Ally's Adventure Abroad

Salvador, Brazil

Our port was in Salvador but I only spent about 8 hours there out of my entire time (6 days) in Brazil and those hours might’ve been my favorite. Of course I woke up to see us pull into port, to our dismay the sun had rose about 2 hours before our 7:30 port time so I missed sunrise but we ate breakfast on the back outside deck and got our day started. We always get to ports on Sundays which is basically the most boring day in most countries because everyone is at church and everything is closed but we still went out to explore the city of Salvador. Mind you this is the murder capital of the world because of all the favelas and drug/ gang wars happening, so we were on our toes. I had 4 hours before I had to get back to the ship to pack my bags and then catch a bus to the airport to catch a plane to Manuas to catch a boat into the Amazon, so I was hauling through the city trying to see as much as I could. We ended up taking a taxi to one of my favorite places, the beach! This was a beach like I had never seen before, all the people who weren’t at church were here and it was evident by attitude, drink choice, and swimwear. Never have I seen so much skin at once, everyone was rocking what they got. We hung out at a beach bar and helped ourselves to caprihanas and original beers. Then we made our way out to the cliff jumping ledge with the locals. I had about 20 minutes of swimming before going back to the ship and I jumped off that ledge at least 6 times. I think the locals were playing some sort of game with us but I was not a fan because the game consisted of them begging us to jump again and then they would basically jump on top of us, it made no sense, like literally they would leap off the cliff right after us luckily nobody was hurt. Then I rushed back to the ship to get ready for the Amazon! We left that afternoon and two flights later we arrived in Manaus to board our Amazonian riverboat for the next three days.

Once on board we were welcomed with a performance from a local Amazon tribe and got to pick our hammock which would be our place of sleep for the next couple nights. I chose a red, black, and white one strung extremely close together to my new friends. All night we rocked and bumped and moved into each other but I will say they were quite comfy. Bugs weren’t too bad of an issue (I say this because we had to take special malaria medications to save us from contracting the disease while in Brazil). The heat of the night got very uncomfortable at times. The next day was very lackadaisical, we spent much of the day on the river traveling to our destinations which was the meeting of the rivers. It’s the junction of the Amazon River and the Rio De Negro and they literally do not mix because of the different acidity levels. One looked like coffee with milk color and the other was very oily looking. Then we ventured out onto the land and did a jungle walk where we ran into locals with sloths and anacondas, we were really immersing ourselves into the environment. That evening we also went piranha fishing and our little boat got very unlucky considering we didn’t catch one piranha and the other boats caught like 20. I was pretty upset about this so please don’t ask me about it when I get home, I don’t want to relive that intense feeling of failure again. Our boat did catch a cayman (alligator) though, our guide just reached in the water and grabbed it with his bare hands so that helped combat our sadness about no piranhas, no other boat caught a cayman so we were pretty lucky.

The next morning was the real jungle walk, we had a man with a machete cutting a path through the jungle, we never came across any jaguars which was the hope. But we did find a HUGE tarantula and a lot of different bugs creeping crawling and flying around, we felt like we were in the thick of it. After that we were hoping to cool off with a swim in the river but it was so warm due to the shallowness of the water and the heat of the sun. Also, on second thought maybe a swim wasn’t the best idea considering that there were terrifying anacondas, piranhas, caymans and other mysterious water creatures lurking. Then you add onto the fact that you can’t even see your hand directly under the water. It was brown and thick and murky, questionable to swim in but it felt wrong to be living on the Amazon river and not take a swim in it.

The next venture was to a pink dolphin sanctuary, now pink dolphins may sound beautiful and majestic to you but they are quite the opposite in my opinion. They are a very interesting concept but are not pretty by any means. These pink dolphins are only natural in the Amazon and the reason why they are pink is there is something in the water that causes them to have albino tendencies and the pink comes from the blood traveling throughout their vessels in their body, so they are basically blood stained. We got to touch them and see them eat fish it was amusing but I was not that impressed by them. Plus, they were slimy and rude.

What I was impressed with was the arapaima and how insane they were. Arapaima are huge fish like literally thousands of pounds and they had like 10 of them in this enclosure and they would tie chicken legs onto a string attached to a bamboo pole and they would just go after it. It only lasts for about 5-10 seconds before they get the meat off but its the fight of your life in that time.

Following this we went to a village where we got to do a craft workshop and make our own bracelets, I will probably be wearing mine until the day it breaks off me, we visited the local school and then we got to play soccer. Oh my gosh it was so fun, I miss soccer so much it was a pretty even match too. I really enjoyed my time, its probably one of the highlights from my entire trip. That night on our way back to our little riverboat on a little canoe from the village we were greeted on the island by fireworks and if you know me you know I love a good firework show so my whole entire trip was made in that moment. We had a party on the beach they had food and games all set up for us, I took 4th in musical chairs (out of 32 players I must add) and my team won tug of war. The food was also amazing. I couldn’t tell you exactly what I was eating but there was a wide variety and it was so tasty. I learned that I am a big fan of Brazilian and Amazonian food. Our night was short lived because we had to head to the airport at around 2:30am to catch a flight to Rio so we got a couple of hours of sleep in our lovely hammocks and headed to the the airport saying goodbye to the amazon. And this was only halfway through my time in Brazil.

We arrived in Rio and took the drive from the airport to Copacabana Beach which is where we’d be staying for the next couple of days. We had some time to roam and explore before we had to meet back up for our food tour so we went and walked around on the beach, drank some caprhinas, and attempted to challenge the locals at their badminton like game. They denied us because it was some sort of league going on (but I just think they were intimidated by us).

We were feeling fantastic and our next step was a street food tour with some locals. We literally were just walking around through the streets and would arrive at restaurant or stands and they would give us their goods. Let me be your food critic for a moment. All rankings are out of 10 and take into consideration spice, texture, fillingness, visual appeal, and overall taste.

Bread ball thing w/ homemade hot sauce -8.7
açaí -6.9
fruit smoothie stand (we tried so many different flavors and strange fruits, its impossible to breakdown-7.2
fried ball stuffed with meat (off the charts) (amazing I could live the rest of my life off them) (I would move to brazil soley for these) (I ate like 6 of them)-12.4

After our food tour which had filled us up fully, I literally felt like I could not eat another thing, our leader says “okay now to dinner” this normally is good news but collectively as a group we felt as if one more piece of food was to enter our body, it would be bad news. But we suffered through. It was such a mentally challenging task to be served so many different foods (I swear there was at least 20 different items of food to try on our table) and wanted to try them all and then they taste so good so you just want more but you’ve already eaten yourself to sickness. It was tough to compromise between nausea and tasty food. I would compare this to how you feel after Thanksgiving but this was like you had a huge thanksgiving dinner with your family you thought that was all the food you’d be eating for the day and then Gordon Ramsey calls you and says “oh hey I want to cook you 20 more things to try right now” you can’t say no to that, you have to try everything, you don’t want to upset Gordon. Following this everyone went into pretty extreme food comas so we rested and then once we could handle the nausea we went to explore the nightlife in Rio, it was enjoyable.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to the Christ the Redeemer Statue up on the hill and it was so massive. We took a train up through the windy track to the top, it was so luscious and green and there was jackfruits everywhere. Please enjoy the view from the top on the mountain.

Again I love viewpoints so much so this was a highlight for me, there was also monkeys up there so that just bumped up the experience so much higher in the highlight rankings.

We ate buffet style lunch then headed to the Carnival and Samba School after this to learn about their carnival and it is so intense, let me explain… in Rio once a year they have a huge parade and carnival people come from all over to celebrate. I’m unsure of the significance of the day and the carnival, I think its just so they can all party and test out their Samba skills. So at these “schools” its huge warehouses where they prepare the entire year for the parade and performances, like it’s such a big deal. We weren’t even able to take photos in some of the places because they were worried we would show the other schools and ruin the shock of the performances. We learned all about how it provides tons of jobs, entertainment, and community within the city and how close to the heart they hold carnival. It’s like a huge competition between all of the Samba schools and they get judged on the dancing, costumes, parade, floats, everything. Then once it’s over they start preparing again for next years. These schools also played a huge part in the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2016 Rio Olympics. We got to get dressed up in the costumes (I was a pineapple) and dance and drum around. Conclusion of the day was overall very fun, gotta come back to Rio in the future. Again, we didn’t get much sleep before we had to leave for the airport at 3am and our flight got delayed and we didn’t end up taking off until 9am which gave us a window of about 7 minutes to catch our connecting flight, we were very lucky and we made it back to the ship on time but not without some stress.

Now I was back to Salvador by 2 and I had about 4 hours to complete my time in Brazil. We went to the beach to celebrate some birthdays and it happened to be some sort of Brazilian holiday so it was insane and lots of fun. Brazillians know how to party, dance, and live fun lives. We hung out in the city center for a bit, drank some caprinhas and originals and then finished our trip with a BBQ back on the ship which was a big deal because traditional American food is hard to come by around here and it was awesome. We got to eat cookout food on the pool deck so that was a nice surprise and a pretty sweet ending to our time in Brazil.

A notable event would be that at least 20 people had been robbed during their time in Salvador, luckily I can say my friends and I were not part of that statistic but we heard some pretty insane stories about men robbing people with machetes and knives, and other stories where people fought back against the robbers and got some injuries. We never experienced this type of offense but sometimes I wish I would’ve so I could’ve tested out my skills to see how I would’ve reacted. Obviously I’m glad that didn’t happen but it would’ve been a memorable story that’s for sure.

Ally’s Insights

don’t be stupid
driving laws do not exist
caprihanas are stronger than you expect
pink dolphins are kinda slimy
Salvador actually is somewhat dangerous
sleeping in hammocks is slightly painful and equally enjoyable
rio food tours are incredible
Budweiser is popular in Rio
don’t get sick in the amazon
watch out for men with machetes
tarantulas the size of a medium sized dominos pizza exist in our world
arepimas are insanely aggressive
I still got my soccer skills
Christ the Redeemer can be seen from almost everywhere in Rio
Paul the monkey is pretty rude
dont flush tp
pirhanas are tough to catch

Next Stop, Trinidad & Tobago

Tema and Takoradi, Ghana

Welcome back everyone! My apologies for the delays but when I say I have very limited connection thats no joke I’ve been trying to get this uploaded for weeks and its just not possible. So to combat all that time I made you wait I wrote it extra good and detailed. It took a lot of brain power on my end so I hope you appreciate it, I honestly spend more time and thoughts on my blogs than I do my homework. Enjoy my trip in Ghana!

My trip motto: whatcha ghana do about it

Ghana, day 1 we arrived in Tema, a port that sees only one passenger ship per year and it’s us. So naturally since this was a rare occurrence we received a grand welcome. As we were docking there was a cultural drumming and dance performance for us as well as an entire street length of popup markets with any kind of souvenir that you can imagine, so first impression of Ghana was pretty awesome. I got ready for the day and I had the Travel with a Buddy program. We were paired up with a local middle/ high school program called DUNK and got to do a city tour of Accra which is something they’ve never got to experience so they were so excited for it. Turns out they didn’t have enough buddies for all of us so a few of us were paired with the leaders of the group and they were just as awesome and similar ages to us so we got to relate a bit more, my buddy was Banibus. We toured the city, had a fantastic lunch, then hung out on the beach and got to know these bright individuals. Banibus is headed to Yale next fall and it very excited.

I had a field program for the next two days this one was called Maranatha Beach community. It was this island of sand that had the ocean on one side of it and then the Volta river on the other side, quite the phenomenon I must say, I still dont fully understand how it was possible. We got to hang out on the beach and with the locals for the next couple days. We rode in the colorful dugout canoes with very questionable motors on the back but dont worry there was 4 life jackets for all 20 of us in the boat. The best part of the trip was getting to go to the school on the island, in a community of about 1,200 they had over 420 students enrolled from ages 3-12, after age 12 they send the top students to private school off the island and the rest just get started working for the community. The kids were all so loving and playful and since they lived on the island we got to hang out with them the whole time we were there! In the evening over a bonfire they performed a traditional cultural dance and drumming on the beach and let me tell you those people can move. Then they wanted us to dance and so we gave it our best efforts and we basically got laughed off the dance floor but I’m coming home with an abundance of new moves so watch out. Our sleeping situation was a bed in the sand in a little hut with a bug net around it that was not preventing any bugs from getting in to attack, hopefully my Malaria pills are effective, fingers crossed. We woke up for sunrise and breakfast (little did I know this would be my last meal for almost 30 hours), got an impromptu village tour the next morning because we learned that our second school visit was cancelled since the kids were on a holiday that apparently nobody knew about, I suspect a ditch day was organized.

Afterwards we got to go fishing and basically what it consisted of was lugging in a giant net to the beach and pulling in everything in the little bay of the river. We caught about 10 little fish and about 200 littler fish. I would define littler as smaller than my pinky.

The village kids took advantage of the catch and played a form of dodgeball with these littler fishes. We received a mangrove tour, a long slow boat ride around the islands on the river not aware of our time allotment or destination. We did make a pit stop at a crocodile farm for about 7 minutes and I spent that time using the bathroom aka peeing on the beach and holding baby crocodiles. As I was holding it I discovered that “they haven’t bit anyone yet but theres a first for everything, maybe it will be today”. After that slightly terrifying moment we boated back to the bus and bussed back to the ship and then I tro troed to the rainforest.

Mom, please prepare yourself for this story because I would consider it equally as nerve-racking as what you call the Morocco incident.

Without a shower, change of clothes, or restock of money which could’ve been completed by boarding the ship, I continued my adventures of Ghana. You may ask why I chose this and the answer is I didn’t. What happened was I signed the overland travel form, which means that while the ship went to its second port in Ghana I would have to travel by land and meet the ship in Takoradi in a couple of days. So obviously I wanted to take advantage of this so initially I signed the form just to keep my options open. I later learned that if I signed I was legally not allowed back on the ship under any circumstance for immigration purposes after a certain time. We arrived late so I had no chance of such ship boarding, so there I was hoping that I would run into my 2 other friends (Ali and Drew) I planned to overland travel with. This seems like a simple thing but without any service, minimal planning, and lack of communication the past three days it can prove to be difficult. In my mind I envisioned myself having to figure out how to travel 300km all on my lonesome in Ghana without any service. I did have about and hour of panic on the bus ride back to the ship. Luckily I found them immediately prancing in the markets outside of the ship and in that moment I knew that this would be a good adventure, the odds were turning in my favor.

Our first challenge (some may call it a foolish mistake) was not doing planning or research of any sort before we left. We had no idea where we had to go let alone how to get there. Our first effort was to order an uber to take us across the country for an equivalent of $30 and he sadly denied. There were taxi drivers all around us offering to take us but none of them committing to taking us the entire way or offering a reasonable price. We agreed on a taxi ride to the bus station (a random dirt lot, with some very sketchy happenings) to get a VIP bus (large coach bus packed with people) turns out there was no more going that night since this adventure started at about 4pm. So we went to another bus station and I cannot stress enough about how not bus station like these places were, they looked like junkyards. Our taxi negotiated with a tro tro driver to take us part way and then find a another tro tro to compete the journey. Tro tros are tough to explain it is something you just have to experience at some point in your life to be able to understand, and it is not a pleasant time but I’ll do my best to describe the essence of a tro tro. Tro tros are large minivan/ bus things that have 5 rows of seats that fit comfortably 3 in a row but a 4th if you fold out the bonus seat and possibly a 5th, 6th, or even 7th if you pack in just right. The outside of the vehicle and sound it makes while running makes you really question the safety of your life but its cheap transportation. So cheap that 3 of us made it to our destination 6 hours away for $19 no other public transportation can beat that bang for your buck but I cannot express the feeling of doubt and unreliability that I felt when I was sitting near the door that wouldn’t quite close and floorboards that were rusted out to the point where I could see the road beneath me. We boarded and sat next to a man with weed whacker. Causal. The ride itself was terrible; so hot, bumpy, sweating, uncomfortable in too many ways to explain. But it got us from point A to point A .5. We still had half the way to go. We were lucky to have a local on our side to find the next tro tro because the way they do it is drive through the main road of the city and just honk and yell out where the tro tro is going, and its up to you to slow it down. I think I would still be in that village if we didn’t have assistance, but we obtained our second ride successfully and continued over the thousands of speed humps and potholes between stops at over 25 police checks. Police checks, where police with huge guns stop every car on the road and shine a flashlight in to inspect the vehicle, the clearest answer we got as to what they were looking for was people being kidnapped which supposedly happens often, but hey at least they are checking. About 10 minutes into the 2nd ride another passenger says to us “hey are you semester at sea? I’m a local tour guide for your programs” we were like what are the odds we are on this tro tro at this hour and happen to run into this guy. His name was Richard and he helped us get to our lodge that night near the jungle. Which ascetically looked like a very nice place but had amenities that consisted of beds harder than the ground, one sheet for three people to sleep with, and no running water. So no shower and no food since it was 12am in the jungle we also didn’t account for bringing enough cash to pay the hotel for the night but we were hoping that they would fix their credit card reader would work in the morning.

After much debate with the reception desk in the morning we finally got away with paying partially cash and the rest on the card, they refused to let us pay with entirely card, but we were okay and caught a taxi to Kakum National Park. A taxi not much bigger than the old style honda civic iykyk with 9 people inside at one time, you may ask how is this possible? well if you put 2 people in the drivers seat 3 in the passengers and 4 in the rear it is very feasible. I will admit not the most comfortable or safe but effective without a doubt. We arrived with enough cash for the Canopy Walk but nothing more, no water or breakfast or souvenirs because we had to save enough cash to get ourselves back to the ship, so we were in extreme ration mode at this point. The canopy was quite unclimactic but somewhat entertaining considering the receptionist at the hotel, Mary had been tagging along with us the entire time. Mary was very sweet to us, she mostly just laughed at us but at least we had some local company to assist us. As we were trying to find a cheap way back to Cape Coast on the tro tros with our remaining money (about the equivalent of $8), I happened to come across triple the amount of cash that we had so quickly we were high rollers and quite upset that we had money this whole time and never ate or drank water. Back to the tro tros, remember these are registered as 15 passenger vehicles (comfortably fit 12), on this specific ride we counted 23 people. In one tro tro. For over an hour. In 90 degree heat 100% humidity. You could say it was a little uncomfortable.

The rest of the day we hung out at the beach in Cape Coast, well not before several men asked Ali and I if we needed husbands. We declined and I do not have a Ghanian husband…yet. We found a local place on the beach called Orange we finally ate some food after about 30 hours, drank some clubs (their water), learned some dance moves, and swam in the ocean that was clearly marked with “danger no swimming” signs everywhere. The locals all thought we were nuts. Turns out it was rightfully marked because I took a good amount of waves that held me under for just a bit over my liking. Our next task was to find the cheapest taxi home because we had our limit of tro tros by that time. We actually ensued a fight between taxi drivers and about 8 people were getting into it and yelling, almost in tears about who would be giving us a ride back to the ship. As this was happening Ali and Drew were arm wrestling the kids. We did get a ride but not without extreme tension due to the fight and then a strange sex podcast on the ride back.

The shower I took when I got back to the ship might’ve been one of best showers of my lifetime.

The last day in Ghana I went back to the exact place I had just left the night previous because I had a field class (basically a class field trip worth 20% of my grade). I did the math and it was about 8 hours of bus/ taxi riding in less than 20 hours. We visited the Cape Coast University and listened to a lecture from a professor about the African Diaspora and how it affects tourism in Ghana. Following this we had lunch next door to Orange (the place with the clubs). Lastly we visited the Cape Coast Castle which has a deep rooted history. It was the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade routes, it was the place that the British would hold the slaves in dungeons before they were shipped across the Atlantic, mostly sent to Latin America and the Caribbean only 6% of Africans involved were sent to the United States. It makes you realize how large of an operation this was and how many innocent people were ripped from their homelands to live a life of pain and despair. The message of the tour was focused on the Door of Return and the African Diaspora coming home this year in celebration of the abolishment of slavery. Standing in the same location where thousands of people suffered and died was tough, its a feeling that I dont really know how to put into words. We were standing in literal dungeons where people were enslaved and suffered to death from starvation, disease and torture. Another focus was how spirited these people remained in the situations they were thrown into. Their culture, food, dance, lifestyle has been adapted in many places in Latin American and the Carribean, they were able to make a home out of these places and now have significant influence on many cultures.

As I reflect on my experiences in Ghana I realize how different individual life is, not only in Africa but down to the little villages and communities. I’ve always grouped Africa into one lump in my mind but that is absolutely wrong. I’m so appreciative of the new view that I have of the world now simply because of 5 days traveling in a place that is nothing like my home. Another point I would like to mention is people are good. Yes, bad things happen and there are wars but in general every person you meet is a decent human and wants the best for everyone. Now please enjoy my insights, the list is long because I’m learning so many important life lessons.

tro tros can fit upwards of 20 people
there’s a rainforest in ghana
animals in the jungle are “nocturnal”
the card reader at rainforest lodge does work despite Mary insisting that it doesn’t.
any amenities you expect usually aren’t provided
red red is spicy
if you ever find yourself in ghana drink a clüb
travelers sickness is a real thing
bucket showers are inconvenient
take care of your trash- it ruins beautiful coastlines if you dont
take out more money than you think you need, guarantee it will come in handy
fufu is not good
if you dont buy things at the markets you will get physically harassed
ghanian casinos are rigged
if someone tells you not to do something you automatically have to do it
you aint seen potholes until you’ve taken a taxi to Kakum National Park
you can get anything you need on the road through the window of your car
balancing things on your head is harder than it looks
im not as good as the ghanian dancers
its a sign of disrespect if you pee on someones home
you dont need a surf board to surf
sand gets everywhere when you live in it
if you need to find yourself a husband come to ghana
clothes are optional in the village
goats love coconuts

Final note: I do love hearing from you all I literally have no idea what is happening in the States, we only get updates if something significant happens. So please email me anything, update me about your life, tell me what you had for lunch (I miss American food alot ), and feel free to ask any questions you may have about my adventures, I’m more than willing to share. I really try to limit my writing because I can’t imagine anyone actually reads all this jabber. Oh and I’m open to suggestions, if you hate my weird jokes let me know they can be limited (not completely removed I spend alot of time on them).

email: alyssa.richter.fa19@semesteratsea.org

Next stop: Salvador, Brazil

Casablanca, Morocco

NEW CONTINENT ALERT: AFRICA

Hi everyone from Morocco, now me being culturally naive had many preconceptions about what Morocco would be like, much of those have been broken and are not true. For example I did not expect skyscrapers but in fact there are many skyscrapers in Casablanca. Just to give you a low down about what it’s like, blonde white girls are rare so I get a lot of looks. I learned to accept their curiosity rather than get uncomfortable about it since it really is unavoidable no matter how much clothes you wear.

Oh my gosh… the driving is like no other, there are no rules absolutely none. Drivers literally do whatever they want, they make up lanes push their way through intersections and I have a feeling the horn replacement industry is booming. In the taxis I think the driver was honking the horn more than 50% of the time. And the scooters weave in and out of the cars with no fear. Stray dogs and cats roam the street freely, like at any point in time anywhere in the city you can see a minimum of 3 cats. The markets are insane, packed into tiny streets bustling with people you could get lost in there for hours, there are food markets everywhere but I personally would not consume any of it simply from a sanitation standpoint, but watching the locals interact and live their daily lives makes you realize how different our lives are. Price has no construct, everything is up for bargain. I’m still not sure if I was successful with my purchases, but I feel like I was a pretty good bargainer. I think it will always be a mystery if I got any good deals.

The first day I had freedom to do whatever so a friend and I decided to go to Marrakesh which is the most popular destination and must see location for tourists in Morocco so naturally as tourists we had to check it out. We got a taxi, of course there are no seatbelts, and this man takes us on the back “roads” I put that in quotations because it could be debated that they were not roads at all, but alleys, warehouses, dirt lots, sidewalks. I think anything the car can physically drive on is fair game to use as roads. After being ripped off on the taxi ride we caught a 2 hour train to Marrakesh, during that ride a man approached us and explained how he runs tour companies and he could set us up on a day trip to see everything in Marrakesh all we had to do was get off the train and find the man with a sign that had our names and we would be set, so we said yes and hoped that this was the truth and not an elaborate plan to kidnap us. Good news it was all legit and I’m still here. Our guide’s name was Aziz and he showed us everything there was to see in Marrakesh the palace, markets, gardens, medina, and more. We also were provided with a 5 course traditional moroccan lunch.

We also took pit stops at an Argan Oil factory and a Tannery, which provided very opposing smells. Following this we went out to the Pajamrie desert to ride ATV’s and ride camels. My white clothes are no longer white. My thumb is still sore from the ATV and butt still sore from the camel.

We quickly finished up and headed back towards the train station. Now in a perfect world we would make it on time, take the train back to Casablanca and be back on the ship by 10pm but that was not quite the case. We pulled up to an empty train station, it was literally deserted. No cars, taxis, buses, or people around it. The only people we saw were the military and policemen with their huge guns outside the station, so obviously something was not right. Our guide Aziz went and spoke to the officers and told us that there had been a train accident so all trains had stopped operations, our plan home had quickly disappeared and we had no other plan or place to go. There was literally a train that had derailed, people were injured and stranded in the rural part of Morocco. We were so thankful that we had not been on that train. Later we learned that there was no serious injury and these derail issues are quite common on the track. Luckily our tour guide was the sweetest man and was determined to find us a safe way home. He drove us around to find a taxi driver, he found one at a gas station and somehow this taxi was headed to Casablanca with another passenger, so we at least had a ride but price was our next concern. After some talking/ arguing (Arabic often sounds like people are angry) Aziz had arranged a ride for us back to Casablanca in this taxi. We got an over half price discount of what a normal ride would be for that distance and Aziz completed the transactions for us and made sure the man would not charge us more later. Our next concern was that the two men we were riding with didn’t speak any english and we didn’t speak any Arabic, but with this literally being our last and only option at this point we ventured out with them towards Casablanca. Everything was smooth until we got into the city and the taxi took us to the wrong location when he clearly knew where he was supposed to go, and he started demanding more money. We refused to pay and he refused to drive so we were at a standstill. After some debate in a mixed form of language and mostly hand gestures he started going towards the ship. We were greeted by a cop near the entrance of the port and our taxi was demanding more money but we explained the situation to the cop and he made the driver back off. Finally when we got back to the ship it was a huge relief. And this was only the first day in Morocco…

The second day was quite the opposite of my first, I had a field class which is basically a field trip for one of my classes, we went to a news outlet in Rabat and the Center for Cross Cultural Learning. I mostly enjoyed the lunch. Very mundane compared to the first day. No crazy stories for day #2.

The third day I got the chance to explore Casablanca which consisted of the city, markets, media, mosque, and beach. The best way to describe the markets and medina would be dirty, chaotic, smelly, hectic, and slightly terrifying but so much fun and well worth the time. There’s constantly people, scooter, carts, donkeys, and cats rushing past you and you’d better get out of the way.

I started a program for the rest of the trip and we got the opportunity to go into some local homes and businesses to get a feel of what its really like to be a Moroccan and many of these people had quite inspiring stories and positive attitudes considering the situations that surround them. First we visited an Argan Oil Cooperative and talked to the single mothers who work there and the explained how much it meant for them to have the opportunity to make money for their families, they also cooked us a delicious meal of Tagine. Later that day we went to a local children’s support group called Beyti. The association supports children who got kicked out of their homes to re-intervene with society and eventually back with their families. They support them with paperwork (many of them don’t have birth certificates), school, food, clothing. Basically they help provide these children with anything they need to help the family accept them back into their homes. We got the opportunity to play with them on the beach and it was a blast. One of the nights we got to visit a local home for dinner and hang out with the family. They cooked us couscous and explained how many Moroccans live and how this single mother is successful in supporting her children even with a difficult medical and financial situation and they were so welcoming.

Other highlights of our program was touring the city of Essouria a beach town of Morocco much more calm than Casablanca. We visited the harbor, city walls, and the markets around the town. Again markets in Morocco are dirty, chaotic, smelly, hectic, and slightly terrifying but so much fun. We got to participate in a hammam and if you’ve never heard of it look it up, all I will say is my skin is quite exfoliated now. Our time on the beach also included a camel ride along the coast. Originally not being at all interested in riding camels somehow I found myself riding camels two different times while I was here.

Morocco is different, I’m not sure if there is a valid way to describe it but it was well worth the time. I’ve been exposed to things that I didn’t know existed in our world. I knew being raised in the US that I was privileged but I was not aware of the substantial difference that mass amounts of people live through everyday as their normal lives. It makes me grateful of everything in my life but also makes me realize happiness is in the people that surround you not the environment. I also learned that no matter how much someone can tell you about gratitude and differences around the world, it is impossible to understand until you can experience it yourself.

Ally’s Insights

Donkeys for transportation are more common than cars in rural morocco
Camels pee alot
Everyone should try a hammam at least once in their life
The desert is very dusty
Goats climb argan trees
You haven’t smelled bad fish smell until you’ve been in the harbors and markets of morocco
Watch your step in the city often times there are random holes and missing manhole covers
Get out of the way of bikes and scooters- pedestrians do not have the right of way
Dont pet the stray cats or dogs they aren’t always very nice
Trains often derail here

Dubrovnik, Croatia

We arrived in the Port of Dubrovnik early in the morning, just about sunrise and it might be one of the prettiest ports that we have seen yet. Surrounded by islands, beautiful green mountains, and crystal water walking out onto the deck was a surreal moment it felt like I was in a different world.

Day 1: We took public transportation (shoutout to my skills) and went into the city of Dubrovnik and let me tell you it felt like Disneyland and I was not a big fan of it. We arrived in what they call off-season and if that was off-season I don’t even wanna think about what on-season is like. It was loaded with tourists inside the city walls everything is catered towards tourists so that means everything is expensive. The culture and history of Dubrovnik was not present which was a bummer to see but I can’t judge it much because I am a tourist myself so we took it in and enjoyed it for what it was and paid the $30 for each meal. In old town we went to the Buza Bar where they have drinks, views, and cliff jumping I participated in 2 of the 3. Following those events we went to hang out at the beach. The water was so clear you could see the everything below you which was quite terrifying at times.

Next we opted to hike to the high overlook point called Mount Srd. There was an option to take a 3 minute long cable ride up but what kind of Coloradan would I be if I didn’t chose to hike in my birkenstocks. The views are also better when you have to work for it. I do love views so this was one of my favorite things I did in Croatia, we also ran into a cattle farmer and his cows and almost got stampeded and the cattle farmer pet our heads. Then we started our journey home.

Day 2: The start of the program that I signed up for through Semester at Sea it was called Plitvice Lakes National Park and Split City tour, so the next 3 days I would be with a group of about 20 people exploring different parts of Croatia. Which is a great but also constricting at the same time because everything is planned out for you but it’s to the point of what you eat and when you go to the bathroom. Overall though field programs are very cool and we get the opportunity to experience the country and the culture in a hands on way. The first day was lots of bus riding, but we also went to a place called Entoland and learned about their culture, I most enjoyed the lunch. We arrived that night at our hotel near the park which actually meant treehouses, yes we stayed in these fancy treehouses.

Day 3: We got to explore the park, there was lakes, waterfalls, trees and rocks and all together they created some of the most pristine nature that I’d ever seen besides the fact of all the tourists. After a day of exploring we headed to a town called Split where we stayed that night. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Day 4: Started the day doing a city tour of the palace and some other historic things that again I can’t remember the names of. I do remember the Grugar Ninski statue, legend holds that if you rub his big toe on the right foot life will grant you good luck so you know I gave the toe a rub. Following that we toured an art museum (not by choice) but the views were pretty so I liked that part of it. After another planned meal that consisted of mashed potatoes and meat we were back on the bus again going towards a place called Ston. Its kinda an island kinda land I’m not really sure but here we took a boat across the water to the middle of the lake on a floating restaurant and got an oyster tour and all the oysters we wanted. After sunset on the floating thing we got again back on the bus and finished the ride home. Home as in the ship.

Day 5: Beach day! That’s literally it, we hung out on the beach. Oh we also snuck up on the city walls and evaded the insane price they make us tourists pay. How we did it? I couldn’t tell you, how we didn’t get caught? I also couldn’t say, maybe they just felt bad for us.

That was it for my explorations in Croatia, it’s a place that I wish to visit again because of the vast amount of things and places there are to see and do. The beauty of the nature is unmatched and I’m a sucker for that.

Ally’s Insights

1. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again always wake up for the sunrises

2.Game of Thrones tourism is a real thing

3. Rub Grugar’s big toe

4. Opening your eyes in salt water starts to sting after awhile

5. Don’t go cliff jumping when the tide is low

6. Don’t chew oysters unless you want to gag

Casablanca, Morocco coming next!

I post more pictures and videos of my travels on my instagram @big.al.adventures be sure to check it out if you’d like!

Cadiz, Spain

Well well well… this was quite an interesting adventure we had. This port was the only port that we could overland travel to which means we could travel from Lisbon to Cadiz on our own on the land and meet back up with the ship in Cadiz, so naturally we chose to take that opportunity which quickly turned into a challenge.

I’ll start at the beginning, we (a group of 6 girls) hopped on a 6 hour bus ride from Lisbon to Seville a town near Cadiz. All was well until we realized that our airbnb never confirmed us and we did not have a place to stay. So frantically everyone was doing research and calling parents to find a place for us to all stay together. Quickly we discovered that literally the whole town was booked due a marathon that day unless we wanted to pay upwards of 800 euros a night. I was not on planning committee and somehow our best option was an airbnb outside of town which didn’t sound bad until we got the address. That was the moment we realized it was an hour and two minutes away. We continued with our plan and had to take 2 taxis out to El Pedroso a mountain agricultural town with no stoplights, 3 restaurants, a post office, and Pepe’s Pub. On the ride we were going 100km through these curvy roads and I kid you not a huge long horn bull bigger than the car itself is just standing on the road around the corner, we came inches from hitting this huge thing, it was not something I could make up. I thought that was it, we were going to be stranded somewhere in Spain with a taxi driver and an angry bull. We get dropped off and are nowhere near a house or anything, our taxis leave and we are stranded outside of Pepe’s Pub. We call the host and he comes in his car to pick us up and take us to the location. Now before you panic and think we are about to get in a strangers car in the middle of nowhere Spain outside a place called Pepe’s Pub we all make a plan to not get in his car, we will walk to the place no matter how far. But before I know it, this man is insisting that the only way there is his car and my group starts getting in, this is when I start to get nervous. It’s 12am we are in a strangers car in Spain who doesn’t speak a lick of english. Luckily one of the girls speaks french which our host did as well so we did have a slight form of communication. He told us not to drink the water and not to go outside or be alarmed because of all the animals around outside. After a curvy ride up to the house he pulls us into this long driveway with a gate and granted its pitch dark outside so we are disoriented and have no idea what any of this area looks like. Finally we pull up to the house and its a beautiful ranch home and the inside was warm and spacious and it turned out to be a very good stay, we all really enjoyed it once we got past all the other issues. There was a lot of worry and questioning between the hours of 10pm -12am but we are all alive with a great story to tell.

Next day we got the first and only train out of that town and back to the city. In the city we met up with more friends and did some exploring but with our luck it was Sunday and again almost everything was shut down. Here is some of what Seville looks like. We visited La Plaza de Espana, the golden tower, and some other palace thing that I cannot spell the name of. We also had a new place to stay very close to the city center and we didn’t have to jump in any strangers cars to get there.

The next morning we finally made our way to Cadiz which is an island on the southern point of Spain. Here I spent my time at the beach, visiting San Sebastian, watching the sunset, chatting with locals and walking the boardwalk oh and of course eating some delicious food. I’ll let the pics do the talking…

Dubrovnik, Croatia is next!

Ally’s Insights:

Often times water is more expensive than food
Tops are optional at the beaches in Spain
Pepe’s Pub is actually a very nice place
Always eat tapas
Be careful of long horn bulls in the mountains of El Pedroso
Paella is a great dish to help recover from hangovers

Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal has been my favorite place by far. Here’s what I’ve been up to…

The early risers woke up for the sunrise as we pulled into port and the sun off of the white buildings and red roofs were unbelievable. Portugal reminded me a lot of San Francisco and the only reason I make that claim is because it’s so hilly and they actually have the San Francisco trolleys roaming the city.

Tuktuk- When we arrived the first thing we did was hop on a tuktuk (basically an electric bike uber to show us around the city. Our guide Gatis showed us everything and gave us the inside scoop on everything Portugal, like where to go and what to do and things to eat. We later learned that Gatis was from Lativa and had just moved to Portugal and didn’t even know Portuguese so we aren’t sure how reliable any of his information was.

Views- Portugal has some amazing viewpoints around the city and I definitely took advantage of that on our tuktuk tour, while exploring the city and on a sunrise journey.

Train- I’ve been utilizing public transportation so maybe now I’ll be able to understand it in my own country. I’m still learning and it’s harder than you’d think especially when Portuguese isn’t my first language.

Cascais- This was a small beach town with very good vibes, they were also hosting an Ironman the next day so we got to experience a bit of that atmosphere which was exhilarating.

Beach- I got sunburnt and went swimming in the harbor. I also tried to race an Ironman athlete and yes I won.

Sea bass- They served me the entire fish from the ocean, very delicious.

Boco de Inferno- This area is classified as the end of the world because before western exploration it was the western most point of Europe, so I’ve been to the end of the world.

Sintra- I cannot even describe this mountain town, just look at it. We hiked about a marathon that day and of course I did it in my birks.

Castles- Well worth the 8 euros to get in especially since I captured photos of this magnitude.

That was all for my adventures in Portugal!

Cadiz, Spain coming soon

Ally’s Insights

Always wake up for a sunrise, it’s always worth it
If you barter you can get a volleyball for 4 euros in Cascais
Wear sunscreen even if there are some clouds in the sky
Go to the end of the world
If you order seafood in Portugal is always comes with the eyeballs

Gdansk, Poland

Hey guys! I just spent 5 days exploring Poland. And I know what you may be thinking…what the heck is there to do in Poland? That was the question most of us had and still have even now. The morning we arrived to our first official port, the early risers joined together for the sunrise to watch the ship get parked. It was a very beautiful morning and we finally got to see the sun after almost a week of the gloominess.

Hope filled our minds, some jitters ran through our body and it was a rush off the ship to finally touch land again. We spent the day exploring the city of Gdańsk which was a very beautiful and colorful city. We got unlucky because our first day there was a Sunday and just about everything was closed, it felt like a ghost town at times but our time was still enjoyable.

I opted the next day to to head with a group to Krakow one of the more popular cities in Poland. We boarded our 5 hour train and quickly realized that we didn’t qualify for the “student discount” tickets we bought online, so we got the chance to purchase additional tickets which was awesome. I still think the man was just taking advantage of us so I’m still bitter. Once we made it to Krakow we got to explore the city and wow it was amazing. If for some reason you ever find yourself in Poland make sure it’s Krakow. It’s a vibrant city with very happy vibes and some delicious food.

Honestly I lived off mostly pirogies and beer
Really though if you are ever in Poland you have to promise me you’ll try the pirogies. The next day we explored the city more walked up and down the streets, in and out of the shops, and we climbed up the clock tower to overlook the city

Missing this view would’ve been a mistake because it was so beautiful and well worth the 10 zloty ($2). I love being taller than everything else around me. After spending time here we headed to the Jewish quarter which is considered the more historical part of the city to again just walk and explore. We did a lot of this “exploring” since it is free and it’s the best way to find unique places. We stumbled on this old empty cafe almost a risky looking place to enter but it was the best food we had in my opinion. Then we headed out to the Salt Mines.

You would not be disappointed if you skipped the salt mines. Although somewhat interesting you can find better ways to spend your time but we did get to lick the walls and yes they were very salty and no I didn’t get sick (yet).

Come on you really think I wouldn’t lick the salty walls that was like the most exciting part of the entire tour.

Visit Auschwitz-Birkneau if you want to understand Poland’s history. Honestly I think every person should experience this place once in their life. Although it was super heavy and sad it was so eye-opening to what had actually happened to these people in the concentration camps. It’s absolutely devastating and horrifying to really think about that reality those people faced and the current families today that are affected by the tragedy.

Please never ever take the overnight trains, that’s what we decided to do once we returned from our Auschwitz tour. We had a terrible experience and it wasn’t worth the money we saved. The train was late, it was cold, I got separated from my group, the cabins smelled, I was surrounded by old polish men that didnt speak English, there was no food or water…. the list goes on. I made it out alive but I will never again make the overnight train mistake.

Maybe if you know me well enough you know I love a good hike so we set out to find a good one the next day and turns out in the little beach town of Sopot just 20 minutes from our port there was a wilderness area overlooking the Baltic Sea which turned out to be my favorite part of the trip. I’ll let the pictures do the talking because I can’t describe it. After this of course we explored the city since you know walking is free.

In Gdańsk on our final day, we of course ate pirogies and drank some beer as well as explored the city more. Which again means we just walked around for miles since it the only thing we can do for free. That was my entire experience in Poland, I know I learned a few things and hopefully you can learn from my silly mistakes, that is if you ever have a desire to go to Poland.

Lisbon, Portugal is our next stop!

Ally’s Insights

Mexican food in Poland is not good
Never take the 10 hour overnight trains even if it does save you $20
Eat all the pirogies you can in your life
When you can climb to the top of a tower always say yes
Polish people do not smile at strangersLick the walls in a salt mine
Beer is cheaper than water

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I started my journey and I flew 4,237 miles across the US and the Atlantic.

A little over a week ago, my parents dropped me off at the airport and I was on my way, first a connecting flight to Reykjavík, Iceland then finally to my first destination of my journey, Amsterdam. I spent a couple days to explore the city, visit the Anne Frank house, and eat some tasty food.

On September 9, my ship life began. I started the day early in Amsterdam and made my way by train to Amsterdam Central with all of my bags with a total weight of almost 100lbs. These hundred pounds would be my only belongings that I will have access to for the next four months. It took me only a short time to unpack my things into the tiny closet that I had access to and then I was off wandering the halls of the ship looking for things to do and people to meet. Through my exploration I found that my favorite location so far is at the back of the ship (technically called the aft which the ship crew has reminded us of repeatedly). This is the best spot for sunsets and sunrises which I will entertain you with a few pictures. Since we are on our way north to Poland the weather hasn’t always been the best but there are some spectacular sights to see if you catch the right moment.

Evening came and we started our embarkation towards Poland. It’s an interesting feeling to start moving on such a large thing but now only a few days in I can’t really remember what still land feels like. As we watched Amsterdam fade into the distance we also watched a large group of family members holding up signs and waving goodbye to their people. I waved and pretended like my parents were right down there with them, it was the moment that I had actually realized my random google search about study abroad programs months ago is now becoming real life. I was here, it was happening.

Up to this point I have been through hours of safety information and orientation meetings, so don’t worry about me I know everything I need to know and more about keeping myself safe and alive outside of the US.

Classes have begun and I think it’s been one of the first times ever in my life that I was actually excited about school, I’ve missed it a bit considering all my friends have been back for a month and I haven’t had much to do in the meantime. While I’m here I’ve been meeting hundreds of new faces and stories so it’s overwhelming to keep up with it all, but soon I am sure we will all settle in and find our people. Between classes, meals, workouts, clubs, and all ship life in between you get to be exposed to so many different people.

As of now if I had a word to describe my experience so far I would say overwhelming but not in a bad way, there’s just so much to take in during a short time. It’s exciting to be surrounded by discomfort, it offers the opportunity for me to experience things I never have and grow and ways I didn’t know possible. It sounds silly when I read this back because it doesn’t sound like something I would say at all but it’s real and it’s amazing what being surrounded by nothing but ocean and unknown faces will do to you.

So far, I have learned that…

for me seasickness isn’t a real thing (at least for now)
the left side of the ship is called port
showering on a ship is rocky, if you don’t have good balance you get tossed around
the right side of a ship is called starboard
escaping wifi can really be a great thing
the ocean is so big

*if this goes well and I keep learning things I might start an Ally’s Insights section about what I’ve learned*

That’s all I’ve got so far but there is so much for me to experience, learn, and share.

If anyone is interested in contacting me please send me an email at alyssa.richter.fa19@semesteratsea.org

When we are at sea there is a quite a bit free time since classes aren’t in full swing yet, so I would love to spend time hearing about what’s going on back home. So, send me updates, I’ll email you back maybe not quickly but eventually. I’m serious I would love a message from anyone, even if we aren’t close or you think it might be weird, trust me it’s not. Send me an email!

Next stop… Gdansk, Poland

Hi I’m Ally

a pic of me so you know you’re in the right place

This is where I’m supposed to introduce myself but anyone who visits this page already knows me, so I’ll just share the reason behind this blog.

This summer I got the opportunity of a lifetime and that is to spend a semester with the program Semester at Sea. Basically what I’ll be doing is spending the months of September through late December on a cruise ship, stopping at ports in 12 countries. This cruise ship will not only be home for a while but also school. I’ll be taking a full load of classes on board while at sea, so I’ll also be living with my professors (kinda weird to think about).

The coolest part of this though is once we arrive to port, class is not in session so we are free to travel, adventure, explore literally go anywhere and do anything we desire.

Here are all of the ports

Embark: Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 9th)
Gdansk, Poland
Libson, Portugal
Cadiz, Spain
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Casablanca, Morocco
Takoradi, Ghana
Tema, Ghana
Salvador, Brazil
Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Disembark: San Diego, California (December 23rd)

*For all of my family and the people who are worried, we are fully briefed before we head into the country. We are taught how to respect and engage in the culture, where and where not to go, and all safety precautions we should be aware of*

Currently I do not have any set plans. The ship offers a variety of programs and field excursions that I may participate in while at port, or I can plan my own route and travel with a group of friends.

Which brings me to my next point… I do not know one single soul that will be on that ship. I am going in completely alone which absolutely terrifies me and excites me at the same time. I will be so far out of my comfort zone but I’m so happy to get this opportunity to travel and pursue some of my dreams.

This is also a time where I will be very disconnected, really only getting chances here and there in port to call my family, close friends, and update this blog. There is limited wifi and service on the ship and limited time in port to be on phones, with that said this is going to be my main route of communication to many people. I will do my best to be in depth about my experiences as well as share my thoughts and personality as well I can through words on a screen but I’m not making any promises.

Come along on this experience with me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds! Peace and love 🙂