2 days from Mauritius

Hey Everybody! Sorry for the hold up, unfortunately Alan and I both forgot to pack a USB cord so we can put our pictures on to our computers. But I bought us one in South Africa! So we are back in business! So far the trip has been unbelievable in countless ways. Our first stop was Puerto Rico and it already feels so long ago! In Puerto Rico I went Kayaking at night through a mangrove to a Bioluminescent Bay. In the bay there were algae that absorb the sun so that when they are afraid they glow bright green as a defense mechanism. It was awesome! As Alan and I dipped the oars of our 2 person kayak into the water it instantly illuminated. After a few days we left for Brazil. When we first arrived to Brazil it was the last 36 hours of Carnival (the biggest party on the planet)! At about 4 A.M. the next day I left for the Amazon. After about 12 hours of traveling the SAS group I was traveling with finally arrived to our Riverboat. Twenty-seven students 2 teachers and 1 lifelong learner lived on a Riverboat traveling up the Amazon while exploring the Rhio Negro, mangroves, indigenous villages, and jungles. We fished for piranhas ( I was the only one who did not catch 1, although I held a bunch and more than I can count stole my bait). We slept in hammocks and while visiting an indigenous village we were challenged to a soccer game. 11 on 11 full field 15 min halves! Two other guys and I were the only ones with soccer experience. I scored a goal and a penalty kick in an OT shoot out. We won in PK’s after tying 3-3. It felt good to play again and it was amazing how in the middle of the Amazon Jungle these villagers not only could play soccer but were good. What was more interesting to me was that these villagers who did not speak 1 word of English (but spoke 7 Indigenous languages) knew everything I was communicating to them on the soccer field. After the game they gave me a Ronhaldino Jersey and named me the MVP. After the Amazon and another 12 hour travel day I was back in Salvador for one last day/night with the boys before 9 days on the ship till South Africa. When we finally got to South Africa we were pumped! South Africa was arguably the best trip of my life. I did a 3 day Safari in Kariega a 1 hour flight and 1 hour bus ride away from Cape Town. I got to see lions, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, and at least 50 other animals within feet in their element. When I was 10 feet from a lion in the wild it was not only amazing and scary but it was defiantly one of the most humbling experiences of my life. The area we stayed was beautiful. There were green mountains, grassland, an infiniti pool, and all you can eat buffet (the good stuff) at every meal. Cape Town was also full of wonders; Table Mountain, Wine lands, Beaches, and Townships. Alan and I visited 3 Townships in Cape Town. We played with kids gave them candy and gifts it was so much fun. The nightlife was intense! Some of the nights in Cape Town will be remembered forever. I know this post is very long but believe me it still leaves a lot out! I hope you all are well!
Love and Miss You all,
Jon

Puerto Rico to South Africa Update

To Friends and Family;

I must say that I am sorry because we haven’t posted anything on our blog yet. The internet is expensive, and I have been just too lazy to write a long blog every port…but since Jon and I felt like we should, here it goes.

Anyway, on a good note, our first port was Puerto Rico. It was such a blast…Although we didn’t do much site seeing; we just got hammered every night. When we first got to port, we literally went from the ship to the first bar we saw and drank until we were drunk. Then we went shopping for a plate for Jon’s family and just wondered around in the city. Then when the sun set, we went out to the local bars and just drank, drank, drank…and drank. You would think that you would be partying with all the locals, but in reality, SAS kids took over the cities. Then the next day, we went to this local restaurant and had some BOMB ASS food…god it was amazing. Jon and I got such good food for such cheap prices. And we had a half pitcher of sangria…oh man it was amazing. It is still hard to grasp the fact that I am legal in all the places we go and I never get carded…damn what a great feeling.

On to Brazil…well this was probably one of the longest journeys on ship. You would think that it was SOO PIMP to just be on a cruise ship for school while all you USD kids are on land walking up that big old hill…but let me tell you. After the first week of school…I was over it. The cruise ship is nice, but I feel like I’m trapped in a closet…So a week or so go by and finally….we arrived in Salvador, Brazil. When I first saw this port, it seemed like and smelled like a hell hole…but to my dismay…it wasn’t really that bad….seriously…We arrived in port around 8 AM and got off around 10. I must say…the streets smell like piss. We first went to the beach area just to walk around and see the sights. It was crazy. People were passed out in the streets and people were busy preparing for carnival…the biggest, most crazy party of the year…The Guinness Book of World Records says that it is even bigger than Marti Grah. So in preparation for Carnival, we decided to have some dinner and some brews. Then on the way up to Carnival, we decided to buy a Bicardi rum and go up with the fifth. But disappointingly we were stopped by five security guards because we weren’t allowed to bring up glass bottles…but then we came up with the idea of putting the rum in our empty beer cans…it sounds like a good idea at first…but let me tell you…it tasted like warm…piss…IT’LL GETCHA…and that was one of the most amazing nights I have ever experience. Millions of people were in the streets just going nuts dancing and Jon and I was just fist pumping the air like no tomorrow. Haha. That was one crazy night. I had another day in Salvador while Jon had to wake up at 1:30 AM to leave on his Amazon Explorer trip. When I came back…he was passed out with Friends on TV. Good thing I was there to wake him up. On my extra day, Henry, a friend I met on the ship had a family friend who wanted to take us out on a boat ride on the bay…and let me say this…It was sick. We went on his private boat and everything. And to top it off, we went to his condo complex and his chef made us bomb ass snacks...amazing stuff along with a couple caparioskas…a local “fufu” drink aka..has like 5 shots with maybe a little bit of fruit juice. All in all it was a pretty good night. I then went to Cachoeira. It was around a 2 hour bus right through Brazil. I was able to see so much of the old town away from the cities. It was an amazing experience. Being able to see a small town with local shops really opened my eyes up. Getting away from the city craziness was also a good switch up because the weeks have been so intense. I really needed a nice break, and this was what I needed. Then when we all came back, I met up with Jon and some friends and we went into the city to just have a last hoo rah…so we decided to buy a fifth of sugar cane rum….the local stuff…and let me tell you….it was the worst thing ever…but hey, it was only 5 reai…which was only 2 dollars…hahaha. Yeah 4 people shared that fifth…and we were hammered…no joke. Then we sailed off to South Africa…what a fucking shit show…hahaha next paragraph…

The ship ride to South Africa is supposedly one of the roughest rides over because it was the Atlantic sea...I was thinking about Titanic or maybe Poseidon. But thankfully, it was only a couple days of rough seas…no biggie. I hit so many walls and fell a couple times, but other than that, nothing really bad happened.

So…after nine long days of sea traveling…we definitely became seamen…haha. Fucking sucked. But seriously…so gay. Now…CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA….wooo woooo. ITS THAT WOOH WOOH…seriously, let me tell you guys. It was by far the best port we have been to so far. The first day was our friend Kevin’s birthday so we went out to a nice African dinner and it was amazing. The food was great, the company was great, and we all just had a blast. We then went to Longstreet which was where shit went down. Jon and I ate so much that night that we could not get drunk…and we had like 25 drinks a person…so….yeah that basically sums up the night. You may think that going on a safari is fucking pimp…and you know what..? IT WAS PIMP. We saw so many animals that I seriously was about to Garfalia all over Jon’s chest. It was soo much fun. The Kariega game reserve was extremely fun. I saw zebras, kudu, ostriches, white rhinos, mad elephants, giraffes, and a bunch of other animals. I have a lot of pictures, but I don’t have the internet time to post them up. Sorry. Then on our last night at the game reserve, we got hammered with the bartender and rangers. Oh boy. Jon and I had a couple shots of some sort of barbed wire alcohol that was 100% proof and no joke…there was barb wire all around the bottle…we then had some bushmen’s balls and some springbuck. The bushman’s ball had some weird liquor in it, some baileys, and 2 drops of chocolate liquor and that was what made the balls come down. It was tight. Springbuck was half Bailey’s and half peppermint liquor. It tasted like mint chocolate chips. HAHA. Then our friend bought 6 six packs of beer and we jumped into an infiniti pool and drank all of them...The pool was fucking cold. Ice cold. Then we got back home…Then that night we went out to a fancy dinner and it was oh my god, the best food I have ever had in South Africa. I had Chateaubriand which was 5 slices of steak on top of caramelized mushrooms with a red wine sauce…and it only cost 30 dollars…It could possibly be one of the best things I have eaten in South Africa. The next day we went to a township which was where all the black population lived at. We went there and visited a primary school (elementary school) and we had these little kids sing us songs. It was tight…We then had this nasty local beer that was disgusting. IT takes three days to brew…It was sour and just gave me the shits…hahah…we got to stay in Cape Town for another night because we were delayed due to the thick fog. We had 0 feet of visibility.

And so….we are on our way to Mauritius. Hope all of you out there back home are doing well. Enjoy the blog. I wanted to show you a picture here as a tease but the internet is really gay, ill try later. Enjoy …by the way, we just hit a big swell…the whole ship shook…

-Alan