SEAmester students sail to over a dozen ports of call and experience a vast array of environments and cultures over the course of their voyage. From tropical isles and rainforests to barrier islands and maritime forests, West Indian street food to Virginia crab picks. Here is a small sample of our favorite ports, what SEAmester students do there, and how it relates to our coursework. Click on the map to the left, and the blue cruise track most resembles what the spring SEAmester trip will look like, though SEAmester will be unique and the itinerary fluid. Below are some descriptions of our favorite ports of call along this route:
Dominica, an island nation of the Lesser Antilles, has been a SEAmester favorite for decades. A staple of our adventures on Dominica is a day-long hike to a boiling lake, which takes us up through mountainous rainforest, the geothermal wonders of the Valley of Desolation and boiling lake, and culminates in a refreshing swim through a gorge to a roaring waterfall. We also visit the local Carib Indians, who settled in the mountains centuries ago to avoid colonial powers and still build traditional watercraft from a single dug-out log of hard wood. We also provision in the weekend market, loading the boat with fresh tropical fruit and vegetables and West Indian delicacies.
400 miles to the west lies the Dominican Republic. SEAmester trips have visited numerous ports the DR, but none more that Santo Domingo, the capital and the oldest city in the hemisphere.The DR shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, and together they share one of the most contentious histories in the Caribbean, which is quite a feat in a region steeped in the legacy of slavery. The repurcussions of colonialism, the effects of poverty and racism, and the benefits and toll of American foreign policy are all evident in this stunning city. The Haitian market is the spot for art, spices, and voodoo charms. Hike down into the caves of Los Tres Ojos National Park, where native Tainos hid from Spanish rule, and walk the cobbled streets in the the shadow of the oldest cathedral and university in the hemisphere.
Antigua is famous for its yachting, but there is a wealth of history and science for us to explore! The Pillars of Hercules are a stunning example of what wind and water can do to the seashore, and the hike up to Shirley Heights presents one of the most dramatic seascapes in the Caribbean. Nelson's dockyard is a colonial-era dockyard where British ships patrolling (and plundering) the Caribbean once laid up for repairs.
Cumberland Island, Georgia has also been a staple port-stop for SEAmester over the years. The barrier island's unique status as a National Seashore allows us to see the southeast coast of the US as it once was; fertile marshland, maritime forest, enormous stands of live oak, oyster beds, and armadillos. It also illustrates the impact of humans on that environment in the feral horses that roam the island, the sulfur smell of the upstream paper mills, and the ruins of gilded-age mansions. Its long, flat beaches are ideal to study coastal geology and play the cricket we learned down island.
The British, American, and Spanish Virgin Islands present dozens of wonderful anchorages for our students to explore. We've hiked the goat paths of Norman Island to the famed pirate lookout of Spyglass Hill, eaten the best roti outside of Trinidad in Tortola, climbed the geologically mysterious boulders of the Baths in Virgin Gorda, studied the legacy of sugar production in Waterlemon Cay, coral bleaching in St. John, and the socio-economic and ecological effects of tourism in St. Thomas. In Trellis Bay we learn through the moko jumbie dancers how West African, native Amerindian, and Christian religion and culture blend together to form a distinct West Indian tradition.
Other possible ports: St. Eustatius, Bequia, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, the Chesapeake, Maine coast, Gloucester, Boston, New York city to name a few. Come and see what the possibilities are!
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SEAmester students sail to over a dozen ports of call and experience a vast array of environments and cultures over the course of their voyage. From tropical isles and rainforests to barrier islands and maritime forests, West Indian street food to Virginia crab picks. Here is a small sample of our favorite ports, what SEAmester students do there, and how it relates to our coursework. Click on the map to the left, and the blue cruise track most resembles what the spring SEAmester trip will look like, though SEAmester will be unique and the itinerary fluid. Below are some descriptions of our favorite ports of call along this route:
Dominica, an island nation of the Lesser Antilles, has been a SEAmester favorite for decades. A staple of our adventures on Dominica is a day-long hike to a boiling lake, which takes us up through mountainous rainforest, the geothermal wonders of the Valley of Desolation and boiling lake, and culminates in a refreshing swim through a gorge to a roaring waterfall. We also visit the local Carib Indians, who settled in the mountains centuries ago to avoid colonial powers and still build traditional watercraft from a single dug-out log of hard wood. We also provision in the weekend market, loading the boat with fresh tropical fruit and vegetables and West Indian delicacies.
