Santa Marta, Columbia

Today we were docked in Santa Marta, Columbia! I only have one picture, which I will upload sometime when I am ashore and have better internet, but if I wait to write about day it will never get done.

The view in Santa Marta was unbelievable. From the ship I could see mountains on one side and the city skyline on the other. I went into town with my friends Claire and Jonathon. The town itself was a bit dirty and, like most ports, vendors lined the streets with “souvenirs.” Once we got a few streets in it was better. We walked by a nice park and a beautiful old Catholic church which I wanted to investigate but we passed it with the intention of returning and could never find it again. We ended up at a coffee shop call Juan Valdez Cafe. Cliché, I know, but Claire said it was really good. The others got coffee, then we just hung out for a while and eventually a ton of other crew members showed up.

Okay, so it wasn't the most exciting day in Columbia, but it was enjoyable just to explore. If I ever come back to Santa Marta I will take an excursion so I can see more of the area.

Dutch

I have decided that I am going to learn to speak Dutch. Why, you may ask? Well, I don't really have a good reason except I want to learn a foreign language and last night I was surrounded by five native Dutch speakers and the idea just occurred to me and it seemed like a good idea. I mean, it's not as useful in the US as Spanish, but it might be just unique enough to set me apart.

I need to figure out how I am actually going to learn. My friend Mac (who is American and does not speak Dutch) suggested I just “hock up a cat.” My friend Claire has now taken to randomly switching to Dutch while speaking to me and has told several others to do the same. Claire and I were walking back to the ship today when we ran into a couple of others and they only spoke Dutch the rest of the way back because they found it amusing. I actually followed a little bit. I mean, I certainly did not know a lot, but I think they were talking about popcorn. That's a useful thing to understand.

I am being serious about wanting to learn. I learned a couple of words today including the word for cookie and an expression of frustration. I would write the words on here, but I have no idea how to spell them. I work with enough Dutch people that I think I could get some help and it would be useful to know. Stay tuned for updates!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from somewhere between the Bahamas and Columbia! The seas are smooth and the view from my office is beautiful. Okay, it's just water in every direction but it is still beautiful. While we are on the subject, it is a little different to see only water for two days because I was never far from land in Alaska and never had more than one sea day in a row. Anyways, e water was beautiful today because the color kept changing. The sun this morning made it light blue but the afternoon clouds turned it to a deep topaz. This job is teaching me that one can see beauty anywhere, you just have to take the time to notice it. I am so grateful that the Lord created such a beautiful world for us to enjoy.

HAL is really good about taking care of their crew, so they had a special luncheon for the American crew members (about 30 of us) this afternoon. I am grateful to work for a company that cares. We enjoyed a terriyaki turkey appetizer, lentil soup, turkey with stuffing, vegetables, and candied yams, pumpkin pie, and wine (everyone else enjoyed wine, I enjoyed a nice glass of ginger ale). It was so nice to have time to sit and enjoy a meal in the dining room with just my friends and coworkers. I am hoping, however, that the Lido has more pumpkin pie at dinner.

I hope you all have as nice a holiday as I had!

Back to Work

After two and a half months off I start work again in the morning. Alaska was great, but I always look forward to new adventures and I am excited to head to the Panama Canal, South America, Hawaii, and French Polynesia on the Rotterdam. Although I will be working with many new people, I have several friends who will be on the ship. I will try really hard to update more often this contract; I might have more to post because I will not be repeating the same itinerary every week. On the other hand, it might be harder to update because I'll probably want to explore the ports instead of sitting in an internet cafe.

My adventures for this contract have already started. I saw Mario Lopez while I was waiting for the hotel shuttle at the Miami airport this afternoon; I was no more than twenty feet away from him. My childish, "Saved By The Bell"-loving side wanted to take a picture, my adult side thought that might be obnoxious and rude. My adult side won, but it still made me smile.

I look forward to sharing the many adventures of South America and the Pacific. In case I have never mentioned it, my job rocks!