Location: Porto Pollo, Sardinia
Greetings from Sardinia!!!
Today was amazing!!!! (as always with this fantastic crew). We started off our morning with eggs and toast (Those eggs were fabulous). After breakfast, we had classes in Leadership and Marine bio. In Leadership, we took a “Leadership Color Exercise” to determine loosely what sort of leader we are. In Marine Biology, we learned more about our ID-ing living organisms project. Following the class, we had chili and cornbread for lunch. And let me tell you, was there an absolute mission to make that lunch. Jac was a trooper with onion cutting, Emmy killed it with cheese grating, Jimmy cracked open about a million cans, and Anna shocked us all with her absolutely endless ideas for seasoning. (Seriously, she had so many). Following lunch, the certified divers went for a dive! I’m told they visited a cave, and Rachel even spotted an octopus!! While the certified divers went for a dive, we non-certified went for a skin dive (It’s basically just snorkeling). We paired up with buddies and took turns trying to reach the bottom (and begin ID-ing organisms). After the dive, some of us took jump-in showers, and during this, the Vela 2022 crew got our second jellyfish sting! I’m starting to think we’re being targeted.
After that, we all got ready for dinner!
Riley and Matt drove us in dinghies out in waves to drop us off at the restaurant. Because there was no dock on the beach, we all had to hop out of the dinghies and wade to shore, which honestly was a ton of fun. Once on land, we explored the island! At 19:00, we all met up at the restaurant, which had the impressively creative and inspired name of “El Restaurante.” Dinner was a blast, the night was filled to the brim with laughter, and everyone was thankful for dinner. (Though we’ve been genuinely spoiled in the way of food on this trip, I can’t think of a single person that would pass up a plate of pasta). My table finished dinner with a squeeze, as it has become an essential part of the dining experience here on Vela.
For confused readers, a squeeze is where we all hold hands and share what we appreciate about the day. Along with an appreciation, the skipper asks the crew a question. For today’s squeeze, I came up with the entirely original question, “what makes you feel appreciated?” (Don’t listen to Lauren, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about). It’s crazy to think that we’ve all only known each other for a week. I feel like I’ve known these people for at least months. I genuinely cannot wait to get to know everyone more as the trip goes on. Everyone is so uniquely interesting and is so fun to know. Anyways, a big thank you to the staff for making this program run so smoothly and for giving us all probably some of the best moments of our lives. Each day is so jam-packed that you sometimes forget hours have passed instead of days. If you’re reading this trip log and debating applying, I highly recommend it, Vela is amazing.
Hi to Mom, Dad, Sam, YAK, Uncle Kolja, Uncle Joe, Aunt Laurel, lil’E, Oma, Opa, Buppa, Horst, and Tichi!!! I miss you all so much, and I think about the lot of you all the time. I love you guys!!