Port #12: Montevideo, Uruguay

I had high hopes for Uruguay.  My expectations were met.  Montevideo, the southern most capital city in this hemisphere was much smaller than Buenos Aires.  It was much more manageable.  Once getting off the ship, I took a jog on the Rambla – a biking/walking/jogging the length of the city on the river. It carried on for miles upon miles – literally.  Before understanding the length of the Rambla, I thought I would do the whole thing.  After four hours of jogging and walking, I headed into the city for breakfast.  From here, I traversed just about the whole of the ne and old city before reaching the ship to shower and change for supper. 

Day 2 was spent on a Semester at Sea trip to visit museums and the beach resort town of Punta Del Este.  Not much to report from here except that vacationing in Punta Del Este needs to be on the list if you are interested in a genuine beach vacation.

The last day was another city day of walking around, eating, walking some more, eating some more, spending the last of the pesos, etc.  

Port #11: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Upon arriving to Buenos Aires, I was completely dumfounded at how developed the city was.  Large, modern skyscrapers lined the skyline.  My ignorance led me to believe that the whole of Latin America was part of the backwoods, developing world – similar to what I experienced in Nicaragua and Ghana.  Absolutely not the case.  Argentina is making it happen!  Buenos Aires is developed and is on the rise.

The first day in BA was spent walking around the city to visit the parks, historical sights, tourist traps, etc.  Buenos Aires is a sprawling city.  Miles upon miles were walked.  The second day began with a jog along the River (Rio Plata) specifically within a nature reserve.  It was amazing.  Upon returning to the ship, I and some other friends/colleagues ventured out to a wine tasting.  This was a food-filled, wine tasting experience.  As great as the food was, the wine was even better.  All the bottles were from small, family-run wineries in Argentina.  Of course I had to support small business by purchasing a couple of bottles…The rest of that afternoon, evening, and night was spent causally walking from the tasting to the ship making pit stops for ice cream, empanadas, and other local delicacies.    

The third day was a duty day – my last day on duty while in port.  There were no issues to speak of, and more importantly, this was the day I finished my Comp.

The last day was spent like the first – walking and visiting different parts of the city.  Although this day, I treated myself to a top-line slab of beef.  I’ve never had meat like this.  To all my meat (and potatoes) friends out there, you’ve got to make your way to Argentina!

Port #10: Cape Town, South Africa

My visit to South Africa was not a typical SaS experience.  Over the last few months I have been reading and writing for my Fielding (PhD.) Comprehensive Exam.  This is one of the last requirements before I step into my dissertation research.  Essentially, this part of the Comp. is a critique on a body of literature of my choosing.  I chose to dive into the mentorship literature as this is what I am leaning towards for my dissertation.  (Typically, students use this as a precursor to their Literature Review for the Dissertation.  Something I have chose to do as well.)  That is all to say that my time in Cape Town was spent collecting my thoughts, organizing my notes, and preparing to write.  The writing would occur during the South Atlantic crossing from South Africa to South America.  I rented a space in a Bed and Breakfast just north of Cape Town in a town called Blaauwberg.  It was right on the beach with a direct view of Cape Town and Table Mountain.












We arrived in Cape Town the morning of October 18th – my birthday.  (The night prior, my colleagues through me a surprise party (a Chips and Salsa party).  The birthday morning was spent watching the sunrise over Table Mountain – an amazing sight to see.  Once we received permission to get off the ship, myself and some favorite students hiked up the Mountain.  The weather below was glorious.  Hot and sunny.  As we hiked up, the clouds began to cover the mountain which made for a cool, foggy, and absolutely beautiful ascent.  Once at the top, it was completely cloud filled.  However, by the time lunch was over, the clouds had dissipated and the entire city and region was in view.  As soon as the hike was over I packed my bags and headed to Blaauwberg.













The whole of my four days there were spent either seep within the literature or taking a break by walking on the beach, eating at a local restaurant, or exploring this hamlet just north of Cape Town.  It was the perfect birthday get-away and time spent immersing myself in some much-needed Comp. time.  It was this experience away from the city and the typical tourist activities that enabled me to get after my exam and submit it on the other end of the Atlantic…