Report # 94 Cape Town, South Africa April 2, 2014 Wednesday Chance of rain, cool, 64 degrees

The pier in Cape Town

We had to get up early this morning, even though it was torture. Well 6:30am wasn't so bad compared to getting up at 4am the last five days. Even though we had free laundry at the bush camp, we still had plenty to send in here on the ship. We would have to keep our jeans, since they were the only pair we brought with us. Even with all of the game rides, we did not get dirty.

When we entered the dining room, we were greeted by our friendly morning waiters. We announced that the lions and leopards had not eaten us this time, and we were back to stay. Keeping the meal light, we ordered yogurt, fruit, cereal and ham and toast. We were hoping to get an early lunch at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront Mall. But it would depend on what time the restaurant opened.

The shuttle service began at 8am instead of 9am. It would not have helped us a whole lot, because nothing was opened that early. We lined up with a lot of other folks to catch the 9am bus, which was operating every 15 minutes. And they had supplied three shuttles, so it worked well.

A funny sign on a kiosk

Victoria and Albert Wharf

The V&A Mall is the city's premier waterside shopping, dining, and entertainment district of Cape Town. We walked the several levels of the mall, finding that half of the shops and stores were opened. At least all of the center kiosks selling local souvenir items were open for business, and they were already selling lots of t-shirts and African items to the tourists. All of the stores here are the high end boutique shops, expensive, and can be found worldwide.

Table Mountain

A stadium near the waterfront

The Atlantic Ocean

We were more interested in finding the grocery store to use the rest of our rand. The biggest disappointment was that the restaurant we visited last year was not open until noontime. Darn. They made a pretty mean margherita pizza and served great beer. It was not in the cards today.

The shopping mall

Inside the mall

Stained glass window

Very ultra-modern

So we found Pick and Pay, a new one, where we purchased a block of gouda cheese, a box of rusks (biscotti cookies), and some dips. All that for a grand total of $13. US. For some unknown reason, the price of food here is extremely reasonable. And we were not complaining. 

Waterfront complex

Mary Ann on the waterfront

Bill on the waterfront

The Aquarium

If we had more time here in Cape Town, we could have been able to see a whole lot more of the city and the outlaying areas. Even though we have done most all of the tours here, some places are worth seeing more than once. One place we have not seen is Robben Island. You need to take a ferry from the waterfront to the nearby island, a short distance away from the mainland. It was here that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years.

Robben Island

Other must see places are Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, False Bay, Boulders Beach, Fish Hoek, the wineries, and Kirstenbosch Gardens. Number one on the list is a trip up to the top of Table Mountain. It is the city's most celebrated landmark. You get there by a ride on the Swiss-made cable car that rotates 360 degrees during the 3500 foot ascent. How cool is that? But cross your fingers and hope there is no fog, since it comes and goes a dozen times a day.

No time for any of that, we had to be back onboard by 12:30pm. Actually, we came back by the shuttle by 11:45am, thinking the buses would be too crowded if we had waited. We were required to go to the immigration officials for another face-to-face inspection, have our passports stamped (and inspected), and then keep them for our next port in Walvis Bay, Namibia. We will have to do this again when we get there.

It was the perfect time for us to pop into the dining room for a properly served lunch. Actually, it was our first noontime in here for this trip. Lunch was really good....we ordered caesar salad and meatballs and spaghetti (heavenly), and a shrimp caesar salad with fritters. Ice cream finished the meal. Eating right across from us was an elderly couple that had joined the ship yesterday for the final segment. They were Marion and Llyod from Georgia, segment tablemates from the 2012 world cruise. Recognizing us, Llyod came over and asked if they could join us at our table if we had room. We know better than to make that descision without consulting everyone, especially Barb, at our table. We had not remembered right away that the tabletop had been down-sized and we only had room for eight comfortably. Since Maureen has joined us, we are a table for eight now. Anyway, we said we would let them know, but Tom M happened to call us later and suggested that he could tell them for us, since they forgot to give us their room number. If we have tablemates going elsewhere one evening, we can always invite them to dine with us that night. We also found out later on that a mutual friend had suggested to them that we had room at our table, which we didn't. Wish people would not do that as it causes problems sometimes.

Muster drill  -  the last one for the world cruise

The muster drill was held at 1:15pm, with stern warnings that we all were required to attend, or be kicked off of the ship. This will be the last one for this voyage. Anyway, all was going well until until an elderly man next to us quietly slipped down to the floor, like he was crouching, and perhaps resting. But after the drill ended, he did not get up. Not noticing this, we had wandered over to the railing as we always do. We wait until the majority of the passengers have headed back to their rooms or whatever, before we go back to ours. Behind our backs, some staff members had this fellow on the ground and appeared to be giving him chest compressions. The medical team arrived with a wheelchair, but he still was not moving. We left to give them more space to work, but never did find out what had happened to him. Sure hope he was OK.

The sailaway

The sailaway was delayed, but we eventually left the harbor at 3pm. It was chilly, windy, but no rain yet. We forgot to mention that early this morning the rain had come down hard. Judging how wet the streets were, it must have rained all night. As the Amsterdam was sailing out of the harbor, a rain cloud came across Table Mountain, leaving a very peculiar rainbow in its path.

A rainbow of sorts

Rugged and dry

Hillside homes

The Explorer, a learning vessel

An oil drilling rig

Another rig

Victoria and Albert Wharf

Here comes the tug

Table mountain without the fog

A hotel in the waterfront harbor

Local tour boat

Harbor cranes

Well-wishers

The waterfront

What a setting for Cape Town

Lion's Head on the right

More hotels

Leaving the harbor

Starting to get rough and windy 

Cape Town

A freighter

Here come the clouds

 

The last of the rainbow

It made for some unusual photos. The further out to sea we got, the rougher and windier it became.

Getting ready to leave

Part of the "Lion's Head" mountain

Granite mountain

Downtown Cape Town with Table Mountain behind

Modern downtown

A drydock in the harbor

Captain Jonathon had come on the outside speakers, but not one of us could hear what he was saying. If it was the same message as last year, he may have warned us to lash down anything breakable in our rooms, because we would be having "rollers"...deep swells that will rock the ship. Doubt that stabilizers would help with that ocean movement.

Well, he was right, because it got worse during dinnertime and continued into the wee hours of the morning. It does lull one to sleep, and can be enjoyable if you do not get seasick. In case you were wondering, we have traveled 21,418 nautical miles since leaving Ft.Lauderdale in January. That's a long, long way.

Gifts from Mariner Appreciation Days

Personally signed by Archbishop Tutu

Special, just for us