Photo Friday: Cape Coast, Ghana

Some years, the M/V Explorer docks in Takoradi, which is much closer in proximity to the Cape Coast. Due to a too-short berth Takoradi granted the ship, our Semester at Sea itinerary was changed to dock in Tema instead, which was a bit of a shame only because there were so many small fishing villages [...]

Castles and Dungeons

Semester at Sea offers 300 trips through its international field program, distributed among the 14 stops we’ll be making. These range from afternoon trips around Mauritius to four-day tours of India. SVV and I have been doing half SAS trips, half independent travel, which I find is the perfect balance of alone time and group [...]

Welcome to Ghana

Two nights before the M/V Explorer arrives in a country, we have a cultural pre-port that all Semester at Sea participants attend. This can be anything about the place we’ll be visiting, from the food to the music, the people to the religion. One night before we arrive, we have a logistical pre-port. This is [...]

Anchors Away: Discovering Ghana, Part II

My sister Kari recently wrapped up a four-month, round-the-world trip via UVA’s Semester at Sea program. She will be stopping by here periodically throughout the next few months to regale you with tales from her ports. This account follows Part I, which you can read here. ***** Our second day in Ghana is a little [...]

Anchors Away: Discovering Ghana, Part I

My sister Kari recently wrapped up a four-month, round-the-world trip via UVA’s Semester at Sea program. She will be stopping by here periodically throughout the next few months to regale you with tales from the ports. If you want to know anything specific about the trip, leave your questions in the comments, and she’ll answer [...]