This voyage has been a dream come true. I am so fortunate for all of the experiences I have been able to have with my entire family. I think the most difficult thing about a voyage like this one is the end. We have met so many wonderful people on the ship, and never again will we be all together as a shipboard community. The saving grace to the goodbyes here is being able to see family and friends back home. We’ve had an incredible time, but we are looking forward to 10 Abbott Lane and all its love and familiarities.

We have visited 8 countries in the past 2 and a half months. Seeing the differences as well as similarities in the people, food, music, geography, and overall cultures is amazing. Traveling opens your eyes and heart to the differences and inequalities that exist outside of home, and it also makes you appreciate all the more what you have in your everyday life. We are not only lucky with an immeasurable amount of opportunities for ourselves and our family, we are blessed with loving family and good friends. Let me tell you, we’ve got it made.
Two biggest milestones of the summer...
Brandt learns to walk...

Emma loses her first tooth...
We will miss all of the great people we have met...especially the crew!I dedicate this blog to my parents..thank you mom and dad for giving me, Elsa, and our families the opportunity to see the world. This will be my dad’s last voyage as an I.S.E. employee...and it's been an amazing 28 years! There is going to be a huge retirement bash for him on the 25th on the ship, but we will unfortunately not be able to make it. We both start work on Monday, so we will be home this Thursday. I'm so proud of him, and it's been a blessing to be together this summer. Thank you!We will all be back in the U.S.A. tomorrow...it’s meant a great deal to us for those of you who have kept up with the blog...thank you, and we’ll see you soon! XOXOXO

Guatemala $1U.S.=7.6 QuetzalesWe spent the first 2 nights in Antigua (about 90 minutes away from the port). I immediately fell in love with the beautiful town of Antigua, Guatemala. The main plaza is gorgeous, especially in the evening when the church and buildings are lit up. We heard marimba music everywhere, and there is a large Mayan population with many wonderful handicrafts.We all went to the university welcome reception where it took place in ruins of an old church/convent. There was food, music, and dancing, and I don’t know who had more fun..Cory and I, or Emma...she was a dancing machine! It was a very late night for all of us, Brandt finally fell asleep in my arms around 11PM! Antigua is a town I could have definitely spent more time in. The colors, architecture, surrounding volcanoes, and mix of people are a breath of fresh air. Our hotel, La Posada de Don Rodrigo, could not have been better..the rooms, courtyards, and restaurant were breathtaking. It almost felt as though we got to sleep in a museum..it used to be the mayor’s house and was built in the 1600s!


It was hard to leave Antigua, and I hope to make it back someday. On the day following our return to the ship, Cory, Emma, and I went to Guatemala City to learn more about the program called Safe Passage/Camino Seguro. This is a program that a young woman from Maine, Hanley Denning, founded. She started this program to help children and families who were living and working in the Guatemala City dump. She tragically passed away earlier this year in a car accident. We were able to visit two different facilities involved with Safe Passage (very school-based), and we were able to see the Guatemala City dump.There is a DVD called Recycled Life that we watched prior to going. Children are no longer allowed to go into the dump (this regulation was just passed within the past few years), and Safe Passage is geared to help the children whose parents work in the dump during the day. Even though I thought I was prepared to see the dump, I didn’t expect the overwhelming feelings that came over me when I was put physically in front of it. The smell was terrible. I wasn’t sure how Emma would deal with seeing this..she didn’t like the smell, and questioned about where the people who worked here got their food. I explained to her that they did get their food for their families through finding it in the garbage. I think she is young to put everything together, but I’m sure it effected her in some way. Before going, we went through clothes and toys to donate to the program..Emma generally has a difficult time parting with anything..and I was very proud that she did choose things to give. What gets me most with this picture is that Emma usually has a smile and a pose for a picture...this was her reaction when I told her to turn around and she saw the camera....Our guide explained to us that the people who work in the dump have a high sense of dignity because they are actually working to support their families. Only a 15 minute walk from where we stood (on the other side of the hill) is where people survive by dealing drugs. The Guatemalans who work at the dump are proud that they are working, and not involved with the drug world. We actually had police escort with us because we were in a very unsafe part of the city. Cory and I hope to find people back home who may be interested in learning more about Safe Passage.

Guatemala has so much more to offer that we didn’t get a chance to see such as Lake Atitlan, Chicicastenango, Tikal Ruins....but it was good for us to see these two drastically different sides of Guatemala..beautiful Antigua and the Guatemala City Dump...merely an hour drive from one another, yet different as night and day.

Thank goodness for tortillas again! I can’t even count how many I ate! Even though we’ve been traveling Latin America all summer...we haven’t had tortillas since Mexico...you can’t get tortillas in the other countries we visited.Emma and Brandt enjoyed the tortillas as well...we will be home in no time!

Nicaragua $1 U.S. Dollar = 18 Cordobas Capital: Managua

We had a wonderful time in Nicaragua. It was the least touristy and commercialized compared to the other ports-of-call, which made me love it all the more. We docked in the little town of Corinto which really reminds me of my mom’s home town of Acaponeta, Nayarit in Mexico.We visited a number of towns during our visit: Leon, Granada, Masaya, and Managua. The towns of Leon and Granada were beautiful. Very colonial with breath-taking colors and architecture.Each of these towns had the typical plaza which is very common in most towns of Latin America. We listened to marimba music (similar to a wooden xylophone), guitars, and singing while we had a yummy lunch. We visited a live, active volcano called Momotombo.Cory and I were lucky enough to visit a school on our last day where he was able to sit in on an 8th grade math class, and I was able to sit in on an 8th grade English class! It was so much fun meeting the students and teachers.How lucky we are with all our facilities at B.E.!

We met a sweet boy who walked around with the group we were with when visiting the school. Many of us asked him why he was not at school and he had a number of different answers for each of us: his teacher is sick, he doesn’t own shoes so he can’t go to school, he’s going tonight, he’s going tomorrow. We found out later (by talking to a family who owns a market in town)that this little boy doesn’t have a home, he lives on the streets, he doesn’t know how he got to Corinto, he doesn’t have family in the town, and he cannot go to school because he doesn’t have a house or family in Corinto. He never asked us for anything, just kept us company. This little boy is 10 years old, his name is Rudy...

Costa Rica $1 U.S. Dollar = 515 Costa Rican ColonesI absolutely loved Costa Rica! There was something about this place that was just unlike the other countries we have visited. I had two tours during our four day visit...one was to a beautiful waterfall, and the other was to a rainforest. We spent the remainder of the time walking around Puntarenas, the port where the ship docked.Emma and I had a date on our first day in Costa Rica to La Paz Waterfall Gardens where there was also a Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden. Although the bus ride was extremely long (3 hours one way!), we had a fantastic time together. Cory, Brandt, and my mom had a date to the town of Sarchi (where the famous Costa Rican Ox carts are made and painted). My dad went on a tour to San Jose, the capital. Elsa and the kids weren’t feeling well so they stayed on the ship.The following day I wasn’t feeling too well. There’s a terrible viral cold/cough/achiness thing going around and we’re all getting hit with it (my sister, the kids, and I). Besides our wonderful lunch at Guga’s restaurante where I ate casada con carne (rice & beans, beef, maduros, ensalada) I spent most of the afternoon resting.

My parents, Cory, Emma, Brandt, Nikolas and I (poor Elsa & Mariana still not feeling well) went on a Skywalk hike through a rainforest. There were 3 suspension bridges that we were able to venture across through our hike. Cory and I would have loved to try the ziplines through the rainforest..but the Skywalk hike was more suitable for the kids:)I really enjoyed our last day in Puntarenas because we walked around the entire morning (shoe shopping for Brandt and grocery shopping for batteries, deodorant, wipees, etc.) Emma headed back to the ship early with Elsa, my mom , and the kids. Cory, Brandt, and I had a nice lunch at La Casona restaurante(I ordered a casada con carne again, and Cory ordered a Pork dish with yummy pickles).

I think this is the day that really made me love this place because it was so nice to walk around and people watch. Puntarenas is a busy little town, but without all of the skyrises, malls, condos, urbanization that we have seen in most of the other countries we’ve visited. I also loved the weather...very hot during the day, cool in the evening..and showers here and there in the afternoon into the evening.After lunch Cory, Emma, Elsa, Mariana, and Nikolas (Brandt stayed with my parents) went to a futbol (soccer) game right in town. We bought the kids the orange & white Puntarenas jerseys..and off we went to the game! What I liked most about the game were the good looking men on the team...ha ha jk..I liked that there was a band playing most of the game. Drums, drums, & more drums....we had a great time!On our last night, my dad, Cory, Emma, Mariana & Nikolas and I went back out for one last Costa Rican meal. It was a little hectic, but we enjoyed our time...Pura Vida (a great expression used here meaning...life is wonderful).

Bienvenido a Peru $1 U.S. Dollar = 3.15 Nuevo SolesOur time here in Peru has been wonderful! On our first day we had an excellent tour of the capital, Lima. The Plaza Mayor was very impressive, as well as the San Francisco Monastery where we all ventured into the Catacombs underneath (interesting but a little spooky). We had a nice walk to a little cafe where the adults had to try the Peruvian Pisco Sour, and the kids had to try the famous Inka Cola. We also spent some time in Miraflores, which is a beautiful coastal town where most of the nice hotels, restaurants, and shops are. Brandt got to sit back and relax on his stroller ride...Unfortunately, the ship is docked in Callao which is not a very safe area. On our first day, our bus had police escort...this is not the safest place to be a tourist. We have to pay $5 per person to take a 35 minute shuttle ride to Miraflores. With all of us being such a big family...it’s been very pricey to leave the dock. In fact, one day we did not have a tour, so we hung around the dock the entire day! At least there is an “Inca” shop here with a yummy, inexpensive, restaurant with authentic Peruvian food! I actually tried Ceviche (raw fish) for the first time! It wasn’t bad, but it grossed me out to be eating raw fish..I only had one bite.I think one of my favorite experiences here was the dinner we had at El Señorio de Sulco, an authentic Peruvian restaurant. I ordered a delicious meal (Lomo Soltado) with beef, french fries, onions and peppers all mixed together...I ate every bite of it! We had excellent Peruvian wine (Rubini...Cabernet Sauvignon). I hope we can get this back home! We had a memorable dinner experience! The atmosphere at the restaurant was perfect (even with Brandt having the messiest poop of his life)! On Friday, we went to Pachamacac Ruins which is a Pre-Colombian/Incan ruin that has pyramids and temples that were used 700B.C.E. to worship the Sun God. Although I would have loved to have gone to Cuzco and Machu Pichu, I was happy to have the chance to see an old ruin on the outskirts of Lima.After the ruins, we went to la hacienda “Los Ficus” for lunch, where we had a wonderful meal and where we were able to see beautiful Peruvian Paso Horses. We didn’t think we would be able to, but to our surprise, we were all given the opportunity to ride the famous Paso horses...even the kids! We tried to get Brandt to ride with one of the owners, but he cried. We were very impressed that Emma got to ride such a big horse!Gary left early this morning to fly back to Puerto Rico..he was right, we should have gone back to our favorite restaurant (El Señorino de Sulco) before leaving Peru!Our last evening was spent celebrating el 28 de julio, Peru’s Independence Day. We were invited to Adriana’s uncle’s house for dinner. Adriana used to work in Pittsburgh for the Semester at Sea program, and her family was sweet enough to invite us for the festivities. Dinner was really good, and they had guitar playing, drum playing, and singing..Cory joined in with the spoons...it was a wonderful time!We were a bit nervous about our visit here because we were warned as to how unsafe it can be. I am happy to say that we had a wonderful visit, and every Peruvian we met was more than friendly.
¡Adios Peru!

$1 U.S. Dollar=512 Chilean Pesos This Chile entry is quite lengthy......
Dia 1: I woke up at 5 AM to see the ship dock in Valparaiso, Chile. It was a beautiful sight with all kinds of lights sparkling on the mountain side. The sun didn't come up until after 7 AM. It was a little chilly in Chile (sorry, had to do it).

Cory and I, before the beginning of the trip, decided that we really wanted to go on a wine-tasting tour while we were in Chile. My mom and dad brought Emma & Brandt on a city tour of Valparaiso while Cory and I sat back, relaxed, and checked out Chile's wine country of Casablanca.

We were lucky to be able to see Gary (who was waiting at the dock) before we left on our tour. He will be re-joining the ship through to the next port (Callao, Peru). He and my sister have very close friends (Mariano, Veronica, & 3 beautiful children) who live in Santiago..so they will be spending their time in Chile with them.

Our first stop was to the vineyard Veramonte, where we were able to visit the winery, and taste and purchase 2 bottles: a Cabernet reserve and their famous "Primus" Cabernet. Cory thinks we will get these two bottles back home, I'm thinking they may be empty...
If we could, we would have bought more..but we are only able to buy 4 bottles of alcohol per port.
After Veramonte, we went to el restaurante, Puro Caballo, for lunch. This restaurant was the highlight of the tour! It's located on a horse farm where people train and practice for the rodeo. We tried a type of bread, steak and mashed potatoes, and Pisco Sour. The setting couldn't have been better!

I was able to watch a 9 year old girl on horseback, practicing for the rodeo. Very impressive!

Our last stop was the winery Indomito. We got another tour here where the wine was stored in both oak and stainless steel barrels. The wine was good, but not as good as the first vineyard (good thing we bought our two at the first place).

Emma had a great time with Tito and Tita because she was able to take an incline ride with her friends Emma and Danielle. My parents told me that Brandt was thrilled when he saw a dog (which there are plenty of running around) and trees (he was so excited when he saw a beautiful big tree). We had a fun-filled day.
Dia 2: We went to the capital today. Santiago is about 1 and a half hours from Valparaiso. It's a beautiful city that is bordered by the Andes mountains. We were actually very lucky to have the views of the mountains (my dad has been to Santiago before and each time he could barely see the mountains due to fog and smog). We went to a fish market for lunch where we ate at Augosto's restaurante. My parents ordered a crazy, giant, crab. It was yummy, but none of us realized how extremely pricey it would be.We met Gary, Elsa, Mariana, Nikolas and their friends here. It was great to finally meet Mariano, Veronica & family. Unfortunately, we had a short stay in Santiago. I would have preferred to have had more time to walk around the city. Santiago has a number of pedestrian only blocks, so it was neat to be walking amongst so many people. On our way back to Valparaiso, I couldn't get over the views of the Andes. I took a ton of pictures, but none of them really do the majestic view of mountains and city any justice.

Dia 3: What a fun day! Cory, Emma, Brandt, my parents, and I decided to walk around Valparaiso, find the fruit and vegetable market, and take a bus to the next town over, Viña del Mar. During our walk, we stopped at a bookstore and at a park. Emma, Brandt and I swung for about 5-10 minutes (It was soo much fun to be on a swing)!We must have walked a good hour before reaching "El Mercado". It was a great experience to walk through it and see all the action..we couldn't leave without buying "platanos" (bananas).

We finally hopped on a bus to Viña del Mar. The bus ride was crazy fast, but for some reason was more fun than scary. We ate lunch at Chucaro Bar where we had a table right next to a warm, cozy fireplace. The atmosphere was perfect! Cory and my dad tried the beer, my mom and I tried the wine, and Emma and Brandt had "una botella de agua sin gas" (bottled water without the bubbles). We ate very well (all kinds of steak, chicken, sausage, and pork) and plenty of "palta" (in Mexico it's called "aguacate", in Maine it's called "avocado").After lunch we walked to one of the main squares, right near the beach, and went for a horse-drawn carriage ride. We had a great ride up and down the streets of Viña del Mar. We took another crazy fast bus ride back to the ship, and made it back in time for dinner onboard the M.V.Explorer.Dia 4: Cory, Emma, Brandt, and I headed out to buy me at least one pair of jeans today. With all the food I eat, you'd think I'd be putting on the pounds...but I think the walking while at port, and the stairs while at sea are helping out..my jeans are too big and I have saggy butt pants more than often. Well, we soon learned that the stores out near the mall don't open until 11AM. So I decided I could go one more day with saggy butt pants, and we went to the supermarket "Lider" instead. It was fun! The grocery store had 2 levels, and there was actually an inclined-flat-escalator you could bring the grocery cart on to get upstairs. We bought a few things, but most exciting was our other 2 bottle purchases. One was a bottle of Pisco, and the other was a bottle of generic-store-brand wine. Hee hee! We are hoping it's tasty..it is Chilean wine!
Emma got a $3 princess crown, and Brandt got a Winnie the Pooh cardboard sign that says "Bienvenidos" (Welcome).

When we returned from our shopping adventure, we piled into a bus and a large group of us headed to Jorge's ranch in the country/mountains. Jorge is the person who worked with Semester at Sea to get trips and things planned for Chile. His house "camp" was beautiful. We had a wonderful barbecue with Pisco Sour and wine (again). Emma had a good time because another girl her age, Danielle, was there. Brandt enjoyed exploring. We were close to the beautiful mountain "La Compania" where Darwin actually spect time researching.

When we got back to the ship, I didn't feel too well. I got Brandt to sleep, and then Emma, Cory and I watched Big Momma 2 on our TV..it somehow made me feel better. Elsa, Gary and the kids got back tonight.

Dia 5: Today was our last day in Chile...and luckily my sister had jeans to lend me or I would have had to wear shorts in the cold weather. Cory, Gary, Elsa, my mom, and the kids and I (my dad had dean duty today, so he had to stay on the ship), took the inclines up and down the hills of Valparaiso. The city must have at least 5 different inclines. We took one up, walked around, and then took one down. The inclines were similar to the ones in Pittsburgh, just a bit older and scarier. We were all nervous! It was something the kids were more excited to do than us...it was fun when it was over!

We then decided (except my mom..she headed back to the ship to have lunch with my dad) to take a 5 minute bus ride to the grocery store Jumbo (Elsa & Gary wanted to buy more hot sauce they had fallen in love with). While we were at the grocery store, there was a little kids show with free face painting and a puppet show..the kids enjoyed that..even Brandt!

By 1 PM we were all very hungry, so we took the metro to Viña del Mar where we ran into Jessie and David (also doing the Teachers at Sea program). We had a wonderful lunch..we ordered yummy palta sandwiches (avocado & beef along with an egg, tomatoes, and green beans)..it was delicious..and went very well with our glass of wine:) We then walked around town a bit, and went into "Ripleys" clothing store where I finally bought a new pair of jeans. They are not the coolest..but they were only $5,900 pesos..about 12 U.S. dollars. Yay! We took the metro back to the ship, and stepped off of Chile soil for the last time to board the ship.

We had a wonderful time in Chile, it's a beautiful country with beautiful, friendly people. While we were here, we did get very sad news from back home. Cory found out that his Uncle Hallie passed away. It was hard to get the news and be so far. Our thoughts and prayers have been with him and our family back home.

We love you Hallie.

Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador. We spent one day here before flying to Quito, the capital of Ecuador (9,200 ft above sea level). Quito is a beautiful city surrounded by magnifcient mountains.On our flight from Guayaquil to Quito, we had wonderful views of the volcano, Cotopaxi. In Quito, we had a beautiful view from our hotel window, and the view had Cotopaxi in the distance.In Quito, we went to a number of places but the following were my favorite: La Compania de Jesus (a Jesuit Church with its interior covered in gold-leaf), La Plaza de la Independencia (where we saw an incredible sunset),and la Mitad del Mundo (where we were able to stand on the actual line of the equator! Brandt walked across the equator all on his own.I am so happy to have had the opportunity to visit Quito. Not only is it a city with a beautiful landscape, but things seemed much more relaxed and quiet than in the large city of Guayaquil.

I must say that our first day in Guayaquil was not the most exciting. We went on a city tour (which we spent most of our time in a Historic Park) and that evening went to a University Reception (which was not very interactive nor eventful). During the city orientation tour, before stopping at the Historic Park, we did go to the Iguana Park which was really neat to see even though the iguanas peed and pooped at any given time from the trees overhead. The kids and I did get a little peed on...yucky!Our last day in Guayaquil was super!! Cory, Emma, and I (Brandt stayed with my mom and sister) went to a Social Service Mall which is really an educational program geared for the people in the community with limited economic resources. We timed it just right and got to see a Cultural performance that was for a group of 10-13 year olds, and we were also able to spend time with the little 3-4 year olds in their pre-school classes. Emma had a good experience meeting new friends.When we got back to the ship, we all (except for my dad) decided to fit into one Taxi to bring us into the shopping area of Guayaquil. Our cab driver, Carlos, was great! He gave us an awesome city orientation tour, dropped us off to shop a little at an Artesania, and on our way back to the ship he stopped by his home to get some old Sucre coins to give to us as souveniers. He was wonderful, and it was sad to say goodbye to this sweet Taxi driver we will most likely never see again.We had a wonderful visit in Ecuador, so far one of our favorites! Even Emma said that this has been her favorite...although her reason was because she was finally able to get the dress she has always wanted!