Sarah's Log - Leg 3
Oct 7, 2002
We docked in Penang and it took immigration about three hours behind schedule to clear us and our diplomat never showed up to give us a briefing. I did not stay in the city of Penang; four friends and I went to the island of Langkawi. It took us a two-hour taxicab ride, an hour and a half ferry ride, and a half hour cab ride to get to our bungalow. It was right on the beach. The beach was lined with palm trees and the water was a turquoise color. The water in the ocean was about 85 F or higher and there were hot spots in the ocean (certain spots of the water was much warmer than the other). The wave sizes were relatively small and the tide was the highest it had been in twenty years
.Oct. 8, 2002
Langkawi, Malaysia
Today, I rented a jet ski and rode it along the ocean. Later in the day we all went to the Telaga Tujuh waterfalls. These waterfalls were in the rainforest, after hiking through the rainforest you reach a bunch of wells. These wells consist of rockslides that the water runs down and turns them into nature made waterslides. It was a lot of fun and I only got one bruise on my leg from them.
Oct. 10, 2002
Lat---06 42.1' N Long---098 09.0' EThe water is back to the deep blue color as before. There was a pod of dolphins that I spotted on the port side of our ship. Also, on port side there was a small brown bird (unknown) that was flying so close to the ship that I thought it was going to hit us. Ship life was filled with classes and stressing over finals that are in two days and again after India.
Oct. 11, 2002
Lat---08 56.2' N Long---093 59.1' E
Today there was a pod of dolphins swimming along the starboard side of the ship. There were so many dolphins in the pod that I could not count how many there were. I also saw bug like creatures come out of the water and skim across the top of the water before going back in. The rest of the day was writing papers for class.
Oct. 12, 2002
Lat---10 01.4' N Long---089 07.8' E
I did not see or hear about any marine life being spotted today. I had my first mid-term; it was for my history class
.Oct. 13, 2002
Lat---12 01.4' N Long---084 07.8' E
I did not have a chance to go outside and watch for marine life. The whole ship had to attend India Seminar. The whole day was filled with different lectures to get us more acquainted with the Indian culture. For dinner and lunch the crew cooked us Indian food.
Oct. 13, 2002
Chennai, India (map)
While the ship was docked in India, I did not visit any historical or science related places. I spent two of my five days visiting two local orphanages. At the first one, the children were 5 to 17 years old and some could speak English. While visiting the orphanage the children wanted to hear us sing and play games. At the second orphanage, which was founded by Mother Teresa, I held the babies and drew with the older kids. We asked the sister in charge if there was anything that we could do around the orphanage and she told us to just hold the kids and love them.
Oct. 19, 2002
Lat---09 53.5 N Long---081 55.6 E
The seas are starting to get rough; the captain s report had the waves marked down as two to three feet (they felt bigger than that). I spotted a pod of dolphins off the stern of the ship. The night was spent studying for our core exam the next day.
Oct. 20, 2002Lat---05 15.7 N Long---080 40.4 E
I was unable to sit outside today to watch for marine life. The waves were five to seven feet high and making the ship rock a lot. Watching the waves outside the dinning room windows, it felt as though the ship was going really fast, but in reality it was just the waves going by fast. I have a cold and the rocking of the ship made it really hard for me to concentrate during my core exam. I went to one of my classes, but was unable to attend the second class of the day because I was feeling so sick. I just slept all day; I have decided that it is best for seasickness.
Oct. 21, 2002
Lat---04 54.8 N Long---074 07.8 E
The ocean was a lot calmer today (wave high 2-3 ft). Off the starboard side of the ship, there was a pod of dolphins. A majority of the pods that I have been spotting during this trip consist of some many dolphins that it is hard to count how many there are. Also, off the starboard side of the ship I could see the islands of Maldives
.Oct. 22, 2002
Lat---03 23.1 N Long---067 49.5 E
Today was a TBA day on the ship (no classes). The reason for the TBA was to celebrate Neptune Day. Neptune Day is a traditional celebration when the ship crosses the equator (we celebrated a little early). The whole ship was woken up at 7:30am by our lifeboat alarm. Once the lifeboat drill was done we were told to go back to the cabins and change into swimsuits and meet up on the pool deck. On the pool deck, King Neptune and his court (our executive dean and staff) showed up and the ritual began. First we had to recite a poem; Oh great King Neptune of the deep, we willing arouse ourselves from sleep, then we ask for your good grace, to move from pollywog to shellback without disgrace, we promise to always be true, to the captain, the deans, and you, oh great King Neptune of the deep, now let us go back to sleep. Next fish guts were dumped on people, went in the pool to rinse off, kissed the king s ring, kissed a fish, kissed the queen s toe, and then was finally knighted. A lot of the ship participated in this (I did not); we all went from pollywogs to shellbacks. After this was all done, the next ritual of shaving heads was performed. Numerous people were lining up to get their heads shaved by the captain. There were four other people shaving heads also, there were about twenty-five people who shaved their heads all together, including a few girls.
Oct. 23, 2002
Lat---01 40.3 N Long---061 019.3 E
Today, all I was able to see were flying fish. They are the most interesting creatures to watch, it is amazing how they skim over the water. Tonight, is bingo night that the ambassador committee is sponsoring. The money that is raised during this event is put towards charities.
Oct. 24, 2002
Lat---00 00.6 N Long---055 02.7 E
The ocean is still calm; for the last three days it has been marked down as smooth on the captain s noon report. One of the students, Emily, told me how she had seen what looked like a shark on the starboard side during her class. While I was sitting in the union, I saw a fin whale off the port side of the ship
.Oct. 25, 2002
Lat---01 45.7 S Long---048 27.0 E
I was unable to see any whales today, but I was told that there was a spotting of more fin whales and dolphins.
Oct. 26, 2002
Lat---03 08.6 S Long---043 18.7 E
I did not see any marine life today. Before dinner I had to attend a briefing for my safari trip. The safari director told us about the animals that we will see and about our accommodations. My hotel is going to be up on stilts and resemble an old German Fortress.
Oct. 27, 2002
Mombassa, Kenya
The ship arrived in Kenya today; I visited a SOS Children s Village. This is a place where abandoned and orphans can live and get an education; it is funded through Germany. (map)
Oct. 29, 2002
Tsavo East and Taita Hills
I participated in a two-day safari. We traveled in vans that had the top pop up, so you could stand up and watch for animals. During the two days I was able to see elephants, giraffes, baboons, zebras, water buffalo, gazelles, and lions. The hotel that I stayed over night at was in the middle of the wildlife and up on stilts.
Nov. 1, 2002
Lat---06 56.6ÕS Long---040 35.5ÕE
The ship was really rocking today (waves 2-3 ft.); I think that I felt it a lot because of being on land for so long. I went to my classes, but the rest of the time was spent lying down in my bed. At night I felt better and went to the Halloween dance (I dressed up as a safari director).
Nov. 2, 2002
Lat---13 26.6ÕS Long---041 38.2ÕE
During dinner one of the crewmembers in the Hamilton Dinning room spotted dolphins outside the window and we all ran to see them. There were around ten dolphins traveling aside the starboard side of the ship; they were jumping in and out of the water.
Nov. 3, 2002
Lat---19 38.6ÕS Long---038 52.7ÕE
It is a TBA day; means no classes! It is the Sea Olympics; each hallway is a sea (mine is Ionian Sea) and we have competitions. First prize is to get off the ship first in Florida, second prize is a private happy hour with free snacks (but have to pay for drinks), and third prize is a sleep over on the observation deck with snacks. Competitions consisted of synchronized swimming, rope pass, human knot, obstacle course, scavenger hunt, lip sync contest, and much more. I just signed up for the rope pass; my sea had 20 people and we had to pass a rope through our shirt and shorts. My sea ended up getting fifth place. The competitions went on all day and at 2000hrs the winners were announced; my sea came in fourth place. In between watching competitions I sat and watched for some marine life on the pool deck, but did not see any.
Nov. 4, 2002
Lat---24 43.1ÕS Long---035 35.0ÕE
I saw flying fish today; they were bigger than the previous ones that I had seen. Around 2000hrs there was a thunderstorm off the front of the ship. It was so awesome to watch the lightning light up the clouds and see the bolts hit the ocean. It was starting to get really windy and rain. I could tell that we were getting ready to hit a storm because the crew was putting away the chairs and tables on the pool deck and put out the seasick bag holders in the hallways.
Nov. 5, 2002
Lat---29 43.7ÕS Long---032 38.6ÕE
The conditions had dramatically changed over night. The temperature was 85F yesterday and is 66F today. The waves are SSW and 9-10ft. The ship is really rocking; a lot of the people are getting seasick. I was not feeling so well so I took some Dramamine and laid in bed all day. My bed swayed back and forth and also bounced up and down (it felt like I was going around in circles); it was annoying but fun at the same time. Since a lot of people were sick, some classes were canceled, and they played movies on the TV all day (they usually just play movies at night when there are no classes). At lunch the plates on our table were sliding around; it was funny to watch and to catch your food before it fell on the floor. At night they showed the movies Titanic and The Perfect Storm.
Nov. 6, 2002
Lat---33 56.7ÕS Long---026 58.5ÕE
The waves are a little calmer today (6-8ft); they also changed directions (SSW to SSE). There is land off the starboard side of the ship. One of the adult passengers was telling me how she had spotted a couple of sea lions off the portside. I was able to see penguins swimming around and diving back down into the ocean.
Nov. 7, 2002
Lat---34 55.1ÕS Long---020 38.0ÕE
Today the water is a lot calmer and not windy. I went to the top front deck to watch for marine life. I spotted waterspouts [blows], but was not able to see any whale. There were crewmembers standing on the deck below and they had binoculars and were able to see just the tail. I also saw numerous penguins swimming right along the portside of the ship. There were seagulls flying and also floating in the ocean. Later in the afternoon we passed the most southern point of Africa. Melica, one of the children on board, came running down to my room saying that she saw humpback and right whales. She said there was about five or six of them. While in class, some one spotted movement in the water so we all jump to the windows to see; even the teacher. I could not really see to well, but I think they were penguins jumping in and out of the water.
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