUS. In the end, I honestly could not move. I felt a little panicked about it actually, and my friend and I had to lie down before the dancing. There was a huge bonfire in the center of the camp. All of our guides and the people who ran the camp played Moroccan music and sang while we danced around the flames until the wee hours of the morning. It was fantastic! The next morning a group of us woke up really early and watched the sunrise together. It was spectacular. Beautiful. Wondrous. The Sahara Desert is a magical place.

Later that day we rode the camels back to the buses and continued to visit little towns all the way home. Yes, the ship really feels like home now. During the last hours of the bus ride we were very anxious to see her three masts again.

Morocco was my favourite port so far. I loved it so much and I will be back! I am afraid that I am now officially addicted to travelling and I can’t wait to see the rest of the world. I will carry these memories with me forever!

Change of course ... Mallorca, Spain

Because of stormy conditions, it was unsafe for us to attempt to sail to Corsica (Ajaccio, France), so we changed course and headed to Mallorca instead! Palma is a great little city on a beautiful island full of adventures. The best part was that it was HOT.

We spent our shore leave hopping on busses and taking them to random beach towns. In one place, we found a wind surfing board and tried it out in the water. There were also deserted huts along the beach and a winding, sandy trail that hugged the coast. A lot a time was spent relaxing and lazing about on the beach. It was very pleasant.

An impromptu port program was arranged to go on a snorkelling tour outside of Palma. We all suited up in full (very tight) wetsuits and flippers and hopped on a couple of Zodiacs. They took us out to some smaller islands right off the coast. We dove into the cool water and unluckily discovered a swarm of jellyfish. It was crazy. The guides where quite shocked and we had to give up our cave adventure because there were just too many jellyfish. I got stung three times. It seems they really liked me because almost everyone else came out of the water unscathed. A jellyfish sting feel like a cross between being stung by a wasp and burnt by a hot poker. YIKES! The discomfort only lasted about twenty minutes and by that time we motored the boats to another location and happily dove and snorkelled again - sans jellyfish this time. It was really awesome!

I also took the time in Mallorca to do extra deck work. I hung out with the AB’s (able-bodied sailors - this is the qualification that our maritime deck crew have) and varnished lifejacket boxes for a couple hours. It was fun … really it was.

We stocked up on snacks to sustain us on the eleven-day sail to Morocco that lies ahead … Africa, here we come!

 

Barcelona, Spain - A "Parent Port"

On the sail to Barcelona we were super excited to see our parents and in turn were slightly distracted in class. We were also looking forward to receiving care packages and mail from home. By the time the last class rolled around on arrival day (math for me) we were too excited and preoccupied that the teachers just gave up.

We planned a bit of a performance for our parents as we docked. Some of the floaties dressed the yards on the foremast (that is, we were up the riggings in special formation waving to the folks on the dock) and the Sorlandet Music Group (also known as the Jam Club) dressed up as pirates and fittingly played the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean as we rolled in. A massive crowd of parents and family members cheered and hollered at us in greeting.

It was really great to see mom – like having a small bit of home come to me. We had so much fun together! We shopped, went sightseeing and I had the opportunity to introduce her to all of my floaties as well as put her to work "brassing". Mom stayed in an apartment with four friends from her Jazzercise days. It was located in the center of the Gothic neighbourhood about a twenty-five minute walk away from the ship. Below the apartment there was a delicious little tapas bar. An ice cream parlour and an outdoor cheese market were also close by. We had the perfect spot! It was really handy to have an apartment. I got to nap in a real bed and shower EVERYDAY. The water was hot and I wasn’t limited to ninety seconds! It was BLISS. Mom even made me her homemade spaghetti.

It was delicious and I got to invite several friends, who did not have family visiting, to join us for dinner. We had a great time! No food lines, no rationing … it was super!

 

One of mom’s friends is a fitness teacher and she came down to the ship early in the morning to teach us Zumba for PE class. Check it out on You Tube!

One of my favourite things about Barcelona was the food market. It was AMAZING. There were colorful stands upon stands selling fresh fruits, smoothies, Iberian ham (if you ever visit Spain, you must try some!), other meats, mushrooms and numerous variety of nuts. The smoothies were the best ever. My favourites were mango coconut and kiwi coconut. Especially after the long sail, all that fresh fruit was HEAVENLY.

Barcelona is loaded with great stores and the shopping if fabulous! In Spain, shoes and accessories are no laughing matter. By the end of our shopping spree, our wallets were considerably lighter!  Mom and I also checked out some Gaudi architecture while wandering around the city. It was very cool.

For our port program we visited Monserrat – an old monastery town in the mountains. You may be familiar with the famous choir of young boys that live, study and sing there. We were fortunate enough to hear a performance in the massive cathedral that was in the centre of town. We also headed up the side of the mountain for what turned out to be a disappointing view: so foggy you couldn’t see two feet in front of you.

Luckily, by the end of the day it did clear up a bit and the view was quite spectacular and well worth the wait.

Barcelona was great! Although it was difficult to say goodbye, I really enjoyed the trip and spending quality time with Mom. Thanks for coming!

Cadiz, Spain

Apologies for the long break between updates! We are all very busy on the Sorlandet with schoolwork, watch duties, cleaning duties and port expeditions. I will try my best to keep up to date in future …

Hola todos! Cadiz was the first Spanish port and I was really excited to travel there. My first impression? Spain is beautiful and rich with culture.

 The city of Cadiz itself was built with many narrow, winding and criss-crossing cobbled streets – the perfect recipe for getting lost … shops, tapa bars and apartments line every inch of downtown. One street in particular was super cool (we later dubbed it girl haven!). It was lined with wedding stores, dress boutiques, shoe shops and accessory boutiques. It was AMAZING. Luckily the boys in our group led us away before we could clean out our entire wallets!

In the center of the city there was a massive cathedral. It was incredible and conveniently had Wi-Fi! As I sat on the steps outside the cathedral, corresponding with friends, a procession of hundreds of priests, bishops and other religious figures all dressed in white robes paraded through the streets. I witnessed the crowning of a new bishop.

It was a really neat experience. We also got the chance to watch part of the church service itself. However, because of the huge number of people in the cathedral, we had to sit in a second sanctuary that broadcast the service.

As one of our port programs, we visited the city of Seville. We spent the day exploring, wandering and picnicking (this seems to be a theme!). We found a beautiful spot along the river, beside a bridge and next to a Zen forest.

We sat for a few hours and it was really nice to spend time relaxing off the ship. Unfortunately, on our walk back, one of the guys kicked a pile of dog poo … with flip-flops! His feet were covered and we were all in stitches - yuk, poor guy!

Back in Cadiz we spent time lounging on the beautiful sandy beaches and wading in the water. It was just so beautiful. In fact, I think I could live in Cadiz no problem! One night, we all went out to a flamenco show. Fifty of us crammed into a tiny bar with a small stage – three dancers, a guitarist and a singer. They danced and played like there’s no tomorrow. It was bold, striking and passionate. We all had a great time and needless to say he boys were all totally mesmerized …

I had a great time in Cadiz. Barcelona next … can’t wait for more of Spain and mom's visit!

Porto, Portugal - Found the Blog!!!

Blog lost in cyber space! Stay tuned for recovery. In the meantime a few pics ...

Found it ... read on.

Oporto was especially cool for me because Portugal is unlike any country I had ever visited before. We were docked in a small town twenty minutes outside of the city itself. For morning P.E. class every day we ran to the beach and watched the waves crash on the sand. The water glistened a turquoise blue and the sand stretched along the coast as far as the eye could see. It was something like paradise. The restaurant right on the beach was a hotspot for us to hang out. What a view! And there were surfers too …

 

The buildings are embellished with azulejo tiles with rich pigments of blue and yellow, and wrought iron adornments are everywhere.

For our first port program we headed on the bus into the city of Oporto and visited a Factory House. Factory Houses are grand buildings built for the top administrators in Port Wine producing companies. It’s almost like a country club, but the only members are the company heads. We visited the Graham Port Wine Factory House. Inside there was a great entrance hall, a ballroom with a magnificent grand piano, two formal dining rooms for traditional eleven-course meals held at the house and a library archive of thousands of books in multiple languages. There were poetry books, encyclopedias, hand-written weather records, newspapers and magazines dated back to the 1800’s – everything you could imagine. It was phenomenal. We could have been in there for hours just exploring and looking at the different books. It was super cool! (Especially for a bookworm …) Following the Factory House tour, we went to an actual Port Wine Factory and learned about the port winemaking process. It was really interesting and quite complicated. After the tour and lecture, we all sat down and had a tasting of some ten-year-old port. It tasted fiery and sweet. I liked it.

Cheers!

Exploring the streets of Porto

After winetasting, a group of us headed off to explore the city. We spent the time just wandering around, taking it all in. It was really fun. I liked the feel of the city; nothing was perfect. The brightly coloured buildings had paint chipping off and the cobbled streets were well worn. Everything seemed laid back and relaxed. My favorite part was the fact that laundry was hung outside of every apartment window, which added something to the surrounding streets. After a great day of exploring, we miraculously figured out the Portuguese metro system and made our way back to the ship - quite the adventure.

Having had lots of successful and delicious picnics in Brest, we thought it would be a great idea to try it again in Oporto – big mistake. I’m not saying anything against Portuguese grocery stores, but let’s just say it was a combination of unfortunate events that led to the worst picnic ever. First of all, it took us ages to find the grocery store. Once we got there, it was disappointingly small and I struggled with cheese and vegetable decisions. We made our way to the beach and on the way, stopped at a bakery. Finally arriving at the beach, we missed the sunset and it was rapidly getting dark. Then, someone realized that they had left their picnic groceries back at the bakery. We half jogged six blocks (uphill!) back to the bakery, although first we ran too far and completely passed it – whoops. After retrieving the grocery bag, we headed back to the beach and ate our picnic in the pitch black. We could not even see the water and I ate the plastic around the pepperoni sticks, To make matters worse the cheese turned out to be butter. It was a disasterous meal. We took it in stride though, and laughed about it. Afterwards, we spent some quality cultural time at MacDonald’s. McFlurrys make everything better.

The next day went to small village and walked along an ancient pilgrimage trail. The trail was built on a dusty, narrow roman road that passed through great big vineyards and hillsides. It was beautiful. We ate grapes right off the vines and chatted while we walked down the trail. After a while, we stopped at a break in the path and the bus picked us up and took us to a restaurant where we had a lovely meal of buns, squash soup, rice, carrots and pork. It was SO GOOD.

Portugal was fantastic! I’ll be back…