Hey all! Well we just updated, but wanted to fill you in on the goings on today! It is our first day back on the ship since Ghana, and there were no classes because it was “Neptune Day”. Now we didn’t have really any idea what this was, so we were excited about the prospect of sleeping in a bit late and having an easy day with no classes… At around 7:30 this morning (if you know us at all, you know that neither one of us likes to be up at this ungodly hour) we heard a gaggle of people running up and down the hallways tweeting whistles, banging drums, yelling, singing, banging on doors and making all sorts of other loud, obnoxious noises. Well we continued sleeping when that all died down and then at a few minutes to 9am an announcement came over the loud speaker saying:
“Attention Pollywogs! Come up to the 7th deck by the pool. King Neptune and his queen Minerva have boarded the ship with their court of guards and goddesses for we are about to cross the equator. You will now become Shellbacks!” Apparently someone who hasn’t crossed the equator by sea before is considered a Pollywog and after they are initiated into the Order of the Shellbacks or something like that and they become Shellbacks! So then we all gathered up there and there was a big celebration/ceremony thing. We all lined up by the pool and they poured ‘fish guts’ all over us (I don’t know what it actually was, maybe fish goo, it kinda looked like that green Nickelodeon goo stuff y’kno?) and then we jumped in the pool and when we got out the ‘royal court’ had fish in their hands that we had to kiss then the academic dean dressed in a Greek god toga knighted us with a sword thing and then we had to go over and kiss the queens ring and then king Neptune’s ring and bow to them to be initiated as Shellbacks (Neptune was the ships captain covered in green skin paint and all decked out like a Greek god with a crown and a trident and everything). Then everyone is traditionally supposed to get their heads shaved, but it’s your choice, so now there are a ton of bald people walking around!
Well we hope everyone is well. Keep emailing us! Sorry we haven’t added any new pictures to the flickr page recently. It’s been really hard to find an internet café/ the time to go do all that. We are already really booked in South Africa but will hopefully find the time to upload pics! Miss and love you all!
Kiah and Rachael
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ghanna!
Hey all,
We are saying farewell to Ghana. We had an amazing time here starting with the first day. We went out with out any concrete plans, to catch the shuttle into Accra and ran into many difficulties. The we waited for about an hour and the shuttle never came. We met up with our friends Alix and ZZ and decided to take a taxi instead. All the taxis were parked in a lot and as soon as we walked in about 30 men pulling us in all different directions, trying to get us to go into their cabs, bombarded us. We finally managed to get into one and asked to be dropped off in the main city center of Osu. The drive was about an hour and as we approached the city, we could tell the driver didn’t know where he was going. He proceeded to pull into a market. We decided to get out there because the driver was demanding more money and many people accosted us. Two men came up to the car and introduced themselves as Liman and Jaqual. They offered to show us around for the day. We saw a few costal vistas and went and had a delicious lunch in the market. Next they took us to their drum shop where they and their friends played for us. They then taught us how to play and we jammed with them for a while. It was super fun! Kiah has bruises on her fingers. They also showed us some good shopping spots in the market. After all of that, they took us to the “tro-tro” (public buses that looked like mini vans that they packed FULL.) station and we said our farewells and headed back to the ship. We were too exhausted to go out that night.
Day 2:
We had to wake up at 6:30am to go on a day trip to the cape coast where we saw castles and slave dungeons. It was a 3 hour ride there and traffic here is horrendous, probably worse than LA, Atlanta and Chicago put together. On they way there there was construction and our bus stopped. We saw our tour guide get out of the bus and talk to a policeman and the policeman then guided us through the traffic, forcing cars to move out of the way for us. We reached the first castle and it was a very humbling experience. We then had lunch at a very beautiful hotel on the ocean then saw another castle after. The drive back took about 5 hours and it took us about 20 minutes to go a block. We got back 2 ½ hours later than we were supposed to so we just decided to stay in again.
Day 3:
We tried to wake up early, but naturally failed. We got into action around 11. We took the shuttle into town and did so much needed shopping. We also had some dericious Chinese food for lunch. That night we went out with our friends ZZ, Alix, Liz and Rikki to town. We almost got stuck in the ship for an hour because they were moving gangplanks and were not going to let us off. There was a mob of about 30 angry students demanding to be let off for their last night in Ghana. We were thankfully released and went to a bar first where we were swarmed with friendly Ghanaians who informed us that there was live music down the road. We walked over to the outdoor music club that was filled with both Ghanaians and SAS kids. We danced night away and our friend Liman was there. We left at about 2 in the morning and got into two cabs, each with 3 people in them. We insisted that the cabs stick together for the drive back. When we arrived at the police check point on the expressway, both taxis were pulled over. We were told to get out of the car by a man dressed in fatigues and carrying a gun. He asked us why we weren’t wearing our seat belts and ushered us into his shack. There he tried to get us to go individually into the back rooms but we refused and stuck together. He then wanted u to pay him off, each person paying 10 cedi ($8) each. After that he let us go and told us to buckle up but the cabs don’t have seat belts. After that harrowing ride back to the port, we rode in a pick up truck back to she ship. An eventful evening to say the least! We loved Ghana and the people. It has been our favorite place so far. We hope to come back!
We are saying farewell to Ghana. We had an amazing time here starting with the first day. We went out with out any concrete plans, to catch the shuttle into Accra and ran into many difficulties. The we waited for about an hour and the shuttle never came. We met up with our friends Alix and ZZ and decided to take a taxi instead. All the taxis were parked in a lot and as soon as we walked in about 30 men pulling us in all different directions, trying to get us to go into their cabs, bombarded us. We finally managed to get into one and asked to be dropped off in the main city center of Osu. The drive was about an hour and as we approached the city, we could tell the driver didn’t know where he was going. He proceeded to pull into a market. We decided to get out there because the driver was demanding more money and many people accosted us. Two men came up to the car and introduced themselves as Liman and Jaqual. They offered to show us around for the day. We saw a few costal vistas and went and had a delicious lunch in the market. Next they took us to their drum shop where they and their friends played for us. They then taught us how to play and we jammed with them for a while. It was super fun! Kiah has bruises on her fingers. They also showed us some good shopping spots in the market. After all of that, they took us to the “tro-tro” (public buses that looked like mini vans that they packed FULL.) station and we said our farewells and headed back to the ship. We were too exhausted to go out that night.
Day 2:
We had to wake up at 6:30am to go on a day trip to the cape coast where we saw castles and slave dungeons. It was a 3 hour ride there and traffic here is horrendous, probably worse than LA, Atlanta and Chicago put together. On they way there there was construction and our bus stopped. We saw our tour guide get out of the bus and talk to a policeman and the policeman then guided us through the traffic, forcing cars to move out of the way for us. We reached the first castle and it was a very humbling experience. We then had lunch at a very beautiful hotel on the ocean then saw another castle after. The drive back took about 5 hours and it took us about 20 minutes to go a block. We got back 2 ½ hours later than we were supposed to so we just decided to stay in again.
Day 3:
We tried to wake up early, but naturally failed. We got into action around 11. We took the shuttle into town and did so much needed shopping. We also had some dericious Chinese food for lunch. That night we went out with our friends ZZ, Alix, Liz and Rikki to town. We almost got stuck in the ship for an hour because they were moving gangplanks and were not going to let us off. There was a mob of about 30 angry students demanding to be let off for their last night in Ghana. We were thankfully released and went to a bar first where we were swarmed with friendly Ghanaians who informed us that there was live music down the road. We walked over to the outdoor music club that was filled with both Ghanaians and SAS kids. We danced night away and our friend Liman was there. We left at about 2 in the morning and got into two cabs, each with 3 people in them. We insisted that the cabs stick together for the drive back. When we arrived at the police check point on the expressway, both taxis were pulled over. We were told to get out of the car by a man dressed in fatigues and carrying a gun. He asked us why we weren’t wearing our seat belts and ushered us into his shack. There he tried to get us to go individually into the back rooms but we refused and stuck together. He then wanted u to pay him off, each person paying 10 cedi ($8) each. After that he let us go and told us to buckle up but the cabs don’t have seat belts. After that harrowing ride back to the port, we rode in a pick up truck back to she ship. An eventful evening to say the least! We loved Ghana and the people. It has been our favorite place so far. We hope to come back!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ghanna!
Hey everyone,
We are going to be in Ghana in the morning! Crazy. Not much has been going on…we have had classes all week and a day off on Saturday. We left Morocco on Monday night and have been sailing since. Neither of us have gotten sea sick this time, nor have we had to take medicine! We saw dolphins! We were at lunch and then a bunch of people began to crowd around the windows and we looked out and saw a group of dolphins, jumping alongside the boat! They looked so jolly and were a dark, grayish color and were actually pretty small. Rachael also thinks she saw a whale but Kiah thinks it was just a bird diving into the water. However, there was an other guy who saw it also and he thinks it was a whale too…it has been very hot and humid these past few days ad we are told that Ghana will also be very humid, perfect for mosquitoes and malaria. Actually on that note, Rachael took her malaria medicine today and then took a nap. When she woke up, she went to go to the bathroom and when she opened the door she began to feel light-headed, she had ringing in her ears and she got very hot. She doesn’t really know what happened during that time but she fell forward but was able to catch herself. She heard Kiah’s voice asking if she was okay and that brought her back. She then looked at the side effects of the malaria medicine and dizziness and ringing in the ears are two of them. Kiah was not affected by the medicine. Hopefully the side effects will go away in time to explore Ghana! Well on that note, we will say adieu and will try to write more about Ghana once we get there.
Love you all,
Kiah and Rachael
We are going to be in Ghana in the morning! Crazy. Not much has been going on…we have had classes all week and a day off on Saturday. We left Morocco on Monday night and have been sailing since. Neither of us have gotten sea sick this time, nor have we had to take medicine! We saw dolphins! We were at lunch and then a bunch of people began to crowd around the windows and we looked out and saw a group of dolphins, jumping alongside the boat! They looked so jolly and were a dark, grayish color and were actually pretty small. Rachael also thinks she saw a whale but Kiah thinks it was just a bird diving into the water. However, there was an other guy who saw it also and he thinks it was a whale too…it has been very hot and humid these past few days ad we are told that Ghana will also be very humid, perfect for mosquitoes and malaria. Actually on that note, Rachael took her malaria medicine today and then took a nap. When she woke up, she went to go to the bathroom and when she opened the door she began to feel light-headed, she had ringing in her ears and she got very hot. She doesn’t really know what happened during that time but she fell forward but was able to catch herself. She heard Kiah’s voice asking if she was okay and that brought her back. She then looked at the side effects of the malaria medicine and dizziness and ringing in the ears are two of them. Kiah was not affected by the medicine. Hopefully the side effects will go away in time to explore Ghana! Well on that note, we will say adieu and will try to write more about Ghana once we get there.
Love you all,
Kiah and Rachael
Sunday, September 13, 2009
MOROCCO (exclamation point but we couldnt find it on the key board..)
Hey ya’ll!
We are in Casablanca, Morocco! Well, the day we arrived we went on a city tour. The first stop was this incredibly beautiful building, a city hall or something. It was all open courtyards and connecting hallways in this insane Arabic style architecture. It was filled with intricately craved walls and mosaic tiles. Gorgeous! Then we headed over to the royal palace. We didn’t get to go in but we saw the giant courtyard and the exterior of the building that was same style and architecture as the other building. Then we went over to the Hassan II Mosque, which is the 3rd largest mosque in the world. It was built by the last king of Morocco in the late 80’s early 90’s. It was enormous and over the top intricate. Hopefully we will be able to post pictures soon so you can see for yourself because it is beyond explanation. There were bathes in the basement of the building that were magnificent basins made out of marble. They were in a huge stone room with fountains and beautiful stone floors and marble pillars. Then we went to a ‘government’ store. It sold all the things that are sold in a market but have fixed prices so there is no bargaining necessary. Apparently the markets here can be very overwhelming and the people who sell stuff are every intense and will do anything to get you to buy their goods. So they took us there so we would have a chance to have an easy shopping experience. Lastly, we stopped at a little food market. It was crazy. They had huge bowls of olives and fruits and vegetables and weird looking flatbread things. They also had giant dead fish and headless chickens and whole dangling cows for sale. It was kind of foul because of the meat and fish combo and the smell was overwhelmingly rancid. But the vegetables were cool, especially the olives which looked delicious. That night we ventured out with a group of people and found a little, quaint hookah bar that was off the beaten path. It was loud, smoky, crowded and hot but authentic and fun nonetheless. There was a singer who sang to us in crazy Arabic!
Day 2:
We decided to venture out on our own despite many people telling us that we should have male companions. And boy where they right! We were constantly heckled, stared at, hissed at and bleated at. We found an Internet café that had ants crawling in and out of the keyboards. YUM! We also found a little pastry shop and bought some delicious pastries that we had heard much about. We thought we could enjoy them on a little stoop that was kind of hidden away. That was a mistake. It’s Ramadan and people don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. A man confronted us while getting into his car about it being Ramadan and that we were hurting people’s feelings by eating in front of them. Never a dull moment, huh?
Day 3:
We went on a SAS trip to the city of Rabat, which is the current financial and political capital of Moroccan Kingdom. It was 1 ½ hour buss ride from Casablanca through the countryside. We when arrived we saw the grounds of the king’s palace but weren’t allowed to go inside. Next we stopped at an unfinished mosque that was partially built over 900 years ago. It was beautiful. We also saw a mausoleum dedicated to the current king’s grandfather and father. That was decorated in the same Arabic architecture. Our last stop was a Kasbah, which is like an old fortress. It was essentially a large courtyard surrounded by giant red walls with little inlets and such. The courtyard was filled with gardens and fountains. Very pretty! That was all we were allotted to see in Rabat and we then headed back to Casablanca. Because it is Ramadan, The Hassan II Mosque shines a brilliant emerald laser towards Mecca and you can see the huge beam, beaming into the sky. It looks like a giant light saber. Tomorrow we will hopefully get some shopping down in the markets or soaks as they are called here. Hopefully we will also be able to find a not-so-janky Internet café to upload some more pictures!
Miss and love all of you
Rachael and Kiah
We are in Casablanca, Morocco! Well, the day we arrived we went on a city tour. The first stop was this incredibly beautiful building, a city hall or something. It was all open courtyards and connecting hallways in this insane Arabic style architecture. It was filled with intricately craved walls and mosaic tiles. Gorgeous! Then we headed over to the royal palace. We didn’t get to go in but we saw the giant courtyard and the exterior of the building that was same style and architecture as the other building. Then we went over to the Hassan II Mosque, which is the 3rd largest mosque in the world. It was built by the last king of Morocco in the late 80’s early 90’s. It was enormous and over the top intricate. Hopefully we will be able to post pictures soon so you can see for yourself because it is beyond explanation. There were bathes in the basement of the building that were magnificent basins made out of marble. They were in a huge stone room with fountains and beautiful stone floors and marble pillars. Then we went to a ‘government’ store. It sold all the things that are sold in a market but have fixed prices so there is no bargaining necessary. Apparently the markets here can be very overwhelming and the people who sell stuff are every intense and will do anything to get you to buy their goods. So they took us there so we would have a chance to have an easy shopping experience. Lastly, we stopped at a little food market. It was crazy. They had huge bowls of olives and fruits and vegetables and weird looking flatbread things. They also had giant dead fish and headless chickens and whole dangling cows for sale. It was kind of foul because of the meat and fish combo and the smell was overwhelmingly rancid. But the vegetables were cool, especially the olives which looked delicious. That night we ventured out with a group of people and found a little, quaint hookah bar that was off the beaten path. It was loud, smoky, crowded and hot but authentic and fun nonetheless. There was a singer who sang to us in crazy Arabic!
Day 2:
We decided to venture out on our own despite many people telling us that we should have male companions. And boy where they right! We were constantly heckled, stared at, hissed at and bleated at. We found an Internet café that had ants crawling in and out of the keyboards. YUM! We also found a little pastry shop and bought some delicious pastries that we had heard much about. We thought we could enjoy them on a little stoop that was kind of hidden away. That was a mistake. It’s Ramadan and people don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. A man confronted us while getting into his car about it being Ramadan and that we were hurting people’s feelings by eating in front of them. Never a dull moment, huh?
Day 3:
We went on a SAS trip to the city of Rabat, which is the current financial and political capital of Moroccan Kingdom. It was 1 ½ hour buss ride from Casablanca through the countryside. We when arrived we saw the grounds of the king’s palace but weren’t allowed to go inside. Next we stopped at an unfinished mosque that was partially built over 900 years ago. It was beautiful. We also saw a mausoleum dedicated to the current king’s grandfather and father. That was decorated in the same Arabic architecture. Our last stop was a Kasbah, which is like an old fortress. It was essentially a large courtyard surrounded by giant red walls with little inlets and such. The courtyard was filled with gardens and fountains. Very pretty! That was all we were allotted to see in Rabat and we then headed back to Casablanca. Because it is Ramadan, The Hassan II Mosque shines a brilliant emerald laser towards Mecca and you can see the huge beam, beaming into the sky. It looks like a giant light saber. Tomorrow we will hopefully get some shopping down in the markets or soaks as they are called here. Hopefully we will also be able to find a not-so-janky Internet café to upload some more pictures!
Miss and love all of you
Rachael and Kiah
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Photos
Ok, we got the photo situation all figured out. Here's the link, check it out! Enjoy!
www.flickr.com/photos/raekiblog/
www.flickr.com/photos/raekiblog/
More Spain!
Hello all! Sorry about the photos. We will hopefully get that figured out shortly. If not, you’ll have to wait till we get back! So we’ve been in Spain since yesterday. We awoke to an announcement telling us that we had reached Spain! It was an awesome sight to walk up the stairs and look out the window to see land! We are in Cadiz (pronounced GA-deeth… sort of, they have a rather strange accent here). It is apparently the oldest standing city in Western Europe. There are, of course, tons of plazas and old cathedrals, etc. The city was highly fortified, if that’s the right term, in the olden days, so there’s a wall around the old city which drops down into the ocean. Yesterday night we traipsed around trying to find a nice little bar to have some Spanish beer, but found absolutely nothing, but we walked VERY far, so at least we saw a good amount of the city! Today we slept in late and headed out to the beach in the afternoon. It was incredibly crowded and filled with super tan people. There was a wall/walk out into the ocean with a fortress of some sort on the end, so we walked out there. We also had a nice dip in the ocean, but the bottom was made up of pebbles instead of sand, so it hurt our fit a bit! Didn’t stay very long, its really hot, and we were hungry, so we headed back to the ship for an early dinner. We’ve been able to use our Spanish skills here, which is really fun, even though the people here have an accent which is incredibly different than what we are used to. We had a really nice taxi driver on the way back to the ship after the beach, so we decided to ask him where the bars were, and we got a great answer, so hopefully we will take it easy at a local pub tonight! We are currently sitting on the steps of the main cathedral in Cadiz, looking out on a small square surrounded by old buildings and palm trees and little outdoor tapas/wine bars. Its really windy right now, with winds as fast as 20 mph! There is free wifi in certain places throughout the city (mostly in plazas and parks), so we are definitely taking advantage of that! Miss you all very much! Please keep emailing, and for those of you that haven’t responded (you know who you are), you better respond soon because if you don’t, we may block you from access to this blog! ( Well I don’t know if we can actually do that, but you get what I mean).
xxoo Kiah and Rachael
xxoo Kiah and Rachael
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Problems
Ok well there are some technical problems right now with trying to upload picture, but we will be sure to straighten that out soon!
Pictures!
Hey all! So this will be a quick post, but here are some pics for you to check out! We are finally in Espana! It's beautiful. We will tell you all about it tomorrow or perhaps the next day! Keep up the emails! Miss you and love you all!
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