at sea, and shipboard life

At sea there are sunsets. Perhaps the sunrises are equally spectacular, but I really don't from direct observation except for the mornings when we enter a new port when I do rise early.

Fact (that we all know from school but forget until experiencing it): at the Equator the sun rises and sets at about 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. all year long.

Tugboats

As we enter and leave the ports, there are always tugboats and, of course, the speedy boats that deliver and take back the Pilot from each harbor. I enjoy a great fascination with these harbor craft .... and would perhaps enjoy a ride-along some time in the future.

One morning while crossing the Atlantic we passed by the Azores Islands.

Long ago when I was first aware of my father flying to Europe for meetings he told me of stopping mid-way across the Atlantic to refuel the airplane. At that time, he brought me a hand-crafted doll from the Azores.

Occasionally we view a ship in the distance but generally we simply see ocean, ocean, ocean.

Refueling at Las Palma Island of the Canary Island archipelago took about 6 hours.

The MV Explorer is our vessel for Semester at Sea. On this Fall 2010 voyage there are 610 students, 35 Faculty, 30-40 Staff, 63 LifeLong Learners, 28 dependent children, and almost 200 wonderful Crew! In addition to the many different cabins, we have a Computer Center, a Library, a small medical facility, an outdoor basketball/volleyball court, a swimming and sunbathing deck, several workout facilities, two large dining rooms, 9 classrooms, and of course, the Purser's Desk which is the administrative center of the ship.

Magnolia

Cabin 4075 is called Magnolia. Spatious, with abundant built-in storage, it is bright with a large window overlooking the starboard side. Cheerful Cabin Steward Joel is teaching me greetings in his Phillippino language.

Absentee Ballots and Voting

Fifteen of us got together to witness and sign our respective absentee ballots for Charlottesville City and Albemarle County's fall election.

Teaching Drawing and Collage on the MV Explorer is challenging and interesting. The (not studio art) teaching rooms are packed with students and their art supplies - not to mention the challenge of creating art as the ship rolls and pitches! It's all fun!

Dean David gives a powerpoint lecture on Archbishop Desmond Tutu's award for lifetime achievement in African affairs which he just received in Ghana from King Tutu, King of the Ashanti and 19 other lesser Kings plus the VP of Ghana and numerous elected officials.

Archbishop Tutu and his wife are traveling with Fall 2010 Semester at Sea for the duration of the voyage. This is a vacation and step toward his retirement from world affairs, and he will celebrate his 80th birthday during the voyage. The Archbishop and wife Leah regularly associate and dine with students and faculty and he gives occasional lectures and is a guest in some of the classes on board. What a wonderful person he is!

Explorer Series

Many evenings at 8 p.m. Interport Lecturers, Faculty, or Staff with special knowledge topics speak in The Union for the optional Explorer Series lectures. Here Mary and Jim Davidson, both former career Secret Service Agents, speak of life in the Secret Service guarding the President, investigating counterfeit money, training, and more.

Neptune Day

Jovial ceremonies to initiate all the when crossing the Equator. First the 'polywogs' are doused with yucky fish water, then they jump into the pool. Each must 'kiss a fish', kiss King Neptune's ring, and be approved by the Queen. Many have their head's shaved for this initiation. Note Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs. Tutu happily watch the proceedings.

...and then GHANA

National pride is high: Ghana won the World Cup in soccer!

Traditional Kinte cloth is hand woven in specific patterns such as "The End of Knowledge" and is used by the Ghanaians for holidays and festivities. The pieces of cloth are bestowed at specific ceremonies of passage and are subsequently passed from generation to generation.

Ghana is a country of positive energy and broad smiles. The streets and roadways are bustling with market life and daily life. Ghanaians eagerly describe their tribal and regional customs and naming traditions. Everyone, but especially women, bare heavy burdens on their heads. At the same time a woman may have a baby bound to their backs. The markets are noisy, smelly, aromatic, curious, and intense.

At Kakum National Park in Ghana among the forest elephants and monkeys (though we did not see any) the Ghanaians have constructed a thrilling tourist attraction in the Canopy Walk. Frankly, I felt the experience was toocompressed because of the pouring down rain and the urge to hurry along the walkway because others were following, and admittedly, because of nervousness about both the height above the treetops and the wiggle-wobble of the rope walkway. Anyway, drenchednd dripping, we emerged too soon at the end of the 7-section treetop suspended walkway.

Along the beautiful coast of Ghana were 63 castles and forts where 12 to 20 million Africans were held in terrible cells and dungeons for weeks before they were transported to the Americas as slaves. After 1492, the slave trade was taken over from the Arabs successively by the Portuguese, the British, and the Dutch who built these castles and forts - which were later also operated by the Swedes and the Danes. The slave trade prospered for several hundred years ending after 1807 when the British first outlawed the slave trade. Viewing the dank and dark dungeons with the 'doors of no return' is sobering, emotional, and difficult. So many millions of people were forcefully migrated to the Americas through these dark and musty walls.

Melvin left the beauty and the smiles and the smells and the noise and the strangeness and the friendliness of Ghana for a ..l.o.n.g.. trip home to Virginia.

mysterious Morocco

The Moroccan sun is strong and steady in September, heating a dusty, dry landscape.

One sees a few Moroccan women who are open, with western attire and friendly smiles, and some who seem closed, with averted eyes and full traditional Islamic covering, sometimes including the entire face. The men of Morocco are active and public in their practice of Islam – and are otherwise busy with marketing goods and services including haggling for prices as well as philosophizing.

The bustling coastal cities of Casablanca and Rabat are white, while the inland cities range from a soft cream color to Moroccan red, depending on the soils and clays of the region.

Morocco is a country of walls, walled gardens, hidden residences, and ancient city walls around the old medinas. Public and private buildings have central courtyards with geared glass ceilings that are open to the sky except during the winter rains.

Palaces from the 12^th century and later are ornately patterned, painted, and stuccoed– similar to the Moorish ornamentation in southern Spain due to the 7+ centuries when Arabs occupied that region. Very beautiful to behold, especially for an artist who has used patterns and geometry in art for so many years!

Said, our driver made everything work! Not only did he fetch Melvin from the Casablanca airport, but he got him through the customs and port authority, which was no easy piece. We drove 4 hours to Fes for 2 days, 10 hours to Marrakech for 2 more days, and completed the triangle with a 3 hour drive back to Casablanca where we visited the huge and lovely Hassan II mosque before returning to the port for another go-round with the port officials.