Becoming a Shellback (Neptune Day), September 17, 2011

To become a “Shellback” one must cross the equator on a ship. This is a closely-guarded secret ritual (if anything is secret since Al Gore invented the Internet). The day started at 7:30 a.m. with a group of strangely-dressed people banging, shouting, and blowing whistles as they processed through the corridors. There was much satisfaction among the staff regarding the payback for the students who had spent the previous four days in Ghana staying up late and partying.

Later in the morning, virtually the entire ship gathered on the pool deck for the ritual initiation. This involves having fish guts dumped on your head, jumping into the cold swimming pool, kissing a dead fish, paying homage to her Highness Amphitrite and King Neptune, and finally being inducted as a Shellback with ceremonial (and, thankfully, optional) head-shaving by unskilled technicians wielding questionable clippers (think weedwackers). This is another great example of college students (both men and women) getting caught up in the moment as we now have a shipload of bad haircuts. The day was a strange mixture of the solemn and the ludicrous as we looked on at our distinguished Captain Jeremy dressed in little more than green paint and a grass skirt demanding that his subjects kiss his ring. (A few too many days at sea for our dear Captain?).

I think she's figured out that it's not a plastic fish!

It turned out that the timing of the induction ceremony was designed to fit the ship’s schedule. We did not actually cross the equator until 15:04 (3:04 p.m. in Pollywog-time, i.e. non-Shellback-time). We gathered the kids to commemorate the occasion and told them to look for the yellow line that is painted across the ocean to mark the equator. As we neared the equator Captain Jeremy alerted us to hold on because you often feel a “bump” as the ship passes over the equator. (What do they put in his coffee???) The kids didn’t buy it, but one of the adults asked Greg later in the day, quite seriously, whether he felt the ship lurch as we passed over the equator. The picture was taken at precisely the moment that we crossed the equator.

Ghana, September 13-16, 2011

We arrived at the port in Tema on the eastern outskirts of Accra on Tuesday, Sept. 13 after a six-day sail from Morocco. We were warmly welcomed with traditional African drumming and many vendors who set up shop outside the ship.

Last year Ghana had the world's fastest growing economy…

but we were overwhelmed by the poverty, traffic, and lack of sanitation. The Ghanaians are very friendly and have a wonderful spirit. We loved the food and we had an intense and wonderful experience

.

We left for an overnight excursion to Winneba, a small fishing village west of Accra. After a 3 hour drive we were greeted by the mayor and other community elders before heading to our hotel. 

That evening we were treated to a performance by the students at the local college. The singing, drumming, and dancing were fantastic.  The whole room was energized.

We love the leather hats – very cool

The next morning, we toured the local market and met the “Market Queen” who is responsible for settling disputes within the market. If you don’t abide by her decisions, you are banned from selling in the market for 2 months.  Check out the beautiful fabrics – the Ghanaians dress very colorfully.

After the market, we visited the fishing village. Very aromatic – if only our blog offered “scratch and sniff” technology, you could also enjoy the experience. Check out the colorful boats.

Here’s Lizzie and an SAS student, Chrissy, posing with some village kids we met. Chrissy’s paper says “Madase” which means “Thank you.”

We went back to the University for more dancing, drumming, and singing. The musicians and dancers put on a passionate performance.

As a token of gratitude for all of their performances, one of the SAS students got up and sang “Ave Maria” to the Ghanaians. We were moved that a college student would be willing and able to make such a public expression of gratitude.

Scott learns the Ghanaian handshake from one of the Ghanaian students

The next day we went on a tour of the Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles and dungeons.  These are just two of the many castles that were used as holding prisons for Africans who had been kidnapped by rival tribes and sold into slavery.

They were forced to walk hundreds of miles to the castles and held under horrific conditions before being forced onto slave ships bound for the New World… a very intense experience that we will never forget.

Here is the “Door of No Return” where slaves were forced to pass to board ships and never return.

This plaque makes a powerful statement.

We stopped for lunch at a beach-side resort and enjoyed local food, entrepreneurial vendors, and the beautiful setting.

Along the way we saw many interesting sights, including this intriguing sign.

On the last day we toured Tema and had lunch at a restaurant featuring West African food. We celebrated being on the Prime Meridian (exactly zero degrees longitude).

Scott and Lizzie literally have their left foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and their right in the Western Hemisphere.








As we left port, Lizzie celebrated her Ghana experience with a little drumming.

Next stop: Cape Town on September 23!

Morocco, September 3-6, 2011

Typical Moroccan village with a mosque

After being cleared on arrival in Morocco, we boarded a bus for a nomad camp in the desert, which begs the question, How would we find the nomad camp? Fortunately, our guides new just where to find them. We drove through the Casablanca and the Moroccan countryside, passing villages, olive groves and lots of rocky landscape. What does Morocco mean?... More rocks!

We eventually found our camels and were in for the ride of our lives. No one told us that the UP part was the most exciting. The camels rise first on their hind legs and you’d better be prepared. As much as we enjoyed our camels (actually dromedaries) we were ready to dismount after about a half hour.

Our camels took us to the nomad camp where we had a lunch of Moroccan food. Most of the meals included olives, vegetables, olives, lamb, and olives.

After lunch we walked to a Berber village where we were treated to traditional mint tea that was ceremoniously prepared while we looked on. Many of Berbers still follow traditional customs and are very fine artisans. 

On the way to the village we encountered a family whose children were riding a donkey. The clothing, rugs, and furnishing were very colorful.

On our return to camp, we were invited to participate in a game of donkey polo.  Watching people mount the donkeys was as much fun as watching the game. The donkeys didn't seem to understand the game and mostly stood around watching the silly Americans swat at a ball with a broom.

Lizzie caught a ride back to camp on a donkey

Our camp was laid out on an arrangement of Berber rugs covering a wide area. We had plenty of room to walk around and our tents were very comfortable with beds and plenty of warm blankets.

The dining and sitting area was set up with several "rooms," a covered dining area, a large open area, and a covered area with a bar. This is not your grandfather's nomad camp.

We didn't expect to have running water.

A Berber woman prepares bread for our evening meal

MUSIC

HUMOR

DANCE

The next day we began the trek to Marrakech. We passed many sheep herders and small villages, stopping again to visit a Berber home and drink more mint tea.

We arrived in Marrakech in the early evening and went straight to our hotel. After a long, hot, dusty day we were happy to be among the few people who had brought swim suits. Marrakech is a former imperial city and one of the most important traditional cities in Morocco with its medina (old walled city) and large souk (market), and beautiful mosque. It is crowded but retains much charm that makes it one of Morocco's premier destinations.

We had dinner at a traditional Moroccan restaurant in the marketplace. On the way we had views of the mosque and its minaret that towers over the city. Upon arrival at the market we attempted to follow our tour guide to the restaurant. We were startled by frantic screaming from one of the female college students. Lizzie and several others joined in creating quite a stir. Everyone calmed down once they realized that one of the monkey handlers had put his monkey on one of our students’ backs! Apparently, this is a common practice as the vendors hope that you will pay to be photographed with his monkey on your back!

While walking through the market, many of the female students received marriage offers. One young man offered Greg 3,000 million camels and a big house for one of the young women. Scott overheard this and wondered how many camels we could get for Lizzie. He said he was willing to settle for one-half a camel.

We were treated to another wonderful Moroccan dinner with olives… well you get the picture. The highlight of the evening was the belly dancer. While Scott may appear to be enjoying himself, he is probably thinking, How did I get myself into this position? and This is not how I envisioned my first dance!

The next morning we visited the souk in Marrakech. The sights, sounds, and smells were overwhelming. The market was filled with spices, fabrics, ceramics, and crowded with people. The souk was truly a maze of small streets and alleys with no obvious structure or pattern. It was easy to get lost and we were thankful that we were with a guide.

We visited a pharmacy that sold all matter of dried goods,seasonings, spices, and remedies for whatever ails you.

We finished with lunch in the big open marketplace where we saw snake charmers, monkey handlers, and a very colorful water vendor.

After lunch we boarded the bus for Casablanca. That evening we were ready to do something a little different (i.e. a meal without olives) so we went to a French restaurant.












The following day, our fourth and last in Morocco, we toured Casablanca. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Hassan II mosque. The mosque was built between 1986 and 1993 and is the world's second largest mosque. It can accommodate 25,000 worshipers inside and an additional 80,000 on the outside grounds. It is partially built over the Atlantic Ocean and has a roof that slides open to let in the sunlight. Its minaret is the world's tallest minaret at 210 meters.

Preparing to enter the mosque.

While lasting only four days, our visit to Morocco was a complete sensory overload with all of the different sights, sounds, smells, and foods. We were all struck with the strong sense of coming home to our ship and our little cabins after such an incredible experience. We're now settled into our school and other at-sea routines. We look forward to our arrival in Ghana on Tuesday, two days from now.

Greg and Louise