Durban, South Africa

Here we are in Durban (nicknamed “Durbs”), the third most populous city in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. Our Currents newsletter today is titled “Explore Durban” which I find a bit ironic since our cruise director warned us (twice) over the PA system last night about being careful with handbags, phones and money, removing jewelry, staying in groups, being alert to our surroundings, etc while exploring this city! A coastal city with a major port and tourist hub, Durban is known for its high levels of theft, armed robbery and violent crimes against both visitors and locals. Knowing this didn’t really encourage me to want to “explore Durban.”

We arrived late last evening shortly after 5 p.m. No way did we want to venture out after dark, especially after all the warnings about our safety! We considered eating dinner on the back deck but decided it was a bit too chilly with the clothes we were wearing.

 

hmm....maybe not!

 

looks like everyone else had the same idea

Durban has a population of 3.9 million people for the greater metropolitan area. It is a highly ethnically diverse city with large Zulu, White and  Indian/Asian populations. Its first languages are English (49.8%) and Zulu (33.1%). It has a crime index of 80.4 paired with a safety index of 19.6. 

It has a natural harbor which is the busiest port in South Africa. It is known for its “Golden Mile” beach and world renowned Indian-inspired cuisine.

Durban - a busy port city

views from our deck

from the deck - not as pretty by day

I was not happy this morning when Ronnie announced that he was going to run off the ship, but thankfully he had a good run and returned safe and sound. The weather here has been very pleasant today - a nice change from all the heat we’ve had to endure in many of the countries we’ve been in. The further we get from the equator, the more pleasant it is. 

Golden Mile run opportunity - Point Durban (photo credit: Ronnie)

Since we were here in 2023, I had planned to stay on the ship knowing that we have excursions planned for the next 2 days. But after lunch we changed our minds and decided to walk to an outdoor shopping area nearby, perhaps a half mile from the ship. By that time, there were lots of people out - both locals and tourists. I did a bit of souvenir shopping and then we were both ready to head back to the ship.        

 

Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal

 

uShaka Village Walk

Golden Mile beach

hand carved giraffes come in all sizes

tiny beaded animals

We've enjoyed sitting on our deck this afternoon/evening. There are quite a few what I would call "party boats" that come by. They are full of people, music, noise and a lot of twerking or whatever it's called these days. Many of the women are dressed in colorful long dresses or all white with colorful (artificial) leis around their necks. They basically just ride around the bay, oftentimes coming by the ship to check us out.                                                                                                                                                                                   

party boat nearing sunset

                                   

party boat after dark

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

Rainy day in Maputo, Mozambique

It was threatening rain when we docked in Maputo, Mozambique this morning. Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It currently has a population of approximately 1.1 to 1.27 million residents within the city itself. We felt like we saw most of them today – ha! We had originally planned to go to the Feima market that we visited in 2023. However, before breakfast a friend offered us their excursion tickets because he had been up sick all night and didn’t feel like going. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to go to the market, but it was a kind offer so we accepted. Ironically, the tour was named “City and Sun.”

view of Maputo-Katembe Bridge from our balcony

By the time we exited the ship, it was already raining and it continued to rain without letting up the entire day! ☹ Trying to dodge potholes full of water and climbing in and out of the van with umbrellas and wet shoes made for a much less enjoyable day.  Since the tour was ridiculously overpriced, there were only perhaps 10 or 12 of us. The van was air conditioned and better than expected, but the tarred roads were full of potholes.

Our first stop was the Central Railway Station. We walked through the CFM Train Station Museum which was thankfully covered.

 

vintage locomotive

Maputo Central Railway Station

modern passenger train

Above are some art displays inside the small train museum.

From there we were driven to the Maputo Central Market. Our guide pointed out significant landmarks as we rode, including Independence Square and City Council. There were an abundance of nuts (mostly cashews) for sale, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and lots of wood carvings and trinkets. Most sections were cleaner and better organized than most markets we've seen. 

 

approaching Maputo Central Market (seller sticking purses in front of me)

women peeling shrimp (right) and broom seller (red shirt)

Maputo fruit & veggie vendor

a good selection of wigs

cashews and baskets for sale

colorful plastic shopping bags

After walking through the market, we visited Saint Antonio’s Cathedral and did a "drive by" of the Iron House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_de_Ferro We could have walked through it but with the rain, all except for a couple of us opted to just lower the window and snap a quick photo.

We were supposed to visit the Tunduru Botanical Gardens but that would have been impossible with the steady rain coming down. 

 

St. Antonio's Catholic Church

Iron House

inside The Sé Catedral de Maputo (Cathedral of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception)

candles burning inside cathedral

Water was rushing down the curb when we exited the van, but those of us willing to get out went inside the church for a quick look around. 

I had been happy to learn that one of our stops was to be the Feima Market which was the one I had originally wanted to visit. We did go there, but it was raining and not much fun at all. Vendors had make shift tarps over their wares but some were full of water and dripping anyway. It’s not easy to shop outside under an umbrella in the rain! 

some were lucky to be under covered roof

rain interrupted this checker game (bottle caps for checkers)

very clever recycling

 

Above are examples of very clever use of items we would normally throw away. Christmas tree is made of soft drink cans. Silver elephant and crocodile are made from soda can tops. Alligator is made from metal bottle caps, etc.

 

carved wooden figures

I haven’t mentioned the high pressure sales people at every entrance and exit and who will follow you around out in the open. They are aggressive and persistent and you absolutely don’t make eye contact with them unless you want them to escalate the pressure. And it’s not just one but several at the same time. While sitting on the bus, I saw a lady from the ship stop to look at something. All of a sudden she had seven men surrounding her with their wares. It is difficult, but to be expected. We have been warned as we move around Africa from this point forward not to wear flashy jewelry and to pay careful attention to our handbags, etc. These people don’t take “no” for an answer – at least not easily.

By this time, we were tired of the rain and our feet were wet and we were both ready to get back to our home away from home. Oceania was running a shuttle every 30 minutes back and forth from that location to the ship, so we saw our opportunity to bail out. Our guide wasn’t real happy with us because our next stop was the hotel and lunch. But it was already after 2 pm, so we headed back to the ship for a late lunch.

It would have been enjoyable, but rain puts a damper on the best laid plans. I don’t think either of us would ever vote to visit Maputo again.

Monday in Mayotte, French Comoros

Overnight we sailed to Mayotte, an island in the Indian Ocean situated between Madagascar and Mozambique. Mayotte’s residents are described as having mixed African-Arab origins. The official languages are Comorian, Arabic and French, and the population is 97-98% practicing Sunni Islam. 

We hadn’t booked an excursion today but chose instead to tender to shore and just mill around a bit. As is often the case, there were dancers there to greet us. 

 

teens doing a "courtship" type dance

We didn’t want to walk into the city, so we just walked back over to the same large building we wandered through before that serves as a marketplace. This part of our "revised itinerary" as we head toward the cape of South Africa reminds me of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day -  waking up to see the exact same things as before.

But what a difference a day can make! Yesterday as we drove around Nosy Be, almost every person who saw our small bus gave us a big, friendly wave! Seriously - all of them, from young to old! We could not have felt more welcome as “strangers in these parts.” However, today in Mayotte has an altogether different feel.

Sellers in the market are not one bit friendly to strangers and the last thing they would do is let you take their picture. Just as when we visited before, most of the photos I took were from a distance or from behind. I did snap a photo of a darling little boy who was “flying” around the market using a coat hanger to steer the “plane” before I saw his mother (grandmother?) When I saw her, I asked if I could take his picture but was denied. Thankfully I had already snapped one before either of us saw the other.

up, up and away!

Overall, the locals seem to barely tolerate our presence, or at best just try to ignore us. The market we walked through obviously caters to locals (no souvenirs here) in spite of being located just a short walk from the pier. Its stalls hold a little of everything - from shoes to cosmetics to vegetables.

 

The vendors were mostly women wearing colorful, if not always coordinating, clothing and head coverings. Many if not most have their faces covered in a heavy looking, yellowish paste. They appear to be extremely bored. Some are looking at their phones; others are sleeping or just sitting with another vendor.

 

Unlike the women of Nosy Be, there is nothing artistic about the way the majority of women in Mayotte paint their faces. Rather, some type of mixture appears to be smeared all over and left to dry. In fact, as I was writing that last sentence, I thought “why not google it and maybe I can find out?” And here's what it said. “Women in Mayotte and the Comoros Islands wear white face paint—known as msindzano—primarily for skincare protection and beauty, as it acts as a natural sunblock against intense UV rays while treating blemishes. The paste is made by grinding sandalwood (or other tree bark) on coral, forming a protective mask often adorned in intricate, decorative patterns.” Perhaps not all of the islands just smear it with no attempt to make an artistic statement, but it seems that the women on this island mainly just smear it.

I remembered from our previous visit, they sold a product that bleached the skin. I thought I might like to try some on the back of my sun damaged hands, but when I found the booth, there were women already being waited on and they were all speaking French. Also I realized that they would only take Euros, so I decided to blow it off. I guess I'm just stuck with these "horrid age spots." 

By this time I had already worked up a sweat so I voted to return to the ship and of course Ronnie readily agreed!