LAND AT LAST: MANAUS, BRAZIL

A quick post of two pictures I liked from our first day in Manaus, Brazil. We arrived this morning after six days at sea. Julie and I head into the rain forest tomorrow to fish for piranha and other touristy crap. More pictures after that.

A LITTLE ISLAND NAMED DOMINICA

Dominica is a little island in the Eastern Caribbean that most people have never heard of, mostly because it lacks the wide sand beaches that tourists covet. It's probably most famous for being a hangout spot for sperm whales, though I didn't see any. Julie and I went snorkeling and walked around downtown. We had fantastic local cuisine including jerk shrimp and Tibuli beer. We are now heading up the Amazon river toward Manaus, Brazil.

ALL ABOARD!

We had a really nice celebration tonight as the last ten students joined the ship. Their passports were being held by the Brazilian embassy and they came within a breath of missing the voyage. An unusual and emotional start to the voyage.

TO LEAVE, OR NOT TO LEAVE

We have left Nassau...sort of. Ten students had their visas delayed by the Brazilian embassy, so the ship had to leave port only to return later that evening to pick up the last students. I'm pretty sure Royal Caribbean wouldn't do the same. We officially leave tonight at 8pm.

BAHAMAS BABY!

The 108th sailing of Semester at Sea is nearly underway at long last. We are in the Bahamas and just about all the students have embarked. We set sail for Dominica tomorrow at noon. Julie and I are adjusting to life at sea and our tiny little room. I have been quite busy and didn't even get off the ship in Nassau. I don't think I missed much.

CHRISTMAS TREE TRADITION

For the past eight or so years, Julie and I venture out to Sauvie Island, look for the perfect little oxygen generating tree, and then mercilessly hack it down with a handsaw in order to make our house more festive for the holiday season. This year we outdid ourselves and killed a very handsome little guy. When I look at the pictures above I can't help but draw comparisons to those taken at Abu Ghraib. Yes, it is sort of a stupid tradition, but we don't have many in our lives. The hardest part is ripping the wings off butterflies for the homemade garland.

SYMBIOSIS: THE GREENLANTERN by ROMOLO STANCO

I came across this story in a magazine I used to work for in Jordan called Trendesign. Apparently, scientists in Germany looking for a sustainable alternative to plastic stumbled upon lignin, a key ingredient in wood that can be converted into a plastic-like material when combined with natural fibers, resins, and flax. They called the new creation Arboform or liquid wood. It can be molded exactly like plastic, but is 100% recyclable and toxin free. Years later Italian designer Romolo Stanco took the idea a step further, creating a combination lamp/vase. What makes the design genius is that low-energy LED lights in the vase aid the plant's photosynthesis process, and the plant's surplus of electrochemical energy in turn feeds the batteries that power the LED lights, for a nearly perfect symbiotic relationship. My only issue is that Google searches for information on "Greenlantern" are difficult on account of the superhero by the same name.