Only 3 More Days!


Advertisement
Bahamas' flag
Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Nassau
August 25th 2005
Published: August 25th 2005
Edit Blog Post

Only 4 more nights sleeping in my own bed and only 3 more days to sleep in! My flight Monday morning is direct from Newark, NJ to Nassau, Bahamas. I take off at 8:50am, but I have to be there hours in advance and we live 2 hours away so I guess I'll be getting up around 4:00am! Yikes! At least I'll be in the Bahamas by 12:30pm.

I'm staying at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island for the night with a bunch of other SASers. I figured this is the trip of a lifetime, why not start it off at a five star resort? I also figured that before too long I would be spending the night in a little hotel somewhere in Brazil where I have to remember not to drink the water. Oh the fun!

When in port we have the option on going on a variety of SAS sponsored trips or travelling and doing our own thing. I decided that for the first port, Venezuela, I would do a bunch of SAS day trips to get used to foriegn travelling, to make friends quick and because they sounded really cool! (Some of this suff is right from the SAS website, so it's pretty detailed, and a little boring, but I just wanted to give you an idea of the kind of travelling I'll be doing!

So here's what I'm planning on for Venezuela:

Day 1: Grand Introduction to Caracas

Caracas is the largest Latin American metropolis in the Caribbean. Here the new nudges the old into the background; modern buildings and developments outnumber the old colonial residences. First visit the Pantheon, where Simon Bolivar and many other Venezuelan notables are interred. This interesting building has beautiful frescoes with themes of the independence war. The entire central nave is dedicated to Bolivar, with the altar’s place taken by the hero’s bronze sarcophagus, while lesser luminaries are relegated to the aisles. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit Quinta Anauco, a manor from colonial times that houses the Museum of Colonial Art. You will get a sense of the lifestyle of the landowners during colonial times as you walk through the various rooms of this unique house. For many, the highlight of this practicum will be the twenty-minute ascent via a modern lift to Mount Avila at an altitude of 2,250 meters.

Day 2: Coastal Explorer Adventure

Participants will board four-wheel-drive vehicles at the harbor and then proceed along the coast past the towns of Macuto and Caraballeda to Los Caracas. There the paved road narrows and ascends the mountains and descends into the valleys that form the coast as far as Cabo Codera. The trip goes past the fishing villages of Osma, Oripoto, Todasana and La Sabana. La Sabana is a quaint village inhabited exclusively by fishermen, local farmers and their families. The ride to La Sabana lasts over two hours, and during that time, you will see the rugged coast formed by ravines that drop into the ocean, and rocks that come out of the sea. You will also witness the forest of the coastal range. There will be time for swimming in the ocean at La Sabana and in a natural river pool where water cascades from the mountains. Lunch will consist mainly of fish and salad. This trip will give you the opportunity to see part of the Venezuelan interior while learning about a way of living that is quite different from that of the cities.

Day 3: Newsroom Visit with Journalists

We will meet Miss Yaemi Vargas, who is on staff at El Nacional newspaper in Caracas. We will take a tour of the newsroom, meet working journalists, and watch a press run. We will learn about the legal and ethical issues facing Venezuelan journalists as well as the mechanical underpinnings of their craft. Discussions will also tackle such items as where stories come from (speeches, news releases, observation, mining a beat.) From this practicum, we will gain a better understanding of mass media’s role in the world after learning about the limitations placed on these journalists by the government. President Chavez recently passes ordinances to prohibit “violent” news from being published or broadcast. Some journalists see this as censorship. There will also be an opportunity to discuss what is news, whether everything should be reported, and appropriate timing of a story.

Day 4: Rancho Cloud Forest

Travel from La Guaira to the valleys for Aragua. During the ride, the mountains surrounding the capital, sugar cane plantation and sites that have played an important part in the Venezuelan independence epic will be seen. After a three-hour ride, arrive at the city of Maracay and then begin the ascent to Rancho Grande Cloud Forest which was renamed Henri Pittier National Park in 1953 to honor the Swiss botanist who classified 30,000 Venezuelan plants and promoted that national park system. The park’s astonishing biodiversity results from varied topography which nurtures a variety of ecosystems ranging from mangrove swamps to cloud forest. It is one of the tropical sites most visited by scientists due to its great variety of plant and animal life. The drive takes you from the sunlit savanna into the dark, moist forest. Once in the cool environment of the cloud forest, you arrive at the 50-year-old building used by naturalists in their studies. This is the beginning of the interpretive visit to the park. During the walk on the path, you will closely examine the dominant tree species, the Gyranthera caribensis, with its buttresses and long trunks that reach up to 60 meters. The myriad of plants and insects, combined with the lights and colors of the rain forest, will make an unforgettable impression. After your walk, lunch will be served in an open air section. Lunch will consist of salad, chicken, corn meal and tropical fruit. During your stay at the station, scientists from the nearby natural science and veterinary schools of the university in Maracay will explain in detail the workings of this ecosystem.

It sounds like a lot, and it is. I am very excited to get to know people and to do independent travel, but these programs sounded really interesting to me, and were probably more than I would be able to do myself being that it is the first port. I've also signed up for a few more SAS trips so far (we can still sign up for more when we're on the ship.)

In Brazil I'll be doing the Overnight to Praia Do Forte:

Praia do Forte is a small fishing village located 50 kilometers north of Salvador, along a wild and pristine coast called "The Coconut Highway." The village takes its name from a castle built in 1552 by the Portuguese settler, Garcia D'Avila. The dramatic ruins still stand today and offer a panoramic view of the Northeastern coast. Praia do Forte is also the home to the national center for the Marine Turtle Research and Preservation Project, which opened in 1980 with funding from the World Wildlife Fund. The project's primary objective is to protect the Brazilian sea turtle population in areas with significant nesting, by curtailing poaching of eggs and adult turtles, and by establishing protected hatcheries.

In Kenya I'll be doing the Four Day Camping Safari to Maasai Mara and I'll write more about that one when I go on it!

Then I've also signed up for a trip to Inle Lake in Myanmar.

The prime attraction of the Shan state is Inle Lake. This vast, picturesque lake, surrounded by hazy blue mountains, is 900 meters above sea level. The lake is 22 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide with hosting islands. Inle Lake is famous for its Inthas (native lake-dwellers) who have a unique way of rowing with their legs. At the northern end of the lake is a small town called Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to Inle Lake.

It's a 3 day trip with lots of exciting stops, so i'll write more about it later on.

I find it amusing that of the 8 countries we're going to the US has issued travel advisories for only 2 the same 2 that I've selected trips that require air travel in...oh my.

I know that is a lot of information, but I wanted to give ya a taste for what I will be doing! A week from Saturday and I'll be in Venezuela...yippee! Check back in a few weeks to see how I'm doing!


Advertisement



26th August 2005

hey
hey there sugar. i figure this is the only way ill be able to keep in touch with you, but atleast its something. but hey, i just figured i would leave you a comment to say good luck and have an awesome trip.

Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0456s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb