En Route to Spain

Hello-

I hear we are almost halfway to Spain!  Our current coordinates are (42 degrees 19.97N   037 degrees 43.6W).  My Semester at Sea email that you can reach me at is amdryer@semesteratsea.net.  This will be the easiest way to communicate with me, and its free for me to use.  Please let me know when you are interested in more correspondence than the blog reports.  I would love to hear of the interests of your students or the questions that they have. If you want any information just let me know!
Thanks
Allie

Off to Sea

The first day of school in Ashland is just around the corner, and I am boarding for my semester today!

We were able to avoid Hurricane Bill, and he left no damage in Halifax either.  We will be able to board the MV EXPLORER this morning just like as planned.  

The whale watching tours were awesome!  We saw pilot whales, mink whales, and a seal!  We actually were out on two whale watching tours, one in a passenger boat, and the other in an inflatable zodiac boat. The zodiac was pretty cool because we were out in high waves and in this little 16 foot inflatable boat in 10-12 feet waves. The adrenaline rush was more extreme than most roller coasters!

This morning I will board the MV Explorer and set sail for our first port of call which is Spain.

Hope the first day of school goes great!

Canada!

I am currently making my way through Canada. Since my ship leaves out of Halifax, NS, my family has decided to drive our way through Canada in route to Halifax.  Tonight we are up in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  Its gorgeous!  Tomorrow we are doing a whale watching tour.  On Friday I will board the MV Explorer for my trip around the world!

I am lucky that Hurricane Bill has passed beyond Nova Scotia and did not do any major damage. For a while we were worried that Hurricane Bill would delay or alter our embarkation, but luckily he passed through Halifax without creating too many problems.

Itinerary/Calendar

Calendar:

Depart Halifax, Nova Scotia --> Friday, August 28th.

Cadiz, Spain --> Saturday, September 5th to Tuesday, September 8th

Casablanca, Morocco --> Thursday, September 10th to Monday, September 14th

Accra, Ghana --> Tuesday, September 22 to Friday, September 25th

Cape Town, South Africa --> Saturday, October 3rd to Thursday, October 8th

Port Louis, Mauritius --> Thursday, October 15th to Saturday, October 17th

Chennai, India --> Friday, October 23rd to Tuesday, October 27th

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam --> Tuesday, November 3rd to Sunday, November 8th

China --> Wednesday, November 11th to Monday, November 16th

Japan --> Friday, November 20th to Tuesday, November 24th

Hawaii --> Friday, December 4th to Monday, December 7th

San Diego to Minneapolis to Ashland --> Monday, December 14th

2 Weeks Until Takeoff

With less than 2 weeks remaining before my family and I begin driving to Nova Scotia, it is really crunch time for me to have everything in place before I leave. 

Through Semester at Sea there is a program developed in order to facilitate students contacting elementary and middle schools and sharing their experience with younger students. I have signed up to take part in the program, but unfortunately in their program I can only partner with one teacher. Mrs. Reardon has signed up to be my partner teacher through their program.  This means that I will be sending a few packages back to the elementary school during my voyage. They will first go to Mrs. Reardon's class, but I am hoping to formulate some sort of list that could be used for the packet to travel throughout all of my partner classes.

I have included below the addresses of all of the ports that I can receive postal mail at. If you choose to send postal mail, it cannot be a package because of customs and excessive international duties.  The list also includes the suggested airmail date in order to receive the mail before I arrive.  I will continue to post on this blog as more things come up in the next few days.  If you are looking for more information feel free to email me at amdryer@stthomas.edu, or check out www.semesteratsea.org

Important Reminder: Mail to those aboard ship should be addressed as follows:

MV-Explorer - Fall 2009 Voyage
ATTN: Allison Dryer
Port Agent Address (from list below)

Currently the U.S. Post Office recommends sending international mail at least two weeks in advance. Please keep in mind that mail service in other countries may vary. Letters should be sent Airmail only. Please do not send any mail to the Institute for Shipboard Education or to the University of Virginia to be forwarded. Do not enclose currency in the mail.

Please do not send packages to the ship - Excessive duty is charged in some countries. In many instances, packages are not delivered to the ship. Packages may be held in customs, or at a local post office, and the recipient aboard ship is never notified. If you send packages, you do so at your own risk.

Please note: The agents listed below are not contracted by the Institute for Shipboard Education, but by the ship's management company. Therefore, the Institute cannot assume liability for the actions, or lack thereof, taken by those listed below regarding receipt and delivery of mail and faxes.

When sending mail please mark "MV Explorer - Fall 2009 Voyage" on the first line and "Attn: Allison Dryer" on the second line. The Port Agent's Address (from the list below) should be written on the subsequent lines.

PORT	ADDRESS OF PORT AGENT	SUGGESTED AIRMAIL DATE
Cadiz, SPAIN  Phone: 34 956 276 112 Fax: 34 956 276 766	Perez Y CIA S.L.  C/ Ecuador, 2 11007 Cadiz, SPAIN	August 21
Casablanca, MOROCCO  Phone: 212 61 29 8894  Fax: 212 22 48 4793	LASRY MAROC S.A.  30 Avenue des Far  20000 Casablanca, MAROC	August 27
Accra, GHANA  Phone: 233 22 300 894 / 5 Fax: 233 22 202 989	HULL BLYTH Seatec House / PO Box CO 214 Akosombo Road TEMA	September 8
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA  Phone: 91 44 252 12032  Fax: 91 44 252 43813	JOHN T. RENNIE & SONS 19th FLOOR No.1 Thibault Square 8001 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA	September 19
Port Louis, MAURITIUS  Phone: 230 202 70 40 Fax: 230 208 58 14	Ireland Blyth Limited Shipping Operations Department No 6 Dr Ferriere Street Port Louis, MAURITIUS	October 1
Chennai, INDIA  Phone: 91 44 252 12032  Fax: 91 44 252 43813	J.M. BAXI & CO 3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex  4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai  Chennai 600 001, INDIA	October 9
Ho Chi Minh City, VIET NAM  Phone: 84 8 825 7996 Fax: 84 8 824 2996	GENERAL FORWADING AGENCY  5th Floor Osic Building  8 Nguyen Hue Ave.  D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIET NAM	October 20
HONG KONG  Phone: 852 2786 1155  Fax: 852 2744 3240	INCHAPE SHIPPING SERVICES (HK) Ltd.  Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor Nº 3 Lockhart Road Wanchai, Hong Kong - CHINA	October 28
Shanghai, CHINA  Phone: 86 21 6323 1350  Fax: 86 21 6329 1519	PENAVICO SHANGHAI  3/F 13 Zhong Shan Road (E 1)  Shanghai 200002, P.R. CHINA	November 1
Yokohama, JAPAN  Phone: 81 45 201 6991  Fax: 81 45 212 1614	INCHAPE SHIPPING SERVICES 2F Asahi Seimei Yokohama Honcho Bldg  36, 4-Chome Honcho, Naka-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-005, JAPAN	November 6
Kobe, JAPAN  Phone: 81 78 391 3046  Fax: 81 78 391 3105	INCHAPE SHIPPING SERVICES (Japan) Ltd.  Kenryu Bldg, Room 502  6 Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku  Kobe-shi, Hyog-ken 650-0024, JAPAN	November 9
Honolulu, HAWAII  Phone: 1 808 599 8604  Fax: 1 808 599 1950	INCHAPE SHIPPING SERVICES 521 Ala Moana Blvd Suite 256  Honolulu, HI 96813	November 20
Hilo, HAWAII  Phone: 1 808 599 8604  Fax: 1 808 599 1950	INCHAPE SHIPPING SERVICES 521 Ala Moana Blvd Suite 256  Honolulu, HI 96813	November 23