Acapulco

June 21-24 -- We are in Acapulco. It is extremely hot and humid. (I hate to think how hot it will be when we reach the equator.)

The first day here, Mom and I took a city orientation tour during which we rode a bus around all the neighborhoods. This used to be a fishing village, but was then "discovered" by Johnny Weismuller and all the Hollywood bigwigs. Now they have an area (called "Diamond Acapulco") where they sell condos for $1.5 million or more each. The Mirador Hotel (where the cliff divers are) is in the old-fashioned section. To be honest, it looks more like a motel until you get to the water side of the hotel. The rooms are all built on the cliff so that you can look straight down to the water. The Mirador was built by Teddy Stauffer. Stauffer was an actor who married Hedy Lamarr here in 1951 -- the marriage only lasted one year. Lamarr went back to Hollywood, but Stauffer stayed in Acapulco for the rest of his life. We also got to see the cliff divers. When Stauffer and Lamarr were married, some of the fishermen of the area were asked to dive from the cliff at the wedding as a celebration of their marriage. Realizing that they could make more money diving than fishing, the cliff divers have been performing ever since. Not as spectacular as on the Wide World of Sports, but impressive. I sure wouldn't want to dive off a hundred-foot cliff into a 12- to 15-foot deep pool in the rocks.

On the 22nd, I was the trip leader for "Encounters with Ancient Times." Basically I had to be responsible for making sure everyone was on the bus, etc., take care of any trouble that might arise, and act as intermediary with the guide if necessary. The reward is that I get to sit in the front seat of the bus. Anyway, we took the superhighway (a divided 4-lane toll road) to a place called Xochicalco, which is the "House of the Flowers." This was a long ride, taking us 4 hours to get there.) Xochicalco was a ceremonial center between the 7th and 9th centuries (CE) for the Olmecs and other related groups. They have a nice museum with items that have been discovered in archaeological digs on the site. Then we went up to the pyramid complex itself, and walked around. The guide was good and took the group all around -- it is a huge site, but the guide explained it well. It was beautiful (on one of the highest mountaintops) and so quiet -- until the school groups got there! (There were a number of school tours on the 22nd. It was the last day of school for the children in the area, so there were a number of school groups on a field trip.)

After we left the pyramids, we went to the Hacienda Vista Hermosa (the House of the Beautiful View). It was called Vista Hermosa by Hernan Cortez, who built the original hacienda about 1530. It's built like a medieval fortress, with a crenelated outer wall protecting rooms surrounding an inner courtyard and garden. Now it is a hotel, and the rates are quite reasonable. The American Plan, with 3 meals a day, is only about $250/day for a double. We ate at the restaurant there, a wonderful buffet. Everyone was extremely sleepy when they finally got back on the bus.

On the third day, I rested. I had to recover from all that climbing and walking in the hot sun at Xochicalco, and the huge meal at Vista Hermosa.

On the 24th, I went to a Mexican cooking class, where one person demonstrated the way to make classic Mexican dishes, such as tampico beef and chicken enchiladas. The food was quite good, but it was difficult to see the cook working, and what, exactly, he did as he was cooking, so I didn't enjoy that part as much. Later on that day, Mom and I took a walk, and had a last Mexican meal at a restaurant near the port terminal - La Canasta. The food was very good, but the portions were huge, so we ended up leaving a lot on our plates. Dean David (Gies) says that the way to enjoy food in Latin America is to eat only dishes that are cooked and piping hot, bottled beverages that you see opened, and fruit that you can peel. No unbottled water or ice, and no cold dishes, such as salads or ice cream. These rules are the key to avoiding gastric distress!

We said "adios!" to Acapulco about 11 pm on the 24th. It was dark when we weighed anchor, and the lights of the houses on the mountains surrounding Acapulco twinkled like fairy lights as we left Acapulco Bay. Everyone had gotten back to the ship by 9pm, which was "on-ship time." Following Erin's lead, I opened the library from 9-11 pm that night, so that folks could start their studying and finish their trip reports, etc. I had an amazing amount of business considering how tired all of them seemed to be.

On to Balboa, Panama!

First three days of classes

June 20 – Drop/Add Day – Today we have experienced the vagaries of internet connections via satellite. We’ve been without a connection all day, and the estimate is that it won’t come back up until 1 a.m. this morning. (Note: The ship's internet connection was out for two days. - JLC) Luckily, the library catalog mostly works (for some reason, it, too, has been slow), and we’ve had a fairly busy time checking out reserve books, especially the Lonely Planet Guide to Mexico. (We dock tomorrow in Acapulco.) Unfortunately, one of the two copies of that guide disappeared early this week, so we’ve been running on one copy for everyone on the ship. I expect to see it back on Sunday when the ship leaves Acapulco.

June 18-19 - The 18th was Orientation day, during which there are introductions and welcomes, as well as a lot of lectures about the ship, and what the faculty expects of the students. The 19th is the first day of class, and all the students are running around trying to find their classes. This is made more complicated because the classes have been moved around quite a bit, so there is no up-to-date map of where the classrooms are. Also, tomorrow is Add/Drop day, so enrollment is still in flux.

There hasn't been a lot of seasickness among the "voyagers," because we've had fairly mild seas. In fact, at least once today, I saw the ocean literally "as smooth as glass," which must be where the old saying comes from.

One of the challenges of the summer voyage is the compressed time frame (65 days) we have to accomplish many of the goals that the fall and spring voyages accomplish in 100 days. We rarely have more than 4 days between ports, and in several cases, we have two days between ports -- in one case, only one day. So, I think there's going to be some difficulty keeping continuity of the classes, with such frequent interruptions by ports. But everyone is aware of that and are working specifically on those issues.

We sail away ...

June 17 – We woke up docked in Ensenada this morning. Many of the dependents (spouses and children and others connected to the faculty and staff) had been talking for several days about going shopping in order to pick up items they’d overlooked in their packing. For instance, who knew that we’d need beach towels and marzipan for this voyage? Anyway, Mom and I got up early and caught a taxi to the Walmart of Ensenada – a Supercenter – to pick up these little odds and ends. We spent MX$777 pesos (about US$77) in this Walmart.

The students and life-long learners began to arrive about 1pm on the 17th. You would not believe how much luggage was transferred to the ship! By about 3:30 pm, all voyagers were present and accounted for, and at 4 pm the captain called a life boat drill. Once everyone found their appropriate station, and the captain had reviewed all participants, we were dismissed, and the ship began preparations for departure. We finally cast off about 5:30pm, and sailed away toward the sunset. While we were exiting Ensenada’s harbor, the cry of “whale spout” went up, and everyone rushed over to the starboard side to see the whale. However, the whale was very canny, and we only saw the spout a few times and just a couple of glimpses of the whale’s back.

Some statistics for this voyage: In his introductory address, Executive Dean John Burkhoff said that the ages of the voyagers run from 3 months to 85 years, including 302 students, 47 life-long learners, and 18 children between 3 months and 17 years old. The students are from 143 colleges and universities, and 7 different countries are represented on the ship. The statistic that most interested the student body, however, was that their group was composed of 67% females and 33% males.

Comments on the library: This first week has been really intense. It's very hard to describe just how busy and frantic these past days have been. I haven't had time to stop and think or write. I've spent most of my time reacting to a variety of "emergencies" that needed answers immediately. As Barbie, Erika, and Erin mentioned, there were some problems with the 24Online ids, and a great deal of confusion about the difference betweeen 24Online and UVa Proxy server ids, and which one to use to get onto the internet. As you might expect, some folks were frantic to get to their email after several days. I expect things to settle down after classes really get started, though.

Meetings, meetings, and more meetings

June 12-16 – The rest of the faculty boarded on the 13th with their families. These days were full of meetings of the faculty and administrative staff. We left San Diego at midnight on the 13th, and sailed to Ensenada, arriving at 7 am. In and around the meetings, I unpacked the library boxes (with help from some volunteers) and sorted them by reserve, reference, and general collection. (I carefully flattened the boxes and set them aside to save, but the crew, with their usual cleaning efficiency, wafted them away before I could take them to my room!) Later that day, after all meetings were finished, Mom and I walked into town and looked around. Mom did some shopping – she’s big on shopping!

The next morning (the 15th), the ship undocked at noon, and anchored in the harbor until the next evening. There was a lot of coming and going by big ships, so they needed the docking spaces – we saw the Monarch of the Seas and a Carnival ship, whose name I don’t remember. On the 16th, we docked at Ensenada again in the early evening.

Many of these meetings took place in the Union (a big amphitheater-type room where musical shows were performed when this ship was a cruise ship). Now, I'm not prone to being cold, but that room is COLD! Otherwise, I find the environment and temperature on the ship quite comfortable. However, everyone else is complaining about the cold.

We're on the ship!

June 11 - We arrived on the ship about 1:30pm. Mom and I are in a cabin on Deck 5, one of the Jr. Suites. Very nice. It has a sitting area with a big picture window - I think it's the same sort of room that Barbie had last year.

The 7 boxes we sent first have arrived, and I believe the other three boxes must be here as well. As soon as I can get them moved, I'll start unpacking the books and videos. Sal is waiting for the final roster before giving me the db to load into Destiny.The ship was in drydock last week, and they were still doing repair and renovation to the water system when we embarked.

Arriving in San Diego

We arrived in San Diego in the morning on June 10th. We stayed at La Pensione Hotel, a European-style hotel in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood. (I think “European-style” refers to the small rooms.) The hotel is on Date Street, about 3 blocks from the waterfront and a short cab ride from the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal where the MV Explorer is currently moored. For those considering using this hotel, you need to know that it has a checkout time of noon, and checkin at 3PM. This is pretty inflexible, so be prepared to wait for a time if you arrive early. Luckily, the lobby has comfortable chairs and is relatively quiet. The lobby and reception area are done in purple, mustard, and grey marble/masonry; it’s a very modern look. The owners have a dog named Penny who has the run of the place. The price is good, $90/night for a room with a queen-size bed and a fairly large bathroom (a great price for San Diego!), and it’s recommended by Frommer’s Budget Travel for that reason.

After getting into our room, and having a nap, we decided to have some authentic pizza in the neighborhood. We went to Fillippi’s Pizza Grotto across from the hotel, a local institution since 1950. The pizza was pretty good.

Introduction

Perhaps I should begin by introducing myself and my mother, who is traveling with me.

I've been a librarian at the University of Virginia for 24 years, first as the Technical Services Librarian at the Science & Engineering Library, then as the Systems Librarian responsible for the NOTIS online catalog, then as the Assistant Director of Interlibrary Services. Now I'm the Library Grants Office and Genealogical Resources Specialist for the UVA Library. I've done a lot of traveling, including several cruises, but this is the first time I've been on a Semester At Sea voyage.

Eddith, my mother, finds it amusing to be called my "dependent." Mom is an RN who retired once in the 1990s, but then got bored and went back to work. She went on her first cruise when she was 75. Now we can't keep her off ships! She is very excited to have the opportunity to join this voyage and is looking forward to the adventure.