That dirt looks so appetizing

I don’t even know where to begin. This trip is absolutely amazing, but I know I need to be a tad bit more descriptive than that. I will try, but it’s hard to put into words- I’ll try to put up some pictures when we’re in Brazil.

The night before we landed in Puerto Rico, some of my friends and I decided that it would be a great idea to sleep out on the top deck. We all bundled up with our sleeping bags in tow and played games and talked for hours and hours. By the time we actually started to get to sleep, it was SO windy and cold I ended up going back to my cabin around 3:45. Next port I’ll try to make it the whole time.

Anyway, everyone was up at sunrise to take pictures as we entered San Juan. The sunrise was gorgeous right above the city and the fort (el Morro). On our first day in port, a group of us went to el Yunque, the only rainforest in the United States Forest service. It was absolutely beautiful. We got to swim in la Mina, a small waterfall, which was a ton of fun in itself. On our way back to the city, our taxi driver had us stop at a little food place on the side of the road for “chicken on a stick.” It was one dollar and delicious, but, as we ate, we noticed that chickens were running around eating the scraps. It was gross… but amazing nonetheless!

That same day, I went to the Bioluminescent Bay with a group sponsored by SAS. Thankfully I was with one of my friends because I discovered I cannot be trusted to not run into people/trees in a kayak  The water was sparkling, but not nearly as much as what I’ve seen in Jamaica before. But sitting out in the kayak, the sky was clear and the stars were brilliant.

In San Juan, I also spent some time on the beach and exploring Old San Juan. We found so many little cafes that had delicious food. It’s cool because my friends and I all have enjoyed looking for restaurants a little off the beaten path. Everywhere we ate was really good. I love rice so of course I loved having rice and beans with absolutely everything!

I hadn’t been super excited about Puerto Rico just because I had been there before and it isn’t all that exotic. But I had such a good time there that I can’t even imagine what all the other ports are going to be like.

Life on the ship is cool too. I mean… if you like going to class for a few hours, reading in the sun, playing games, and hanging out with your friends all day long. I saw dolphins yesterday while I was reading on the deck yesterday. I got really excited  But that’s all for now! Love!

I don't get sea sick!

Wow… I am currently sitting onboard the MV Explorer- the fastest cruise ship in the world! Everything has been AMAZING so far- I love it!

The Bahamas: After the stress of packing and preparations it was a big relief to go to Nassau for a few days. Unfortunately it was ridiculously rainy and windy the first two days so we didn’t get to explore Atlantis that much. Thankfully on Tuesday it cleared up and we went and spent a few hours testing out the pools and slides. Yes… I did get sunburned. And yes… I did get flipped by a wave in the lazy river… Atlantis was beautiful and HUGE. There was an aquarium and a shark tank that you walked through which was really neat.

I’m really glad I went to the Bahamas a few days early because I got to meet a lot of people. Just walking through Atlantis you would meet people left and right. I went out a couple of times with groups of SAS kids and had so much fun. Once I met up with people and hung out a couple of times I was about twenty times more excited to get on the ship. Knowing people around the ship has made it a lot more comfortable.

Boarding the ship took about an hour, but it wasn’t too bad because everyone was equally excited about getting on and starting our trip. I am living on the third deck with a girl who goes to Pitt. She seems nice so we’ve gotten along really well thus far. The ship is amazing, and it is so beautiful to look out and just see the ocean surrounding you. I absolutely love it. It’s about 80 degrees, and I ate breakfast out on the deck this morning. Don’t be too jealous haha Oh! I taught about 10 people to play Dutch Blitz last night! It was a lot of fun :)

So all in all… the weather is amazing, I have met so many cool people, and my classes seem pretty interesting too. We land in Puerto Rico tomorrow! Hope all is well!

Setting Sail

Ah! So all of a sudden my countdown for Semester at Sea said < 1. I am not really sure when/how that happened... I feel very overwhelmed right now because we just finished packing up all my stuff. I am still in shock at how little I am taking! (For those of you who are familiar with my habit of over packing- you would be really impressed!) I leave tomorrow at 5 am for Nassau, Bahamas. My parents and I will be staying there for a few days before the ship leaves on Wednesday. It will be really nice to be able to spend a couple of days just relaxing before all of this traveling craziness begins.
Needless to say, I am INCREDIBLY excited. I will try to take a million and two pictures so that you all can get a glimpse of what I'm doing over the next one hundred days!

I'll miss you all!