Day 9 - Galway!

Land!!!

Have you ever wondered what lifeboats are like?  Or if they work?  We got to find out, because our first port city was the port-less city of Galway, Ireland.  To get ashore, they loaded us 100 or so at a time onto the lifeboats and scuttled us slowly but surely toward solid ground.  The ship was leaving port later that night and would meet us in Dublin two days later.  We had to option of getting back on the ship or traveling to Dublin ourselves.  I was planning to stay on the ship, and packed only a few rain essentials.  Customs from Ireland was to get onboard and check our passports in the morning, after which we would be shuttled off the ship in groups.  Customs arrived late, and the whole process moved so slowly, that I had enough time to change my mind, pick up my passport, and pack for a journey to Dublin.  We finally get put on a boat to shore, and after a brief check by a drug sniffing dog called “Customs,” we were greeted by traditional Irish fog and drizzle.

After hastily checking into a hostel, we booked a tour to see the Cliffs of Moher (for 1/5 the price of SAS) and we were on our way!  We took a scenic trip through the Irish countryside along two-way roads the size of large bike paths, passing by cows, sheep, and occasionally alpacas grazing in large green fields surrounded by stone fences.  Two and a half hours later, we arrived at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, the sharp 100-200+ m wall where Ireland meets Atlantic.  Pictures don’t even begin to cover it, but here are a few anyway.

 

Our driver took us to see some more natural formations on our way home along a scenic ocean-side road the size of a not-so-large bike bath.  He told us all the coach drivers agreed to only drive along that road in one direction so that, god forbid, they never have to pass each other, which would be entirely impossible.  We made a couple sleepy stops at vistas to take pictures, then piled back on the bus to resume napping.

We arrived back at our hostel (complete with many heartwarming sayings, like the one pictured) to get pretty.  Given the cold, rainy weather and the limits of what was in our day-packs, this consisted of briefly sitting down, standing up, and asking, “Ready?”  And so we made our way to the Irish pubs to have a Guinness and chat with the locals.

 

I arrive at a pub on the main street of Galway (one of three streets total) to find it packed…with SAS students.  I can’t take two steps in any direction without running into one of our own.  The highlight of my night was learning how to rhumba/salsa/jive with a German guy we picked up along the way.

Our huge group got split up, and my portion returned to the hostel sometime after midnight.  We went to bed still waiting for one of our girls.  There was a couple arguing vehemently upstairs, and we could hear every scream and stomp right over our heads.  We couldn’t sleep, and on top of it, we still felt like we were rocking on a ship.  All the beer didn’t help.  Sometime around 3 am, I hear a knock at our door.  I get up from my bunk and open it; our friend had come home.  I went back to bed and settled very nicely into the warm comforter.  Then another knock at the door.  At this point I had no desire to get up again, but I did anyway when the visitor began pounding.  It was a boy from a large group staying on the floor above ours.  “Hi, Penelope,” – they call me Penelope Cruz – “What’s up?”  We exchanged a few very confused sentences, and he told me that they were all kicked out of the hostel.  I suppressed the reflex to invite them to stay in our extra beds and wished him a good night.  Some peace and quiet at last!  I cuddled back into bed and fell asleep to the sound of the loud party that replaced the fighting couple.

Day 7 - At Sea

Seminar presentation by astronaut Kathy Thornton!

Day 6 - At Sea

Storm update: It seems two large pressure systems have combined around us, and we are in the eye of a big storm.  It is weird, because it is sunny and cloudless outside, but there is also intermittent fog and rain.  Still major rocking as we go over 3.5 m waves, but the more intense parts of the storm have 8 m waves.  At some point, we will have to pass out of the eye to get to Galway…

My first day partaking in an Insanity workout on the back deck, complete with a rainbow and a dolphin sighting.

Later that day, there was a showing of Hunger Games.  I ducked out early to the piano lounge to finish some reading, which quickly turned into a very intense game of Never Have I Ever.  When the movie ended, a large line of people (essentially the rest of the ship) filed past us.  One African American girl stopped by and cried, “All the black people died!”

Check out the railing vs. the horizon:

Day 5 - At Sea

Rough day at sea!  Also the first day of Zumba!  Being on the ship feels like a roller coaster.  There were two big waves that caused things to fall off shelves and all the trays in the kitchen to be knocked over.  Zumba was full of simultaneous “Whoa”s as we jumped during the rocking.

Day 4 - At Sea

First day of classes.

Day 3 - At Sea

A storm is a-comin’!  If you weren’t seasick yet, you became seasick today.  I noticed that the boat was rocking extra heavily as soon as I woke up and tried to brush my teeth – and missed.  Many others fell in the shower, tripped, or had other mishaps, and we all walk like drunkards.  Apparently, this is calm for the North Atlantic, and the ocean is expected to be even worse on our way from Cape Town to Argentina.  And the ship is only going about 12 knots, a fraction of its max speed.

It is suddenly very cold outside.  No one is dining on the balcony anymore.  Sweatshirts have sold out in the gift shop.  Whale sightings reported; if anyone says “whale,” the entire room jumps to the windows yelling “WHERE?!”  Some slump back to their seats disappointed, while others are convinced they saw a water spout.  There are rumors that flying fish are in our future.

Day 2 - At Sea

Meetings, meetings, meetings!  We had orientation sessions from 9 am to 9 pm in the auditorium (known as the Union).  It was the largest room on the ship, though many still have to sit on the floor.  The rocking of the ship is great at putting us to sleep – whether or not it is bedtime – and we all struggled to stay upright.

Day 1 - Embarkation

Finally aboard the MV Explorer!  We had some time to explore the ship, but I often found myself lost and running into dead ends marked “Crew Only.”  I did stumble upon cocktail lounges turned into classrooms and casinos converted into the computer lab and library.  Many of the classrooms have spectacular views of the ocean and are cozy with comfortable couches.  There was also a ping pong table, a netted outdoor basketball court, and a spa complete with a nail and hair salon, several massage/procedure rooms, a sauna, and a Roman-themed bath.  Much to our delight, dinner was served!  We ate outside on the back decks, one of which had a small pool and many girls already in swimsuits sunbathing around it.

After a long and thorough safety drill, we finally left port and sailed for the ocean at full speed ahead.  We were indeed going very fast, and if you were eating on the back deck, you got sea water sprayed on you.  The MV Explorer was built to be one of the fastest ships on the sea, with a top speed of 32 knots (most cruise ships go about 20 knots).  I can’t confirm all of this, but the word is that the ship was commissioned in 2001 by a luxury Greek cruise company.  After 9/11, tourism dropped so rapidly, that the ship could never be used, and Semester at Sea bought it up for a steal.

Wandering around the ship, we ran across many students whose names we learned and forgot almost instantly, some families with children, and some people clearly too old for college, who we call “lifelong learners.”  To sum it up: 475 students, roughly twice as many girls as boys, plus about 50 or so non-students and around 100 more SAS staff members.  Everyone – the students, the lifelong learners, and the staff – are extremely friendly, but perhaps the friendliest are the ship crew.  The waiting staff is so eager to serve us and learn our names that many of us are taken aback.

Even though SAS has sent us loads of information, they left out a lot of important information.  The most important advice: lift up the painting hanging in your cabin and flip it over.  Previous voyagers had covered the back with top ten lists and other stories and advice for us.

A few orientation sessions later, and we were free to let the ship rock us to sleep for the night.