The Atlantic

Back when Jake and I were at the beginning stages of planning this year we realized we were going to need to somehow get from Europe to the Caribbean.  The sticker shock of an airplane ticket from
Spain to the Dominican Republic left us wondering just how far the girls could swim.  Somewhere I
heard rumor of something called a Repositioning Cruise.  Cruise ships like to sail around the Mediterranean in the late summer and fall, because of those hurricanes in the Caribbean (sounds like Business 101 to me).  Then when the weather gets cold in the Mediterranean, they head to the tropics for Christmas (Business 102).  This means huge fleets of ships are heading across the Atlantic in Nov/Dec.  The ships would be empty, but someone who took Business 201 decided to give amazing discounts and fill the ships with people who have more time than money (i.e. retired Europeans and the Amundsons).  When we realized all four of us could take a 17-day inclusive Italian cruise for cheaper than airplane tickets, we didn’t need to take a business course to say BonVoyage! 

We embarked on this enormous cruise ship in Genoa Italy and quickly realized that we were the only US citizens on the boat. Soon Claire made friends with three French sisters and Charlotte got close with a girl from Russia who was about her age.  There were a lot of pantomimes, a few keywords were learned, and they just figured it out, cause that’s what you do when you want a friend.  You make some effort.  I was reminded of when Claire was three and we were in Honduras, she met a little girl and said, “But how do I play with her, she doesn’t speak Greenville”  😳😬😑.  We have learned some things on this trip, thank the Lord and all His angels. I also hope that someday when Charlotte hears about how all Russians are evil, she will remember her sweet friend.  It’s hard to judge/hate/stereotype when you have played 38 hours of uno with someone.

Charlotte’s Grandpa had taught her how to play chess when we were in Valencia, and I haven’t beaten
her yet.  With 17 days we played a lot, check out the board in the photo that I took cause I was white and thought I was finally going to win.  She still came back and beat me.  

Jake and I realized that we were faced with an extraordinarily long time on the water with just each other, so we made some effort as well.  When there was trivia, we played.  Most of the trivia was US pop culture, I think they thought it would give some challenge to the Italians, but they didn’t see Jake coming.  We now own a significant amount of Costa Cruise line apparel.  When there were dance lessons, we tangoed.  We don’t know how to dance, but with 17 days among Europeans who love to dance we thought, sabbatical is about expanding yourself, few things take you out of your comfort zone like the Bachata. The dance lessons were in Italian and we made friends with some Brazilians who convinced us to sign up for what we thought was a friendly dance that evening. But our Italian isn’t good and our Portuguese is worse.  When we got there we realized we had signed up for a waltz/tango/salsa competition.   They announced us as The Americans and out we went to dance in front of a packed house.  By the end, our salsa had turned into The Robot and we found a truth.  The French, Italians, Germans, Spanish and Brits are people with incredibly diverse cultures and a long history of conflict, however they can ALL agree on this truth: There is nothing funnier than watching Americans in over their heads.  They roared with laughter, which means Jake and I played right into it.  By the end, a German couple who could waltz as if floating on air said, “Well it is true, America is the home of the brave.”  They among many others became some really wonderful friends that night.

There were some amazing ports that the ship stopped at, both in the Mediterranean and the
Caribbean.  Most people will purchase Excursions, which I’m sure are lovely and take them to some beautiful hot spots, stress-free.  We came up with a game called Abuelo.  Abuelo means Grandpa in Spanish, and if any of you know my dad you will know exactly why we named it after him.  

Here is how you win: Get everyone in our family back to the ship before it departs. (It’s really a win on many levels)

Here are the rules:

1. Get off the ship and ask a Taxi driver to take our whole family to HIS favorite location, as long as it is about 20 Euros away. 

2. Then you get 10 additional Euros. It’s not enough to take the taxi back to the ship so you need to problem-solve.  You can use that money for public transportation or to purchase a map, but you need it for everyone and you also HAVE to buy an ice cream. 

3. No technology, unless you ask a stranger to use theirs. 

4. If you give up you yell, “Margo!” (This is my mom’s name, who frequently rescues everyone.  If you know her you know why she is the safety net).  But yelling Margo means you also lose and it is another player's turn.

We had a blast playing this game!  With the language challenge (most ports only spoke French or Spanish) it really taught the girls a lot about figuring out how to navigate strange cities.  Identifying assets and liabilities, then using your assets.  It showed them that people can be helpful and that even when you think you are hopelessly lost there is always a way.  Standing around helplessly doesn’t make for a fun day, but problem-solving and with some effort you can see some breathtakingly beautiful places.  Such as:

In Marseille France, here you can see Monte Cristo on the island in the background but not the Count or the sandwich. 

At Sagrada Família in Barcelona Spain.  We have hit dozens of breathtaking cathedrals all across Europe.  None came close to this masterpiece! 

Malaga Spain is close to Northern Africa, so we were excited to see some traditionally Islamic architecture.  Which included a beautiful palace and fort.

The boat didn’t dock but sailed through Gibraltar at night, so we all went out to look at Africa.  Making a promise to each other and her that we would never again sail past, and that next time we
would give her the respect she deserved.  Jake and I have both been to Africa and we agreed that if the girls couldn’t really spend time there, we are glad we didn’t stop for only a day.  Traveling the world is a clear reminder of just how much more there is to see and you are never done exploring.  

Then water water everywhere....  it was amazing to grasp just how big and how blue the ocean is, you certainly can’t understand it on a plane.  Before we left for this year I wanted to see if we could teach the girls just how big our world is, although for that matter I don’t think I got it either.  I mean sometimes with technology and transportation it feels small, but other times like when you stare out into Africa at night, it seems infinitely large.  But the world is neither of those things, it actually does have a size.  Slowing down has helped.  Walking across Spain, sailing the ocean blue... the concept of our world is beginning to form in each of us.

And if you made it this far (wow long post) you deserve a treat from Claire in St Lucia.