Walvis Bay was our port of call today, however upon arrival, we could not see it. Pea soup fog was what we saw early this morning and the ship's horn was going off every three minutes. It is a sound that makes us quite nervous especially in an area where ships wrecked centuries ago. During breakfast, we were able to see the outline of the local tugboat assisting the ship being docked. It would clear up later….we hoped.
Once a thriving whaling port, Walvis Bay survives on shipping, fishing, and salt production. It is said that they produce over 400,000 tons of salt a year. It also houses the commercial ships as well as some cruise ships. The city's lagoon is a haven for migratory birds like herons, pelicans, egrets, and especially the flamingoes as we would see later. Seals, whales (in season), dolphins and turtles can be spotted in this lagoon.
There was a huge tanker that was bunkering fuel to the ship and it stayed there all day. Going out on our veranda was not an option because this ship was giving off some pretty stinky exhaust and fumes. The vessel would stay there most all day. And there were free shuttles that had drop-offs at the Waterfront and the Dunes Mall on the outskirts of town. For some reason, the first stop at the Waterfront had been dropped. So it was a ride to the Mall only – a 10 minute drive.
There are many things to see and do here and the ship's tours covered most all of them. A 4 hour excursion called Go Local – the real Namibia was $200 and included a taste of local food. A dolphin and seal safari was also 4 hours for $230, while a drive to Swapokmund for 5 hours was $270. This German town is located 21 miles from Walvis Bay and is described as swanky with a fine urban scene. Considered the adventure capital of Namibia, you can skydive, ride horses, or sandboard down a 300 meter high sand dune. Of course, the tour does not take in any of these activities, but you can do it on your own. A visit to the lagoon with a drive to the dunes for 7 ½ hours was $430, and Sandwich Harbor with a 4x4 sand dune ride with snacks and a drink was 4 ½ hours for $530. A Namib Desert tour to see welwitschia plants, lizards, snakes and the dunes with a snack and beverage was 4 ½ hours for $600. A similar trip to see the living desert was $650 for 4 ½ hours. The most pricey tour was a flight over Sussusvlei for 4 ½ hours for $2400 per person. We cannot figure out why these tours are so expensive. Whether it is due to high insurance rates or the small number of tour guides and vehicles might drive the rates up. We have our doubts that a lot of guests booked these tours today. In fact some friends of ours decided to cancel their $600 desert drive after having second thoughts about it. Can't say we blame them.
On past cruises, we had taken the tour to Swakopmund with our travel group and host. Back then it was reasonable and better-priced because our group was not affiliated with HAL tours at that time. Anyway, there were two coaches of us that day, but halfway to the German town, one of the buses broke down. This was in the middle of the desert with no services anywhere near to help. The tour guide called a garage back in Walvis Bay, but being it was a Saturday, they had closed early for the weekend. There was not another bus to come pick up the guests. This was bad, since it was hot and they only had a limited amount of bottled water with them. Our driver got word of the break down, and he was able to take some of the guests (mostly ladies) on our coach. These people had to sit on the floor of the bus to hide from the police because the driver would have been fined. Long story short…our bus went directly to the restaurant in Swapokmund where we had lunch. The other guests never arrived. In fact, the remaining guests that were stuck in the desert did not return to the ship until close to the all aboard time. That was one excursion none of us will ever forget.
Our plan for today was to make our way to the Walvis Bay Lagoon. Leaving the ship by 10am, we walked to the gate where we found the nomadic group of vendors selling their African treasures along the sandy side of the main road. Fewer than last year's group, they were selling wooden carvings of African animals, bowls, woven baskets, masks, and innumerable trinkets. Some vendors even had wooden furniture like end tables to bargain for. All of these items had to be turned in at the ship's entrance to be frozen for a day or more. It does kill the unwanted pests like borers.
We passed through the center of the seated vendors" just looking" while avoiding the offers of tours. "No thanks" seemed to work pretty good. We continued down this street to the Protea by Marriott Hotel and the Waterfront Restaurant. We turned left here and headed to the lagoon. What a treat we were in for. From a distance, we could see a flock of hundreds of birds flying towards the lagoon where the tide was out. It was a gigantic flock of greater flamingoes that migrate here every year. The entire lagoon was full of the pink, white, and black flamingoes. Many of them were juveniles. They were much smaller and lighter in color than the adults who measure from 4 to 5 feet with the wing span and weigh up to 8 pounds. It was really interesting watching their behavior as they fed on the krill and brine shrimp in the shallows of the lagoon.
Joining them were many gulls such as the Cape gull and other than looked like silvers. Two very large Dalmatian pelicans were hanging close to the stainless steel fish- cleaning tables along the wide walkway that lines the lagoon. Bet the fishermen give them scraps. Other smaller water birds we spotted were dunlins, ruddy turnstones, and pied avocets. There may have been some cormorants, but they were far away in the deeper water. Also along the sandy exposed banks were red splotches of stranded jellyfish. They must not be good to eat since the scavenger birds stayed clear of them. Local pigeons and gulls were drinking water from the sprinklers watering the grass.
The paved walkway was called the Esplanade and continued for a few miles to a sandy beach at the very end of the lagoon's peninsula. This area is mostly residential with some of the nicest homes, bed and breakfast inns, and small bungalows with gardens. We felt safe enough, but we have heard some scary stories from folks that actually lived here in Walvis Bay. There were times in the past (and maybe today as well) that crime was a problem. The locals had to hire security guards to keep watch when they left their garages in their cars and came back later. We think for that reason, very few local people were out and about. And today was Monday, and the kids would be in school. Most of this esplanade was planted with grass and many palm trees. Not too much else grows here in the way of trees, except maybe hardy ground covers and a few Norfolk Island pines. They are very strict about keeping the paths clean of dog litter. Many humorous signs are posted along the way.
One nice feature are the benches, which are placed every 100 feet or so. And because of them, we were able to walk so far while enjoying the antics of the flocks of both adult and juvenile groups of flamingoes. We spent all of three hours at the lagoon before heading back for lunch. It was a bird-lovers photographic opportunity for sure as hundreds of pictures were taken by us and many others.
And to top off a good day, we had the best Hawaiian pizza so far this trip at a restaurant over the lagoon. We had earned the draft beers of Hansa and Windhoek, both brewed in Namibia. Wood-fired, the crust was allowed to rise just enough so there was a crispy ring around the edges. We had asked for extra cheese, and they added more shredded cheddar, adding to the taste and texture. Extra calories too, but who's counting at this point? For dessert, we had spotted Mississippi Mud Pie on the menu, but sadly, they only had it for dinner. We settled for a slice of a warm brownie with vanilla sauce drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with slivered almonds. Glad we shared just one.
Outside the restaurant was a vendor that made us promise to look at his treasures after lunch. One of us settled on a thin woven blue beaded bracelet which will add to the two larger ones already owned from last year. Passing the corner craft market, we saw many people buying like crazy from the vendors. Did we mention that some of the native women were conservatively topless, if there is such a word for it? Of course, they are there to attract some customers who will blatantly take pictures, upon which they will ask for money. At the very least, the group was not using half-naked young girls to draw a crowd. Last year, they even had tiny nursing babies there. Sorry, but we don't approve of using the young or older ladies as props to garner money. From what we saw, the passengers were having a fine time buying up a storm as the prices were right.
Back on the ship around 3pm, we attended the departure process with the customs and immigration folks in the Stuyvesant/Hudson Room on deck three. It went quickly with several agents who scanned our passports and added the stamp inside. Then the guest relations folks collected the passports, giving us receipts once again. Our room keys were stickered with a green label this time, we assume indicating we had completed the process and could no longer leave the ship. No more shopping for us….a good thing.
At the same time, the show in the World Stage was about to take place with the Bernhard Nordkamp Centre Children Choir Performance. Kimberly held the start up for more guests to fill the room. We had seen the entire group boarding the ship with their director and escorts in the morning, and the kids looked really excited to be here. This was a last minute visit, since today the ship was supposed to be in Kusadasi, Turkey. We stayed for most of the show, but a guest right next to us was having a coughing spell, and we decided we could safely watch this when it was repeated on the TV. No way did we want to chance getting a cold or who knows what at this point of the trip….knock on wood.
At 4:45pm, Captain Friso said our departure from here was going to be delayed from 6pm to midnight, due to strong winds that had developed. The exit from the harbor was narrow, so he figured he could easily make up the lost time in the next four days it will take to arrive to Ghana. Kimberly followed up with a request for all guest to PLEASE turn in their passports. To be fair, all aboard was 5:30pm, and the guests may still be bargaining for souvenirs outside the gate….having every right to do so. Or some tours might be arriving late. By the way, when the one couple that were singled out for the Cape Town immigration check, it turned out they did indeed complete the inspection, but the ship's scanning of their cards did not register. We all think they deserve an apology, which may have occurred, but we did not hear it.
We tried to keep dinner light with chicken noodle soup (not quite the same as it used to be) and salads. One empanada appetizer was good, as were the mains of chicken parmigiana and breaded lamb chops, a first time for those and really tasty. No dessert tonight, just coffee… good and hot. And our waiters did remind us of an hour back on the clocks this evening, always good news.
The entertainer was Gary Sletcher, an instrumentalist with the saxophone and guitar, singing music from the 60's to African jazz and pop.
Looking forward to four full days at sea on the way to another African country of Ghana.
Bill & Mary Ann
