Monday, May 31, 2010
Somewhere in the Ionian...
Today was a picture perfect day as "Empire State VI" fell out of site of
land. We are now somewhere in the Ionian Sea.
The rumor I've heard is that we will be in sight of Greece tomorrow, but
we will be cruising up the coast, perhaps as far as Thessaloniki before
turning back south.
I must admit, I am looking forward to seeing Greece and hopefully many of
its islands before we finally get to Andros.
Now, as most of you know, at Andros there is to be a reception to which
the First Class (Seniors) will be attending. The plan, I've heard is to
bring our parties ashore using the lifeboats (my source on this may or may
not have been joking). I may or may not be going to this since the times
may conflict with library hours, but I'll try to obtain some pictures of
this event even if I don't go.
Speaking of photos, your pleas have been heard and I've been collecting
more daily life photos and photos of cadets. I I've apparently become so
well known among certain portions of the cadet population, that
individuals are coming up and giving compliments to me from their parents
or other land-based friends for "unbiased coverage." I of course always
ask if they want their photo taken, most immediately decline, but I had a
few takers. I still need to take photos of the messdeck. I might be
sending one of my work studies to go down there and take some photos of
the students in their natural habitat.
Now, please accept my thanks for taking the time to read this scribble,
and I am glad you are enjoying it, but as always, please remember...
*The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of SUNY
Maritime College, the Stephen B. Luce Library, or the State of New York in
general. This is a personal blog meant for personal dissemination.* :)
Let us continue.
Today my "alarm clock" went off at 9am as usual. I have found out just
how interrelated things are on a ship. If you recall, gentle reader,
maybe three weeks ago the ceiling over my bed decided to baptize me.
Well, as it turns out, all of this noise (which I thought was them
stripping and painting) is apparently *my* fault! They are merely
dilligently fixing the problem in the room above my bed. So, if I could
have dealt with sleeping in a "wet rack" then the noise pollution would
never have happened. If any of my workmates on the ship happen to read
this, please accept my apologies.
I also considered the concept of exercise today, and just how much
additional exercise I get on this ship. I took a formal count of the
number of steps from the library to my cabin and have come up with a grand
total of 203 steps of which 81 are stairs. I make the total trek several
times a day not to mention numerous other times that I go up and down
steps. So I feel justified, therefore, for any additional intake of
unhealthy (but delicious) calories. I need that fries and pizza to get me
through my daily commute!
In other news the library has transformed from the hottest place in the
ship to the coolest place (and I am not complaining). It's so comfortable
in here now that I have about 20 students all doing work. Most of them
are working on their navigation problems using the sight reduction tables
(do not ask me about how the tables work -- it is navigation alchemy).
With the email back up, moods about the ship have brightened considerably,
and most of the cadets, while looking doggedly tired are generally cheery,
and I haven't seen any stress out at all. Almost all the questions I have
now are people looking for stuff to do in Greece. Since we are coming in
on a Sunday, it won't cover a weekend, so the nightlife might be a bit
stilted -- but it is good in a way since it keeps the students out of
trouble. Tours are being arranged and I have been asked to give a little
port presentation before we debark so that should be fun since I like
giving presentations. The cadets seem to be appreciative of any
information they can get.
Anyway, that is all I have for tonight. I hope all is going well at home
and hopefully you'll be hearing from me tomorrow!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
Sunday, May 30, 2010
5/30/2010 The Strait of Messina
Happy Memorial Day Eve! And even happier now that email seems to be back..
The ship today went through the Strait of Messina and now we are in the
Ionian Sea. It was rather dramatic looking, since there is a wall of
mountains that suddenly drop into this patch of open water. I took some
pictures and it was somewhat hazy out, but I did get good views of Mount
Etna. I think it would have been nifty if it erupted but nobody seemed
to share this sentiment.
Everybody was excited to see Italy on the port side and Sicily on the
starboard although many of us wish we could have stopped even for half a
day for perhaps a fine glass of wine with music from the Godfather
playing.
I say the music from the Godfather because multiple people at different
locations on the decks seem to only know only one thing about Sicily: The
Godfather. This of course devolved into entire conversations about the
movie, but some of the older people also were talking about how the
Germans escaped from the Allies during World War II over the straits.
To celebrate this occasion and because it was Sunday at Sea, we had two of
those gluttonous barbecues. Yours truly in the two meals consumed: 1
hotdog 1 burger 2 porkchops 2 small steaks (they really were small)
assorted buns, some biscuits, corn, and pasta salad. This was washed down
with generous helpings of iced tea and lemonade all courtesy of
Chartwells. I am glad I managed to work out in the morning, but I think
we had a net gain of calories.
The cadets for the most part were lounging around, glad to have some time
off.
I closed the library for the morning and afternoon since during the last
Sunday at sea I had nobody come in. It is now 6:45 pm… err sorry 1845.
The day was mostly quiet for all hands, and I spent the bulk of it reading
this book, The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, by Mark Kurlansky
(who also authored such epics as Cod and Salt. It is a very entertaining
book that looks into the history of New York City through the eyes of the
oyster industry. What I found most disturbing is the realization that
oysters are the only live food westerners eat. I don’t think I can handle
eating an oyster now, but they used to be extremely popular.
Upon opening the library this evening, I had a rush of students who were
looking for books to read, but also I found out that our email was back
up! Apparently they jury-rigged some sort of device. I think I saw a
glimpse of the process. I had to drop off a paper in the Captain’s office
the other day, and these two cadets had these black boxes opened up with
all the wires hanging limply out. It was quite gruesome.
But if this solution takes (and holds), we should be resuming the daily
updates again.
The other good news is the DVD/VCR/Gordian knots of wires is solved. I
know play two TV's (starboard and portside) plus we are now piping it up
into the Officer's lounge. How was this solved? Our good engineering
faculty David Pulis switched one of our switches on the TV to A/V. Doh!
Fair Wind and Following Seas,
Joe
The ship today went through the Strait of Messina and now we are in the
Ionian Sea. It was rather dramatic looking, since there is a wall of
mountains that suddenly drop into this patch of open water. I took some
pictures and it was somewhat hazy out, but I did get good views of Mount
Etna. I think it would have been nifty if it erupted but nobody seemed
to share this sentiment.
Everybody was excited to see Italy on the port side and Sicily on the
starboard although many of us wish we could have stopped even for half a
day for perhaps a fine glass of wine with music from the Godfather
playing.
I say the music from the Godfather because multiple people at different
locations on the decks seem to only know only one thing about Sicily: The
Godfather. This of course devolved into entire conversations about the
movie, but some of the older people also were talking about how the
Germans escaped from the Allies during World War II over the straits.
To celebrate this occasion and because it was Sunday at Sea, we had two of
those gluttonous barbecues. Yours truly in the two meals consumed: 1
hotdog 1 burger 2 porkchops 2 small steaks (they really were small)
assorted buns, some biscuits, corn, and pasta salad. This was washed down
with generous helpings of iced tea and lemonade all courtesy of
Chartwells. I am glad I managed to work out in the morning, but I think
we had a net gain of calories.
The cadets for the most part were lounging around, glad to have some time
off.
I closed the library for the morning and afternoon since during the last
Sunday at sea I had nobody come in. It is now 6:45 pm… err sorry 1845.
The day was mostly quiet for all hands, and I spent the bulk of it reading
this book, The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, by Mark Kurlansky
(who also authored such epics as Cod and Salt. It is a very entertaining
book that looks into the history of New York City through the eyes of the
oyster industry. What I found most disturbing is the realization that
oysters are the only live food westerners eat. I don’t think I can handle
eating an oyster now, but they used to be extremely popular.
Upon opening the library this evening, I had a rush of students who were
looking for books to read, but also I found out that our email was back
up! Apparently they jury-rigged some sort of device. I think I saw a
glimpse of the process. I had to drop off a paper in the Captain’s office
the other day, and these two cadets had these black boxes opened up with
all the wires hanging limply out. It was quite gruesome.
But if this solution takes (and holds), we should be resuming the daily
updates again.
The other good news is the DVD/VCR/Gordian knots of wires is solved. I
know play two TV's (starboard and portside) plus we are now piping it up
into the Officer's lounge. How was this solved? Our good engineering
faculty David Pulis switched one of our switches on the TV to A/V. Doh!
Fair Wind and Following Seas,
Joe
5/29/2010 Clang Clang
Ever since I came aboard Empire State VI, I have not needed an alarm
clock. This is not because of some incredible biological clock that
always gets me up at the exact same hour, but because of a ship-wide alarm
clock known as the “cadets making noise at 9am.”
Typically, this noise starts off mildly with a hammer beating against
metal, but it slowly mounts until it becomes incessant. Then, when the
workers intuitively realize that the level of noise has not woken me up
yet, they bring out these machines – we can call them miniature
jackhammers since that is what they sound like – to which they proceed to
chip paint off of all surfaces providing for my listening pleasure a
metallic banging echo that pulses through my earplugs to assault the inner
workings of my ear.
It is highly unlikely that any human, unless deaf, can become used to this
kind of noise at that hour in the morning.
So what exactly are they doing? They are doing necessary, busy work,
where they are removing the old paint and rust before applying a new coat..
So last night we passed through the Straits of Bonifucio between Sardinia
and Corsica. It is a shame it wasn’t light out since I really wanted to
see them, but I did catch a glimpse of Sardinia earlier in the day.
Tomorrow we will pass through another strait, this one will be the Strait
of Messina which was considered perilous in ancient times because of its
rocks and whirlpools. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, “The strait
was greatly feared by sailors in antiquity, mainly because of the rocks
and whirlpools known as Scylla and Charybdis, personified as female
monsters in Greek mythology.” The time we will hit it will be about 1600
which should be around 10am EST.
Amazingly, this morning I walked into the library and it felt *cool* (and
I mean this in a thermometic sense). Apparently they stopped burning fuel
beneath my feet. This doesn’t quite make up for the loss of email,
however, and I’ve noticed that I have had considerably less visitors since
our systems went down the other day, so instead of have 150 cadets per
day, I am doing around 80 to 100. I do have this group of hardcore
library followers who like to come down here for the relative peace and
quiet. Invariably they show up in the evening and stay until I close, so
the chance of me sneaking out early is nil.
Tonight is definitely busy, with lots of students here and using the pubs
and sight reduction charts.
Also, I hate to say this since I might jinx myself but the seas have been
very calm. It is like there is no motion at all. We are also continuing
to do our leisurely cruise, and though I do not know quite how fast we are
going, I would say we are probably doing just about 8 to 10 knots.
That’s it for today!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
clock. This is not because of some incredible biological clock that
always gets me up at the exact same hour, but because of a ship-wide alarm
clock known as the “cadets making noise at 9am.”
Typically, this noise starts off mildly with a hammer beating against
metal, but it slowly mounts until it becomes incessant. Then, when the
workers intuitively realize that the level of noise has not woken me up
yet, they bring out these machines – we can call them miniature
jackhammers since that is what they sound like – to which they proceed to
chip paint off of all surfaces providing for my listening pleasure a
metallic banging echo that pulses through my earplugs to assault the inner
workings of my ear.
It is highly unlikely that any human, unless deaf, can become used to this
kind of noise at that hour in the morning.
So what exactly are they doing? They are doing necessary, busy work,
where they are removing the old paint and rust before applying a new coat..
So last night we passed through the Straits of Bonifucio between Sardinia
and Corsica. It is a shame it wasn’t light out since I really wanted to
see them, but I did catch a glimpse of Sardinia earlier in the day.
Tomorrow we will pass through another strait, this one will be the Strait
of Messina which was considered perilous in ancient times because of its
rocks and whirlpools. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, “The strait
was greatly feared by sailors in antiquity, mainly because of the rocks
and whirlpools known as Scylla and Charybdis, personified as female
monsters in Greek mythology.” The time we will hit it will be about 1600
which should be around 10am EST.
Amazingly, this morning I walked into the library and it felt *cool* (and
I mean this in a thermometic sense). Apparently they stopped burning fuel
beneath my feet. This doesn’t quite make up for the loss of email,
however, and I’ve noticed that I have had considerably less visitors since
our systems went down the other day, so instead of have 150 cadets per
day, I am doing around 80 to 100. I do have this group of hardcore
library followers who like to come down here for the relative peace and
quiet. Invariably they show up in the evening and stay until I close, so
the chance of me sneaking out early is nil.
Tonight is definitely busy, with lots of students here and using the pubs
and sight reduction charts.
Also, I hate to say this since I might jinx myself but the seas have been
very calm. It is like there is no motion at all. We are also continuing
to do our leisurely cruise, and though I do not know quite how fast we are
going, I would say we are probably doing just about 8 to 10 knots.
That’s it for today!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
5/28/2010 Sardinia to Starboard
Well, email is out and likely to continue to be out for a while. I’ll
still write up these entries and post them all upon our arrival to Greece
if email isn’t up by then.
I will admit that all hands are glum about our email problems. Apparently
the issue has to do with an “integrator” which fried. For myself, who is
used to getting emails and communicating that way, it is rather depressing
knowing that you are cut off and have no means of communication. For some
of the students, who have completely grown up with this technology, it is
even harder. Hopefully a message will be posted on the web site informing
people that we are down.
But since I’ve gotten into the habit of writing these daily blogs, I’m
going to continue to do so with the unlikely hope that somebody will read
the backlog. Today we saw the first drops of rain in about 2 weeks with a
passing shower, and the sea has been remarkably calm. Today, we also
passed through the Straits of Bonifacio, which separates the islands of
Sardinia and Corsica. I only saw Sardinia, and Corsica was out of sight,
so I guess these straits weren’t exactly as narrow as I envisioned.
The main deck has also taken on some sort of new odor, which can best be
described as rusty nails mixed with rotten eggs. I am not sure what the
source of this smell is, but it has permeated down into the hold. Yum.
Today, I had a visit from the ship’s doctor. This was not because I was
ill, but because he had borrowed the Avatar DVD which then subsequently
leapt out of its packaging and then became wedged behind a bulkhead. He
managed to retrieve it through the liberal use of a plastic wedge but was
worried about damage to it. So right now, I am playing it through with
the tv and sound turned off just to see if there are any problems.
The good Doctor’s visit then became more concerned with the functionality
of the TV’s in the cadet’s lounge You see, we have a rather complex (to
me at least), stereo and video system which consists of multiple wires
leading into a myriad of Gordion knots that go all about the ship. The
Doctor, needs to play training tapes for the students, so he wanted to
make sure our VCR was working.
The library has four VCR’s: One to play tapes, one to rewind tapes, one
to fast forward tapes, and one that eats tapes. The problem is making
sure you are using the correct VCR for the correct function. We now have
found that the VCR that plays tapes has inherited some of the
cannibalizing traits of the machine that eats tapes. I shall have to pray
to the VCR gods and probably need to sacrifice a tape or two (such as
Holyfield v. Tyson II) before I receive divine assurance that my other
tapes will be spared.
That’s all for today!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
5/27/2010 Radar and Recalibrations
3° 40.367' E by 39° 44.298' N. Course: 94° Speed: 8.9 knots
One of the most interesting aspects of being a landlubber aboard “Empire
State VI,” is that I am invited to areas of the ship to observe the cadets
at work. Last night, as an example, I was invited by one of the mates to
come up to the bridge at night.
Now I’ve been on the bridge before, but during the day – but this time I
got to see some of the very technical equipment they use to navigate the
vessel as well as the ship’s radar systems.
Now the first thing that impressed me about the bridge at midnight is that
there are no lights on aside from the diodes in the equipment. The reason
for this is similar to why one does not drive a car with their interior
lights on – it makes it much more difficult to see the outside.
While on the bridge, I was first introduced to the technical navigational
and GPS equipment they have. While their GPS equipment does not provide
vocal directions such as, “Turn starboard at the next reef.” The system
is incredibly intricate where the navigators lay in waypoints. In the
training ship, they also use paper charts to plot the ship’s course. They
use triple backup systems since this is an educational voyage, and safety
is paramount.
The mate then brought me over to a first class cadet who in a very
professional manner taught me about the radar systems that the ship uses.
The ship has two types of radar, one long range, and another that is short
range. Both of these are available through two monitors with a third
monitor of the outline of the land being shown. Their system also allows
them to home in on points, acquire pictures and information about ships
that appear in the radar such as the name of a ship, its dimensions, and
probably its make and model (to use automotive terminology). The cadet,
who has to instruct his lower classmen about the use of the radar systems,
had undoubtedly given these presentations multiple times.
Next I went over to one of those standing watch where we viewed
lighthouses and looked for objects along the horizon. This particular
cadet, who is a frequent library user, is right now in the midst of the
Horatio Hornblower series of novels which he is trying to finish by the
end of the cruise. He of course had several Napoleonic era jokes which
probably would not transfer well into an electronic medium. I did find
out at this time what a point is… A ‘point’ is about 15 degrees or so.
So if you say, 2 points off the port bow, then you mean about 30 degrees
to the front and left.
By the morning, we had left the island of Majorca behind and now we are
sitting and recalibrating the compasses in front of the island of Minorca..
The reason for this recalibration, I have been told, is because of
variations in the Earth’s magnetic field will sometimes offset the
compass, therefore the need to recalibrate it.
The weather has become hazy and hot and while I took some photos of
Minorca, I do not believe they will look very appealing since the haze
obscures the island somewhat.
In other news I have to admit my disappointment in finding out that there
is no window to the ocean in engineering. One of the engineers made a
joke about it and I believed him for maybe about 30 seconds before he
apologized and said it is a joke he usually plays on the cadets.
Personally, I think it would be cool to have a window into Jacques
Cousteau’s magical universe down in the hold!
One last thought as I munch on a midnight snack. Some people might wonder
why people gain weight at sea. The simple answer is free food in
unlimited quantities. After all, the best food is free food. For
example, I shut down the library at 11pm (excuse me, 2300). At that
point, I meander up the 72 steps from the hold to the officer mess deck
where one finds a wholesome selection of pizza, French fries, soda, nacho
chips (with cheese), cakes, pies, and puddings. The only think lacking in
this nutritional rainbow is anything green. Now, luckily, most of the
stuff is cold by the time I get up there, but still… cold pizza is
sometimes good. I am happy to report that my pastry abstinence is
continuing. You see, my girlfriend is a pastry chef so I have taken it
upon myself to avoid sweets since nothing is better than those delicacies
that she makes with her own hands. However, French fries aren’t pastry…
You almost wish the food was wretched so it would be easier not to stuff
yourself.
Anyway, that is all I have for today.
Ship email went down today indefinitely. I’ll still write these posts and
throw them all up when we get to Greece.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Lovely Majorca (or Islands that I Want to Go to but Can’t)
3° 5.172' E by 40° 2.688' N. Course: 270° Speed: 8.0 knots
Allow me an indulgence to express my annoyance at doing concentric circles
around lovely islands without any intention of stopping there. This
annoyance, while not as great as Atlantic Sea Disease, is more insidious
in its demoralizing and soul-sapping nature.
Majorca, which is the island we are circling now is a beautiful island and
according to one of the officers is a “really great port.” Of course he
thought I was joking when I asked him to pull over the ship so we can get
out, even for half a day….
With my plea not working, I am now given to looking at the island whenever
I come out of the hold (a.k.a. the library) and musing about it. I should
really try a hand at a poem… there is nothing quite so stirring to the
blood as a good nautical poem. Take Coleridge for example! OK, here we
go… *ahem*
AN ODE TO MAJORCA
Across the water I saw a port,
Its shiny town where one can cavort.
But no no no, we can’t go there,
There are drills to do while the weather’s fair.
Oh Majorca is said to be really great,
I’m sorry that we can’t be there and stay up late,
And do some Hanging out in the sun,
Because there is work to do and no time for fun.
Hmmm that’s about all I can do right now… I believe my librarian
colleague who is also a poet will be having convulsions when she reads
that (even more than you gentle reader). I know there is something to be
said for non-rhyming verse, but I think nautical poetry should have a good
canter to it.
Today was a great day for the library because there was a virus on the
computers in the computer lab. What *that* meant is that the library
computers gained a whole new fan base. I believe I’ve had about thirty
students today who didn’t know that the library existed but somehow
sniffed out the pheromone trail of email like an ant colony.
Of course this has created a waiting line of students to use the computer
which means that I had students borrowing all my tourist port guides for
Piraeus and Athens. This has been a serious distraction to my work of
making up port guides for them.
Right now, I am compiling a list of beaches that they can go to. I still
wonder about this… if you are going to be in Athens--on Classic Ground--
the land of Socrates, Thucydides, and Aristotle do you really want to
pretend you are on the Jersey Shore with Snookie and the Situation? (I
confess I’ve watched that show with the soul of a crack addict). Anyway,
I have a whole list of beaches here, and probably the most interesting is
one that is on this island that they would have to take a ferry to. I am
on the fence, however, about including this one since I am putting trust
in our youth to find their way there and back.
I also probably had one of my most interesting reference questions of the
day. I had a student looking for a Star Wars book. Now, as you know,
there are many strong opinions concerning Star Wars and especially the
newer crappier three movies (I am really unbiased I promise – the newer
movies objectively stink). Anyway, I get him our only Star Wars novel,
“Dark Force Rising” and as I check it out I couldn’t help but ask, “So do
you like the newer movies?” His response was an affirmative. I then say
that I need to buy the older ones and maybe show a Star Wars marathon to
which he responded, the older movies would be better if they redid them…
“you know, with more awesome special effects to make them more exciting..”
My stomach curdled at this iconoclast who wants to change what Lucas has
already changed. And if you don’t know what I am referring to please
Google: “Did Greedo shoot first?” Come on… its not the special effects
that makes something exciting, it’s the plot!
Enough of the pop culture… onto the weather…
Weather has been humid and growing hot. The seas, however, have been
especially calm as we do our concentric loops. Much to my dismay, one
of the yeoman told me she saw a DOLPHIN. I really have to have the bridge
alert me to these things.
All else seems quiet and peaceful today.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
P.S. A special note to the parents of Patrick Collins. He refused to
have his picture taken tonight, being not especially neat and trim and
just off duty, but he does wish to present his kindest hellos. He also
would like to present a most happy and felicitous birthday greetings to,
Ellen, his special somebody. Happy Birthday Ellen!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Wine Dark Sea
0° 17.89' E by 37° 37.175' N. Course: 55° Speed: 8.4 knots
So I lied. Today we fell out of sight of land and are now in the middle
of the giant salt puddle known as the Mediterranean Sea. Today nothing
really noteworthy happened (we haven’t met any Krakens, Sirens, or seen
the Clashing Rocks yet), but I did happen to have my first official
meeting with the Captain (in the Captain’s Office no less).
Though of course I had an unofficial meeting at about 11am this morning
when I found out that the rooms had cooled off enough where they could
pull the switch and turn the email on the hardwired computers back on.
There was much rejoicing.
So of course, being notified by the Captain’s Secretary that he wants to
see me made me wonder why? So I started ticking off possible reasons why
the Captain might be mad at me and I found that my paranoia knows no
reasonable bounds. What about that time I wore an eye patch and swung
from the upper decks? No that wasn’t me. Was it because I accidentally
tried to go through a restricted door and got chastised by the regiment
office? Hmmm nah, too petty of an incident. Was it because I left some
garbage outside the library that wasn’t particularly sorted? Hmmm.
Oh I know! It must be this blog! I must have written something so
libelously horrible that it got back to the Captain and now I was going to
be made to walk the plank (from whence I shall swim back to Spain).
Much to my own dismay I wasn’t in trouble. My paranoid side was
immediately disappointed. The Captain wanted to talk about some of the
content to put in my port guide for Greece.
I did find out some interesting tidbits about Greece though. There is
apparently going to be a three island tour offered, as well as a tour of
the Acropolis. All surrounding this will be two receptions. One when we
anchor at Andros, and then a huge reception on the ship on the night of
the 6th. Alumni and industry bigwigs will be there. In addition, once we
are in Piraeus we will be offering tours of the ship, etc.
I will formulate my own plans between then and there... I have plenty of
time.
Today, I have also found that the simplest of gestures can make you a
saint. I don’t mean making the sign of the crucifix either – I mean by a
simple magnanimous gesture of allowing a cadet to pick a movie that is
going to be played.
It was perhaps an hour ago that a student came in and asked for the movie
list. I immediately asked “why?” As everybody knows, no cadet is allowed
to ‘rent’ movies (stopping myself before I go on a vicious tangent about
the difference between renting and borrowing). Well, he wanted to make
some ‘suggestions.’ I said, sure… why not? After all, I am a benevolent
and charitable – I made sure to scribble down the cadet’s name just in
case this somehow boomeranged.
So he wanted to know if I had “Crazies.” Now there was probably about 20
various jokes I could have gotten off about that, but I guess being cooped
up in the hold of the ship for several hours at a time dulls your wits, so
I just said no. He finally found one he liked: Fight Club. Perfect. On
the list it goes. I am now officially the “nicest dude at Maritime.”
It’s too bad. I was really striving for the “Baddest Ass” title.
Speaking of dude, there is actually a rather interesting dichotomy of
address here. I’m either “sir” or “Mister” *or* I am “dude,” and “bro.”
I even got one or two calling me by my first name! What cheek! As for
the informal forms of address I am going to take it as flattery since I am
evidently so youthful looking, that I am mistaken for one of the cadets.
To counter this, and to assert my age, I have resolved to limit my shaving
to every *third* day just so I can flaunt my special status as being
immune from demerits. Man I’m such a bad ass…
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
-----
Special notice: I know many of you are too hip to read the old fashioned
way… but if you have paperbacks or books that you are planning to get rid
of, but you think could make good pleasure reading for our future
mariners, please get in touch with me and donate them. We’ll put them in
the ship’s library, where I can attest they will get used at least as much
as Jane Fonda’s Workout book.
So I lied. Today we fell out of sight of land and are now in the middle
of the giant salt puddle known as the Mediterranean Sea. Today nothing
really noteworthy happened (we haven’t met any Krakens, Sirens, or seen
the Clashing Rocks yet), but I did happen to have my first official
meeting with the Captain (in the Captain’s Office no less).
Though of course I had an unofficial meeting at about 11am this morning
when I found out that the rooms had cooled off enough where they could
pull the switch and turn the email on the hardwired computers back on.
There was much rejoicing.
So of course, being notified by the Captain’s Secretary that he wants to
see me made me wonder why? So I started ticking off possible reasons why
the Captain might be mad at me and I found that my paranoia knows no
reasonable bounds. What about that time I wore an eye patch and swung
from the upper decks? No that wasn’t me. Was it because I accidentally
tried to go through a restricted door and got chastised by the regiment
office? Hmmm nah, too petty of an incident. Was it because I left some
garbage outside the library that wasn’t particularly sorted? Hmmm.
Oh I know! It must be this blog! I must have written something so
libelously horrible that it got back to the Captain and now I was going to
be made to walk the plank (from whence I shall swim back to Spain).
Much to my own dismay I wasn’t in trouble. My paranoid side was
immediately disappointed. The Captain wanted to talk about some of the
content to put in my port guide for Greece.
I did find out some interesting tidbits about Greece though. There is
apparently going to be a three island tour offered, as well as a tour of
the Acropolis. All surrounding this will be two receptions. One when we
anchor at Andros, and then a huge reception on the ship on the night of
the 6th. Alumni and industry bigwigs will be there. In addition, once we
are in Piraeus we will be offering tours of the ship, etc.
I will formulate my own plans between then and there... I have plenty of
time.
Today, I have also found that the simplest of gestures can make you a
saint. I don’t mean making the sign of the crucifix either – I mean by a
simple magnanimous gesture of allowing a cadet to pick a movie that is
going to be played.
It was perhaps an hour ago that a student came in and asked for the movie
list. I immediately asked “why?” As everybody knows, no cadet is allowed
to ‘rent’ movies (stopping myself before I go on a vicious tangent about
the difference between renting and borrowing). Well, he wanted to make
some ‘suggestions.’ I said, sure… why not? After all, I am a benevolent
and charitable – I made sure to scribble down the cadet’s name just in
case this somehow boomeranged.
So he wanted to know if I had “Crazies.” Now there was probably about 20
various jokes I could have gotten off about that, but I guess being cooped
up in the hold of the ship for several hours at a time dulls your wits, so
I just said no. He finally found one he liked: Fight Club. Perfect. On
the list it goes. I am now officially the “nicest dude at Maritime.”
It’s too bad. I was really striving for the “Baddest Ass” title.
Speaking of dude, there is actually a rather interesting dichotomy of
address here. I’m either “sir” or “Mister” *or* I am “dude,” and “bro.”
I even got one or two calling me by my first name! What cheek! As for
the informal forms of address I am going to take it as flattery since I am
evidently so youthful looking, that I am mistaken for one of the cadets.
To counter this, and to assert my age, I have resolved to limit my shaving
to every *third* day just so I can flaunt my special status as being
immune from demerits. Man I’m such a bad ass…
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
-----
Special notice: I know many of you are too hip to read the old fashioned
way… but if you have paperbacks or books that you are planning to get rid
of, but you think could make good pleasure reading for our future
mariners, please get in touch with me and donate them. We’ll put them in
the ship’s library, where I can attest they will get used at least as much
as Jane Fonda’s Workout book.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Odyssey of “Empire State VI”
3° 9.496' W by 36° 21.027' N. Course: 92° Speed: 11.8 knots
I think this post is going to be a bit disjointed since I’ll be covering
several topics in some sort of odd circuitous route that probably only
makes sense to the writer. Also I wrote it through the course of the day..
Anyway, I hope you will forgive me, since I believe I am readjusting to
being on the ship all the time again.
We are back at sea and going nowhere. By that I mean that we have moved
the ship about 5-10 miles away from Malaga (very clearly in view) and are
at anchor while we do drills (they even lowered the lifeboats today). To
people like myself, this is particularly frustrating because my gut is
telling me – why did I get on the ship if we are just going to sit here?
Malaga is now mocking me with the only method to get back to terra firma
being one which employs the doggy paddle or breast stroke.
Of course this is a training ship, and the purpose of this steel machine…
this mechanized conveyance of cadets and officers... this ship is to
*train* not to convey me from port to port as quickly as possible. If we
were to just go full steam ahead to Greece, it would probably take us only
a couple of days or so to get there. “Empire State VI,” much like
Odysseus, is going to take a long and leisurely route before we finally
raise the Hellenic lands. This scenic tour of the Mediterranean is going
to test the navigation and piloting skills of cadets… particularly when we
encounter the Sirens and the Clashing Rocks.
To me, up to this point, the whole trip was really focused on crossing the
Atlantic and getting to Spain. Now that Spain is over, it is not so much
anti-climatic, but perhaps a bit dysphoric since our journey is not even a
third done for me, and hardly begun for those staying on for the full
three months.
The plan, from what I have gathered, is to sail through and among the
Balearic islands, and then between the islands of Corsica and Sardinia to
see the Island of Montecristo. From there, we go through the Strait of
Messina and then after a quick dip in the Adriatic we enter the Aegean.
The problem with this of course is that I cannot get off to explore these
islands and locales! On June 5th, we are due to anchor off the island of
Andros, where we will most likely engage in the highly nautical art of
“bunkering” which means refueling.
An interesting factoid about fuel. One of the cadets informed me that
when we fill the tank at the beginning of the trip, it costs well over
$1,000,000. As we proceed, we burn approximately 1 barrel of oil per
hour.
I am also apparently gaining a little following and the word has leaked
out to the cadets about this blog (thank you mothers and fathers of
maritime). Last night, as I was coming back to the ship, the cadet on
guard duty by the gates (his last name is Collins), informed me that his
mother informed him about the existence of this blog and that his mother
would like a picture at some point. Well Mrs. Collins, if I run into your
son again, I will certainly do so, he seemed like a friendly,
well-mannered young man (but perhaps this was because he was in formal
uniform). I have been trying to take more surreptitious photographs of
our cadets and I got a few during the lifeboat drills. I’ll post these
and other photos when we get to Greece.
So email is currently down in the lab and the library, so any
communication has to be done with a wireless computer on the upper decks.
Hopefully we can get fully functioning email restored soon. I believe
that it was shut off because of overheating (which I can personally attest
to), in the computer lab. There has of course been much weeping and
gnashing of teeth by the students.
Now for the good news – it is finally cooling off in here (resolutely
knock on wood here). It is still hot, but at least I’m not sweating
anymore! I bought a little magnet thermometer in Spain, and I think it is
a bit off. It is showing 92 F and 35 C, but it doesn’t feel over 90 for
sure -- or maybe I'm just used to it now. Magnet is cute though. It is
of a bull –what tourist is not going to go to Spain and get some cheesy
bull-themed trinket? Suggested names for the bull magnet will be
accepted.
Speaking of bulls, I understood some of the cadets saw a bullfight
yesterday outside of Malaga. My roommate ended up going, but he said it
was sort of like the triple-A league of bullfighting since all the good
bullfighters were in another part of the country for a festival. Also,
the bulls were relatively young. If that is the case, then that is a
shame, because a good bullfight is very impressive to see, while a bad
bullfight is awful to watch. I had one opportunity to see a bullfight the
last time I was in Spain which had both good bullfighting and bad
bullfighting, so there is a big difference. In the good bullfight, you
see that the matador has complete control of the bull, while in a bad
bullfight the opposite is the case.
Ok, sorry about the tangent there.
Today I worked out the movies that I am going to show between here and
Greece. We have quite a lineup including such classics as… “G.I. Joe:
The Rise of Cobra,” “Top Gun,” “Airplane,” and of course “Animal House.”
I also have a film on Greece that I am going to show them a few days
before we get to port.
Speaking of movies, we nearly had a riot tonight as I couldn’t get the TV
to play the movie (no screen was coming up). These kids are already irate
about the email, so the last thing I wanted was the TV to explode.
Luckily it turned out to be a loose wire and Mr. Ross our IT cadet fixed
it. That was my panic-moment for the day which of course made me wonder
why I just didn’t look back there myself.
That's it for today!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A Day at the Alhambra
Last night, I ended up hanging out by the Malaga Catedral and had some beer and food while relaxing by a garden. I love how Spanish culture is so laid back. Nothing great or extraordinary happened, it was just very relaxing. I called it a fairly early night, coming back at 2300 since we had the great Alhambra tour the next morning.
For the tour, we mustered at 7:30 on the dock and at 8:00 we were prompty picked up by the bus and our tour guide, Hernando. As we drove through the country, we learned many interesting, and useless factoids about Spain, such as how they grow asparaguses, peaches, and how Iberian ham is superior to other ham. I promptly put on Johnny Cash and Elvis when he started getting into how the Spanish prepare trout. It was a bit too early in the day for trout.
Our destination was the fabled Alhambra, the citadel of the last Moorish kingdom of Spain. Our tour guide was a man named Frederico who was fluent in about four languages. His erudition really impressed the cadets and crew that were on the tour, but even more impressive was the Alhambra itself. I was actually surprised that the normal apathy of our students was overwhelmed by the beauty of this complex. Photos are at the bottom of this post -- I tried to also take some surreptitious photographs of the cadets in case any of the maritime affliliated readers know them. They are in no particular order. This is just a selection of numerous photos I took since the uploading time is taking me well over an hour!
Anyway.... After wandering through the Alhambra in a nickel and dime tour (we only had 2.5 hours), we were sped off on a bus where our friend Hernando returned to provide us with fun and innocuous details of Granada as we sped through a penny and farthing tour of the city. By this time, it was 1:30 in the afternoon and we were all hungry. We had a free lunch with the tour and they knowing what Americans like, brought us to a buffet at a hotel! There we ate ham, paella, potatoes, steak, and other food that only mix well together when you are hungry. Apparently, Hernando thought it was important for us to completely absorb Spanish culture which meant eating late.
We gorged and I feel muy gordo. I know tonight there are a number of cadets seeing a bullfight, and they seem excited about the prospect. Most of them seem in good spirits although one commented to me he can´t wait to get to Greece because it is closer to Dublin and then closer home, so there definitely is some homesickness. Also, the cadets don´t know what to buy for their girlfriends or for themselves, which I found interesting. I just told them buy something you think she´d like. I´m not sure what sort of crafts Andalucia is known for, but I did tell them in Greece they should buy marble and vases for their loved ones. Anyway, tonight, all hands must be back by 2400 and we sail at 0800 so this will be the last batch of images until Greece. Hopefully, the email situation will be running smooth so I can stay in contact.
Incidentally, the funniest thing just happened. As I was sitting here in the internet cafe, typing this out, a cadet came in and logged into Facebook and what should I see but one of the pictures I took! This is the one of the Empire State VI from the Alcazaba. How weird! Anyway, I chatted with the student for a couple of minutes, but duh, I didn´t get his name!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
A ceiling of the Alhambra
For the tour, we mustered at 7:30 on the dock and at 8:00 we were prompty picked up by the bus and our tour guide, Hernando. As we drove through the country, we learned many interesting, and useless factoids about Spain, such as how they grow asparaguses, peaches, and how Iberian ham is superior to other ham. I promptly put on Johnny Cash and Elvis when he started getting into how the Spanish prepare trout. It was a bit too early in the day for trout.
Our destination was the fabled Alhambra, the citadel of the last Moorish kingdom of Spain. Our tour guide was a man named Frederico who was fluent in about four languages. His erudition really impressed the cadets and crew that were on the tour, but even more impressive was the Alhambra itself. I was actually surprised that the normal apathy of our students was overwhelmed by the beauty of this complex. Photos are at the bottom of this post -- I tried to also take some surreptitious photographs of the cadets in case any of the maritime affliliated readers know them. They are in no particular order. This is just a selection of numerous photos I took since the uploading time is taking me well over an hour!
Anyway.... After wandering through the Alhambra in a nickel and dime tour (we only had 2.5 hours), we were sped off on a bus where our friend Hernando returned to provide us with fun and innocuous details of Granada as we sped through a penny and farthing tour of the city. By this time, it was 1:30 in the afternoon and we were all hungry. We had a free lunch with the tour and they knowing what Americans like, brought us to a buffet at a hotel! There we ate ham, paella, potatoes, steak, and other food that only mix well together when you are hungry. Apparently, Hernando thought it was important for us to completely absorb Spanish culture which meant eating late.
We gorged and I feel muy gordo. I know tonight there are a number of cadets seeing a bullfight, and they seem excited about the prospect. Most of them seem in good spirits although one commented to me he can´t wait to get to Greece because it is closer to Dublin and then closer home, so there definitely is some homesickness. Also, the cadets don´t know what to buy for their girlfriends or for themselves, which I found interesting. I just told them buy something you think she´d like. I´m not sure what sort of crafts Andalucia is known for, but I did tell them in Greece they should buy marble and vases for their loved ones. Anyway, tonight, all hands must be back by 2400 and we sail at 0800 so this will be the last batch of images until Greece. Hopefully, the email situation will be running smooth so I can stay in contact.
Incidentally, the funniest thing just happened. As I was sitting here in the internet cafe, typing this out, a cadet came in and logged into Facebook and what should I see but one of the pictures I took! This is the one of the Empire State VI from the Alcazaba. How weird! Anyway, I chatted with the student for a couple of minutes, but duh, I didn´t get his name!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
A ceiling of the Alhambra
Bonus Photo: The Cathedral at Malaga
The Alhambra
The Alhambra
Alhambra - Generalife Gardens
Frederico our tour guide with rapt cadets and crew
Me at the Alhambra
Photos from Ronda
Me in Mondragon Palace, Ronda
Ronda´s Gates
A view
Mondragon Palace, Ronda
Yours truly by the Bridge of Ronda
Ronda´s ¨New Bridge¨it spans a deep gorge.
Another view of the Bridge
View of Ronda
Ronda, a Town on a cliff
A view from Ronda
Saturday, May 22, 2010
A Day Trip to Ronda
Today I decided to strike out on my own and go on a little Spanish adventure. The place I decided to travel to was the town of Ronda, which is the largest of the white hill towns of Andalucia. The day, luckily, was without incident and I´m glad I went on the outing by myself.
But before I get to Ronda, let me pick up the thread from last night where I went out for a night on the town with Tim the Weatherman. The most interesting part, aside from exploring the random streets, is just how much our ship has invaded the town. As we wandered around to find a pub, we kept on running into gaggles of cadets all of whom know Tim. Personally, I think Tim and I made a rather incongruous couple, but a night out was good.
Of course, we happened to find the only ¨Irish¨ pub in Malaga so we had to stop in. Tim offered to sing Irish songs and dance, but they politely declined as I shuttled him out. This was the beginning of the evening.
We then proceeded to the heart of the historic district where we found a catedral. Near there we planted ourselves for a couple of hours at a table as people passed by. About every five minutes or so we would see groups of cadets who would salute Tim. The librarian apparently gets no salue. But Tim´s from NOAA so he shouldn´t get one either... bah... they just like him better because of his ebullient personality mingled with his gregarious Kris Kringle look.
Anyway, we headed back to the ship just as all the cadets who were on liberty were coming back. I believe they found it funny that two of the officers were walking back with them. As I said, it is about a mile and a half walk from the entrance of the port to the ship itself, so we got to hear plenty of stories that while I would love to share them with you, would probably be best not to consign to written word. Sorry!
On to Ronda!
If you ever get a chance to go to Spain, go to Ronda. The scenery alone is gorgeous. Ronda is the largest in a series of fortified towns in the mountains and probably the most awesome in its location being set upon a gorge that is crossed by a cliff. The town itself was about an hour and a half bus ride out of Malaga and it goes straight up into the winding hills. This town is known as the birthplace of modern bullfighting, an inspiration for Hemmingway, and also where Orson Welles had his ashes scattered (random fact). Pictures of this will be forthcoming, I promise.
I spent a great part of the day in the town, wandering the streets, hanging out on the bridge over the gorge, and buying a present for Michelle (local artist) when at 1500 (3pm to civilians), I went to call Michelle. Of course I didn´t realize that siesta was still a heavily followed custom in Spain, thinking it was as passe as bell bottoms, but all the locuterias (internet/phone cafes) were closed till at least 1600. So I passed the time at a local cafe enjoying assorted fried fish (which included anchovies!) and a couple of local beers until it was time. I made my call and proceeded to la estacion del autobuses.
To demonstrate the serendipity of travel, or perhaps the fact that Ronda is well touristed during the day, as I waited for the bus, I overheard an Irish man, and a Korean gentlemen speaking in ENGLISH! With my cup overflowing with my limited Spanish, such as... ¨¿Lo siento, no hablo espanol, habla Ingles?¨ or ¨¿Donde esta el bano?¨ I immediately gravitated toward them and struck up a conversation. It is funny to see how that happens overseas.
In anycase, it was meant to be because not only did they speak ENGLISH, but both of them separately took Kung Fu! We spent the trip talking about the differences between various martial arts with of course an exposition into the different animal styles... I mean, come on... we all know that Drunken Leopard style *is* the best style.
As it turns out, the Irish guy lives in Dublin, so we exchanged information, so I may be meeting him again in Dublin. The Korean was on his honeymoon (his wife didn´t speak English) -- and not to sound overly gossipy, but he got married after three months! He did seem a bit nervous.
So anyway, the trip back was without incident and I made my way to the internet cafe to do a post. I also put in a call to mom, who was too busy to talk to her son because she was taking dance lessons. I see how it is.
Tomorrow, I´m off with the tour to Granada which will be a full day outing and then back to the biblioteca.
Vientos justos y mares de siguiente,
Jose
But before I get to Ronda, let me pick up the thread from last night where I went out for a night on the town with Tim the Weatherman. The most interesting part, aside from exploring the random streets, is just how much our ship has invaded the town. As we wandered around to find a pub, we kept on running into gaggles of cadets all of whom know Tim. Personally, I think Tim and I made a rather incongruous couple, but a night out was good.
Of course, we happened to find the only ¨Irish¨ pub in Malaga so we had to stop in. Tim offered to sing Irish songs and dance, but they politely declined as I shuttled him out. This was the beginning of the evening.
We then proceeded to the heart of the historic district where we found a catedral. Near there we planted ourselves for a couple of hours at a table as people passed by. About every five minutes or so we would see groups of cadets who would salute Tim. The librarian apparently gets no salue. But Tim´s from NOAA so he shouldn´t get one either... bah... they just like him better because of his ebullient personality mingled with his gregarious Kris Kringle look.
Anyway, we headed back to the ship just as all the cadets who were on liberty were coming back. I believe they found it funny that two of the officers were walking back with them. As I said, it is about a mile and a half walk from the entrance of the port to the ship itself, so we got to hear plenty of stories that while I would love to share them with you, would probably be best not to consign to written word. Sorry!
On to Ronda!
If you ever get a chance to go to Spain, go to Ronda. The scenery alone is gorgeous. Ronda is the largest in a series of fortified towns in the mountains and probably the most awesome in its location being set upon a gorge that is crossed by a cliff. The town itself was about an hour and a half bus ride out of Malaga and it goes straight up into the winding hills. This town is known as the birthplace of modern bullfighting, an inspiration for Hemmingway, and also where Orson Welles had his ashes scattered (random fact). Pictures of this will be forthcoming, I promise.
I spent a great part of the day in the town, wandering the streets, hanging out on the bridge over the gorge, and buying a present for Michelle (local artist) when at 1500 (3pm to civilians), I went to call Michelle. Of course I didn´t realize that siesta was still a heavily followed custom in Spain, thinking it was as passe as bell bottoms, but all the locuterias (internet/phone cafes) were closed till at least 1600. So I passed the time at a local cafe enjoying assorted fried fish (which included anchovies!) and a couple of local beers until it was time. I made my call and proceeded to la estacion del autobuses.
To demonstrate the serendipity of travel, or perhaps the fact that Ronda is well touristed during the day, as I waited for the bus, I overheard an Irish man, and a Korean gentlemen speaking in ENGLISH! With my cup overflowing with my limited Spanish, such as... ¨¿Lo siento, no hablo espanol, habla Ingles?¨ or ¨¿Donde esta el bano?¨ I immediately gravitated toward them and struck up a conversation. It is funny to see how that happens overseas.
In anycase, it was meant to be because not only did they speak ENGLISH, but both of them separately took Kung Fu! We spent the trip talking about the differences between various martial arts with of course an exposition into the different animal styles... I mean, come on... we all know that Drunken Leopard style *is* the best style.
As it turns out, the Irish guy lives in Dublin, so we exchanged information, so I may be meeting him again in Dublin. The Korean was on his honeymoon (his wife didn´t speak English) -- and not to sound overly gossipy, but he got married after three months! He did seem a bit nervous.
So anyway, the trip back was without incident and I made my way to the internet cafe to do a post. I also put in a call to mom, who was too busy to talk to her son because she was taking dance lessons. I see how it is.
Tomorrow, I´m off with the tour to Granada which will be a full day outing and then back to the biblioteca.
Vientos justos y mares de siguiente,
Jose
Friday, May 21, 2010
Liberty in Malaga
So here I am back in an internet cafe. It is about 7pm local time in Malaga and I´ve gone out with Tim the Weatherman who needs to check his bank accounts. Since I have time to kill, I will do a little post.
After coming into Malaga, the inspection went well and liberty was granted starting at around 1030am or so. I of course made a blunder of assuming that liberty was granted before it was really given, so I wandered off the ship, marched over to the gate, only to be promptly called back. OOPS. Honestly, I wasn´t that eager to get off the ship. A rather landlubberly embarrassment!
Apparently, one needs a liberty card to leave and exit the vessel. I´m very happy to have my ticket to freedom right here in my pocket.
Students have been let out in waves, and no matter where I went today, I kept bumping into some. They are roaming the town in packs, the majority of which, are mostly clueless as to what to do. There were also clearly posted signs all over the ship that they were not allowed to rent any motor vehicle. GOOD advice.
I did a random walk through the town (very windy and warrenlike) and decided to go to the Alcazaba and the Castille de Gibrafalo. Both of these are Moorish ruins that provide excellent views of the town. The Castille, is at the top of mountain, and like an idiot I decided that I would attempt to walk it rather than taking the bus. It´s a good thing I needed the exercise, as that it was a harsher hike than Mao´s Long March. It was worth it though and I took many photos of the views.
However, I don´t want this to devolve into a travelogue, since they are necessarily dull unless you are the one actually doing the travelling. The point is that I AM ON LAND... or Terra Firma to the ancients. It is rather nice to be wandering among civilians who I can barely communicate with. I of course do know the phrase, ´´Me gusta bibliotecas´´ will come in handy.
As it stands, they cancelled one of tours to Granada (the Friday one), mostly because of the late start. They rebooked all those people for Saturday or Sunday.
I have already been back and forth to the ship, the ship is moored perhaps a mile and a half away from the main city but once you are in the city, everything is in close proximity to each other. On the way back out with Tim, he noticed that many of our shipmates were sunburned and he advised them to put cider vinegar on it. I´ve never heard of this home remedy before.
That´s it for now. I have to decide what to do for tomorrow. I think I might be doing an outing to one of the towns nearby.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
After coming into Malaga, the inspection went well and liberty was granted starting at around 1030am or so. I of course made a blunder of assuming that liberty was granted before it was really given, so I wandered off the ship, marched over to the gate, only to be promptly called back. OOPS. Honestly, I wasn´t that eager to get off the ship. A rather landlubberly embarrassment!
Apparently, one needs a liberty card to leave and exit the vessel. I´m very happy to have my ticket to freedom right here in my pocket.
Students have been let out in waves, and no matter where I went today, I kept bumping into some. They are roaming the town in packs, the majority of which, are mostly clueless as to what to do. There were also clearly posted signs all over the ship that they were not allowed to rent any motor vehicle. GOOD advice.
I did a random walk through the town (very windy and warrenlike) and decided to go to the Alcazaba and the Castille de Gibrafalo. Both of these are Moorish ruins that provide excellent views of the town. The Castille, is at the top of mountain, and like an idiot I decided that I would attempt to walk it rather than taking the bus. It´s a good thing I needed the exercise, as that it was a harsher hike than Mao´s Long March. It was worth it though and I took many photos of the views.
However, I don´t want this to devolve into a travelogue, since they are necessarily dull unless you are the one actually doing the travelling. The point is that I AM ON LAND... or Terra Firma to the ancients. It is rather nice to be wandering among civilians who I can barely communicate with. I of course do know the phrase, ´´Me gusta bibliotecas´´ will come in handy.
As it stands, they cancelled one of tours to Granada (the Friday one), mostly because of the late start. They rebooked all those people for Saturday or Sunday.
I have already been back and forth to the ship, the ship is moored perhaps a mile and a half away from the main city but once you are in the city, everything is in close proximity to each other. On the way back out with Tim, he noticed that many of our shipmates were sunburned and he advised them to put cider vinegar on it. I´ve never heard of this home remedy before.
That´s it for now. I have to decide what to do for tomorrow. I think I might be doing an outing to one of the towns nearby.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
Comments about photos
Just a quick note since I am almost out of time on the internet. The photos are in no particular order since I don´t have enough time to arrange them, but I put on those of the most general interest.
We are safe and sound in Malaga, and I´ve been touring around all day. The castle photos are from a Moorish ruin that is in the city.
I´ll probably post a full entry either tomorrow or Sunday.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe
Photo Time Part 1
The Azores
A Barbecue at Sea
Castillo Gibrafalo in Malaga
me at aforesaid castle
Cadets learning how to tie knots
A view of Malaga from Castillo Gibralfo
The Alcazaba of Malaga
Me Departing
A look down as they prepare to raise the gangplank at Fort Schuyler.
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