Boats
by Isaac Strauss
Porto: Tour boat on the Douro River
This boat was the very first boat on our trip. It was about forty minutes long and went under ten bridges.
Morocco: Ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco
Since we were going to a new continent and a new country, we had to get our passports checked. When we got to Morocco, there was a person waiting for us to be there for our day trip.
Malta: Tour boat to the Blue Lagoon
The Malta boat was a tour boat going to Gozo and the Blue Lagoon. When we got to the Blue Lagoon, we got to swim in it—it was the coldest swim I’ve ever taken! After we finished swimming, we took a speedboat to the Comino Caves and stopped by approximately fifteen caves.
Venice: Gondola + Water Taxi
We took a class on rowing a batela, which is like a gondola but symmetrical and doesn't have the same construction rules as a gondola. We took a water taxi to the train station in Venice. The roof of the water taxi slid open so we could look out.
Switzerland: Paddle boats
We took paddle boats in Switzerland and paddled around the lake, taking shifts between paddling and riding. We paddled over to a water fountain on the other side of the lake and back to the starting point. It took about an hour.
Thailand: Floating market
In Thailand, we went to a floating market and went down a river while passing shops where you could buy stuff. It took an hour and we bought some amazing Thai pancakes with white marshmallowy stuff and orange shreds on top.
Sydney: Ferries
We took a lot of ferries in Sydney, including multiple to Manly and other places. My favorite part of the ferries is that you take them very frequently and they have a beautiful view of the harbor.
New Zealand: Milford Sound + Waitomo Glowworm Caves
We took a beautiful tour to Milford Sound. It took eight hours in total to get there and back, but it was worth it for the amazing scenery and beauty of it all. It was probably the most stunning boat yet.
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were three hours there and three hours back. The glowworms are beautiful blue dots on the ceiling—but that’s just to lure bugs in. If you turn all the lights on, you’ll see strands made of a mixture of urine and saliva. Gross.
Copenhagen: Go Boat
We took a two-hour Go Boat tour which we got to drive and steer. While we were doing it, we had trash nets to scoop up trash. We scooped up a soda can and almost a balloon. While we were driving, we found out that all the kids were better than Dad at driving a boat. After the boat, we got candy because we got the trash.
Sweden: Ferry to Skansen
In Sweden, we took a boat to Skansen, an open-air museum in Sweden. It was ten minutes and (this is a joke) seven seconds. Once we got to Skansen, we rode for the first time on a funicular, which is a machine designed to go uphill, and explored Skansen.
Personal note:
We have gone on lots of boats, some long and some short.
My third favorite is... Switzerland paddle boats.
Second place is... learning how to row in Venice.
And finally, first place is—dun dun dun dun... Milford Sound.
It is just so beautiful, there is no way that I wouldn't put this in first place. We even saw a seal.
