Dominican Republic post - finally!!

on the bus on the way to Las Terrenas

the beach by my homestay

me and my pick axe :)

The Dominican Republic was one of the ports in which we did a service project so as soon as we got into port we all loaded up onto buses to drive to Las Terrenas, the city where we would be doing the project.  Well they weren’t exactly buses. They were more like riding in trucks. The whole back was open and we sat on benches. It was a lot of fun. We arrived a few hours later in Las Terrenas, very wind-swept. We ate supper on the beach and the meal was provided by the community organisation that we would be working with throughout our time in Las Terrenas. The major showed up and talked about the city and thanked us for what we would be doing. When the meal was over we were sent off to our home stays. I was with three of my friends and we stayed with a Canadian couple. They lived outside of the city and 30 second walk from the beach! We had real beds, showers and peanut butter! It was pretty amazing.

The next morning we met at a local elementary school and were split into groups to work on projects. My group worked at building a compost garden at the elementary school. Other groups built a playground or painted. I got to use a pick axe! We worked hard for the whole day so I was really quite sore by the time that we were done. We had a few hours to shower and rest up at our home stays and then we all met at the beach for a pig roast, a dance party and a bonfire.

The next day we had to say goodbye to our home stay parents :( It was sad. They were so nice and we had had a really good time. We finished worked on our projects the whole day and then returned back to the ship.

On our last day in the DR we had a full day shore leave so I went with some of my friends to see a waterfall. First however we had to get to town which was a 30 minute bus ride from the ship. Buses here are just vans with more seats added so that as many people as possible can fit. We were waiting at the ship with the group of teachers when one of the buses came however there was only enough room for the teachers to squish in so we had to wait for the next one. A few minutes later a huge, fancy tour bus drove by. We flagged it down and asked if they would take us into town. They agreed so the seven of us had the entire, luxury air-conditioned bus to ourselves. At one point we passed the teacher’s bus while they were stopped picking someone up so we all ran to the back of the bus and waved. The look on their faces when they saw us in our huge bus was priceless. In Samana, the town that we were going to, we stopped at the grocery store and bought a huge, picnic lunch. We then caught one of the bus-vans to the waterfall. We had to hike into the waterfall and it was about 45 minutes through jungle. We had a guide who stopped to point out coffee beans, cacao pods and the seeds that used to be used for war paint. We finally got to the waterfall and were in luck because a huge group of tourists was just leaving so we had the entire waterfall all to ourselves! We went swimming in the pool and swam behind the waterfall which I’ve always wanted to do. We ate a picnic lunch on some rocks and the hiked back out. It was an amazing day!

Crossing the Atlantic again

Hello everyone!  Sarah had intended to post her stories of Dominican Republic when she got to Bermuda - but her back went out on her while she was there! She was in lots of pain and spent most of the time looking for a chiropractor (where was Kevin when she needed him!)! Hopefully, she'll find somewhere to connect when she arrives in Azores sometime around March 15th.  The ship left Bermudas on February 28th to cross the Atlantic ocean, once again.  They will stop in Azores (Portugal) to stock up before continuing on the second leg of their crossing.  They will be aiming for La Coruna, Spain from there onwards - arriving there around March 28th.  Here's wishing Solandet and its crew a smooth sail across the ocean :-)

There's music everywhere in Cuba!

The day we got in I went out in the evening for supper and to explore. Most of the restaurants in Havana had their own live band at night! The restaurant we went to had a Latin band that was amazing. Havana looked a lot like the European countries that we had visited in terms of architecture. We walked a lot that night exploring the streets and squares. There were a lot of nice parks hidden in the city. There was another tall ship docked right next to us. It was a Swedish school ship! There were about 45 students our age who were sailing on the ship for two months. They did school by correspondence while being a part of the program. We talked with the students on gangway for a long time. They were really great and we wanted to tour their ship and they wanted to tour ours. The only problem was that Cuban immigration laws are really strict and since technically our ship is Norwegian soil and the Swedish one is Swedish soil the Cuban authorities wouldn’t let us see each other’s ships. It was really too bad.

The next day I went out for another day exploring the city. It was a relaxing day spent walking, going to a market and restaurant hopping. We went to so many cafes and restaurants! We would go have coffee then
walk around, and then we’d want to sit down so we’d go for a snack then we’d walk around more and this continued past our second supper. It was a good day though. The next day was very similar to the one before. More walking and food. The only problem was that I got my wallet stolen! It must have been while I was in the market because I bought something there and then ten minutes later when I was trying to buy cigars I realised that I had no wallet. Everything’s fine though. My passport (which we had to carry around to get into the port) was hidden somewhere else. I’m getting a new Visa and debit sent to Bermuda. My parents were so quick at cancelling cards and getting new ones ordered. Thanks mom and dad :)

That night we had a port program that went past midnight. We all thought that it was supposed to be a Cuban dance show but it turned out to be a Cuban themed Parisian cabaret! We still had fun even though it wasn’t what we expected. The next day we got up really early for a port program. We took a two hour bus ride to Veradero Beach. We spent the whole day at the beach. It was a great day! The sand was white, the water was turquoise and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. We swam a lot. I also rented kayaks with a friend and we went sea kayaking. It was so hard to get into the kayak! I was trying to jump in while the waves kept throwing me out and washing me up on shore. I finally got in and paddled away from where the waves were breaking, slightly sandier and saltier than before. We rode the waves back in like we were surfing. The next day we left Cuba. We got shore leave in the morning though. My watch went for a  breakfast. We bought about a million pastries and ate them in the park. We then went for final internet.

coco taxi!

there were lots of old 50s cars on the streets

view of the square

kayaking

Back to the boat in Belize

I got back to the ship from semester break on the 26th. It was really great to be able to see everyone again. There are a lot of new kids. So far they all seem to be very friendly. I got a bottom bunk this semester which made me very happy. I’m in watch 4 this semester and my watchdog is Ms. Williams again! It’s going to be a great semester.

On the 27th there was a port program that all the students went on. We drove for about an hour to get to a river. At the river we got into boats. Like we don’t spend enough time in them already! It was really cool though. We were in the jungle so we saw spider monkeys, crocodiles and a huge snake. We rode the boats to Lamanai, a Mayan ruin. It was the longest occupied Mayan site. We got a tour to all the different ruins. Everyone climbed up to the top of a bunch of the temples. One of them was huge! We also got a traditional Belize lunch of fried chicken, rice with beans and coconut milk and potato salad. It was a really cool port program. After we returned from the port program a bunch of us went out for supper in Belize City.

The next day was full day shore leave and I went scuba diving with some friends. We did two dives. It was incredible diving. We saw lionfish, rays and turtles. The coral was also some of the most beautiful coral that I’ve ever seen. The dive instructor was also tons of fun and really good so it made for a great day. For supper we went to the Radisson and then went swimming in their pool so that we could make use of their showers. Our water maker broke so we can no longer make water until we get parts in Dominican so no fresh water showers for two weeks!

Trinidad and Tobago, Cartagena and Costa Rica

This entry is going to be a quick overview of the past few ports so that I can catch up on my blog. Trinidad and Tobago was where we spent Christmas. We did dock in Port of Spain, Trinidad for a few days however my favourite part of this port was the time that we spent in Tobago. It’s a beautiful island. We were anchored in a bay. There was a tender service that took us ashore at certain times throughout the day. On the full shore leave day I went scuba diving! We saw tons of fish, a turtle and a massive ray. With the port program we went to see a steel pan drumming session in Scarborough and we hiked to Argyle Falls. We got to climb up to different levels of the waterfall and swim in the pools. Everyone had a really good time.
During the sail to Colombia, we stopped at a deserted island. It was a bit of a surprise from the captain. It was New Year’s Eve as well. It was this beautiful little island in the middle of the Caribbean. The water was turquoise and the sand was white. The boats that took us to shore could not go all the way so we had to swim part of the way into shore. We explored the island. There were a few shipwrecks. I also ate a coconut! It was probably one of my favourite days from the year so far.
Even with the stop at the island we got into Cartagena two days early. We had to anchor because we couldn’t get dock space and we had to do oral exams. We finally went dockside and I got to explore the city. It was really Spanish! Barely anyone spoke English so it was hard to get taxis. On the first full day shore leave I went to the old town and walked around the wall then went downtown and explored there. The next day was port program. It was as bus tour to the fortress and the old town. We also got to try traditional Colombian food which is fried fish, coconut rice and fried plantains. It was really good! I went out with my watch for dessert. Our last day in Cartagena was full day shore leave. I went on a bus with a bunch of other students that took us about 45 minutes outside of town to the mud volcano. It was this mountain like thing with liquid mud at the top that you could go swimming in. We had a really good time and got super dirty! We went for lunch in a fisherman’s village that was right on the beach where we had another traditional lunch. In the afternoon there was a group of us that went to visit the Gloria. It’s a Colombian navy tall ship. We had to all wear our crew shirts, get a letter from our shipboard director and have our friend Arturo, who’s Mexican, talk to the navy people in order for us to be allowed in to see the ship. It was worth the extra effort. The captain gave us a tour and the ship is beautiful!
The sail to Costa Rica was taken up with final exams. We got there early but we were anchored and weren’t allowed off the ship. We had a crew night where people shared their thoughts about the semester. It was then time to go! I said goodbye to all the people that I wouldn’t get to see again. At 3 in the morning we got into a little boat in the rain that took us to shore. We then waited for the bus that came at 5 to take us to the airport.
I had an amazing break. It was so good to be home and it was great to be able to see everyone that I did.

Scuba diving in Tobago

The island we stopped at

Eating coconuts!

Mud volcano

Class Afloat!

Atlantic Crossing

It's about time. I know.
So the dreaded Atlantic crossing is over and now that I’m back on land I have to say that it wasn’t dreaded at all. It was actually my favourite sail of the year and I preferred it to many of the ports. It only felt like we were at sea for about a week, not three. You get into a nice routine after a few days and the days just fly by. There were lots of little activities planned to make the sail more interesting. For example, on December 6^th we had a twin day, where we were paired with someone on the ship and we had to dress the same and get to know as much as possible about the other person that day. On the 14^th there was the Ms. Sorlandet beauty pageant. This was where guys dressed up in drag and pretended to be girls in a beauty pageant. It was hilarious yet slightly scarring. Definitely something that could only happen in the middle of the Atlantic. There was an introduction, a swimsuit portion, a talent portion and a question portion. The girls were the ones that coached the guys and did their makeup and hair. Some of the guys even shaved their legs and armpits for this. Most of the pro crew and the captain even showed up in order to take pictures and laugh their heads off. The pictures sadly cannot be posted on the internet due to the fact that the guys involved did not want any photo evidence. I don’t blame them. Some of them looked so much like girls that it was scary. All in all, though it was a bit of a frightening evening, it was a great way to add a bit of fun to our long sail.

Another event that went on was Crepes Afloat. It happened a few times on previous sails however I had never actually participated until now. What happened was a group of us went into the galley and cooked crepes. People could order the crepes and choose their toppings. I think that that was the most fun that I had all sail! Good friends, good music and making good food. We ended up staying in the galley until after midnight to finish cleaning but it was completely worth it. We made over 200 dollars selling crepes that night which is going to go towards the projects that we participated in in Senegal. There was also the Watchympics. The day of the Watchympics we got to sleep in on the morning and then the events started in the after. Watches competed against each other. There were events such as who could set the fore course the fastest, coming up with our own nautical alphabet and a knot tying relay. Your watch got a certain amount of points for where you placed in the event and in the end the watch with the most points won. My watch won the knot tying relay. We also got second overall which we were quite happy with :) 

Cartegena

So I'm back! Finally. And this is actually Sarah, not my mom. But sadly I do not bring good news. I can't get internet on my computer where all my blogs and pictures are saved and ready to be uploaded so I can't post them and therefore you will have to wait till I'm home in a week. And then you can hear about Cabo Verde, the crossing, Tobago and Cartegena.