Journey Home

Did I spell Guatemala right?  Yes.  Yes I did.

So now I have six days at sea.  Then Fort Lauderdale for three days.  Then home.  No more blog posts.  At least not until I'm home sometime.

Also, for some reason Blogger keeps cutting down my photos, so I'd highly suggest going to my flickr page to see the full pictures.  That website, again, is:

www.flickr.com/photos/cwofc

Anywho, I hope everyone is doing well back in the States, and I'm excited to see you all soon!

Love,

Steven

Guatemala

I'M BLOG HAPPY!

4.28.09

First some background information. So for each port we have two "Pre-Port" sessions, the nights of the two days before getting into port. The first is cultural, the second logistical. Usually an inter-port student or lecturer handles the cultural pre-port, and they tell us about the country, giving advice on what to see and such. Logistical pre-port involves the SAS staff (Executive and Associate Deans, Field Office staff, Medical staff) informing us about whether we'll be docked, basic estimates on transportation options, medical precautions, and safety information. We also have Diplomatic Briefings for some ports where an American diplomat station in the country comes to talk to us just after arriving.

So for Guatemala the common words were that Guatemala was going to be dangerous. They warned about using Chicken buses (public transportation), camping on volcanoes, going to Tikal, going to Guatemala City, going to the airport, and being out anywhere when it gets dark. Cultural pre-port, Logistical pre-port, and the Diplomatic Briefing all drove the point. It seemed like they were worried we'd all be killed as soon as we got off the ship. It was intense. So this is what was going through my head before getting there.

Now the fun part.

Just following the Diplomatic Briefing, Keith, Hussain, and I left for the coach bus that would take us to Acatenango, the third largest volcano in Guatemala and Central America. On the bus we met our two guides, Emmanuel and Oscar. Both were great, but Emmanuel was awesome. Oh, we were also given two police escorts for the trip. Yay safety!

Halfway through the ride we stopped at a gas station for water and snacks. Just as I stepped out of the bus I heard a shot ring out. It turned out to be a blown out tire someone had been filling up. Then we found out we were to change to a Chicken Bus. Oh goody. Fortunately, it was privately chartered and not dangerous.

From there began the real journey. We drove to a farm that actually owned the entire volcano. We left the bus, were relieved to see a truck that would be carrying our baggage up. Grabbing my camera and a water bottle, I was ready for the challenge ahead.

At this time we were already 6,500 ft above sea level. But we had a long way to go. And as it was soon becoming lunch time, we were excited to be shown where on the mountain we'd be stopping to eat.

Emmanuel did tell us it was going to be a hard climb, but we'd start out at a nice slow pace with either him or a local guide in front and another guide or two at the back. He introduced us to Axel and his son Daniel who would be accompanying us. And so we started. It was around 12:00 PM.

Emmanuel started out at front with Axel, and Oscar and Daniel were at the back. The pace was pretty good and the land was level, so all was fine. Soon Emmanuel faded back and Axel led. He got pretty quick. I was at the front with Keith. Soon it got harder, as we were moving faster and it was becoming steeper. I kept up though. After an hour had past we had made it to our lunch spot, a nice clear area where we could look out at the land below. We were at about 7,500 feet at this point. It was probably 1:00 PM.

Lunch was delicious. The best packed lunch on any trip we went on. Probably because it wasn't from the ship, but the tour company.

With lunch over, we began again, Axel still leading. We weren't going to make it to the summit at this time, but stopping at camp for the night instead. That was at 10,000 feet.

It got steeper and steeper. It got harder and harder. I still pushed myself to be right behind Keith and Axel, who was flying ahead. It got more and more painful and I realized I'm skinny and have no muscles.

We made stops along the way to take a break and let the others catch up a bit. But it was getting quite strenuous. I just remember how much my legs hurt. After awhile I couldn't keep up with Keith the Beast anymore and slipped back a bit.

Finally, at about 3:15 PM, I made it to the camp site. It was sweet. Tents all set up, there was somewhat of a view down to the land below. You could even see Antigua, the closest city to the volcano. The coolest part, though, was that it was completely immersed in the clouds. But it was chilly. And the air was thin.

We were greeted with hot water for tea, pineapple, and chips with salsa and guacamole. So delightful. Everyone was in pain and hungry. It was nice to simply sit by a fire and eat. We basically sat in front of the fire, drinking tea, for a few hours. Around 6:00 PM we were served dinner, hamburgers and pasta salad. We even got marshmallows and chocolate crackers for s'mores! Emmanuel also warned us we'd be waking up at 4:00 AM to leave for the summit by 5:00 AM. And so, we promptly went to bed at 7:30 PM. I did not sleep well at all. It wasn't that it was cold, because I had my awesome REI sleeping bag (thanks Jessica!) and a sweatshirt. And it wasn't that I wasn't tired, because I had climbed just over 3,000 feet. I think it was that I wasn't used to going to bed before midnight, I was anxious about the intensity of the next day, the thinness of the air, and that I was sub-consciously waiting for chupacabras to attack the camp. So I got a total of possibly one and a half hours of sleep that night.

4.29.09

At 4:00 AM, I got out of the tent and went to look at the shinning city below in the darkness. It was pretty sweet. Like looking down over a city from an airplane. We then had a small breakfast before preparing for the hike today.

Once everyone was ready, we grouped up, Emmanuel informed us the pace would be slower today, the terrain more like sand, and that the hike would be steeper today. It was 5:00 AM.

It was true. The pace was slower and it was steeper overall. Emmanuel stayed in the front this time, which didn't allow Axel to control the pace this time. Thank God!

When we began it was dark. The sun hadn't yet begun to creep up. Half an hour in it started to peek over the mountains in the distance. It was beautiful to watch it rise throughout the day.

We stopped several times for water breaks and to catch our breaths in order to fight altitude sickness. We stopped at the saddle between the two peaks of Acatenango, which allowed for such a beautiful view of nearly everything around. But the two peaks blocked some of it. We were at 12,000 feet at this time. It was 7:00 AM. And so we began the last leg of the hike to the summit.

At 7:40 AM, I was nearly there. One hill more and I was at the top. So I decided to stick it to the man and I ran it. Full on sprint, or at least the fastest I could go, considering that my calves were basically non-existant and in pain. People cheered. It was funny. I was now at 13,406 feet above sea level. Nearly 4,000 meters. Nearly two and a half miles.

I can't even begin to explain how incredible it felt to have made it up so far and how spectacular the view was. The pictures will have to do.

At the top we simply sat around, walked around to see the view, watched the next-door neighbor El Fuego shoot out smoke, and take lots of pictures.

After a bit, Emmanuel took us around the crater to get a better view of El Fuego as it spurt some more.

Then we began the trek down. Long story short, it was just as painful, but a lot faster and a lot more fun. We slid down some of the slopes, ran down some of the slopes, and some people whipped out down some of the slopes. It was a blast. But it hurt my calves, shoved my toes against my boots, and made my feet feel very raw. But it was awesome!

Along the way, we ran into (literally) the second group of SASers who had just started their trek up and were eating lunch. We took the opportunity to let them know what they were in for. Some of us may have exaggerated. I warned them of the chupacabras.

As we neared the bottom we saw a wonderful sight, that of our Chicken Bus, Esmerelda. Those of us down hopped in and we waited for everyone to get down. As soon as we were all there, we took off for Atingua... and LUNCH!

We got lunch at a nice restaurant. They served us frijoles sopa (bean soup), pollo (chicken), bistec (steak), papas (potatoes), salsa, and tortillas. It was quite delicious! For dessert I had coffee and cheesecake. Uh, that was so good.

Following lunch, we had to opportunity to explore Antigua for a bit. We simply walked around looking at some shops and checked out the Cathedral in the city center. Then, tired of moving around, we sat and waited to leave.

As soon as we got back to the ship, I ran to my cabin, took a shower, and put on some nice, fresh clothes. I had a quick bite to eat and then simply returned to my cabin, fell onto my bed, turned on the TV, uploaded pictures, watched some episodes of "How I Met Your Mother", listened to music, and went to sleep.

4.30.09

I woke up, somewhat refreshed. But as soon as I stood up I realized it was all a lie. My legs were ULTRA sore. I walked up a flight of stairs for breakfast. It was painful. I felt as though I had the legs of someone one hundred years older.

After breakfast, a group of us met up and went to explore the surrounding area. We didn't find much. Subsequently, we returned to the port where there were some little shops. We did a bit of shopping, then hired a taxi to a supermarket, got some snacks, grabbed lunch, and returned to the ship for the last time.

As I walked onto the ship, I realized it would be the last time I did. The next time I left the ship I would be leaving for the last time. It was an odd, somewhat exciting, somewhat depressing realization.

So I have six more days until I'll be back in the United States of America! And about nine days until I'm back in the northwest suburbs of Chicago! It's so crazy that it's just about over...

Anywho...

PICTURE TIME!


The Chicken Bus


The Volcano, from our starting point at 6,500 feet... The top is hidden by clouds


View from lunch


The Forest along the way up


Clouds Around Us


Sunrise through the trees


Sunrise alongside another volcano


Intrepid climbers with staves!


Me, the crater, and El Fuego


Keith, Lindsay, Hussain and I


Group Jump Shot


El Fuego with cloud cover


Another volcano, off in the distance


The Clouds Below


The Beautiful View

Hawaii

Hawaii

4.19.09 - 4.20.09

So I didn't do too much in Hawaii, so this post will be much shorter than previous ones.

4.19.09

Was supposed to go skydiving, but the wind was coming in from over the mountains making it unsafe to jump. So we waited around at the field for several hours before the cancelled the day, rescheduled some people for the next day, and took us back to the ship.

So Lia, Keith, Hussain, and I decided to walk to find some food. We wanted Mexican. Using Hussain's iPhone as our guide we found a taco place. I had a burrito for the first time in awhile. It was delicious. So were the chips and salsa. And then went for dessert at Coldstone. Sweet Cream ice cream with pineapple and coconut. Oh my, so good. I missed American chains so much.

From there we stopped at a grocery store to grab some food to bring to a Luau one of Keith and Lia's professor was having. He's the MICE guy (if you don't know what MICE is ask Keith about it sometime). So we showed up at the beach bearing fruit and had a fun time walking on the sand, playing some MICE songs, and eating more.

Later, when it was dark, we walked along the beach, waded in the water, and walked around Honolulu. When it got late some of us grabbed a taxi back to the ship and went to sleep.

4.20.09

As I was not one of the people who was rescheduled for the morning, I decided not to go skydiving and spend my entire day at the airfield. So instead I walked around with Disha. We went to the Apple store so she could finally replace her battery that had died just as we left South Africa. We also walked around the International Market, ran into Lia and Hussain who had just gotten back from skydiving, got lunch at Subway, walked over to the beach, sat around, got Jamba, and then took off for a supermarket to stock up for the long sea trip ahead.

After getting some food, we caught a bus back to the ship. Our trip in America was done.

PICTURES!


Honolulu Skyline from the Port


Skydiving... FAIL


Mountains in the distance


Sweet Buildings, Sweet Clouds


The Beautiful Beach


Sunset on the beach


Dusk at the beach


Random Flower of Prettiness

Japan - Tokyo, Yokohama - Day 4/5

4.09.09

TOKYO!

After another excellent night of sleep, we woke up and decided to have a Western breakfast. So we went to a Denny's just down the street. What a meal. Had amazing sunny side up eggs, bacon, and french toast for the first time in a long time. It was refreshing. And once we had finished eating we had a fun time figuring out the bill, which was entirely in Japanese. To add to it, three people on the bill had left early and already paid part of theirs, which still seemed to be on our bill. So, we looked over all the prices attempting to figure out which were our and which were not. Then Disha, being the one who knows some Japanese, turns to our waitress and says, "To-tal?", doing her best to speak slowly and wave her hands. It was embarrassingly funny.

Following our teasing of Disha, we all walked to the Shinjuku Station, jumped onto the Yamanote Line, and hopped off at Harajuku, the huge fashion area of Tokyo. Walking from the station we found ourselves right in front of Takeshita street, the street incredibly crowded by shops and people. Once we prepared ourselves, we braved the massive amount of people in order to spy possible points of consumerism while trying to find somewhere to eat. We found a food court, got our grub on, and enjoyed some bubble tea (mine without those disgusting tapioca pearls... YUCK!).

With our bellies full, we returned to Takeshita and made our way from shop to shop. I found myself some awesome goggles. When my hair is longer and I can spike it, I will wear my goggles and look like an Anime character.

While shopping, I watched the people flocking up and down the street. I saw tourists and numerous Japanese adolescents and young adults. Several of them were decked out in what would be considered ridiculous clothing in the US. Huge platform shoes, obnoxiously neon socks, jackets with billions of zippers, frilly dresses, blacks, reds, bright pinks, everywhere. One guy had a long, black leather trench coat, covered in zippers, shin-high platform shoes with buckles and zippers everywhere, and thick chain necklaces, plus his hair was spiked to high heaven, and he wore red contact lenses. He was absolutely intimidating looking.

Our wallets nearly empty and our hands full, we decided to leave. Devin, Disha, Lia, Keith, Alex, Hussain, and I all went off to the tattoo studio where Devin and Disha has made an appointment for consultations. We returned to the deliciously named Takadanobaba Station and made our way to the studio. There the tattoo artist kicked out all but Disha, Lia, Devin, and I, Devin and Disha the customers, Lia and I the only support allowed. He didn't want his studio clustered with four germ-infested loiterers. So they left and we stayed. He talked with Devin and Disha about their designs (which I drew out, actually), where they wanted them, how big, and thoughts on color. Devin confirmed her "Walking on a Dream" tattoo for her foot, along her arch, and Disha confirmed her "Ubuntu" tattoo on the back of her neck. They made appointments for the actual procedure, and since his entire day was free, Devin decided to stay and get it done right away, while Disha made hers for after Devin's. I chose to stay with Devin while she got hers done, so Disha and Lia ran off to do some more shopping before Disha's appointment. And so it began.

So the next two hours of my life were quite exciting. I had never seen someone get a tattoo before and I was intrigued to see how it really worked. I assumed that since Devin already had two other tattoos this wouldn't be a big deal and she would be able to handle the pain. Yeah, no. So let's lay out the timeline to this first:
- 0 to 20 Minutes: The artist cleaned her foot, confirmed the position of the tattoo and put a temporary tattoo on
-20 to 50 minutes: He outlined the words
-50 to 105 minutes: He filled in the words
-105 to 115 minutes: He did some finishing touches, cleaned it up, and bandaged it.
Now let's add in some of Devin's reactions:
-Squeezed my hands
-Swore
-Ate many suckers
-Kept scolding herself for doing this
-Hit and slapped me
-Swore at me
-Attempted to tell me stories
-Pleaded with the artist to stop
-Made me squeeze her arms
These reactions all happened between the minutes of 20 and 105. It was quite fun.
Once she was done, she felt better and didn't regret getting it done. And she thanked God that Disha hadn't been there to see her. It was going to be her first tattoo and we assumed she would've chickened out.

Then we waited at the studio for Disha to show up, waiting fifteen minutes past her scheduled appointment before assuming she had chickened out. We apologized profusely to the artist, thanked him, and left hoping to run into Disha. Not seeing her, we took the train back to the hostel and looked for her there. She was not there. So we assumed she had probably just run into some trouble getting back to the place, but still partially convinced she had chickened out.

Finally Disha showed up with her new tattoo and a crazy story. Apparently they are not good at using the easiest transportation system on the planet. The two trains to the tattoo place seemed to be too difficult for them to handle. They went the wrong way on the first train, had to double back, and then took the second train the wrong way, too. Not very smart. But they made it to the studio just in time.

So after everyone looked at the new tattoos, we walked to the central area of Tokyo, right near Tokyo Station. Some people went off to Karaoke, others (including myself) instead decided to explore the area. So we walked around, took in the sights, and eventually made it to a book store named "Book". There we had an interesting conversation with the owner about where we were from, how his daughter got married and moved to Kentucky, how it takes around 12 hours to drive to Kentucky from Chicago, and how we have specific book store that sell hentai and how it isn't in every single store. He was surprised and we were surprised. Anyways, he was very kind and he called me a nice man when I gave Disha more money to pay for her purchases.

And the day ended after this when we returned to the hostel, ready to wake up early the next day.

4.10.06

Woke up from another amazing night in my cozy capsule, and I was saddened to think I would not be sleeping there again. Waking up Disha, Alex, and Hussain, we prepared the next leg of our journey.

As soon as we packed up and checked out, we went to the cafe from the third day again for a quick breakfast before taking the Shinjuku Line to the Tokyo Train station and then taking a train to...

YOKOHAMA!

Departing from the train station, I was greeted by my fourth Japanese city. Right away it seemed bigger and more developed than Kobe. Probably since it's basically a suburb of Tokyo. From the station we quickly returned to the ship to drop off all of our gear and freshen up before tackling this new city. We then returned to the city and began our exploration.

We walked around a bunch, found a market/mall of sorts, found an actual mall, more cherry blossoms, and an amusement park. At the park, Alex and Hussain split to take on the coasters, while Disha and I went to find a post office.

Along the way, we met some friends, other SASers, and they told us about Chinatown. So we went. We looked around, got bubble tea, and pork in dough-balls, and then made our way to the post office to exchange the tens of thousands of yen in our possession. Walking away with hundreds of dollars, we returned to the ship, depressed that we were leaving Japan.

But it's okay, because...
IT'S TIME FOR PICTURES!


Harajuku - Takeshita Street


Harajuku - Lots of clothes everywhere


Harajuku - Lots of creepy Mannequins everywhere


My Sweet Goggles, modeled by Hussain Samir Ali


Yokohama Skyline


Cherry Blossoms in Yokohama


Gates to Chinatown


The Panda Shop!

Japan - Tokyo - Day 2/3

4.07.09

TOKYO!

The bullet train is super fast! It took probably two and a half hours to get to Tokyo from Kyoto. It went so fast it was nearly nauseating looking out the window at everything whipping by. I decided to take a nap. Sleep is always enjoyable.

BOOM! TOKYO! Oh wait, we aren't leaving the train station yet. Let's hop on another train.

Hopping on the Yamanote Line, we boarded yet another train. This one was headed to Akenonobashi station, a few meters from our capsule hostel.

Finally making it to Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo (the location of Akebonobashi station), we walked over to the Ace Inn. Awesome. We were kindly greeted by a lovely Japanese woman, who took care of our payments, handed us our keys, and wished us a nice stay. With that we took the elevator to our floor and found our beds.

Sidenote: CAPSULES ARE AWESOME! I had the better sleep in that cosy space than I've had anywhere else on this entire trip, including the ship itself. I want one for at home and at school. They were so big, too! Ah. I want to go back and sleep there every single night!

From there, Alex, Keith, and I went in search of sustenance. We found a neat alleyway with shops and restaurants. We quickly chose one, sat down, and ate our hearts out. Yum, so good. I love Japanese food.

We returned to the hostel to wait for Hussain and Disha to arrive. By the time they showed up it was rather late and so we made quick plans for the following day and went to bed. I slept like a lamb.

4.08.09

TOKYO!

Waking up, somewhat reluctant to leave my new little home, we got some breakfast at a cute little cafe across the street. Hmmm... breakfast sandwiches... There we realized what different plans we had and we split up. Some decided they were going to go to a baseball game in Yokohama (a suburb of Tokyo), some wanted to go somewhere else (I don't remember where), and Keith, Disha, and I decided to slip out and go explore Tokyo on our own. Plus Disha and her friend Devin wanted to get a tattoo and we had to find the tattoo studio for them.

Instead of hopping on a train to the middle of Shinjuku, we walked. Along the way we found a Hello Kitty store, more manga stores, and Baskin Robbins. Then, walking down the stairs to the Shinjuku subway station, we found ourselves in another underground city. We followed signs, for what seemed like forever, to jump on the Yamanote Line. I later realized we had actually been originally at a different station, never made it to the city center, and had walked all the way from the one station to the Shinjuku station... all underground. I love Japan.

So we hopped on the Yamanote line again, and hopped off at Takadanobaba station.

Sidenote: Do you remember the white, twi'lek assistant to Jabba the Hutt in "Return of the Jedi"? Well, every time I say "Takadanobaba" I envision him saying it all slowly... "Jabba Ta-kad-a-no-ba-ba... Jedi". Yeah... that went on the whole time in Tokyo.

Anywho, as soon as we left the station, I asked Keith, "Which way do you think is south?" Keith proceeded to point in a direction. Assuming he was right, we proceeded that way, hoping it would take us to the tattoo parlor. Using the directions provided by Disha, we looked for different landmarks they provided. Along the way we stopped for food, of course. So we continued on our way, walking for probably close to half an hour. Finally, we decide we're not going to right way and Disha goes to use her limited knowledge of Japanese to ask where one of the landmarks, a market, is. We find out we indeed are in the wrong spot. However, we don't know really where we are. So we walk back to the station, find a map, not understand it, ask more people (who ask more people), and finally are on our way. Walking the opposite way from the train station this time, we make it to the studio in five minutes. Unfortunately no one is there and there are no hours. Disha decides she'll call later to try to make an appointment. Good idea.

Making the best of somewhat of a pointless situation, we eat more food, explore the area, and hop on another train... This time the destination is...

THE POKEMON CENTER!

Arriving in Hamamatsucho station, we depart and walk down the street, finding ourselves across the street from...

THE POKEMON CENTER!

Hurrying across the street and inside, we laughed at the simply outrageous store that it was. Pokemon stuffed animals, toys, cards, apparel, games, pancakes, and other food items lined the walls and shelves. It was awesome. We realized we're really childish. But we're okay with it.

After enjoying ourselves, we took to the streets to find more food. Yum. Food. Afterwards, we hopped on another train to our last destination... Akihabara.

Now, when we got off the train at Akihabara station, we found ourselves in what was truly "Electric Town". Lights everywhere, computer stores, electronics stores, brightly lit manga shops all lined the streets. It was definitely glowing. Here we simply explored the area, found an awesome arcade. It was five or six floors and inside the only people there were guys in suits. Seriously. Everyone looked like they had just gotten off work at some fancy business, didn't go home and change, but instead went straight to the arcade to play the friends in something involving martial art or giant robots. It was crazy. Disha correctly noted that she was the only female in the entire building.

After exploring we returned to the train station and took two trains back to the hostel.

Sidenote: The train system in Tokyo is incredibly easy to follow. I had no problem finding my way around, hopping between trains, or getting from station to station. Definitely the best public transportation system I've ever used.

At the hostel we met up the those who went to the baseball game, exchanged stories, and made plans for the rest of the day.

After freshening up, we decided to grab a bite and search Shinjuku. We simply walked around the area, stopping here and there at a shop or 7-11, and just took in the experience. We even ran into two guys, one from Florida, one from Germany, who had been living in Japan. The man from Florida had come to Japan abroad for something work related and had never returned for the last fifteen years. Absolutely crazy.

After we had had our fill of Tokyo for the night, we returned to our beds.

Day Four and Five to follow soon...

For now... PICTURES!


                       Food - Yum

                      Shinjuku

                      Disha, Keith, and random sleeping Japanese man on the train

                        Pokemon Center

                       Electric Town - "Akihabara"

                       Engrish!

                            For Adil

                         Capsule Beds!

Japan - Day 2 - Kyoto

4.07.09

KYOTO!

Keith, Alex, and I woke up rather early, and took off for Kyoto! So we decided to walk to the train station instead of taking the terminal rail there. As we were walking, we came upon a subway entrance and decided to go down. As soon as we entered the subterranean structure we learned that Japan is actually two worlds. The skyscrapered world above and the tunnel city below. It was insane. I think we walked from one side of the city to the other... but underground. It was sort of ridiculous.

Anywho, as we walked the underground city of Kobe, we came upon the train station. And we accidently took the bullet train to Kyoto. That's okay though. Instead of an hour, it took us probably less than half an hour to get there. That thing goes fast.

Upon our arrival in Kyoto we found ourselves to be hungry. And since hunger is the driving force for each of the three of us, we quickly exited the terminal and found our way to a restaurant. There we were amazed to find that you ordered with a vending machine. You simply put money into the vending machine, which then illuminated the buttons that you could purchase with the current amount of money, and then you chose what you wanted. When you were done, it printed out a little ticket, which you then took to the counter and gave to one of the employees. Minutes later your food was brought to you and all was well. It was exciting! Vending machines are fun!

Following our enjoyment of Japanese "fast food", the three of us left in search of the ever elusive cherry blossoms, sakura. We were incredibly lucky to come to Japan when we did. The cherry blossoming season migrates across the country beginning in January and makes it to the central regions around the end of March, beginning of April. We hit it perfectly. The blossoms were in full bloom, incredibly beautiful.

Our journey led us all over, and we managed to run into several trees along the way. Unfortunately, we did not find a grove of cherry trees. At least not right away.

Remembering the suggestion of a certain tall individual from the great state of Nevada, our trio went in search for Nijo Castle, which dates back to the 1600s when Kyoto was still the capital of Japan.

Again our search was fruitless. At first. But then, after asking many times for directions from locals, we found a large, ancient looking structure. Stepping within the gates, we explored. Inside the first building we found a shrine of sorts, with gold covering nearly every inch. Continuing on, we walked into another building, which also seemed to be a shrine.

We then ventured into another section of the complex and found ourselves greeted by what looked like a high school field trip. What was probably hundreds of Japanese students began pouring out one of the buildings. It was cool to see of that age as everyone else we had seen on the streets were either adults or very young children.

We continued to explore the complex area, entering shrine after shrine, each more astounding then the last.

After awhile, we began questioning whether or not this was the Nijo Castle. And as soon as we began questioning, I ran into an information booth and POW! there it was. A brochure. "Welcome to Nishi Honganji Temple". Yep. Not Nijo Castle. But it mattered not. It was quite nice to walk around the beautiful complex.

As so the hunt began again. Asking around yet again, Alex, who had now perfected "Nijo wa doko desu ka", discovered it was simply down the road. Right. It turned out to be five kilometers or so. Granted it was a nice walk through the city.

Finally we made it! And what a spectacular view from outside. The huge walls grew up from the street level, almost making it a competitor with the other buildings in the vicinity.

There at the castle we explored the Ninomaru palace. It was extravagant, every wall covered in paintings of mythological creatures and landscapes. Even in their old age, the paintings were beautiful. After our long walking tour of the palace, we left the palace walls and came upon our other goal... the cherry tree grove.

It was absolutely beautiful. The trees were all in bloom, and the high concentration looked spectacular against the structural backdrop of the castle. You had to be there.

After relaxing in the grove, we moved onto the plum tree grove. Nearly as beautiful, it was a nice walk on our way to the inner palace and the gardens. Once we made it to the Inner palace we found no entrance and instead walked on to the gardens. They were a wonderful symphony of cherry blossoms, plum trees, other flora, and small traditional Japanese structures. Very picture perfect. I began hoping to return when there were any tourists so I could simply go in, find somewhere to sit, and simply relaxing in its tranquility.

Soon it neared time for the castle to close, and we scampered off into the streets of Kyoto. On our way back to the train station, we stopped on multiple occasions for food. First a light dinner and then ice cream many times. The first time we all got ice cream. Alex purchased a green tea ice cream cone. He soon learned he did not particularly enjoy green tea ice cream. So instead of simply disposing of the whole thing, he just had to eat the cone, leaving the ice cream untouched. Eventually he began looking for a trash can, which is when we realized Japan doesn't have many, if any, trash cans along the streets. Still searching, Alex's attempts to just eat the cone backfired when he took the fatal bite and the entire thing collapsed into his hand. Now his search became frantic as the ice cream melted on his hand. Running into an open area of sorts, he found what he thought to be a trash can and tossed it out. Yeah. It was a garage and he threw it into a bucket. Stupid Alex. Anywho, if they ever search for the culprit, the 7-11 down the street has video footage of a white, American male entering with a green hand asking for the bathroom. Alex is now one of Japan's most wanted.

Anywho, we eventually made it to the train station, bought tickets to Tokyo, and went on our way via the bullet train once again.

I will be continuing Day 2 in my next post, as an attempt to keep all of Tokyo together.

PICTURE TIME!


Alex attempting to buy food via vending machine



Sakura along the street



Nishi Honganji Temple



More sakura, at the Nishi Honganji Temple



Ninomaru Palace at Nijo Castle



Sakura in the groves of Nijo Castle



Plum tree blossoms in the groves of Nijo Castle



One of Nijo Castle's many gardens

Japan - Day 1

For Japan, I decided that since I loved it so much, I would post each day separately, each with pictures. So please enjoy the first of five days.

4.06.09

Kobe! I woke to see us pull into the Port of Kobe. I was excited to see the mountains rising up above the moderately sized city before us.

My excitement could not be contained and I proceeded to bounce off the walls of my cabin and the rest of the ship. Spreading joy and happiness to all I passed, I eagerly awaited my chance to depart the metal vessel that was keeping me from my love, Japan. Unfortunately, my excitement buzz was destroyed as soon as I found myself having to wait hour upon hour, unable to enter Kobe.

FINALLY, after probably four hours (which seemed an eternity), I was allowed to stand in line to go through customs. My excitement was sparked instantaneously. They took our fingerprints! It was super cool!

As soon as I had left the terminal and began my trek to the center of my first Japanese city, I WENT CRAZY! Everyone with me was excited, too. Maybe not as excited as I, but still excited.

And so, for the first four hours in Japan, we explored Kobe, simply walking randomly around the city. We ran into an open air mall, where sample CDs were sold for 50 yen, into a 390 yen store, where everything was (gasp) 390 yen, and unto a floor that held three things: trading cards, toys, and manga. Manga stores are ridiculous in Japan. I feel the manga sections in American bookstores are ridiculous, but in Japan, it's even more so. It's as though you built a house and only used manga... for everything. Bookcases, couches, walls, floors, everything. It was crazy.

Around four o'clock, we returned to the ship for a welcome reception for several students that attend colleges around Kobe. We were treated to demonstrations of a traditional Japanese dance, Kendo, origami, and calligraphy.

Keith, Lia, and I made friends with three Japanese students, Koji, Rieko, and Ai. We talked with them, discussing educational plans, family, and other topics. We eventually gave them a tour of the ship, complete with a trip to the dining hall for some ship food! YAY!

From there, they decided to take us out (along with Alex) and show us their world. Taking us around Kobe, we got sushi (sorta weird), took crazy pictures at one of those crazy picture booth places with a billion booths and crazy lights and pictures and it was crazy, explored Chinatown (yeah, I know), and KARAOKE! Now, I was originally expecting it to be what I expect American karaoke to be: A bar, with tables, and people take turns on stage singing. No. Karaoke in Japan is not so. Instead, you and your friends get a private room, drinks, and an hour or so to sing your hearts out, only embarrassing yourself in front of your friends. It was quite fun!

From there we departed from our new Japanese friends and we returned to the ship. Sleep followed.

Sidenote: I'm currently sitting outside on the sixth deck of the ship and let me tell you... Albatross are HUGE.


Port of Kobe


Keith and Lia Excited


Cherry Blossoms


Traditional Japanese dancer


Fighting is fun!


Kobe at night


Karaoke!


Kobe Tower