Acapulco has a beautiful view with mountains and beaches, and has everything from your typical Mexican restaurant (where the food is delicious and inexpensive) to the Hard Rock Cafe (where the food is no different from home and the cost is unbelievebly too much). Acapulco has more VW bug/Taxis than I’ve seen in a very long time.

Since Acapulco is a huge tourist destination, it costs a lot to take a Taxi from the ship to the downtown area (50 -100 pesos/@$5-$10 U.S. dollars), and prices for souveniers were much higher compared to in Ensenada.

During our visit we ate often, walked, shopped until we ran out of pesos, rode a number of different Taxis (only one VW bug which was the hottest...meaning sweat dripping off our faces...yet least expensive), and ate some more..The food here is a little different than in northern Mexico, the thing I noticed most was that when I ordered “Frijoles”, I got black beans instead of the refried pinto beans I’m used to. On our first day in Acapulco we had a city tour and had the chance to see the cliff divers which was very impressive, but just too nerve-racking (is that the right word?!?)

Cory, Emma, Brandt and I went to see Shrek 3 yesterday- in Spanish! Besides having to keep Emma and Cory a little informed with what was going on, and having to leave during the beginning of the movie to find Brandt milk...it was a neat experience. The movie theater didn’t sell any milk, and the mall food court didn’t have any milk (but you could by beer)..so I had to ask a few people before I found out I could buy milk outside of the mall in OXXO (it’s like a 7-Eleven). I practiced my Spanish a lot this day! As soon as Brandt finished his milk, he fell fast asleep for almost the entire movie. Emma was happy to finally see Shrek 3, even though it was all in Spanish.We had a great traditional dinner last night at El Zorrito (the little fox). The restaurant had high chairs...but without straps..I had to tie Brandt to the chair with my belt (not that I need a belt with all the food I’ve been eating). The fresh tortillas were the best part of the meal.Gary, my sister’s husband, left to go back to Puerto Rico today. It was very sad seeing him drive off in a VW bug. He will be back to meet the ship in Chile. Cory won’t have anyone to have late night romantic dinners with until he returns....

As I type (it’s close to midnight), we are sailing past the many lights of Acapulco. It’s neat to see the lights of the fancy hotels, bars, night clubs, condos, and restaurants on the coast, and the lights of all the homes dotting the mountains. It was really meaningful for me to be here in Mexico since it is a part of me through my wonderful mom. I hope to be able to visit my family in San Diego/Tijuana sometime again...but it’s a little bittersweet to leave because I really don’t know the next time I’ll be back to my mother’s beautiful homeland.
¡Viva Mexico!

Today we arrived in Acapulco, Mexico at 0800 hours. We have been sailing the Pacific for the past 3 days, and I must say that I really enjoy being out to sea.
Our day generally begins with breakfast, then Emma, Mariana, and Nikolas go to “Sea-Camp” where they have a short Spanish class, physical activities, arts and crafts, stories, etc. from 0900-1150 and then again from 1400 -1600. Us big kids (along with Brandt) attend the Latin America Today class from 0920- 1035. We then look forward to lunch around 1230 (it honestly feels like we are constantly eating). We are all gaining weight rapidly, and Brandt poops around 6 times a day!! Cory and I attend the Teachers at Sea class from 1335-1610. Cory has a Conversational Spanish class from 1615-1645, and I go to mine from 1700-1730. We all get together and have dinner around 1830. Generally there is a Cultural /Informational meeting around 2000 covering the port we are about to visit (Cory and I take turns going to these meetings because Emma and Brandt fall asleep around this time).
The ship is very nice. I don’t like the taste of the recycled water, so we do buy bottled water to drink on the ship. The food is delicious..there is always something yummy in the buffet to eat. The unfortunate thing is that there is dessert at lunch AND dinner every day (definitely not helping)!Even if you try to avoid the dessert, one of the waiters will generally bring it to the table, and then it’s there...and it can’t go to waste!! Our cabins are roomy, and the entire ship is air-conditioned. I’m always cold inside the ship, and as soon as I walk outside..it’s so hot!
The sea has been relatively calm, but we do rock back and forth quite a bit...it’s difficult to walk down the hallways straight. Brandt’s still crawling around, but if he masters walking on this ship..he’ll have the best balance in the state of Maine!
We miss all of you, and hope all is well.

It’s been a week since we left Maine..and it feels like we’ve been away for a month (in a good sense though)! Things started off a little shaky at the Philadelphia airport...3 of our flights were canceled! To make a long story short, all 9 of us (my parents, my sister and her family, Emma, Brandt, and I) had to spend the night on the airport floor! Our flight was delayed for the following day (not until 4 in the afternoon), and we spent 3 hours on the runway before flying out. We finally made it to San Diego, minutes shy from missing the ship!!! It was an adventure, but I would recommend avoiding U.S. Airways and the Philadelphia airport...

Mexico was wonderful! The ship sailed from San Diego to Ensensada Mexico, and then my cousins Moises and Martita, and Tia Rosita and Tio Jose came to pick us up and drove us to Tijuana where we saw the rest of the family and spent the night. Moises and Gary picked up Cory at the airport the following day, and the whole family drove us back to Ensenada where we had a big celebration dinner for my dad’s 66th birthday.

I have eaten so much Mexican food the past few days, and every bite had been delicious! We are now sailing along the coast of Mexico and will reach Acapulco, Mexico in a few days.

Ship life is not only fun for me, but fun for the kids as well. We haven’t spotted any dolphins or whales yet, but Emma has her binoculars ready. Emma’s enjoying being treated like royalty by the crew, Brandt’s been doing good sleeping in a bed (with pillows all around), and Cory and I begin classes tomorrow!

..and we're off!!!

We will be leaving tomorrow for our Summer 2007 Voyage! We will be leaving our home in the woods for a home at sea for the next 70 days. I think I'm all packed up...I keep throwing more things into our suitcases...hopefully I will be able to zip them closed! Our home and dog, Sebago, will be cared for and loved by Megan and Sarah until we get back. We are excited for the trip, but we also know it will be nice to see home again in August. I will try my best to keep everyone updated during the summer...we will miss you!