Oh, not again!

After thirty-three hours in transit, with twenty two and a half hours nestled in an aluminum tube flying through the air, that included an eighteen hour straight stretch, we found ourselves back in the comforting confines of Cape Town's Cape Grace Hotel longing to lie down and sleep in a real bed after pretending that sustained sleep was really possible in a lay-flat sleeper seat. Yes, we are back in Africa for our third straight trip.

This time it is a thirty day cruise up the West Coast of Africa, from Cape Town to Casablanca, before heading for Dover, England, that concentrates on some out of the way places like Luderitz and Swakopmund, Namibia; Ganvie, Benin; Lome, Togo and Chefchaouen, Morocco and includes stops at Dakar, Senegal, the Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands and for some reason Rouen, France and Antwerp, Belgium. I guess the later two are to reintroduce us into Western ways before getting off of the ship.

We got a good night's sleep, opened the curtains and had a great view of Table Mountain for the first time in the last three trips. The Harbor looked pretty good as well. That would be the last time we saw it as the fog quickly moved in.

We had lunch, checked out of the hotel and embarked on the Ocean Princess. We are traveling with our good friends Maureen and Gordon from Vancouver. They have been in South Africa for a week already, having done a safari in Kruger National Park and visiting the Cape of Good Hope and the wine country.

We got our trip off to a great start with dinner at Baia Restaurant. Best known for it's fresh seafood, Kathy noticed a game trio of ostrich, kudu, and springbok each with a special sauce. We ordered it and I must say it was one of the tastiest meals we have ever had and you know experiencing great food is one of the reasons we travel. There is simply nothing like expertly prepared game washed down with a bottle of Kevin Arnold Shiraz and the conviviality of friends to start a trip.

The next morning we took off for a shopping excursion. First stop was Green Market Square in the heart of Downtown Cape Town. Here vendors set up shop selling crafts from all over South Africa. It is a very colorful place.

There's a lot more than jewelry and we did our part to help the local economy. Kathy is quite the bargainer in these bazaars and I have no doubt some to the vendors didn't know what hit them.

After the market it was off more shopping. This time in the many shops selling African wares. Our love of all things African and our familiarity with Cape Town kept us from taking a lot of pictures, but we did load up on a lot of items that we hope you will enjoy seeing at the house.

We did manage to stop at Carolina's, the best wine shop in Cape Town, to pick up some wine for the journey and had a great time talking about wine with the knowledgeable staff. So armed with our purchases it was back to the ship to leave for Namibia. I think the four of us were quite a sight for the folks arriving from a bus tour as our driver kept loading us with packages from the trunk of his BMW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great being in Cape Town even if for only a brief time. As with all of Africa, the contrasts are always vivid with the reality of how hard life is for some always just around the corner.

As we left the Harbor the Captain came on the public address system to welcome us aboard and to tell us to batten down the hatches as we would be sailing into heavy seas and fifty knot winds. With a day and a half at sea to get to our first port, we hoped we wouldn't personally find out why it was called the Skeleton Coast.

 

 

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