With only about 8 hours until we hit the port of Hilo, Hawaii, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with the half-a-day we had in Ensenada, Mexico. This is not a port I thought we would have a chance to explore as we were only docked there for a little while and we needed to plan as the students (all 630 of them) arrived the next day. However, being the explorers that we are, the staff of the ship made the most of our time.
We woke up in Ensenada and spent the entire day in training - getting the building ready, organizing things, finding out the logistics of getting 630 students on board without any significant problems. Finally, at around 2100 (9:00pm), a group of about 10 of us decided we wanted a taste of Mexico. We left the ship in search of some traditional Mexican fare - chips, queso, tacos, and maybe even a margarita. After about 30 minutes of exploring and asking the locals for some advice, we finally settled on a small restaurant. We sat down and ordered lots of drinks and chips and spent the next hour chatting with each other about our lives back in the United States. The servers at the restaurant did their best to entertain us, bringing out funky wigs and prancing around the restaurant, and inviting everyone to take pictures with them. We were, of course, in an excited, celebratory mood, so we were happy to oblige them in their shenanigans.
After an hour or so, we all agreed that we should probably head back to the ship. It was getting late and we needed to be up early to make final arrangements for the students. A few of us decided that we would go for a run the next morning (training for a half-marathon in South Africa, remember). I begrudgingly agreed to go on the run although I thought to myself as my head hit the pillow that there was probably no way I'd be up at 0630 (6:30am) as I am not a morning person.
To everyone's surprise, including my own, I managed to wake up and meet my fellow runners on the gangway. We jogged out of the port and did a 3.5 mile run throughout the city. As we were running, a few things went through my mind:
After breakfast was over, the rest of the day flew by! We went through the process of gettin students onto the ship with only a few hiccups. Before you knew it, the ship was moving and we were beginning our six day voyage to the first port - Hilo, Hawaii!
And now, here we are, we arrive in Hilo tomorrow morning around 0800. I plan to be up at 0700 to see us sail into the harbor. It should be a beautiful site! I'm definitely excited about land but even more excited that this adventure has started off so well!
So, give me a few days to explore Hawaii and I promise I will give you an update - this time with a few pictures!!
Thanks for reading and you'll hear from me soon!
We woke up in Ensenada and spent the entire day in training - getting the building ready, organizing things, finding out the logistics of getting 630 students on board without any significant problems. Finally, at around 2100 (9:00pm), a group of about 10 of us decided we wanted a taste of Mexico. We left the ship in search of some traditional Mexican fare - chips, queso, tacos, and maybe even a margarita. After about 30 minutes of exploring and asking the locals for some advice, we finally settled on a small restaurant. We sat down and ordered lots of drinks and chips and spent the next hour chatting with each other about our lives back in the United States. The servers at the restaurant did their best to entertain us, bringing out funky wigs and prancing around the restaurant, and inviting everyone to take pictures with them. We were, of course, in an excited, celebratory mood, so we were happy to oblige them in their shenanigans.
After an hour or so, we all agreed that we should probably head back to the ship. It was getting late and we needed to be up early to make final arrangements for the students. A few of us decided that we would go for a run the next morning (training for a half-marathon in South Africa, remember). I begrudgingly agreed to go on the run although I thought to myself as my head hit the pillow that there was probably no way I'd be up at 0630 (6:30am) as I am not a morning person.
To everyone's surprise, including my own, I managed to wake up and meet my fellow runners on the gangway. We jogged out of the port and did a 3.5 mile run throughout the city. As we were running, a few things went through my mind:
- A city can look completely different in the day as compared to the night; our run took us along some of the same paths that we traveled the night before but I saw so much more during the daylight hours
- There is, unfortunately, a rundown and tired feel to the city. Despite this, all of the people I passed on the street were very friendly and did not hesitate to say "buenas dias" when I greeted them. Kindness doesn't really have a language barrier.
After breakfast was over, the rest of the day flew by! We went through the process of gettin students onto the ship with only a few hiccups. Before you knew it, the ship was moving and we were beginning our six day voyage to the first port - Hilo, Hawaii!
And now, here we are, we arrive in Hilo tomorrow morning around 0800. I plan to be up at 0700 to see us sail into the harbor. It should be a beautiful site! I'm definitely excited about land but even more excited that this adventure has started off so well!
So, give me a few days to explore Hawaii and I promise I will give you an update - this time with a few pictures!!
Thanks for reading and you'll hear from me soon!
Can't wait to see pictures of Hawaii. Have fun and stay safe!
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