Cape Town, Africa - day 2

Unlike yesterday's picture-perfect weather, today was cloudy gray skies. We didn't have an excursion booked, so the day was a day to do with exactly what we pleased. For me it was visiting with a friend over breakfast while Ronnie went to run and at noon enjoying lunch with him in the Dining Room. And tonight having dinner with friends. Are you seeing a theme? So are the scales!! :-(  Oh, and this afternoon it was reading and a nap.

Since I didn't get out to take any more photos, I'll share some more from  yesterday. The harbor area of South Africa is colorful and whimsical! Browsing through a few shops provided ample photo ops that clearly say "South Africa". 

 

wall mural

colorful animals

 

 

brick mural on wall inside port area

rent a bike

park a bike

metal art

are they black & white? or white and black?

do not use your car horn

street entertainers

colorful coasters

tin can and gold beaded lion

Winter drinks are here!

      

chocolate!

Afrikoa Chocolates

       

colorful woven baskets

friendly? security officer

giraffe print sundress

    

metal scrap warthog

African folk art

a colorful sunset from our deck

I forgot to mention that the weather has turned chilly. After sweating for months now, out come the jackets! However, it will begin to warm again as we head back toward the equator. By the way, the reason I featured the winter coffee drinks is because winter in Cape Town is June - August.

Cape Town, Africa - day 1

Shortly after daybreak, the Vista docked with a clear view of Table Mountain and Cape Point. Nowhere else would you have this view except Cape Town, South Africa. Nicknamed the Mother City, Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest city. It is also the legislative capital and second largest city after Johannesburg. It is known for its busy, beautiful harbor. 

 

approaching Table Mountain (L) and Cape Point (R)

coming into dock - Table Mountain

It is also the last stop on this segment of our voyage. That means a lot of “swapping” goes on with passengers and a certain number of crew members disembarking, while new passengers and crew members embark for the next segment. It always feels a bit like organized chaos for all the crew members as they do all that is necessary to get everyone off the ship and busily prepare the ship for its oncoming guests. 

Other crew is busy loading food and supplies on to the ship for the next portion of the journey while yet others are working to fill the ships tanks with fuel. Additionally, due to local regulations, ALL passengers and crew had to disembark with passports and go through security once again. That in itself is no small feat.

 

photo credit from the morning run: Ronnie

Cape Town, Africa is described as "a bustling cultural melting pot that perfectly blends rich history, natural wonders, and modern attractions." A walk around the port testifies to the truth of this statement. It's easy to see why Cape Town is a destination for many, as it has everything one could want in the way of natural beauty, weather and coastal related activities. 

Since we are now headed around the western side of Africa (same as our 2023 trip) it also means that 4 very special passengers are joining us. Dignitaries? No, even more special than that. Extra Security - just to be on the safe side. Our daily Currents also reads “For the safety of our guests and crew, Deck 14, Deck 15 and Deck 16 will be closed from sunset to sunrise each evening. In addition, we plan to turn off several external lights to improve our ability to stand watch during the evening. Keep your stateroom curtains closed and balcony lights off when not in use while we are at sea." In other words, the ship wants to keep a low profile!

 

extra security coming in (photo credit: Ronnie)

While our cruise director hasn't specifically announced their presence, we know from previous experience that this is extra security being brought on. One of the guys we especially liked from 2023 wore a patch over one eye (compliments of Afghanistan) and a t-shirt that read "We do bad things to bad people." I'm totally o.k. with that!

While ship's personnel were busy taking care of their business, we took care of ours. We took ubers to both an ENT doctor for Ronnie and a podiatrist for me. I recently had an infection in my big toe (ingrown nail) which responded well to soaks and antibiotics. However, I didn’t want to be headed up the west coast of Africa with the threat of it reoccurring. Hopefully it has now been taken care of (conservatively) and will not give me a problem again before we return home. 

Because of these appointments, we did little more than get a bite to eat and walk around the port area, but it is huge and beautiful. All the shopping and eating options one could possibly want are within an easy walk of the ship. We could not have ordered up more beautiful weather for the day. Thankfully we avoided the flooding that was here just a week or so ago. We will overnight in Cape Town before sailing again tomorrow afternoon.

 

photo op with Table Mountain in background

anybody got an extra french fry?

view of harbor from bridge

a colorful harbor

Mossel Bay is a no-go

We dropped anchor early this morning at Mossel Bay, South Africa. We knew in advance that the ship would not be able to dock there, and that we would be tendering in. 

We had booked a game lodge safari for today which would leave early this morning. In order to save a little time, we ordered a room service breakfast and I set my alarm to get up early. However, when we pulled back the drapes, the weather was looking quite "iffy" for a tender ride to shore and a beautiful day in port.

Threatening skies over Mossel Bay 

Quite frankly, neither of us were disappointed when the captain's announcement came into our room saying that it was not safe to tender in and therefore, we would be sailing on toward Cape Town today. This has happened a few times in the past, leaving guests disappointed and the entertainment folks scrambling to put together an activities schedule for the day. Ronnie will likely be headed to his ukulele group practice in an hour or so, and re-scheduled activities will begin soon. Internet connection will be poor as everyone is on board trying to use it at the same time.

We were able to visit Mossel Bay in 2023 so personally I'm not at all upset by this decision, as no doubt some will be. Disappointing as it may be, it's still reassuring to know that our safety is always going to be the #1 priority. 

Rather than jostling around in another 4x4 while taking pictures of wild animals today, I will instead enjoy a lazy day onboard the ship. While our room is being serviced, I will go to Barista's and sip an iced mocha latte. I will start a new book, probably take an afternoon nap and look forward to dinner at Red Ginger tonight with folks we've not yet met. In other words, I will have the day off to do exactly as I please! Who could be upset about that - seriously? 

 

Barista's, 14th floor

friendly service

This is what you call blogging when you have nothing at all to blog about! 

 

Goodbye, Mossel Bay

Elephants, elephants and more elephants!

We were already docked in Port Elizabeth, South Africa when I woke up this morning. Port Elizabeth has recently been renamed Gqeberha (pronounced kuh-BAIR-kha). Gqeberha is known as the "Friendly City" and the "Bottlenose Dolphin Capital of the World" due to its massive, year-round dolphin populations in Algoa Bay.

 

Good morning, Gqeberha!

 

Knowing that we would be away from the ship most of the day and that our excursion would go through lunch, we made sure to eat a nice breakfast before we left for today’s outing – a trip to the Addo Elephant National Park. The third largest national park in Africa, Addo Elephant Park covers over 630 square miles. It is home to many different animals, including over 850 elephants! 

After breakfast we climbed on a bus (thankfully modern with AC) and were taken from the port to Addo park, about 1.5 hours away. There we met our guide and boarded 4x4 open-air vehicles for a 2 hour ride around the park. 

 

Dung beetles have right of way!

 

It may sound funny that a bus carrying dozens of people must stop if a dung beetle is trying to cross the road. Our guide explained why they are important. Google goes further "Dung beetles are crucial ecosystem engineers. By feeding on and burying animal waste, they increase soil fertility, cycle carbon, suppress nuisance pest flies and livestock parasites, and improve soil aeration and water infiltration. Their vital services save the agricultural industry millions annually." 

 

our driver and guide

accommodations inside the park can be rented

 

We saw more elephants by far than any other animals, but we also saw female lions with cubs, kudus, wart hogs, zebras, mongooses, giraffes, a bird (which I’ve forgotten the name of) and dung beetles. 

 

lioness sleeps in the grass

lioness (left rear) and her 3 cubs

grazing male kudu

wart hogs on their way to somewhere

Have you ever thought about how an elephant drinks? They use their trunk like a straw to suck up the water, then with the trunk they deposit the water in their mouth. 

 

sucking up water through the trunk

 

water is transferred from trunk to the mouth

On our return, our bus stopped to watch a whole herd of elephants moving alongside the opposite freeway. Our guide said that in all the years he had done guided safari groups, it was the most elephants he had ever seen together at one time! 

 

males going nose to nose

 

Friend or foe? I don't know.

The weather was so pleasant and we were even a little cold in the 4x4! Tomorrow we will definitely take jackets. I learned a hard lesson today. While today’s cell phones can take great pictures, they can only maintain quality if not zoomed out too far. The temptation for me is to frame the photo as I see it, and since I was quite a distance from my subjects, I zoomed in too far on many of them. Unfortunately, probably half of them had to be deleted. Ugh!

However, I did get a few close ups that were keepers.