Tenerife, Canary Islands

November 10, 2012 – November 14, 2012

Departure day from Morocco was a long one, reminding us that Class Afloat is more than just camel rides and desert sunsets; it is a crazy, challenging journey. We spent the entire day on deck doing sail manoeuvers, bracing and wearing (turning away from the wind with the sails) and I went aloft to help take in three sails. It was a lot of work and I only got about an hour break before I had to begin night watch which is now from 8pm-10pm for me. We were all exhausted! After a tiring watch though, the night ended well with the first Crêpes Afloat night of 2012-2013! We had been trying to have it for so long, but rough seas hadn’t yet allowed us to. The crêpe night was a success and we made and sold crêpes to the crew. Yum!

The sail to the Canary Islands was short, but we did get to do some actually sailing! I got to go up to the t’gallant (short for top gallant, the second yard from the top) for the first time! I admit I was a little scared as it was the highest I’ve ever been on the ship, but the weather and the view from up there were beautiful and I actually really enjoyed it. As I was climbing down the shrouds (sort of like a ladder to climb up and down) we saw dolphins just off the starboard side where I was climbing! 

After what seemed like almost no time at all we arrived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. 

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Our first full day in port was Remembrance Day and we had a short ceremony just before colours, playing the Last Post as the ship’s flags were raised. After that it was time to leave on a port program. We loaded up on to buses (so used to it now after Class Acoach!) and drove about an hour to El Teide, the highest mountain in Spain (the Canary Islands are part of Spain). What is really special about the park is the landscape; people say that it is like another planet and they are not exaggerating. As we entered the park the bus driver blasted Star Wars theme music on the speaker system. Part of a Star Wars movie was actually filmed there! We went for a hike through what looked to be Mars (or how one might imagine Mars to look). We walked by the base of the mountain through incredible reddish-coloured rock formations. There were so really neat igneous intrusive rocks, so they were formed as the magma cooled inside the volcano (Teide is a volcano). We stopped for lunch up high on some rocks by a large formation called the Cathedral with Teide behind us. 

On the hike

El Teide and the Sea of Clouds

The hiking trails were really nice and well-kept and I really enjoyed the hike. After the hike we got back on the bus again. We were driving above the clouds and could look out over them at what was called the Sea of Clouds! We got back to the ship and...surprise! Mail had arrived! Lots of people got letters and cards from their parents and it was so nice and lots of fun to open! We left for shore leave after that, and went to a real man-food restaurant – 1 metre of ribs! Better be hungry!

 The next day was another port program day – surfing! We left Santa Cruz and drove to another city where we had shore leave until 4pm when we had a surf lesson. During shore leave we were walking around looking for a place to eat lunch when we came across a Subway! Don’t get me wrong, I love trying local restaurants, but I think we all miss home a little bit so it was nice to have something so familiar for once. It was exactly what we needed! After lunch and gelato it was time to go surfing! We went to the surf shop where we got wetsuits and boards and met Lynn, the awesome, super friendly and fun instructor. We walked down to the rocky beach and as we waded out we got a little pummeled by waves (the waves were pretty big for a beginner surf lesson). Lynn led us to a better part of the water to learn to surf, and we had a blast! Lynn was really helpful and by the end of the lesson almost everybody had learned to stand up on the board by themselves! I wasn’t very good since I was just learning, but it was still so much fun! Smiling and sticky with salt water we boarded the bus and returned to the ship for the night after one of the best port programs ever!

Our surf group

Surfing!

Next came provision day. As we have quickly learned, when it comes to provisions, the question is not whether or not they will arrive late, but rather by how much. They were supposed to get trucked in at 9:00, but after half an hour of standing around waiting, we got a call saying that they wouldn’t arrive until that afternoon. So we were given shore leave until then and shopped around the downtown area of Santa Cruz. The port has been really relaxing after Morocco which was fun, but so different. Here, things are a lot more like they are at home, and also unlike Morocco, everything you want (good food and wifi!) are only a short walk to the ship. After a short shore leave we returned to the ship for provisioning and had to wait again for the food to get there, then for customs to clear it all so we could finally bring it on to the ship! How stressful; at least we won’t be provisioning again until Brazil!

The next day, November 14^th, was supposed to be departure day. However, we had problems with a generator on board and had to wait for new parts, which couldn’t be delivered due to a protest in the city! We were on shore leave for the day, shopping in a store, when we could hear people shutting and they closed the store (with us in it!) as a huge crowd marched by, banging on the door! Then, when it came time to return to the ship that evening it took so long since we had to make our way against a seemingly endless stream of people protesting! Back at the ship we got permission from the First Officer to go aloft. I had never before been in the rigging at night, and to be honest I was a little nervous, so I wanted to do it while in port when the ship would be hardly moving and there would be lots of light. It wasn’t really scary at all, and from up high we could see the constant flow of people marching past on the main road; it was so loud and I’ve never seen anything like it! The protest was over by the next morning so we were able to get what we needed and head begin our week-long sail to Dakar, Senegal.

Morocco

October 27, 2012 – November 07, 2012

The sail took only four days, but they were some pretty rough days. We had midterms for the first three days, but I finished at noon on the third day. The weather was okay until (no exaggeration here) less than an hour after I wrote my last midterm. We then faced gale force winds, the ship was pitching like crazy and there were headwinds of up to 50 knots! We weren’t allowed on the main deck so night watch took place on the aft deck, and I had to be harnessed in for lookout. It was raining and I could hardly see and at one point a huge wave came up and slapped me in the face! Only a few people got seasick though (not me for once) and even the captain said he was surprised. It seems we might finally be getting used to the motion of the ocean!

Due to the bad weather we were a day behind schedule coming into Morocco. We were supposed to come alongside on Halloween, but finally arrived on November 1^st. My first time in Africa! Once we arrived we spent a while a customs before we were allowed on shore leave. The port is so massive that it took half an hour to walk to the gate to catch a taxi. We did eventually make it out to supper then came back to the ship for a Halloween dance! We put up decorations and got to have the dance on the main deck since we were in port!

On November 2^nd we left on the port program that we had all been waiting for! We got up really early (5:45am cleaning stations) and were split into two groups. I was in the first group and we got on a bus and drove for the day. At one point we drove through a valley where the hills were covered in Argan trees, which is where the nuts for Argan oil come from. We stopped in a bunch of small towns on our drive. In one town, many of us bought turbans to wear on our adventure in the Sahara desert! Our next stop was for a short hike through on oasis. We walked past corn fields, and farmers’ fields along a path lined with palm trees with mountains behind us; it was so pretty! 

Hike through the oasis

We then kept driving again until we got to Zagora, a city where we spent our first night in a small hotel. For supper we had tajine, one of Morocco’s national dishes which is cooked in a unique pottery dish that is sort of triangle shaped. 

Tajine

The next morning we had some shore leave time that we spent walking around Zagora before driving to a pottery cooperative in Taragout. They showed us how the pottery was made and I got to try using the pottery wheel! You have to spin in with your foot while forming the clay with your hands. It was so hard to do! We got to buy pottery too; there were so many beautiful things! The real challenge will be getting them home unbroken…

The pottery wheel

Pottery at the co-op

When we left the pottery co-op we drove to where our camel trip would begin! We met up with the other group that we had left the day before and we rode camels into the Sahara Desert. There were only enough camels for half of us (finding 60 camels would be a real challenge!) so we took turns riding and walking. Walking was really nice and we took our shoes off and walked barefoot through the orange sand. Riding the camels however was a really neat experience, though a little uncomfortable. Needless to say everyone was a little sore the next day. I ended up on a camel for a really long time because our camp turned out to be quite far into the desert, farther than Class Afloat has ever gone before! We were actually only 3km from Algeria by the time we reached the camp. 

Riding camels

Sunset in the Sahara

Since we had to go out so far we didn’t get to sit and watch the sunset. Once it got dark though, the stars came out, and since the moon wasn’t out yet, you could see so many! It was incredible! We had a night of good food (tajine again), a bonfire, dancing, and sleeping in a super cool Moroccan tent, and we got up early the next morning to watch the sunrise. We sat and watched the sun come up over the dunes, and did yoga (sun salutations) in the sand. It was amazing!! It was then time to leave on our camels, much too soon for our liking! We took camels and then jeeps out of the desert, having spent a great night in the Sahara. 

Moroccan tent

Jumping off the dunes

Yoga at sunrise

We got back on the bus and drove, making a couple of stops; one at a market and one to play soccer with some Moroccan kids. :) We spent the last night of our port program at a hotel in Taliouini. The next morning, the 5^th of November (remember, remember, the fifth of November – for all of you V for Vendetta fans) we had breakfast at the hotel, which included some delicious, fresh-squeezed Moroccan orange juice, then headed off on a hike. On the hike we waded across shallow rivers with rainbow rocks, passed a saffron plantation where we learnt about the spice (the most expensive in the world), and walked all the way to a caspa, which is a castle like building at the end. 

On the hike

Walking across the river

Once we finished the hike we returned to the hotel where we ate the most delicious tajine for lunch! Yum! It had chicken and tomatoes and egg on top and was served with really good bread (like every meal we had in Morocco). We left directly after lunch and drove back to the ship in Agadir.

On November 6^th we had a full day of shore leave. My shore leave group spent the day at a huge indoor market where we bartered for all kinds of neat things. It was a great day that ended with a nice supper before returning to the ship to get ready for our early morning departure the next day, November 7^th.