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MARCH 31ST AND APRIL 1ST, 2023

DOCKED IN WALVIS BAY. DROVE TO A BEACH WHERE PELICANS CAN BE SEEN THEN WENT TO A LAKE, PINK IN COLOR DUE TO MINERAL DEPOSITS. WE THEN DROVE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR ADMIRING THE SAND DUNES  OF THE NAMIBIAN DESERT ON THE WAY. ARRIVED AT AN ENCHANTING SEASIDE RESORT , RESEMBLING A BAVARIAN VILLAGE,CALLED SWAKOPMUND. SPENT TIME IN A WONDERFUL MUSEUM SHOWING THE HISTORY OF THE AREA FROM THE TIME OF AFRICAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT ERA SINCE THE GERMAN OCCUPATION IN 1884. FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II, SOUTH AFRICA ADMINISTERED NAMIBIA UNTIL ITS INDEPENCE IN 1990 

APRIL 2ND, 2023

DOCKED IN LUDERITZ,

OUR SECOND STOP IN NAMIBIA. WENT TO VISIT THE GHOST TOWN OF KOLMANSCOP, ONCE A THRIVING DIAMOND MINING TOWN, STARTED IN 1908, AFTER DISCOVERING  DIAMONDS IN THE AREA. THE RESIDENTS BUILT A GERMAN STYLE TOWN INCLUDING A HOSPITAL, BALLROOM, POWER SATION, SCHOOL, SPORT HALL, CASINO, ICE FACTORY AND THE FIRST XRAY STATION IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. THE TOWN STARTED TO DECLINE WHEN THE DIAMOND FIELD SLOWLY STARTED TO DEPLETE. HASTENING THE DEMISE WAS DISCOVERING THE RICHEST DIAMOND BEARING DEPOSITS 270 KILOMETERS SOUTH. MANY OF THE TOWN INHABITANTS LEFT. BY 1956 THE TOWN WAS ABONDONED.

APRIL 4th, 2023

DOCKED IN CAPE TOWN. FIRST DAY WE VISITED AND HAD DINNER AT THE BOSCHENDAL WINERY. NEXT DAY WE TOOK A CABLE CAR UP TO THE TOP OF TABLE TOP MOUNTAIN,3500 FT HIGH, WITH STUNNING VIEWS OF CAPE TOWN. THE CABLE CAR WAS AN AMZING FEAT OF SWISS ENGINEERING. THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN WAS FLAT AND YOU COULD SEE VISTAS FROM MANY  DIFFERENT SPOTS

WALKED AROUND DOWNTOWN AND HAD LUNCH AT AN ELEGANT BUT VERY REASIONABLY PRICED RESTAUANT.

APRIL 5th, 2023

DOCKED IN CAPE TOWN. THE NEXT DAY WE TOOK A FERRY TO ROBBEN ISLAND, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SIGHT BEST KNOWN AS THE PRISON WHERE NELSON MANDELA WAS INCARCERATED FOR 18 YEARS. IT WAS A PLACE FOR EXILES AND CRIMINALS AS WELL AS A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT FOR LEPERS, LUNATICS AND THE SICK. FROM 1960 IT WAS USED BY THE APARTHEID REGIME TO ISOLATE POLITICAL PRISONERS, THE LAST WERE RELEASED IN 1991. IT INCLUDED A TOUR GUIDED BY A FORMER PRISONER WHO SHOWED US MANDELLA’S FORMER COMPACT CELL. CONLUDED THE DAY BY HAVING A GREAT MEAL AT THE BEAUTIFUL WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
 

APRIL 9th, 2023

DOCKED IN DURBAN. ARRIVED THERE ON EASTER SUNDAY, MOST OF THE STORES WERE CLOSED. HOWEVER WE TOOK A VERY SCENIC DRIVE GOING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE THOUSAND HILLS. ARRIVED AT THE PHEZULU SAFARI PARK. TOOK A SAFARI RIDE AND SAW GIRAFFES, ZEBRAS, WILD BOARS AND ELKS. LATER VISITED THE REPTILE FARM WITH SNAKES AND CROCODILES. WATCHED THE FEEDING TIME FOR THE CROCODILES WERE THEY ENJOYED A MEAL OF RAW HALF CHICKENS TOSSED AT THEM FROM AFAR. WALKED THROUGH A RECREATED ZULU VILLAGE. ATTENDED  ZULU DANCES DEPICTING COURTSHIP,BETROTHAL, WAR AND BIRTH 

APRIL 11th, 2023

DOCKED IN MAPUTO.   FIRST VISITED AN OUTDOOR MARKET WITH BEAUTIFUL ARRAY OF WOODEN SCULPTURES AND BRIGHTLY COLORED CLOTHING ITEMS. HAD LUNCH AT THE POLANA SERENA HOTEL OVERLOOKING THE BAY. VISITED THE CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. NEARBY WAS A HOUSE MADE ENTIRELY OF IRON DESIGNED BY GUSTAV EIFFEL FOR THE ISLAND’S GOVERNER. IN THE SAME AREA WAS INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, THE CITY’S FOCAL POINT AND HOME TO A STATUE OF SAMORA MACHEL, THE COUNTRY’S FIRST PRESIDENT AFTER THEY GAINED THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM PORTUGAL IN 1975. LASTLY WE VISITED THE SENSATIONAL BEAUX-ARTS RAILWAY STATION CONSIDERED THE THIRD MOST BEAUTFUL RAILWAY STATION, AFTER THE THOSE  IN PARIS AND LONDON.

APRIL 15th, 2023

DOCKED IN NOSY BAY, AN ISLAND 5 MILES FROM THE MAIN LAND OF MADAGASCAR, WITH A POPULATION OF 110,000 . THE ISLAND WAS VERY POOR AND THE ROADS WERE IN VERY BAD CONDITION. WE TOOK A RIDE TO A BEACH ABOUT ONE HOUR AWAY. IT WAS MOSTLY SHABY WITH SOME RUN-DOWN RESTAURANTS. A MAN WAS WASHING HIS COW IN THE OCEAN. WE HAD A BEER AND FRENCH FRIES. IT WAS VERY INEXPENSIVE. THEY CHARGED US $8  INSTEAD OF $5, WHICH WAS THE CORRECT EXCHANGE RATE, BUT WE LET IT SLIDE. WE WENT BACK TO A PARK THAT THEY SAID HAD LEMURS, A MONKEY LIKE ANIMAL. IT WAS TOO HOT AND HUMID AND WE DECIDED TO GO BACK TO THE SHIP. MADAGASCAR HAS A POPULATION OF 28 MILLION AND GAINED THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM FRANCE IN 1960.

APRIL 17th, 2023

DOCKED IN MAHE, HE LARGEST ISLAND IN SEYCHELLES. SEYCHELLES IS AN ARCHIPELAGO OF 115 ISLANDS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN OFF EAST AFRICA. IT IS A POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION WITH BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND CORAL REEFS. IT WAS UNINHABITED UNTIL ENCOUNTERED BY THE EUROPEANS IN THE 16TH CENTURY. FRANCE AND ENGLAND COMPETED TO CONTROL IT UNTIL THE BRITISH HAD FULL CONTROL IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY. THEY GAINED INDEPENDENCE IN 1976. PEOPLE ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND IT HAS A HIGH STANDARD OF LIVING. WE DROVE THROUGH THE CAPITAL VICTORIA, A NEAT LITTLE TOWN, ON THE WAY TO A SCENIC BEACH AND ENJOYED A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET. IT HAS A POPULATION IS 100,000. THEY DO NOT REGARD THEMSELVES AS AFRICAN.

APRIL 18th, 2023

DOCKED IN LA DIGUE, A SMALL ISLAND SIMILAR IN CHARACTER TO NANTUCKET. A VERY RELAXED ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE MAIN MEANS OF TRASPORTATION ARE BICYCLES. WALKED TO A NEARBY BEACH AND SWAM IN  CRYSTAL CLEAR WATERS. WE SAW THIS HUGE TURTOISE RIGHT ON THE BEACH. ON THE WAY BACK WE STOPPED AT AN AMAZING HOTEL. FOR A REASONABLE DAY PASS WE SPENT THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON ENJOYING THEIR ELEGANT SWIMMING POOL WITH A SWIM UP BAR. WE SAT UNDER A GAZEBO OVERLOOKING THE WATER AND ENJOYED BEER AND PIZZA 

APRIL 22ND, 2023

DOCKED IN LA SALALAH. OMAN WITH A POPULATION OF 4.5 MILLION HAS GAINED INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITISH INFLUENCE IN 1967. AFTER A ROCKY START, SULTAN QABOOS REIGNED FROM 1970 TO 2020. OIL PRODUCTION STARTED EARLIER BUT WAS MORE ORDERLY STARTING IN 1967 AFTER OIL RESERVES WERE DISCOVERED IN 1964. SULTAN QABOOS INTRODUCED MANY SOCIAL REFORMS AND CONTRIBUTED TO A BETTER STANDARD OF LIVING. WE ARRIVED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE EID AND MOST STORES WERE CLOSED. HOWEVER OUR TAXI DRIVER SHOWED US AROUND AND TOLD US HOW MUCH THEY HAVE A BIG REGARD OF EGYPT. HE TOLD US THEY CONSIDER EGYPT AS VERY CULTURED AND THE CENTER OF CIVILIZATION, NOT TO MENTION THE GREAT TV SERIES THAT ARE VERY POPULAR IN OMAN.HE DROVE US TO A BEAUTIFUL OASES AREA WHICH HAD AMAZING CAVE FORMATIONS 

APRIL 24th, 2023

DOCKED IN LA MUSCAT. DROVE AROUND WITH HUSSEIN, THE TAXI DRIVER. TOOK US TO THE SULTAN QABOOS MOSQUE. BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR BUT ALSO THE GROUNDS AND GARDENS WERE A SIGHT TO BEHOLD. WE THEN WENT TO THE OPERA HOUSE. THE EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURE WAS IMPRESSIVE. HOWEVER, THE OPERA WAS CLOSED. WE THEN DROVE THROUGH VERY HILLY ROADS WITH MOUNTAINS ALL AROUND. WE VISITED A VERY BEAUTIFUL RESORT WIH A NICE BEACH FREQUENTED BY WESTERNERS 

APRIL 25th,AND 26TH, 2023

DOCKED IN DUBAI.  

THE SHIP HAD AN EXCURSION TO THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT. WE WATCHED A FALCON SHOW WHILE SIPPING CHAMPAIGN. WE THEN MOVED TO A RESORT WHERE THEY HAD A DELICIOUS MIDDLE EASTERN MEAL AND BASBOOSA AND OM ALY FOR DESERT. WE ALSO WATCHED ABELLY DANCERS AND SPINNING DERVISHES. NEXT DAY WE WENT TO THE DUBAI MALL, THE LARGEST MALL IN THE WORLD. DID SOME WINDOW SHOPPING THEN HAD LUNCH IN A GOURMET RESTAURANT, OVERLOOKING THE GREAT ARTIFICIAL LAKE AND WATCHED A WONDERFUL FOUNTAIN DISPLAY. WE THEN TOOK A RIDE UP BOURJ EL ARAB TO THE 148TH FLOOR. FROM THERE WE CAN SEE ALL OF DUBAI WITH THE PLETHORA OF HIGH RISES ALL AROUND.