Tuesday morning we got up early to watch us sail into Cape Town. We were supposed to be ashore at 8 AM. When we got within 8 miles of port the captain got a message that another ship was taking … Continue reading Cut Short at Both Ends
This is a post of pictures of the Cape of Good Hope Castle. For the narrative please click on this link to “A Walk Through Cape Town.” Continue reading Cape of Good Hope Castle
That’s right, Alfred not Albert. Alfred was one of Victoria’s sons who dedicated this port area in the 19th century. The V&A Waterfront, as it is called, has been repurposed, although not completely repurposed, as entertainment and shopping district. It … Continue reading Victoria and Alfred
In Stellenbosch I expected the austere Dutch Reformed Church I was used to seeing as a kid, emphasis on the pulpit and perhaps the organ, clear glass and little other ornamentation. From the outside the Stellenbosch Moedergemeente Reformed Church fit … Continue reading Reformed and re-Reformed.
Although I enjoy drinking wine, and Stellenbosch is the in the middle of one of South Africa’s finest wine regions, that’s not the reason we took the Stellenbosch wine tour. I went because we would have an hour and a … Continue reading Card-Bordeaux in Stellenbosch
Simons Town sits on the peninsula that ends in the Cape of Good Hope. It was home port for one of the British fleets that patrolled the critical waters where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans met, a sheltered port in … Continue reading Home Port
People who follow me on Facebook know that I love to take my daily walk in Sitka, take pictures, and post them. I try to walk on vacation as well. On Tuesday we took a cab to the Cape of … Continue reading Walking with African Penguins
The Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost point of Africa, Cape Agulhas is. Although the Cape of Good Hope is certainly the most prominent peninsula off the southern coast of Africa and many Cape Towners like to believe … Continue reading Cape of Big Storms — Cape of Good Hope
Today Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a guest on the MS Amsterdam. He received Holland America Line’s first “Shared Humanity Award.” Along with the award $40,000 went to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation. Robert Taylor, an associate of Tutu since … Continue reading Blessed by the Bishop
When I saw Cape Maclear on one map of the Cape of Good Hope and Maclear Beach on another I knew I had to go there. You can hike to the cape and beach from the Cape of Good Hope … Continue reading Namesake Cape? Almost — Cape Maclear, South Africa
Many of our cruise mates missed Maputo altogether. A couple of hundred got on buses and went right to the South African border for their safaris in Krueger National Park. Others’ buses took them to the airport for their flight … Continue reading Fears that Hold Us Back
This is a picture post showing some Maputo street scenes from our walk through the city. The Botanical garden was filled with strolling bridal parties having their pictures taken. The entry portal is an example of Manueline revival architecture. You … Continue reading Maputo at Walk Level.
The White Cathedral (Nossa Senhora da Conceição) is just off of Independence Square. To me it looks Art Deco but we are told it has some touches of Manueline decorative style. Manueline is named for King Manuel I who died … Continue reading Manueline or Gustave Eiffel, Contrasts in Maputo.
It wasn’t hard to find the Maputo railway station. We docked, I looked out my window, and there it was, with its distinctive dome, designed in the Paris studios of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel and fabricated in South Africa. Eiffel never … Continue reading Maputo’s Classic Railway Station
Easter on Amsterdam I was not sure I would go to Easter Services on the Amsterdam. First of all it was at sunrise. My spiritual needs have largely met this trip by Rabbi Gan. I’m attending his daily lectures and … Continue reading Easter on MS Amsterdam
In Cape Town we lose probably the most popular passenger on the ship, Lily. Lily was 14 months old when we set sail from Ft. Lauderdale and very unsteady on her feet, especially on a moving deck. Now she runs … Continue reading Shipmates
French bureaucrats! Once in Serbia we were co-sponsoring a seminar on Internet regulation. Each speaker had a time limit. The French Bureaucrat stood up and said “I am a French Bureaucrat. I cannot possibly be bound by a time limit.” … Continue reading French Bureaucrats Can’t Ruin a Sunset
I’m not talking about loan sharks but shark sharks. Reunion, a French overseas department, had a growing tourist industry; it was becoming a surfer’s Mecca, until the sharks came. For years there were no shark attacks on the island. Everything … Continue reading Sharks Can Hurt the Economy.
I don’t particularly like visiting cemeteries and I don’t like pirates at all. This is a post about a Pirate’s grave in a cemetery on the French Island of Reunion. Go figure. First, cemeteries — I would rather remember my … Continue reading A Pirate’s Grave — Reunion
This is a continuation of “World’s Smallest Capital.” With pics of the beach. I even have a shot of the little blue fishes. I’m sitting on the back deck using the good 3G service to upload these posts. All aboard … Continue reading Beau Vallon Beach, Mahe, Seyschelles
It was because of the Seychelles that Public Broadcasting picked up some degree of protocol. In the beginning all called each other by our first names. NPR presidents were Frank or Doug, the CPB people were Clyde, Rick or Priscilla. … Continue reading World’s Smallest Capital City
Colombo makes a statement. When you sail in the first thing you see is a giant stupa raised on stilts telling any approaching mariner that this is a Buddhist country. But the skyline of Colombo has monuments to other religions. … Continue reading Colombo, Sri Lanka
This may be the hardest blog post for me to write. My initial reaction to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was sadness yet for many of my cruise mates it was an exciting highlight. I had a strong emotional reaction to … Continue reading Elephant Wash
One of the great joys of riding on a train is watching life along the tracks. Unlike roads there are no restaurants or gas stations. You look into people’s back yards or into their homes themselves. You pass dry rice … Continue reading Through My Train Window.