Hi all,
Today is my fourth day on the ship- time flies! I made it safely to Nassau and met a fellow voyager on the plane named Phoebe, who is from California. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by a steel drum band a man dressed in a light blue tux with matching shoes welcoming us. Phoebe and I shared a cab into town with a very helpful driver who helped us get our bearings. My hotel was alright, not fabulous, but not bad. Phoebe and I met up for lunch and walked around town. The main dish in Nassau is called Conch Salad. They hammer a conch shell to break the animal’s suction to the shell and then pull it out alive. I had never seen a live conch before! Then they promptly cut it up raw and mixed it with chopped peppers, lettuce, onion, salt and lemon juice. I watched a man prepare numerous conch salads, but didn’t end up trying once since I had also witnessed the hygiene level of the operation.
A friend that I had made on facebook awhile back who was staying at the same hotel, Josh from New Hampshire, arrived and we showed him the sites. We went to the Pirates of Nassau museum which was interesting, but also quite depressing- pirates did not have very pleasant lives! Both Phoebe and Josh were eager to try local cuisine and culture, I realized that I do probably stick closer to tourist joints than others, so I appreciated their influence. I had “conch snappers” for dinner- kind of a fish and chips sort of thing. It was pretty good- conch is sort of a chewy white meat. We tried three of the local beverages- I had “sky juice” which is gin mixed with coconut water, Josh had a “Miami Vice” which is pina colada mixed with daiquiri served similarly to chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream, lastly Phoebe tried the local beer which in my opinion tasted exactly like Bud Light, haha. We briefly ventured to Senor Frogs later that night and partook in dancing as well as a conga line.
Phoebe and Josh boarded earlier than me on the next day (they both have internships on the ship) so I had a while to look around and take in Nassau. It is set up sort of similarly to Lahaina, but not quite as nice. They had a few nice stores mixed in with markets and local shops. I walked through the famous “Straw Market” where you can buy any fake handbag, jewelry, etc. that you like in addition to regional straw baskets and fans.
I took a cab to the port and was quite concerned when he didn’t just drive right up to the gang plank. Most of you know that I am a light packer, but even I had a number of belongings for such a long voyage. To my relief a man came up with a trolled and took my bags all the way to the ship for me. While I was boarding, I met a fellow Lifelong Learner named Hayley from Sugarland, Texas (just north of Houston.) It turns out that there are two other younger Lifelong Learners-Hayley is 27 and Nichole (from DC) is 31. We have nicknamed ourselves the “tweeners” for being somewhat in between the students and the traditional Lifelong Learners. I have really appreciated having them here and look forward to traveling with them!
Fortunately, we all boarded a day before the students so the madness didn’t really begin until the next day when 725 students boarded. My room is quite small, I have to say I was somewhat taken back by it at first sight. However, I have it all to myself so I can’t complain. It has bunk beds but I was able to fold the top bunk up against the wall to make more space. The ship is quite large, however not nearly as big as some of the commercial cruise liners. All together I believe there are just over a thousand people on board. I have to say that it is much rockier than I had anticipated, but I have gotten use to it and have been taking a Bonine anti-seasickness pill every morning- thanks Mom! The food is mostly cafeteria style and has been pretty good so far. The service is incredible! I had no idea I would have people waiting on me, fixing my room everyday, and going out of their way to do things. I also have privilege to the faculty/staff lounge which is fantastic! It’s on the top floor at the front of the ship with windows all the way around- although there is not much to see besides ocean right now. We have a full service bar with happy hour 5-6 and general service 9-11. Perhaps the best part is that instead of nuts, they serve Pepperidge Farm goldfish to go with your drinks. I have also had the chance to meet a number of faculty and their spouses which has been quite interesting. The only down side to the ship is that the workout room is rather small and the sign up sheet system doesn’t work that well just yet. Also, the back deck is a little windy, but I’ve somehow managed to get a little sun time, haha.
Everyone on the ship takes a “Global Studies” class every morning. The Lifelong Learners had to wait a few days before picking classes. I still have just been sitting in on various classes and haven’t quite decided which ones I will take regularly. More to come on classes- although I have to say that the gentle rocking of the ship makes it hard to stay awake sometimes!
We have about 4 more days on the ship until we reach Spain so I am working on finalizing my travel plans. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to add pictures to my blog until I get to Spain since the bandwith on the ship doesn’t allow it. More to come soon!
