Sunshine, Safari, & Tree Top Canopy

Safari Sunrise (c) Me!
Garden Route Game Lodge | South Africa

I got the opportunity to go on a three-day safari trip in South Africa as one of the field programs I signed up for with SAS. We flew from Cape Town to a city called Port Elizabeth the day after we docked. It was nice to travel via plane again; a small break from all the sailing!

Waiting to board at the Cape Town airport!

Our safari adventure itinerary was as follows:

3 NTS ELEPHANT BACK SAFARI & TREETOP CANOPY OVERLAND

Day 1:	Sunday, 27 October 2013
07h30 – 08h00	Depart the quayside and transfer to Cape Town International Airport
08h00 – 09h00	Check in for your flight to Port Elizabeth and board the aircraft
09h00 – 10h30	Fly from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth on SA 1805 (including a light snack)
11h00 – 12h30	Transfer from Port Elizabeth towards Addo by coach
12h30 – 14h30	Enjoy lunch on arrival at the Orange Elephant Backpackers Lodge followed by check-in formalities and time to freshen up
14h30 – 14h45	Transfer to Addo Elephant National Park for an afternoon game drive
14h45 – 15h00	Board the safari vehicles
15h00 – 17h00	Game drive within the Addo Elephant National Park
17h00 – 19h00	Transfer back to the lodge and enjoy some leisure time before dinner
19h00	Enjoy dinner at the lodge
	OVERNIGHT ORANGE ADDO BACKPACKERS
Day 2:	Monday, 28 October 2013
07h00 – 07h30	Early breakfast at the backpackers lodge
07h30 – 08h00	Gather belongings and complete check-out  formalities
+/- 08h00 – 12h30	Transfer by road from Addo to Plettenberg Bay including a restroom stop
12h30 – 13h30	Arrive at The Elephant Sanctuary. Bathroom break followed by lunch
+/- 13h30 – 14h45	Embark on a full Elephant Experience at The Elephant Sanctuary: Guided tour by a trained elephant Guide; Full Elephant Introduction in Forest; Touching and interacting with Elephants; Walking hand-in-trunk with Elephants; Feeding (Elephant Food included) & Elephant Back Riding
14h45 – 15h30	Travel to your overnight establishment located in Tsitsikamma
15h30 – 16h00	Arrive Tsitsikamma Lodge and check-in
16h00 – 18h00	Optional (strictly time permitting) visit to Storms River Mouth
19h00	Enjoy dinner at the lodge
	OVERNIGHT TSITSIKAMMA LODGE

Day 3:	Tuesday, 29 October 2013
07h00 – 07h45	Enjoy breakfast
07h45 – 12h00	Check-out and make your way to the starting point for your Canopy Treetop Adventure. After a detailed safety briefing and “kitting up” session, begin your adventure through the Tsitsikamma Forest. Enjoy a light lunch afterwards.
12h00 – 15h30	Travel from the Tsitsikamma Forest to Garden Route Game Lodge
15h30 – 16h30	Check in at the lodge and freshen up prior to your game drive
16h30 – 18h30	Embark on a late afternoon game drive in open 4x4 safari vehicles
18h30	After arriving back at the reserve, freshen up and enjoy dinner at the lodge
	OVERNIGHT GARDEN ROUTE GAME LODGE

Day 4:	Wednesday, 30 October
07h15 – 09h00	Enjoy an early morning game drive
09h00 – 10h00	Return to the lodge for breakfast
10h00 – 10h30	Join a guided tour of the reserve’s Reptile Centre
10h30 – 11h00	Gather your belongings and complete check-out formalities
11h00 – 16h00	Travel back to Cape Town, including a refreshment stop en route (picnic lunch box included provided by the lodge)

The moment I read our schedule, I knew I was in for an adventure! And the fact that we were going to experience all that in exotic Africa made it even more aca-awesome!

GAME DRIVES
I was really looking forward to these safari game drives when I first found out about it. I'm honestly not an animal lover, but I was excited to ride safari jeeps and see cool animals out in the wild. I was especially wanting to spot Africa's "Big Five"-- lion, buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros, and the African elephant. These are the top five animals in Africa that are the most difficult to hunt on foot, making them prized games once they do get hunted down. Thus, the name Big Five. The most exciting drive we went on was the one at the Garden Route Game Lodge. Our safari 4x4 was on its way up a hilly landscape to get a closer look at the lions on the mountain when it started to pour rain! Not only that, but at one point, it began to hail! We got beaten down with bits of ice chunks from the sky while on a safari.. in Africa! If you think Africa is all just sun and heat--think again.

It's hailing men

Our last game drive at Garden Route Game Lodge

By the end of our safari trip, we were able to see 4 out of the 5 Big Five animals, with the leopard successfully managing to hide itself from us. We weren't allowed to step off our safari jeeps, because the animals might attack due to the unfamiliarity we were tempting them with. The animals recognize the safari jeeps, but once you distance yourself away from the vehicle, they will sense it and see you as potential threat so they will come get you. And eat you!!! Ok probably not but you never know.

Simba!

King of the Jungle

A Taste of Cape Town

Table Mountain and the view of the city of Cape Town from Signal Hill

The morning we pulled into the Port of Cape Town, I knew I was already hooked on South Africa. The scenery that welcomed our ship looked like something straight out of a postcard. I could see Table Mountain looking majestic, with a blanket of white puffy clouds hovering over the peak. It's no wonder those clouds are often referred to as Table Mountain's "table cloth"! It was beautiful.

First view I saw of Cape Town from the ship

While we were going through customs immigration at around 6 o'clock in the morning, there were some students who looked rather grumpy, passports in tow, and still in their pajamas. I assumed they were not morning people.

Leave it to Dean Eddie to try and get everyone's morning a little brighter:
"Good morning, guys! Smile! You're in South Africa!!"

I did a tour of the city on my first day in Cape Town. The bus rolled through streets lined with tall palm trees; I felt as if I were in California! The presence of buildings scattered throughout the city provided a breath of modern air. Table Mountain and Lion's Head served as breathtaking backdrops behind the city scene. I absolutely loved that juxtaposition of urban life and nature!

Here are some photos from the first day:

Wachu Ghana Do?

Love from Ghana

 Ghana is extremely poverty-stricken. Let me just say that right off the bat. As a third-world country, there were a lot of areas in the country where development is still absolutely needed. I saw sewage out in the open on the streets, and beggars finding shelter on the concrete of the street pavements. And yet in the midst of all this hardship, I also saw the happiest people in Ghana.

A typical view of what you will see out in the streets

During our time in the cities of Tema and Takoradi, we experienced being in a culture where the people were so happy with what little they have. Ghanaians are very friendly, always giving us smiles as warm as the Ghanaian sun.

A big part of their naturally joyful disposition is their faith. Majority of the people in Ghana follow Christianity. This is made apparent by the number of stores and advertisements I saw that were very Biblical and Christian-like! I'm not even kidding when I say I saw the following signs:

(1) God is Good Laundromat
(2) Prince of Peace Cosmetics

A few other signs are escaping my memory right now, but you get the idea! I have a few Ghanaian friends from UWC, and their personality and their faith are true testaments to how they live in Ghana. I am very glad I got to actually visit the country and see the Ghanaian culture firsthand in their own land.

Another observation I took away from my visit in Ghana was how this country has kept their cultural traditions so embedded in their daily lives--from the way they dress, the way they dance, and the way they keep family ties so closely-knit (just like Philippines families!) I believe this is another reason why the people of Ghana can offer you the most sincere smile despite the evident poverty in their country. The lack of influences from other places in the world makes Ghana a strong culture that can stand on its own, making their people value their own traditions. And when they do get a taste of Western ways, they happily welcome it, too. When a bunch of children saw me taking a photo of them, they got super excited and started posing like crazy! They got so giddy over digital cameras. It was so cute.

Ghanaian children strike a pose upon spotting a camera pointed towards them!

Dance is an integral aspect of the Ghanaian culture. They LOVE to dance, and I thought that was extremely cool! I was fortunate enough to experience a drumming and dance workshop while we were at Takoradi on our first day in Ghana. I learned how to drum certain beats on a Ghanaian drum (similar to a bonggo); the beats that accompany most traditional Ghanaian dancing. After about an hour or so, it was time for the dancing part, wuhoo! The workshop leaders had our group form a circle while they did dance steps that we were supposed to copy. I had a blast! Towards the end of the workshop, they performed for us and then pulled a couple of us in to join them, including yours truly! I had to freestyle Ghanaian style, it was awesome!! The workshop was definitely one of my favorite experiences in the entire voyage.

Where we had our workshop! This was by the beach.

The group with our drums

The Travel Continues: Post SAS Probs, NYC, Manila

Bye bye, SAS Fa13 *sniff*

It's been a week since I disembarked from the MV Explorer for the last time, and here I am, still trying to figure out how to approach "normalcy" again. I didn't expect to be missing ship life this much because my excitement about going home and seeing my family initially overshadowed the idea of experiencing SAS withdrawals. But now it's hitting me like a strong wave against the stern (pardon the sailing reference.. can't help it). Someone from the voyage posted a 4-second video on our SAS Fa13 Facebook page, showing the MV Explorer leaving the port of Fort Lauderdale, getting ready for another voyage for a whole new set of people. I seriously almost teared up. I actually felt my heart tighten a bit, as I swallowed the reality that the ship I have learned to call home will be welcoming new passengers on board, and that I am not one of them. All of this in that 4-second video. Talk about post SAS probs!

I guess it's a good thing that I still have yet to write about the rest of the ports we've visited (Ghana, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Bahamas) so I can relive my favorite moments in those places as I stroll down memory lane with you guys. But before I begin yet another set of backtrack posts, let me recap what I've been up to this week, aside from silently grieving over the end of my SAS adventure..

16 December 2013
Monday

After all the goodbyes were said and done, my friend Liz dropped me off at the Fort Lauderdale airport 10 minutes away from the ship port around 12:30pm, giving me plenty of time to kill before I can board my flight to Pennsylvania at 6:30pm. I was going to meet up with my sister Kai in Philadelphia before going back home to Manila together on the 19th. I was so psyched because this reunion with my sister was something we both were eagerly waiting for ever since this summer! We were literally counting down the days 'til #KaiNenReunion since August. We planned on going around Philly a bit, and then taking a bus to New York City for a day! But what made us look forward to our reunion more was the fact that we would have someone to endure that looooong travel back home with. A travel buddy makes a world of a difference when you're in transit for over 30+ hours!

Yay for my sister-travel-buddy! And yes, we are of very different skin tones  :p

Anyway, I didn't arrive in Philly until midnight, so when Ate Kai picked me up from the airport, we just headed straight to her dorm at UPenn, got our stuff ready for the next day, and passed out. Tomorrow--New York City!

17 December 2013
Tuesday

Taking the Bolt bus out of Philly at 8am, we arrived in NYC two hours later. The freezing weather did not make our walk to the hotel easy, as we trekked under the sleet for at least a good 20 minutes. My ears were starting to hurt and my fingers were getting numb, but heck, we were in New York! When we finally found the Holiday Inn, we dropped our bags off and went back out into the cold again.

I've been craving for Starbucks like crazy, so I definitely needed one of their
holiday drinks for a quick pick-me-up! Mmm Peppermint Mocha...Yum.

Ate Kai and I just walked around the rest of the afternoon, snapping photos and enjoying being in the city that never sleeps. We covered Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and the NBC store that sold
awesome Friends stuff!!! We're both obsessed with this TV show, so we couldn't exit the store without buying any Friends paraphernalia!

The End

Well this is it, everyone. 115 days, 16 countries, 4 continents later, the MV Explorer has reached its final port of call: Hello from Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA! I am feeling a mix of emotions right now; definitely bittersweet. It saddens me leaving the ship I have called home for the past four months, but I am also very excited to go back home and back to Westminster next semester. I just can't believe my semester long adventure is now over. It's going to be so weird walking off that gangway for the last time, looking back at the MV Explorer and knowing I won't be able to just go back whenever I want to.. Waaahh I don't know how to feel! Come hug me!

So long, Fall 2013 Voyage! You've been life changing.
Thank you, Semester at Sea, for the experience of a lifetime.

#mixedfeelings
#theendofthevoyage

Of Lifeboat Drills and Final Countdowns

This morning at 9:00, we had our fourth and last lifeboat drill of the semester. I never liked these drills because it's basically 20 minutes to half an hour of standing in complete silence out on the deck armed with our bright orange life vests while trying to keep our balance against the waves. The only time we were allowed to talk or make a sound is when our Resident Director (RD) calls on our cabin number to check attendance and we have to yell out "Here!"

Although today's drill went painfully longer than the previous three (we were standing for at least a good 45 minutes), it was this drill that reminded me how little time we have left on the ship. It was those 45 minutes of standing and staring out into the ocean when it really just hit me that our voyage is coming to an end. On August 24, 2013, during our first lifeboat drill, I remember thinking that our fourth one would be lightyears away. And yet here we are now, three and half months + four completed lifeboat drills later, storing our life vests back into their compartments for the last time. Today is the 2nd of December, and we officially have exactly two weeks left in the voyage. TWO WEEKS! 

Towards the end of each semester, I feel like I always say how fast time has flown by. This particular semester proved to be no exception; it sped by despite the long stretches at sea! Wasn't it just yesterday when I was stressing over the thousand and one visa applications I had to apply for in order to sail with this program? Wasn't it just yesterday when I flew into London with bags in tow and butterflies in my stomach? 

I'm almost scared to get off the ship and resume "normal life", but then again, I am coming back home to my wonderful family and crazy friends whom I am missing so much! And besides, we all know they make my days anything but normal anyway :) 

Here's to enjoying the last 14 days of my Semester at Sea once-in-a-lifetime adventure! Good news is that Seamester Shenanigans will continue to be up and running with more posts even after the voyage ends. As you know, I am really behind in keeping you guys updated, and with finals coming up, I can honestly say I won't be able to write more backtrack posts anytime soon. I am slowly accepting the fact that I probably won't get you caught up until Christmas break, when I am home and have free time.. AND WIFI! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to share how incredibly thankful I am for the gift of life. I know it sounds way too cheesy and overrated, but that's okay. I'm allowed to be cheesy on Thanksgiving Day :)

I am thankful for my wonderful family, my awesome friends, and this amazing semester I am having. I am living my "once in a lifetime", and I couldn't be happier. I am thankful for the love of God, and the grace and mercy He shows me everyday. It still stumps me sometimes trying to grasp just how great His love is for me.

And finally, thank YOU, dear readers, for taking time out of your day to check out this blog :) Hopefully you're not getting too bored with what I write!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Lots of love from the Atlantic Ocean,
Laura