Give way to the space shuttle!


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January 3rd 2008
Published: January 3rd 2008
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Hey again everyone!

In this entry I'm going to try to briefly conclude my experiences over the last month since I wrote you the last time... Since this is a little too large task to handle I'll try to tell you about the most exciting moments!

Crossing the Atlantic ocean for a third time in my 24 year long life was great! It took us 13 days to SAIL from the Cape Verde Islands to the Salvation Islands in French Guyana. It feels great to say that we actually sailed all the way and even though we had some rain the weather Gods were kind to us! I also had the honor of beeing named Lucia, which was a fantastic experience since we have many talented musicians and singers aboard the ship and I actually managed to get some x-mas feelings!

Every day is much like the other when your out sailing for such a long time as two weeks, but every day still brought something new! One of the most incredible events during the trip was giving way for a space shuttle that they shot up from the European Space Centre in French Guyana. We had to change our course not to get in its way and when the time for departure came everyone were very excited! I though, toghether with some in the crew, that it would be a real anti-climax, but once it came I quickly understood this to be one of the coolest sights ever!

After avoiding the help rockets from the space shuttle we arrived to the Salvation Islands. They are a small archipelago outside French Guyana were the French used to transfer prisoners from France, for example the famous Papillon. Here we spent Christmas and enjoyed the islands with thousands of palm trees, monkeys that ate out of your hand and so much history.

We then took a two day trip to Paramaribo, Suriname where I am at the moment. I started the time here with being on watch for three days as half of the crew and students went on an expedition to the rain forest. On watch we did a lot of maintenance work, paint jobs, emptied 3 weeks of garbage (less exciting really...) and stored food for the rest of the trip. Then it was time for new year! I can tell you guys one thing: They surley know how to celebrate here! When we arrived on the 27th they had already started shooting fireworks and when the clock stroke 12 on new years it was absolutely crazy! A magnificent experience... I also did Dinner for one (Grevinnan och betjanten) together with Knut who is the second officer aboard and it really seemed as the students enjoyed that one!

After new years it was time for us to go on the jungle tour! And what a tour it was, it had it all! First we took a 5 hours bus tour into the darkest jungle (really close to where The Phantom lives I think...) and when the road ended we jumped over to the waiting canoes. They took us to our camp on an island which were made out of small, really simple, cottages just by the river where you could swim (toghether with pirayas and crocodiles😉). We went on trips on foot into the jungle, went canoing even more, visited a village and did REAL river rafting. That entails putting on a life jacket and just swimming down the stream with currents so strong that you didn't have a chance to go in another direction! What an experience, a real adrenaline rush! An experience really close to nature, I loved it!

This was just a briiief conclusion on life aboard for now. Bjorn, a guy in the crew, is making a film about the trip, a film I'm going to show everyone interested when I get home! Otherwise life is treating me in the best kind of way, who am I to complain really?

Love to you all!


Additional photos below
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Huts on Kwai kwaiHuts on Kwai kwai
Huts on Kwai kwai

During our tour in the rain forest we stayed in these huts on the island of Kwai kwai
Company in the hut!Company in the hut!
Company in the hut!

The rain forest was filled with dangerous animals such as this Tarentula, Caymans (type of crocodile) or snakes...


4th January 2008

Fy 17 va nice det låter!
Hej Gumman! God fortsättning på dig. Det låter som att du fick ett toppenslut på 2007. Här hemma i Öre har det kommit massor med snö och det är jättemysigt men måste medge att jag inte hade sagt nej till att vara med dig nu. Passa på och njut- tiden går ju så fort när man har roligt! Saknar dig, ta hand om dig, Kramar Konku7
16th January 2008

vad händer?
Tjena syrran, inte mycket till uppdatering här inte, vad händer ute i världen?

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