Marrakech

A couple of days ago we left our home in Andalucía, Spain to start our next adventure - in Morocco!  We were all very excited to have a foot on a new continent: AFRICA! It was, for a bunch of us, our baptism into the African territory. Indeed, all students and faculty members were eager to experience its fascinating cultures and traditions, to discover its historical roots and, mostly, to get to know its people. Although our pre-established plan of travelling onboard our floating home for this branch of the voyage fell to pieces, we were able to cross the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry, thus arriving in Morocco five days ahead of the original schedule! Some of us were a little disappointed by that news, but, eh, if there’s a great thing that we could draw from our experiences this past month, it is that sometimes letting go of your expectations and stepping out of your comfort zone can lead you to delightful surprises and unforgettable memories. Besides, where is the excitement in travelling if you don't challenge yourself and have the occasional, spontaneous change of plans?

Plan C: Let’s go to Marrakesh by bus!!

19.10.16

Several days ago we awoke to a majestic double rainbow all the way across the sky. We have gone canyoning, hiking, and have explored some of the cities of southern Spain such as Seville and La Ronda. La Ronda has a huge bridge in the middle of the place that connects the two parts of the town (they are separated by a cliff). It’s called the “Holy S**t Bridge” because when you walk over it you, it’s so beautiful that it makes you want to yell “Holy S**t”! While in La Ronda I went to McDonalds 3 times. In Seville we went to very nice dinner show and got to see some really impressive Spanish dancing. We are staying in a nice hostel in the mountains of southern Spain, and from the front door you can see for miles. Right in front of us each day is a landscape made up of mountains and tiny villages that are more than 4000 years old.

Clothes, both clean and dirty alike were shoved into sail bags as we packed with anticipation for our two-week adventure to Spain. After a delicious last lunch from our beloved cook Lily, we boarded our coach ready for our new adventure. After a few hours, we stopped to gorge ourselves on a mixture of delicious Spanish foods and good old-fashioned road trip snacks. As the sun set, we started to head up the mountainside, our huge bus lurching from side to side as we snaked our way up the winding roads. At 10 pm, a mere nine hours after we left, we finally made it to the UNEDCO Pavilion, our new home. That first night all we saw was our pillows, but the next morning we awoke to the stunning beauty of the Spanish country side. Our first breakfast was still in darkness but as we gathered for our daily morning muster, the sun started to peak its head over the mountainside, smiling down upon our drowsy faces. Our dorm is located on the top of the hill overlooking the beautiful valley of Algodonales Spain, and the nearby town of La Muela. A large area located just north of the Strait of Gibraltar, Algodonales is of the southern most points of Europe, and a breeding ground for a vulture community that roams the sky day and night. Along with the vultures, paragliders roam the skies every evening taking advantage of the ever present warm air.

Class A-Coach Goes to Southern Spain

When the bus rolled up on the pier, the feelings were wide-spread: on one hand everyone seemed to be stoked to spend two weeks in the Spanish countryside but on the other hand it was weird to leave the Gulden Leeuw behind along with the crew who we all had become very fond of. The ship has become our home after all.

EXPLORING LISBON 

Ship Life: Life On-Board the Gulden Leeuw

I wondered for a long time what to write about to tell you about what our lives are like in this program and I’ve decided to show you what a normal day on the ship is like. I will talk you through an average day from the time we wake up (well hardly wake up!) to the best moment of our day: BED TIME. Okay let’s start.

Our time on St. Helena was an adventure and half for the Crew when we dropped anchor near this special English island situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 4000 people, it is famously known as the place the British imprisoned Napoleon from 1815 until his death in 1821.

With an early 4 am wakeup call this morning, January 18, its not surprising that our energy level was as dim as the light outside. Despite this, we set out on our first step of the expedition on a bus that brought us to the starting point of our hike. Once we arrived, people were much more lively after recognizing just what it was they were doing and were quite excited. At the start of our climb the light was still low and the path barely visible but some crafty students brought along their headlamps to help guide them until the sun began to rise about 30 minutes into our hike. On the way up, some students began with a slow and steady pace, taking their time with many breaks in between and others moved more briskly, eager to reach the top. The higher we went up the mountain the more breathtaking the view of Cape Town.