Lubeck Germany , + Hamburg +kiel canal

me and friends arriving in lubeck 

me on fender duty 

lubeck 

the Passat MASSIVE SHIP 

We arrived in Lubeck on a spring warm breeze the sun was shinning people were happy and we were all excited to try some schnitzel. To get to lubeck we had to go through the Kiel canal , and we were going to go in earlier but there was to much fog and then there was a massive accident we to ships collided and two people died. Then we were not allowed to go in the next day because of two much wind and i mean there was a ridiculous amount of wind. We finally made it through the canal it was very scenic and ravishing . There were little farm houses and the colors of the trees and grass were popping , what i just said may seen ridiculous but it is so true!!!! The colors looked alive! We arrived in the late afternoon just enough time for us to go out for dinner and have some Schnitzel ! In Germany we went to go see the passat which was a freaking MASSIVE SHIP , it is no longer sailing but holy !@!@!$* was it ever huge, we got to tour it and see the cabins and go all the way down to its hull , it was lots of fun. Then my Watch had to hurry to catch the train to hamburg because we were going on a watch adventure to Hamburg. We arrived in hamburg and we tried to find our hostel but that took us a very long time we ziged zaged up and down the streets till we found it we settled in and showered ( woo woo an actual shower) and got ready to go out. We went to the fair and went on some pretty awesome rides , we had dinner with boots ( who is our watch leader) and then we went out on the town , we had some really good bonding time , we found this little club and we danced , danced and danced then we went back to the hostel. That night was a loads of fun and to top it off in the morning boots made us a home made breakfast. We left the hostel and went to the grocery store were they sold 50 euro cents chocolate bars (milka's) Connors bought enough to have one till the end of the year ! We caught our train back for Lubeck . Overall I had really enjoyed germany! 

Oostended Belgium / Bruge

me and my papa 

me and my papa on helm

papa relaxing

in bruge 

canal ride in Bruge 

My dad came to Belgium WHOOOOOOOO
Best time ever! it was really nice to see him and it was nice just to be able to take some time away from everybody, when living with 60 other kids you can imagine that sometimes it is nice to have a break. Anyways we got to Belgium a little bit earlier then expected so we were not in our proper space we had booked , we were not allowed off the ship but past floaties came to see us and that was a nice treat. The next day we needed Volunteers to help go through the locks that is when you go into what you could call a bath tub ( A very big bath tub) and then the doors close behind you and then the water rises or decreases depending on if you are going out on in the dock , then when the water is equal to the water on the side you want to get out of then the door opens and you go and dock. That night my Papa came and it took a while to find each other , his phone was dead , could not contact him , i had no internet, I searched for his hotel and eventually found it but he was not there , We eventually found each other and we had a lovely dinner and caught up on things back home . The next day we went and explored Oostened and , we went to the market and has lunch and walked along the beach, The next day we went to Bruge which was amazing and unreal , The architecture , the atmosphere , the people everything was splendid. We went on a canal ride and saw the city , it was a nice day and an enjoyable time with my father. The next day we went to the beach and rented wind blockers and "sun tanned" for 3-4 hours there was a festival going on so everything was quite busy. Then the next day we left :( it was sad to see my papa go but i was excited to see my floaties , i felt like i was away from them form them for very long . My dad said he would be waiting at the end of the pier so that he could wave me off , but i feel a sleep .....

Spain , La coruna

Last time we were in Spain we went to Mont Serrate and we went to a Train concert , Barcelona was great and so was La coruna , In la coruna we went a 45min train ride away an we stayed in a hostel like no hostel you have ever seen before. It was the coolest and most "hip/hippish/..." We were allowed to do what ever we wanted our curfew was from 9am-11pm . On the first night at the hotel we went for a first watch dinner , we had been trying to organize one for so long, We had a great time and we all told some pretty funny stories and boots defiantly told us about his life :P The next day went to go see la Sagra Familia in Santiago de compostello it was stunning , you could just sense that it had so much history to it. What was really interesting was that you 

saw all the pilgrimage's that came to the church their final destination , the look on their faces when they saw the church was priceless. I got to go inside the church and i saw St James is tomb and i got to go under the golden arches which was simply beautiful .  Back in La Coruna I explored the city we had some delicious Spanish food (paella) bought some souvenirs , Oh and i almost forgot the christianradic was docked right beside us and we got to go see her , she is our sister ship and she was training the military  

i am on the 1st yard closet to the mast on the fore mast 

bornholm , denmark

 bornholm , denmark

poland 

Me in poland :) 

In Santiago de compostello ....this is where people come all around the world to see the famous church where saint James was buried

Atlantic crossing 2,

The first couple of days of the Atlantic sail were very nice and all was well but all was turned around when it started to get rough. We have had rough weather for 4-5 days and it makes those days seem so much longer. I really long for land I miss it so much. Compared to last Atlantic crossing this one is so much worst, everybody is tiered and grumpy now and all people want to do is sleep.  Teachers are piling on the homework and I am just getting frustrated from everybody. I miss home so much and sometimes just can’t wait to go home. I am also getting really frustrated with the people who just don’t understand and say well this is what you signed on for; I just wish they would give us a break. I am exhausted and frustrated but I am so excited to see my daddy because he might come to one of the ports!!!!  All in all this has been a very challenging sail mentally and physically. I fell I don’t how many times and now I have so many bruises all over and I fell in the scuppers and bashed my knee and I also slid across the room and hit a metal pole , it was just a great day. 

Belize City, Belize

 I had a long day of flying; it was the first time really flying by myself. I went through Victoria, Seattle, and Miami and then arrived in Belize. I know that it sounds silly but I was really happy with myself and how well I travelled.  When I arrived in Belize I was greeted by Mr Davies and then we waited for Jessica O and a new boy Jeremy. We drove back to the ship I had lots going through my mind I was really worried about second semester and how things would turn out. I also had a lot on my mind, universities, school, doing well in school, and figuring out what I should do with the rest of my life. I may want to do medical school but then that would require that I do an internship which then means I have to decide that soon which because I would have to do that during the summer, And summer is coming up soon. Enough about that, Belize so we got to the ship and it look dazzling, all the kids were gone so it was only Jessica, Jeremy, Sam.W and I on the ship we unpacked and got our stuff organized. Low and behold an hour later we had to provision. Everybody came back when I was taking down the flag and I got so many hugs it was great. The next day I stayed on the ship and fully unpacked, and I was on galley and I had gang-way. That night though I went out for dinner, Belize City its self was not the prettiest city but the atmosphere was great. People were friendly and some time too friendly, there were smiles and greetings everywhere. Being blonde and blue eyed gets you really noticed!  We when to the Radisson which was a hotel for dinner because we had heard that they had the best burger. We sat down, the restaurant was by a pool, and there were plants and climbing root s over the bar it was really cute restaurant.  Are table started with only 7-8 people and by the end there was 15-17 people it was really fun we had a big dinner and everybody talked about their breaks back home. That night we had a port program organized by Sam D and Elisha’s dad, we had a band that played traditional music and there were appetizers and such it was really fun. The next day we left, eventhough I did not spend much time in Belize I am glad a got a bite of it because it really is a beautiful place. The most memorable thing about Belize would defiantly have to be the colour of the water.

Havana, Cuba

As we entered port we could instantly see the culture everywhere, old building, old architecture, old cars, and beautiful hillside. We got into port one day early which was nice because that meant that we would have more time to spend there. Immigration took a while but we finally got out of the ship. The area in which we were docked looked like a movie scene there were cars from the 50’s, the port looked very old and ruff. It was enclosed into a square shape, it just looked really authentic. We were not allowed to go on shore leave that night, but the next morning we went and explored. I went out with Jamie, Victoria, and Ben. To get out of the port we needed to show our passports and show our names on the paper and they had to check our bags. We had never had so much security. The first step was to go to a bank because we needed money, the banks in Cuba were so securitized, they would only let a certain amount of people in the banks at one time, this meant that we had to wait a least half an hour just to get into the bank. There were types of pesos the convertible pesos which they gave to tourists and the local pesos that were not convertible to anything. The architecture was not what I expected it to be. It was so European, but in an original way. The buildings were tall and they looked like they had a lot of culture. Victoria, Jamie, Ben and I walked around for the day we had lunch at cafe Paris which had nothing to do with French food but it had really cheap food. We all got individual large pizzas each for 3 convertible Cuban pesos which is basically on par with the Canadian dollar. We walked around went to the market and we got our picture taken by these people on the street with a very old French camera, we each got a copy of the picture in black and white and i also go the negative version of it. We also got Cuban cigars for our parents we had no problem getting them through customs were as some of the boys got theirs confiscated. The customs officers were really strict when it came to bringing in things to the port. There had be a government approved sticker with red numbers on it and some part of it had to be shinny. We went back to the ship and later on that night we had a girl’s night out, we got all dressed up and we really wanted to go dancing but we came to this restaurant that had a flamingo dancing show with live music. We had an authentic meal while watching flamingo dancing it was a nice night. The next morning we had shore leave all day and that night we had a port program to go and see a cabaret. The day was spent restaurant hoping and looking around we were not allowed to leave Havana because we did not have a certain visa; we had to stay in the old city. That night we went to a cabaret ...it was interesting to say the least; the teachers had not expected it to be that ‘revealing’ but it was interesting. There was this contortionist and she did some pretty crazy things. The night was long, we got back to the ship at roughly 1 in the morning and then the next morning we had to wake up a 6:30am to go to Veredero for a beach day. Veredero was very touristic but it was what we needed, a nice relaxing day at the beach. The water was lovely and I took a risk for myself and I went snorkelling. We took a catamaran out to the middle of the bay and snorkelled with a guide. It was so cool, I was really proud of myself for doing that it was my first time snorkelling and I can’t wait to do it again.  We even got to feed the fish it was really fascinating. All in all Cuba is one of the ports I would really want to come back to

Dominican Republic,

We were docked in the middle of a palm tree forest; it was boss (heather smith). But actually it looked like a movie scene. When we docked and cleared customs we left right away for Las Terrenes. We took safari busses to Las Terrenes it was roughly an hour bus ride and it was really fun because the roads were bumpy; therefore, we were flying everywhere. We arrived at night to a beach were we had a dinner that consisted of Rice, beans, fish, lasagne and bread. They also served us this juice that was made with real fruit. We spent a lovely night walked along the beach and then our home stays picked us up. My home-stay parents were Jill and Steve and they lived on a resort area in a small vacation home. We had to take a 20min taxi cab to get there and there was a portion of the road that was so destroyed by the rain that there were massive puddles every were it was entertaining. We had to take a cab because our home stay had a quad so they really could not take four of us on it therefore we took a taxi. With me were Sienna, Bryn and Sarah N. We sat and talked to our home stay, they gave us Ritz crackers and peanut butter. That was such a treat because a girl on the ship has a huge allergy to penuts: therefore no peanuts are allowed on the ship. That night I had such a great sleep in a comfy bed with clean sheets! The next morning we were treated like royalty and they made has browns, sunny side up eggs, toast, PEANUTBUTTER and freshly cut fruit, and juice. We had a great breakfast and then we were off to work. I was assigned the playground with Jamie, Victoria, James, Felix, Jeremy, and Noah. We had to dig up all the gravel to build the foundation and then dig holes for were the post were going to go , that was some back breaking work. The guy we were working with was French from France, and I was the only one who could speak French in my group; therefore I had to translate the entire whole construction plan. I really enjoyed what we were doing it was so much fun. I mean it was tough work, but we were all working together which was really nice. We had two hours to get back to our home stays to shower and get ready for the pig roast and dancing on the beach. Getting to the beach was fun Bryn, Sienna, Sarah’s, Dave, Mark, and Dan and I rode in the back of a pickup truck it was really crazy just because the roads were so bumpy and there were so many people in the streets, looks of heads turned when we passed , we stood out like a sore thumb. We got to the beach, you could see the full pig being roasted ....Anyways the atmosphere was great there was music playing, people dancing, there was the sound of the ocean crashing, people were laughing, and it really was a great place to be. Bryn and Sarah N went back earlier and Sienna and I stayed back for a while and got a ride back in the back of a pickup truck. (Do not worry it was not a random persons truck it was the home stay organizers truck) Anyways it was a nice ride we were also with a couple of guys from class a float. When we got back to our home stay, they had chocolate for us and they had also made popcorn and nachos. Having Home stay parents for two days was really nice, we got to be pampered for a short period of time, my only regret is that we did not spend much time with our home stays and we did not really get a chance to explore where they live. Oh, I forgot to mention In the Dominican EVERYBODY rode motorcycles and ATV’S, you almost never saw a car and there were really no rules when it came to a side of a street.  It felt like you were living in a motor cycle gang, except that everybody was very nice and kind.

Dear friends and family

Sorry its been so long , i just have not had internet in over a month ! This is the first time this year that I have been able to upload pictures and actually post things so I thought I should just give you a run down of what has happened in the past month.

1) Crossed the Atlantic Ocean only by sail . We did not use the motor ONCE ! Our water maker broke during the 4 day in so we were only allowed sea salt showers !
2) I got cabin fever and people saw the crazy Ines by day 10 of the sail
3) I got re-voted for student council !
4) I went to one of the most dangerous cities in the world -Trinidad and we went to see harry potter
5) On Christmas morning I woke up to the beautiful Tobago
6) Christmas was so memorable , i truly felt like I had a second family
7) We went to a steal drum concert , danced in the streets
8)Went to an orphanage , met some great kids
9) Had a surprise port on a desert island in the Caribbean , This was for New years , Got really really sun-burnt!
10) I love my life , I am so grateful that my parents gave me this opportunity
11) I LOVE YOU ALL , SEE YOU IN 9 DAYS !!!!!WHOOOOOOOOOOO

Agadir, Morocco- Culture shock phase one

We arrived one warm and humid day. I had absolutely no idea to expect, we had just come from Europe were everything is more or less the same. What i mean is that it was not culturally different.  We were docked in a guarded area and we even had our on guard.  The day we arrived we had to finish maintenance on the ship and man oh man we had so much maintenance to do. I think we brassed for 6 hours at least! But we had to get supplies for our desert adventure so they did let us of the ship to get water and snacks. We got a taxi, and later on we found out you really had to bargain for the price before getting in the car or else you got insanely ripped off. You learn from your mistakes i guess. We found this little market area were the spices overwhelmed the scent of the air and were colours were vibrant. We got some water and bread and of course some junk food :P We decided we were hungry and just went to the nearest restaurant , the crazy Moroccan adventure had just begun  .

Barcelona,

When we got in the city was so beautiful, colour full buildings, filled with buzzing people and there was also the Christopher Columbus statue that was shining with a rim of gold. We docked right near a mall which was fantastic because we had quick access to internet and food and basically everything we needed. The day we docked was Thanksgiving Day so we were not allowed off the ship because we had a delicious thanksgiving dinner.  That night we went out and had some ice cream and a look around. There were palm trees everywhere and the city was just buzzing. By that time our ice cream was depleted and we decided to go to the mall even though it was 9:00pm it was still open.  The mall was HUGE, everything you could ever imagine was there and the cool thing was that there were no walls in some places so it was a type of “outside mall”. The next day we had shore leave; Jane, Maria, Kim and I wanted to get some clothes for the warmer countries we were going to visit. We spent a solid 4 hours in the mall and my wardrobe was set for the Caribbean. Clothes there were not too expensive so that was a good thing. In Porto, Miss Bourque my History found out that “train” was playing while we were there. Tickets cost 25 euro’s and the concert was not a huge one it was small-ish roughly 300 people were there and it was in a quiet venue. Anyways, I went to the concert and it was so much fun we all got dressed up and took the metro to go to the concert. The concert was really nice, train was a really good entertainer and some of us even got pictures with him. Our first port program: Park Gael, he is a famous architect for all of his crazy architecture. When we entered the park you felt like you had entered a dream , it was so crazy there were vendors everywhere and music playing : it was just a nice place to be.  Our next port program was visiting an old abbey on top of a mountain named “Mont Serrate”.( The serrated mountains) These were the most particular rock formations I have ever seen , they looked like giant columns softened with the slightest touch of a sander.  They were all natural and pure. The view we had when we walked up it was just breath taking: the smell of pure air was really refreshing. Spain was a great place and I hope someday be able to go back and explore a lot more.