Itinerary/Where to send us stuff!

Here's the link to the official calendar, which says exactly what days we'll be in each port! It also has all the information on how to send us mail!!! We would love to get mail (who doesn't) so please send some if you can! You might even get some back!

https://www.ise.virginia.edu/asp/mydocuments/S09/S09_CalCom.pdf


TIMES WHERE WE ARE....

Based on Eastern Standard Time, the time on-ship is behind by the number of hours listed below:

Spain:+6 hours    Morocco:+5 hours    Namibia:+7 hours      

South Africa:+7 hours      Mauritius:+10 hours       India:+10.5 hours
Thailand:+11 hours    Vietnam:+11 hours    China:+12 hours      

 Japan:+13 hours         Hawaii:-6 hours     Guatemala:-2 hours

Trips!

So we thought we'd post all of the trips we're planning on doing in each country. We just got our pre-sale trips back today for the original countries, and we won't even get to pick for the newly added countries until January 6th! Anyway- here's the plan...

Spain
We're doing a SAS trip to Sevilla, Cordoba, and Grenada for 3 days/2 nights. We figured it'd be good to have something planned for the first port in case we don't know a lot of people or don't have enough time to plan something. On the first day, we're also doing a Cadiz city orientation.

Morocco
We don't have anything solid planned yet, but we're thinking of taking a train to Marrakech and possibly doing a camel trek through the desert. Otherwise, we'll just be spontaneous!

Namibia
Here, we're doing an indy safari (indy means it's not set up through SAS and most of the time it's a lot cheaper) that was set up by Kelly Berg (a fellow SASer) at the Etosha National Park. It's a 3 day/2 night trip where we'll get to see animals like zebras, elephants, giraffes, lions and tigers and bears (oh my) haha. Sorry I had to!

South Africa
We have A LOT planned in Cape Town! Which is surprising because we've only known we're going there for about 2 weeks. It's helpful that the Fall 08 voyage went there because I've gotten a lot of ideas from reading their blogs. So anyway...one of the days there, we're going cliff diving (which is basically jumping off cliffs, swimming, and hiking all day). The rest of the days are unplanned but some of the things we really want to do are: climb Table Mountain, possibly do an Operation Hunger service project, go to Robben Island, and maybe go shark diving. We'll see...

Mauritius
Seeing as we only have about half a day in Mauritius, we are not planning a lot. Probably a little relaxing on the beach or snorkeling.

India
Here, we're doing an indy trip set up by Mandi Rose McAlister. We're going to the Taj Mahal and we get to visit the cities of Agra, Delhi, and Jaipur. I am really hoping that we still get to go to India with everything that's been going on, since it is one of the places I am looking forward to the most!

Thailand
Not a lot planned here either. We might take a train to Phuket and ride elephants, explore Bangkok, go on an orphanage visit, or go to a tiger zoo and feed baby tigers :-)

Vietnam
We are soooo excited because we found out today that we got into the trip to Cambodia! As soon as we arrive in Vietnam, we're flying to Cambodia to visit Phnom Penh and the temples of Angkor Wat. While there, we also get to see the killing fields and the Palm Tree orphanage (which is actually run by two former SAsers!) After we return from there, we are also going to take a couple days to visit the War Remnants Museum and hopefully the Cu Chi Tunnels.

China
We're taking an indy trip to Beijing and The Great Wall set up by Tiffany Thompson. We'll be sleeping on the Great Wall and also visiting Tiananmen Square,The Forbidden City, Hutong tour, and the Summer Palace. Before and after this trip, we'll also be able to explore Hong Kong and Shanghai which is where the ship is docking. Thanks to Grandpa for giving us advice about China before we leave!!!

Japan
We are not planning anything in Japan until we get there. We're going to buy a train pass and just go wherever our hearts desire. We're going to try to make it to Hiroshima and see the museums there. If you know us at all, you know that our favorite place EVER is Disney World, so a trip to Tokyo Disney may be in order!!

Hawaii
We're going skydiving!!!!!!!!!!! And then bathing in the sun and hopefully making it to Pearl Harbor- As you probably know, we're a little obsessed with history and World War II has always been one of our favorite time periods, so to be able to see it in person would be awesome!

Guatemala
Since this is our last port (sad day...) we're not sure if we want to do a big trip or just relax with our friends. Two trips we're thinking of are a mountain biking excursion through local farms and villages, and a climbing/camping trip on Acatanengo Volcano. But that's still a long time away, so we'll have to play it by ear and see how we feel (and how much money we have left!) by the time we get there.

That's it for now. This trip is creeping up on us faster than we thought- only 26 days until we leave for the Bahamas and only 29 days until we set sail to Spain!! There is still sooooooooo much to do! We have to go shopping for everything we're gonna need, we have 3 goodbye parties to plan, Sarah still has to move out of her apartment, work out the final details with financial aid (those people WILL give us a heart attack!), finalize class approvals, and much more! We just CANNOT wait till we're finally standing on the back deck, waving with all the other students, and we're finally done with everything and on our way across the Atlantic! Until next time...

I'M DONE UNTIL SAS!!

I did it. I'm done with the semester...finally! And all I have to worry about now is getting ready for SEMESTER AT SEA!! I still can't believe it. I keep feeling like this is just a weekend off, and I still have to go back on Monday and take an exam or write another paper. Sarah and I made our packing list today, and went through and decided what we had and what we still needed to get. It seemed so crazy to think that we have to pack everything we might need for nearly 4 months! It turns out we need to buy a lot more than we thought we do. Little things, mostly, like magnets, sunglasses, notebooks, etc.
I'm so relieved to be done. It seems so close now!
And the Fall Voyage gets back to Miami tomorrow morning around 6:30 am! :) Then it'll be our turn!
We still have lots to do...plan trips for the new countries, shop, pack, say goodbye to everyone, get addresses...wow. There's a lot to do. And only 32 days until we fly out of Chicago!
I'm going to go out to dinner with Sarah and my cousin Dan tonight for our birthday!
And then tomorrow is our birthday! Last day of being teenagers. I think I'll celebrate by eating cinnamon toast crunch and skittles. And watching old movies. :)

*Kate*

Africa, Here we come!!

The itinerary has been changed because of all the pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden. So, instead of going to Italy, Turkey, and Egypt, we are now going to Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, and Mauritius! We're going to AFRICA!!!!!!!! We are kinda bummed because now we can't see Giulia (our friend in Italy) or our sister, Kristina, in Turkey. But we are super excited because when's the next chance we're gonna have to go to Africa?

The reason we chose Semester at Sea in the first place was to be different and take "the road less traveled". Everyone can go see Italy and the rest of Europe but who can say they've been to South Africa or Namibia?? I'm guessing not a lot of people. As much as we were looking forward to being tourists in Europe, I think these changes allow for an even greater and richer experience (if thats even possible)! We can't wait to go it is going to be so much fun! Except now we have to figure out what to do in those countries now.....hmm...Safari/camping in the desert, camel rides, shark diving, we just don't know what to do.....