Friday, August 17, 2012

The Finish Line - 8/17/12

Two months ago I began this blog with a post titled, Learning to Walk. Since that date it has been a full sprint of traveling as we crossed the Atlantic twice, passed through the Straits of Gibraltar twice, and made a complete lap of the Mediterranean. During the course of our voyage we have visited 7 countries and 3 continents. Tomorrow morning we will arrive back in the United States and step off the gangway of the MV Explorer one final time. Our bags have been stowed in the cargo hold and the customs forms are completed. My plan is to wake up for sunrise around 530am and watch us come into our final port. This trip has exceeded any expectations I could have possibly had when I embarked in Freeport and though I have accumulated infinite pictures and stories, nothing will compare to the memories of a summer spent traveling the world on Semester at Sea. I will miss all my friends that I have made aboard the ship but am also looking forward to transitioning back into life in Charleston. I know that a great fall awaits me, and certainly a fun SAS reunion trip is in order over the holidays.

 Thank you all again for following along during this epic voyage and I look forward to seeing lots of you soon.

 MOST IMPORTANTLY, THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!

 This is Jeff Aschieris signing off for one last time from cabin 4038, port side, MV Explorer.

 

"Explore, Dream, Discover" 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Homeward Bound

Hello all! 

First I'd like to thank anyone out there who has stuck with this blog this far along. I hope my writings have been interesting and not too monotonous! I very much look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you firsthand and not through the text of these pages. In the meantime, I'd like to update you on life aboard the MV as we make way towards Boston, USA.

We were informed by our noon bridge report today that we are within 1000 NM of the United States! We had about 895 to go at that point so now, about 8 hours later, we are probably looking at 730nm or so to go. Finals are in full swing and the past few days have been spent doing various papers and presentations. Global studies wrapped up this morning with an exam so tomorrow, after two more finals, I will officially be an alumni of Semester at Sea. About time I join the rest of the Aschieris family! In celebration of classes ending we will be having the Alumni Ball tomorrow night, so it's finally time to break out the blazer and tie. We are gaining an hour of sleep about every other night as we move backwards through time zones, which is a nice change from our last trip east across the Atlantic. Today while I was sitting in the shade on deck 7 working on a marketing study guide trying to keep my eyes off all there is to be seen out there, it started raining! Tons of people gathered up their stuff but myself along with a few others hopped right into the pool. Finally after 62 days of SAS, we have seen rain! It only lasted a minute but was still fun and made for a good study break.

 Today we had a pre-port for Boston which they structured just like every other port arrival but made a pretty funny parody of the dangers and what-to-knows of America (i.e. please drink the water and eat freely without worry of the lovely TD). It was not all comedy though as they did begin to prepare us for our re-entry process which is rapidly approaching. We have received our instructions for packing to clear customs and I will probably begin that project tomorrow afternoon after exams. The ship is expected to be piloted by 7am and fully docked, starboard side, by 8am on August the 18th. I'm pretty sure that I will, along with lots of other kids, get up around 6 or earlier that last morning to watch the sunrise as we reach our final port. In the ship's auction that was held recently our group of friends bid hard on the privilege of raising the Ensign as we entered port but unfortunately lost out to a girl who was willing to throw some serious money at it.

 What a ride it has been thus far! Expect one last post just before arrival into the United States.

 Jeff

 

p.s. Mom, I have a haircut scheduled…but may cancel the appointment. You'll have to wait and see, on Saturday!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Heading for Home - Strauss and I board the MV one last time

Bairro Alto - Rue Altalaia

Main square at night

the famous chicken sandwich!

Carcavela

Family Dinner

Portugal photos

PORTUGAL

8/6 – This morning we arrived into our last port of Lisbon! We hustled off the ship around 9am after the customs briefing and set out to explore the city we had heard so much about.  We spent the majority of the morning roaming about the area aimlessly and trying to get a good lay of the land. We made our down into the main shopping district where the streets are very clean and the large squares are very attractive. After a bit of browsing about we sat down to lunch at a street cafĂ© and celebrated the fact that we were not in an Islamic country anymore and that Ramadan was a non-issue! Our course of choice, a hamburger! After a nice meal we decided we would walk back to the ship to get packed and prepared to check into our apartment. It turned out to be a long walk so we hustled along getting our gear together and then returned to our apartment via taxi.

 The apartment turned out to be a great spot! It had plenty of bedrooms and comfortably slept our group of eleven. After hanging out for a bit and napping we went out to buy groceries to cook a family dinner. We cooked a huge pasta dinner and began the evening festivities. We ran into some other SAS kids on the street and found a fun bar where a surf/reggae band was playing old American covers, pretty rad!

 

8/7  - We rallied the next morning to make tracks to a beach so we walked down to the local train station and bought some tickets toward Cascais. A local had told us that Carcavela was a cool spot so we got off at that stop. You walked down a dirt path for about a quarter mile that reminded me of the Trestles hike but not quite as far. When you emerged from the path there was a main road with lots of small restaurants right on the boardwalk. We chose a place and sat down for a class of Sangria and a chicken sandwich. Let me make this clear, if you ever find yourself on the beach at Carcavela ordering lunch, DO NOT order the chicken sandwich. It looks like mayo, smells like fish, and tastes like things not appropriate to be written here. Anyways after that little false start we set up for the afternoon on the beach and took a nice swim, to our surprise, COLD water! We are officially out of the Mediterranean. Unfortunately no surf was happening but I read that it is more of a winter spot. After a couple hours beachcombing and tanning we took a train back to town and the villa. We were still in search of the mythical street in Bairro Alto where main drag was so tonight we set out to find it. After some navi-guessing and wrong turns we eventually found the spot! I've never been to Bourbon St. in New Orleans but I imagine that's the closet comparison. Every door is a small bar with music flowing from the inside and people are shoulder to shoulder up the entire street, which is about a mile long. Walking up the street feels like trying to get from the hot dog line back to your seat during halftime of an early 2000's USC v. UCLA football game! Anyways we befriended two locals who showed us some good spots along the route and it was a great night!

 

8/8 – Around mid-day we got up and headed down into the main square to cruise around and get some souvenirs. Strauss and I split off from the girls who were going to shop 'til they dropped at one of five Zara's in the area along with dozens of other women's clothing stores. We were on a quest for two things, funny hats and Chinese food. Somehow we stumbled upon both along with numerous other hilarious spots all over town, including one accordion player who had a Chihuahua holding his change bucket, that guy definitely earned a few of my Euro cents. Eventually we returned to our villa to rest up for our last night in port on Semester at Sea! Because it was Lucy's birthday we had a small party at the house and a bunch of SAS friends came over. We headed back to the crowded streets with a ton of fun kids and danced the night away knowing that our small group of great friends may never return to repeat these experiences again together.

 

8/9 – Well we awoke and cleaned out the apartment to prepare for check out. Midway through we all agreed that a last family meal was necessary so all eleven of us trekked back to the Chinese Buffet and enjoyed what was probably one of the most hilarious meals yet of the trip. It was a classic way to end our time in port and after finishing the last of the chores at the apartment we made our way back to the MV. We boarded around 4pm and took one good last look at Portugal as we walked up the gangway for the last time. We spent the next few hours sharing stories and pictures with other SAS friends and ate dinner on the back deck as we pulled out of port.

 We are now steaming due west at a bearing of  2700  . We are making about 400 miles each day by traveling at 20 knots in decent seas. Sleep is hard to fight off as we are completely exhausted from the past two months of travel and the steady rocking of the ship is soothing. On our voyage home we will have lots of work to get done to wrap-up classes and what not but we will also have plenty of time to reflect on what an incredible journey this has been! Each day has brought new experiences and with the right mindset and the right friends, humor can be found in each and every one. This trip has been non-stop fun with an incredible amount cultural learning every day.

 Stay tuned for more posts from the sea and hopefully pictures of some of the great sunsets we see out here.

 Globally yours,

Jeff

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Camel Picture 2

Marrakech

Cont'd

Camel Photo

MOROCCO AND NORTH AFRICA!

8/1 – This morning we docked in Casablanca, Morocco. We are in Africa! The customs team that comes aboard in each port to clear our passports was far stricter than in any of our previous ports and they required face to face clearance of each student. This took quite a long time but seeing as how my only plans for the day were to go on our marketing class field lab, the delay wasn't much of a concern. Finally after a few hours the ship was cleared and off we went to explore marketing examples in Northern Africa. We began by walking through one of the poorest markets in Casablanca. Mind you that this time of year temperatures hang around the mid 90's on the coast. So in the baking sun, we walked through unsanitary meat and fish markets where blood and guts flow down the walkways…absolutely disgusting. From there we moved on to more modern marketing practices by going to the Mall of Morocco which is very high-end and clean, a pleasant change!  We also stopped for lunch at the Churchill Club, an English speaking club, where our teacher is a member. It is designed for workers from England who are on assignment in Morocco. Overall a good day getting oriented in Casablanca despite some people having to throw away their shoes from the rancid lingering scent of the meat markets.

 

8/2 – Early this morning we departed Casablanca via bus for Marrakech to go on our camel trip. After a few hours on the bus we checked into the hotel and set back out for a traditional lunch and camel ride in the summer heat. Average temps in Marrakech this time of year are usually 115-120! When we arrived to the company we were informed that the camels were out in the desert at the lunch spot so they told us to pair up and hop in a dune buggy to drive out there. It was pretty hilarious as we were now clad in our Aladdin pants and dune buggy goggles. We drove for a while and by the end everybody was scrubbing the dirt and sand off their face and teeth. Sad to say that a great Adrenalin crew shirt may be permanently stained from the experience, but all part of the fun! We sat down to a Moroccan lunch of cous cous, tajine meat and vegetables and some dessert fruits. Pretty good overall but nobody got overly adventurous with the meats. They then wrapped us up in our turbans and off we went to mount the camels! If you have never ridden a camel you should know that the animals are not the most friendly and certainly not too luxurious but absolutely hilarious the whole time. We rode them back to where we had started out which was about an hour ride and the guide was pretty funny along the way. He had a tendency to start singing Shakira at random times! We spent the evening hanging out at the hotel and tried to cool off with a night swim at the pool but it didn't help too much.

 

8/3 – Today we had a full day tour of all of the Marrakech area. We visited a large mosque, various ancient Saadien Tombs, a spice and skin-care pharmacy, and finally the Souks area. It was a very long hot day but we were able to pack lots in, which was good. The pharmacy was a great place to get gifts for people back home and also to buy funny local products, such as male or female aphrodisiacs. The souks area is absolutely wild. We walked through a shanty maze of shops, each selling mostly the same thing. Lots of leather products, head scarfs, and any tea set or trinket you could imagine. Once we found our way out of the bazaar area we were in the main square where the primary business is entertainment. There are monkey trainers and snake charmers everywhere! They literally throw a monkey onto your shoulders and then demand money from you. Luckily I avoided it but some of the other people we were with were subject to the local business. We sat for a bit at a cafĂ© in the square and enjoyed some of the best people watching I've ever seen.

 

8/4 –Today we returned to Casablanca in the morning and got back to the ship around lunchtime. We had a safe bite on the MV then headed back to the mall to check out the aquarium and burn off the last of our Dirhams. After an hour or so exploring the mall we decided we should watch some of the Olympics before leaving port so we found a local hotel bar that would let us hang out and watch the Games. Everybody was pretty ready to be leaving Africa by the time the ship pulled out late last night and we are all excited for our visit to Lisbon! It is amazing that we only have one port left on this great voyage and we are certainly going to make the most of it. I am hoping to get some surfing in while there and a good amount of beach time as well. Stay tuned, we will be there in the morning!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Even More

underground city, age : 2000 BC or 4000 yrs.


Hanging out in small tunnels, 160 feet below ground

Hiking down the Ilhara Valley

A local buddy, stoked on his fish!

Lief and Gary checking out the quiet lake

Posted up with a good book in Middle of Nowhere, Turkey

My favorite young Turkish local. We were the first Americans this family had ever met!

Local Turks posing for pictures with our group

The crew, after a beautiful and humbling two days in Cappadocia

More

View from the hotel at happy hour

5am, firing up the balloon






The tourist selfie, 700 meters, or 2300 feet above ground


Cont'd again

Up in those windows!

How were these things built??

Lief, Cara, Ruby, Carmel, Myself, Zach, Caroline, and Gary!

Cont'd



Images from Cappadocia

Authentic enough?

Gary gazing at the ancient structures, notice the small holes in some them. Those are windows and doors!


CAPPADOCIA

Early this morning, at 5am, we left the MV and headed for Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. We hopped on the 7am flight to Kayseri and by around 845 we were en route to Gerome, the valley town built into volcanic ash flows. It was a nice drive and we arrived at the Kismet hotel and were welcomed with a round of tea and coffee while we got settled. We conversed with the owner of the family run place for a while about activities in the area and began making some plans for the day. We decided a hike across the basin and then up Rose Canyon would be good and after getting organized we set out. Stopping in town for a meal and to load up on water bottles we poked around and made some arrangements for the next morning, hot air ballooning at sunrise!

 

Once out of the town we trekked across beautiful expanses of rocks and crawled into many of the 3rd-5th century chapels, which are sculpted into the giant sandstone columns. Each has about 4 or 5 levels inside and you work your way up through small footholds in the dusty stone and then pull yourself through small square openings to access the rooms. Truly unbelievable!! Keep in mind that we didn't see anybody else out here doing this and there were no established tour groups or anything of the sort, which was very refreshing. After exploring through the "village" of columns we began working across the Rose Canyon ridge. With stunning views on either side it is really hard to describe what it was actually like up there. Hopefully I can get some photos up to show you. We met a man at the very top who was tending to his crops. He said in the little English he spoke that he either grows tomatoes, or grapes for wine depending on the expected rainfall and texture of the land he is farming. The whole area was created by weathered volcanic ash settlements so the rock is very dusty and the loose ground makes for good farming I suppose. After a while up there we began the hike back into town as our water was about gone and everyone was getting pretty tired. The whole trek took about three hours and we covered some serious ground. Once back into town we wandered through the small village shops and then took a light nap at the hotel. The hotel had a great view of the basin and structures so I sat and read for a while during happy hour before we went back to town for some dinner. Gerome is a truly majestic place and after dinner we sat for a while on the hotel patio for some stargazing.

 

7/23 – The best and longest day of this log to date.

 

At 445am we woke up and hopped in the shuttle to our hot air balloon ride. Ballooning is the main industry in the region and Gerome is known for hosting one of the world's largest festivals each year. By 5 we were having coffee in the desert watching the locals inflate our balloon and set up the basket. I thought I would be more nervous to go floating around in a wicker bucket but the scenery is simply too stunning to be afraid of. Our balloon was the very first in the sky this morning and we lifted off over many other companies who were getting set up. The sun began to rise as we took off and made for epic views of the areas we had hiked through yesterday. Our flight lasted just over an hour and we made a large loop of all the different areas of Cappadocia. Once back on the ground we were treated to some sour nectar juice and then were driven back to the hotel where we sat down to breakfast. Breakfast at a hotel you would think to be fairly standard but not the case at the Kismet. They have a sign telling you that the yogurt comes from their family cow. The marmalades are from the friend's farm down the road and all the honey from another close friend in town! By this point it was about 830am so we went back to bed for a quick hour then set out for more adventuring. We had arranged a driver to take our group of eight around to the major sights all day but at our own pace, which was great. We began by driving to an underground city. You literally walk to a stone door and descend via rock staircase, 160 feet below ground! As you descend there are many layers and levels to explore and it was mostly based around a central well, which we assumed to be the major water source for the inhabitants long ago. We asked the guard when this spot was built and he casually replied, 2000 BC, a nice 4000 years ago! Once we were through the maze of the underground area we climbed out and got back in the van. The next stop was a 4km hike along a river in the bottom of a large canyon. We meandered along at a nice pace and passed many small local restaurants that are built on stilts over the shallow river. They use the no furniture traditional approach so customers sit on large cushions on the ground while eating off the low table. Once we had made it from the starting point of Ilhara to Belisirma we stopped for lunch ourselves and relaxed for a bit. Our driver was very friendly and was basically at our disposal for the whole day. At around 3pm we set out for a lake that is very unknown to tourists and when we arrived there was not a soul to be seen. Once down by the water level a group of local Turks drove up on some old dirt bikes. They were about 15-20 in age and quickly joined us for a swim, in their jeans, even though they weren't the best swimmers. The rest of their family must have gotten the word somehow because a mother, father, and two more children arrived. They seemed fascinated by us and not a single one spoke any English, nor did we stand a chance at communicating in Turkish. We sat for about two hours just reading, watching the lake, and interacting with these locals. They offered us rides around the small lake on their bikes and some people jumped at the chance. I hung back and just took in the whole scene, which was really cool. Finally our van driver was able to serve as a bit of a translator and he explained to me that these Turks had in fact, never seen Americans before! It was very humbling and we communicated mostly through hand motions and took a few more swims before packing it up. As we left we took a couple pictures and they invited us back to their village for tea but because time was wearing thin we had to pass unfortunately. On the hour drive back to town everyone was pretty silent and reflected on what a humbling two days it had been all around. We made it back in town, grabbed a local beer for happy hour and then sent it for the airport. After dinner and getting checked in we flew back to Istanbul on the last flight out. Finally after our exhausting, jam-packed trip we arrived back on the MV around 2am.

 

In the last 48 hours I have visited places that some could only dream of and experienced culture shock at its very furthest extremes. In reflection I would say that if you have trouble traveling without more than just a backpack, let go of the materialism we've been raised on and if you can't be content without technology or constant Wi-Fi, loosen your grip on your iphone and aim for something with more substance. Exchange sleep for sunrises and the longer days that come with such habits, you'll be happy you did.

 

Humbled in Cappadocia,

Jeff

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Istanbul, Turkey 7/21

Hello all,

 Just wanted to write a quick note about our arrival and first day ashore in Turkey. After leaving Greece we headed east and up through the Dardanelles and then into Istanbul. The short one day trip was very scenic and had good weather most of the way. This morning we got off the ship and made tracks for the Grand Bazaar. We spent about two hours roaming the endless shops that actually all sell pretty much the same items. It is amazing how many businesses can survive in such a tight environment. The shopkeepers are like wolves eager to draw you in and make a sale and the girls we were with endured infinite shouts of "Blondie, let me help you spend your money!" or the group favorite, "Jennifer Lopez come, come, let me sell to you please." After sitting down to some hot Apple tea with rum, the local specialty (very good!!) and a bit of Turkish toast we went back to our meeting spot and connected up with the group. We opted to find a local restaurant, which was sort of funny because they are all empty due to Ramadan but all the owners want the tourism business so it was pretty easy. We ate traditional Kebab meat and pita bread along with fresh tomatoes, pretty sweet. Next we hit up the Spice Bazaar which is essentially Chinatown on steroids. It contains every spice, knick-knack, trinket, or rip-off Nike and Adidas product known to man. Haggling is the best option here while shopping. We finished the afternoon with a bit of Turkish elastic ice cream and the server puts on a real show, flinging it all about.

 Tomorrow morning I am joining up with a couple different friends and flying to Cappadocia. It is a city created by pillars of volcanic rock and has over 30 underground churches and chapels carved into it. The hotel we will be staying at is called the Kismet Cave Hotel and is apparently all created from carvings into the big rock formations. It should be an absolutely different experience from anything we have seen thus far on Semester at Sea so I am very excited. Do some googling on the location, it looks incredible! Stay tuned for another post in a couple days with stories of hiking, horseback riding, and possibly even a hot-air balloon adventure.

 To all of the crew back home, wish you were here to share in the good laughs and great times on the sea. 

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Greece wrap-up

We are settled back now near the MV getting ready to depart for Istanbul, Turkey. This morning we got up and made it up to the Acropolis/Parthenon. There are stunning views of Athens, Piraeus, and Kalithea from up there which are great. It reminded me lots of visiting there during the 2008 420 Worlds. So many great memories of that trip with Team USA. The meltemi was filling again once again so there was a nice bit of dust blowin' in the wind! Afterwards we metro'd back to Piraeus and explored that area for the afternoon. Greece was a great test of logistics and we are learning how to travel on the fly very well. From here we are heading to some very interesting ports in which we do not know what to expect. If anybody has tips on Istanbul please email me at jeffrey.aschieris.a12@semesteratsea.org.

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD, WE ARE LOVING EVERY DAY ON SEMESTER AT SEA.

Wingin it,
Jeffrey

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

GREECE

7/16

We arrived into port early this morning, about 6am, but since the ship could not be cleared of customs until a bit later, everyone slept in. Our goal for the day was to visit the Acropolis before departing for Mykonos Island the following morning. We walked into the main area of Piraeus and purchased ferry tickets over to Mykonos and home from Santorini as we plan to spend a night there as well. Following our stop at the travel agency we got onto the metro and went out to Thisio, the main stop for the Acropolis. After a brief lunch we began the ascent towards the Parthenon. The temps today were very high, over 40 Celsius which equates to over 100Fh. Upon arrival to the gates where you buy your ticket to visit the Parthenon we were informed that the Greek Tourism Officials had closed the site due to extreme temperatures, what a bunch of crap! Josh and a couple other friends were actually interviewed on Greek TV to discuss the closure. Well that's traveling so we moved on and walked down into the ancient Agora marketplace where the worlds first marathon ended...according to Greek mythology of course. We moseyed about while the girls shopped and then found a little place for happy hour. Eventually we hopped back onto the metro back to Piraeus for dinner and a return to the ship.

 

7/17

Early morning rally over to our ferry for the trip to Mykonos. The meltemi (Greek summer wind which blows 30-40kts) came in strong and along with it some great wind chop. Makes for a rather pleasant ferry ride, if you're into that sort of thing! We arrived and naviguessed over to our hotel, which was a great little family run spot for very cheap. We threw our gear down and set out to explore Mykonos town and find the beach. We grabbed lunch at a hotel's pool bar and met up with a few other friends and then made moves over to Paradise Beach. It is a bit of an overwhelming place. Essentially it a nightclub that operates all day, so you find yourself buying a lounge chair for a few euro and swimming, dancing, and singing with all your friends on the beach, at 4pm! After a few hours in the mix there we packed it up, grabbed a chicken gyro and sent it back to our hotel. Following a nap we decided that dinner in town would be enough of an evening out for us so we found a good spot to have a nice sit-down dinner. This is where things begin to get interesting. We had planned on taking a ferry to Santorini tomorrow to spend an evening but due to the Meltemi which cancelled a bunch of ferries and a limited remaining schedule, the only ferry was sold out. So the audibles began and we came up with a few game plans, stay in Mykonos another night? Fly to Santorini via Athens? Ferry back the following morning? You get the idea. Well we decided to sleep on it and discuss over breakfast.

 

7/18

 

After a good A/C night of sleep we all got up for the bread and coffee breakfast and began to evaluate our options. We decided instead of wasting a whole day on a ferry back to Piraeus, we would pay a bit more for an evening flight and seek a refund on our Santorini return tickets. So we spent the day exploring more of Mykonos town and actually got half our money back on the ferry tickets, which was good. We burned our last hour or two of free time at a local cafĂ© playing cards and watching the Meltemi whip across the harbor before going up to the airport for our flight. The take-off was a good bit of fun in our little prop plane in the 30 kt breeze but we made it safely back to Athens and grabbed a train and metro back over to the port area. Finally after a good meal we are back on the MV and ready to give the Parthenon another go early tomorrow morning on our last day. So far Greece has been a country full of planes, trains, automobiles, ferries, and hikes. Will keep you posted on what comes next! 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Croatia and Montenegro Photos

Cafe Buza, the cliff jumping bar

Hotel Beach

Montenegro River

SkyBar

Atop the walled city

Croatia, Montenegro!

7/11/12

 

We slept in nice and late and then rallied down to the old city for our kayak trip. It was beautiful on the water and we went around the entire island. What they don't tell you is how far that actually is, really really far! Anyways we laughed all the way along even though our arms were pretty beat. After rounding the island we crossed the channel again to a small rocky beach where we did some snorkeling and ate a quick lunch. Finally we made it back to our starting spot and returned to the MV for a nap. We ate a mellow dinner on board and then watched a movie and got to bed early because of our plans for the next day, white water rafting in Montenegro!

 

7/12/12

 

We rose at the crack of dawn and were off the ship by 615am to begin our journey to Montenegro. We met up with some parents and off we went. On the 3.5 hr drive we left Croatia, passed through parts of Bosnia, and finally to Montenegro. The scenery was unbelievable and the river was an oasis blue color. We finally made it there after a while and suited up in farmer john wetsuits, booties, and helmets. Quite the look! We then climbed into safari style jeeps and drove up a really sketchy dirt road a ways up into the cliffs to reach the launch point. We unloaded our rubber boats and off we went down the rapids. Everyone was cracking up the whole time and our guide was pretty entertaining. He was big on busting out into American songs right after or a before a rapid! We stopped halfway down at a treehouse type place and grabbed some water and a cold one before continuing on. We were also able to swim in the cold (55 fh) FRESH water. Felt so good considering Montenegro was easily in the high 90's. After the trip down the river we went back to the outpost deal for some lunch and then packed it up to return to Croatia. We technically weren't supposed to leave the country but many SAS kids did and so far no troubles with the passports. Later in the evening around 1030 we met up in the old city to explore the nightlife a bit since it was our last night in port and we ended up having a great time, especially at the SkyBar where you order buckets instead of glasses for drinks. Kind of a touristy spot but a good time was had by all.

 

7/13/12

 

We were at it again early this morning and took on the city walls around 10am. You pay a small fare to walk around the entire city from the top but the views are gorgeous. Everyone was laughing at how hot it was but we made a full lap before grabbing one last meal in the city and doing a bit of shopping. We are now getting ready to head out for Greece, where we will arrive in two days time. Croatia was an absolute blast and most of our time was spent in and around the beautiful Adriatic. We are departing after numerous cab fares, bus stops, large water bottles, gallons of sweat and a few passport stamps to boot. A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Schwartzman as well as Mr. and Mrs. Strauss for their extremely generous hospitality while we were here. It was so great getting to know you all and we can't thank you enough! Hope everyone is enjoying summer back home or wherever you may be while reading this.

 

As Jimmy Buffett once sang, " Shells sink, dreams float, life's good on our boat."

 

Another great country,

Jeff

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

CROATIA

This morning we rolled into port around 8am, because there was no US consulate meeting we were able to have a nice leisurely breakfast and then pack up for the day.  Two of our good friend's parents are coming to visit them so we went to meet up with them at the port entrance. We sent it towards the Old City and began exploring the inside of the walled city. It is a really cool area! We found our way over to the famous, by SAS standards at least, cafĂ© Buza. It is a bar carved into the cliffs where people sit and drink while watching people leap from the rocks into the crystal clear Adriatic. We opted not to open our wallets here for drinks as they were rather pricey but we did partake in some great cliff jumping! Then we went back into the city and found a good lunch spot that could accommodate our large party and enjoyed some great seafood risotto. After a nice long lunch with we went to the beach at Big Red's hotel. They are staying at a great spot which has a small cove surrounded by high rocks and deep clear water. There was this really cool cave that we all swam into until the end, which was about 20 yards. We sat in knee deep water surrounded by the rock overhang and white-blue rock on the bottom. Pretty unreal! After a little while in there we got adventure and hiked up into the rocks and did a few epic jumps, but we were nothing compared to the local ten-year olds who, clad in their speedos, spider climbed up to scary heights and let it rip! Later in the evening after a brief nap and shower on the explorer we returned to the city for dinner. We found a nice spot and had a really fun time before going to a local bar that was filled with SAS kids. One thing we are learning is that AC in the bars here is highly optional and you should have seen the sweat pouring off everyone while dancing and having fun. It was foul! I hope to get a few pictures of all this up towards the end of the stay in Croatia because we plan to find internet and book hostels and ferries etc for the coming ports. Tomorrow we are going on a kayak excursion around a local island, stay tuned! 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

A few more from Capri/Sorrento

Big Red, Nataly, Russell, Linda, Katie, Alex, Jeff, Diana, Trevor, Natalia, and Bam Bam swimming in Sorrento

Bam Bam floating in the Med

2-3 ft on either side, with a 15ft deep swimming hole in the middle!


THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!

Pictures - Italy

Sardinia to the south, Corsica was directly opposite and visible!

Welcome to Italy!

The Trevi Fountain

Josh, me, and Trevor at the Fountain

Inside the Pantheon

Spanish Steps



The room before the Sistine Chapel

Casually hanging in front of the Popes house

Coliseum

Pikes Abroad

Me, Katie, Josh, Nataly, and Alex going out in Rome for dinner

Backpacking South

Pick a city, take a train/metro/bus, The LIFE!

Bam Bam running up to our train

Sorrento marina

Dinner in Sorrento

Mussels and Linguine

Capri Boat Trip

Grottos

Positano from above

Positano

Happy to see her after a week!! Next stop, Croatia!