these are our work study students - an, lindsay, erika, erica, and roxanne. tomorrow is erika's birthday (picture taken at library b-day party/staff meeting) and the day we arrive in bahia. the energy level on the ship prior to a port day is quite high. combine that with the fact that today was the first big exam day, and carnaval is going on, you can imagine the vibe around here. i had no exams, am not planning to do a high energy carnaval, but after seven days at sea, i'm longing for solid ground again, and am packed and ready to get off this ship for a few days. we'll be docked in salvador for five days and four nights, before heading to cape town. it will be another another long haul, 8 days.i'm the trip leader for a s@s field program to boipeba island. fourteen of us, 12 students, myself, and one other staff person, will be staying at the beautiful pousada santa clara for three nights, hiking, exploring the local village, hanging out on the pristine beaches, and learning about the local ecosystems, and economies. the journey to the island will also be an experience. it includes a bus trip, ferry ride, and riverboat ride. apparently, there are no cars on the island, and all people and goods arrive via riverboat. the island is an environmental preservation area. our local trip leader, and proprietor of pousada santa clara is charles, a former new yorker and a friend of my friend harriet who many of you have met, and who i talk often of.
well it's ten minutes to closing. i need a good nights sleep tonight because i want to be up when we pull into port at 7am. i tried in san juan, but couldn't get up. one nice thing about living in the ship ghetto is that there is less activity/noise. students apparently are nocturnal beings. the latest i've gone to bed was about 12:30, and there are students all over the place at that hour. one morning, after the library opened, a student was looking for a book he thought he left in the library at 3am that morning. the dining hall, by popular demand, has started serving a 10pm snack, tiny sandwiches, desserts and coffee. they were lined up at 9:30. did i mention how nosy they are too. regardless, they are fun to watch and even hang out with, which is good because they out number faculty and staff considerably. on neptune day (no classes) they make this clear. more on this later.
