When I first proposed joining the Peace Corps, Katie was a friend who was in the background of my life, although I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had interest. Anyway, as the process of applying to the Peace Corps advanced so too did our relationship. In fact, it was only a week before we officially started dating that I sat in my Peace Corps interview and said I was not in a relationship. Once it became more obvious that the Peace Corps was a part of my future we planned to enjoy our time together but consider taking a step back once it came time for me to leave. As the date drew closer we came to the realization that we really wanted to go through this experience as together as we could and I don’t think either of us regrets that decision in the slightest. I can only speak for myself, but she has been very supportive for me, and often here I find I need almost daily support :P Katie left for school in August and I left for Tanzania in September, so it had been a little of 10 months since we last saw each other face to face. I think we’re still too close to the experience to put time in perspective, but I have a new found appreciation for my grandparents’ generation and the sacrifices they made for wars. It’s easy to hear someone needing to serve overseas for 2 years but I cannot imagine what it must have been like with letters as the only form of communication and the nature of the work was life threatening. My situation seems to pale in comparison when I think in those terms. Regardless, 10 months is a long time and we were looking forward to the gathering for sure.
But naturally, it started off terribly….well that depends what you call the start. Garrett had been visiting me at site and we traveled together to Morogoro to see my host family. They were as accommodating as ever preparing us a feast for each meal and doing way more than any Peace Corps ever considers when preparing a place to sleep. We’re pretty satisfied with a pillow and a blanket if it’s cold. We were given fully made beds with as many sheets as we did or didn’t want and a fan if it was too warm, which I have to admit was closer to accurate. My range of tolerable temperatures has definitely reduced in size enormously as I think my experience here does not push my range above 20 degrees from hot to cold. Anyway, we left the next morning and my family continued to outdo themselves arranging for a ride once we were in Dar es Salaam. So, after the afternoon was spent traveling around Dar grabbing food and relaxing, our good luck was well used up.
The story from KLM is that the plane broke down and the one they sent to replace it was smaller, so I was one of the lucky 96 people who were rerouted and delayed to the next day. The real problem was the fact that I didn’t just get pushed back to the next morning, I got pushed back to the next NIGHT. So I lost a full 24 hours right off the bat. Once the struggle of reframing my next day as one being in Dar began to pass, I started to feel much better as KLM really paid off our burden by putting us up in the DoubleTree with food paid for. While I still would have traded that day in the hotel for one in Venice, I felt somewhat better. So, the result was, instead of a Dar-Amsterdam-Venice itinerary, I had a Dar-Nairobi-Paris-Venice trip. I walked on the ground in both Nairobi and Paris so to some degree you could argue I’ve been to Kenya and France now but that’s debatable. I did however see the Eiffel Tower from only an airplane window and a few thousand feet away! Anyway, after a relatively uneventful set of flights, I arrived in Venice.
We coordinated a water taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, which was crazy expensive for one but a really cool way to enter the city. If you can find a group of 5 it ends up being more worth it because it’s comparable to the Water Bus and takes you straight to the door. After a shower, and a rather lengthy wait to check out, we were finally on our way to the boat.
It was apparently the maiden voyage of the Nieuw Amsterdam and it was quite the ship. We, however, did not get to enjoy the private balcony or big windows in our room. We were on the first floor with the smallest windows. Not the smallest in the picture but the second smallest and yet, it was more than sufficient. Inside the room it took up half the wall so we had no complaints about visibility. Besides, if we wanted to look out, the upper decks provided fantastic views. We eventually made our way upstairs for departure and the boat was tugged out of its stall with very impressive maneuvering on the tugboat’s part.
We began the trip by sailing down the canal between the main city of Venice, on the left, and the barrier islands on the right.
While I have a picture from pretty much every inch of the sail out, I’ll just put a couple...
Afterwards, we made our way to the dining hall and had our first dinner aboard the ship in its massive, two-floor dining room, complete with a bottle of chardonnay. Then the rest of the evening was spent exploring the ship, with the product being the discovery of one of our go to places. Called the Crow’s Nest, it was a library/coffee shop/lounge sort of place that took the top floor at the front of the ship. We decided to head to sleep early as traveling and time changes all rolled into being quite exhausted.
When we awoke we were already beginning to enter the area of Dubrovnik, Croatia. A mix of islands and sailboats greeted us on the way into the port.
After a switch to the cruise’s hired bus we drove into the old part of Dubrovnik for our kayaking excursion, which was based out of the most picturesque little cove I have ever encountered.
After instructions, the ever awkward boarding process, and getting ourselves stuck on a submerged rock we were ready to go! The old walls of Dubrovnik surrounded the city that was once an important regional port. We paddled around the bay and viewed the city from every water angle possible. It is quite a magnificent place. We stopped for some lunch and snorkeling at a small cave before returning to our launch point. 
After a quick return to the ship to change out of water (and sweaty :P) gear we caught a bus back to walk through town. It had a massive fire at one point where the decided wood was no longer allowed so the old city is built entirely out of white stone, making it all seem very coordinated if nothing else.
After another light evening of drinks and conversation, we woke the next morning back in Venice. While those unfortunate 3-day sailors disembarked we were put into a “bus” (in Venice, a boat) to take to our excursion to the glass making island Murano.
After a tour of the glass factory and its incredibly expensive chandeliers (upwards of 100,000 euro) we hopped back on the bus to Burano, a small but lovely and more hospitable version of Venice. Apparently, the colors of the different houses are such a valued attribute that you do not have the right to paint your house, but the product is quite attractive. I think Katie and I agreed that any real estate investments made on our part in the Venetian community would be on this island. Dream big!
So that’s part one of the trip. Tune back in later for the rest!
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