Durban, South Africa

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

On Christmas, 1497 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He named it ‘Natal’ or Christmas in Portuguese.

The city of Durban is the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and is famous as a major tourism center due to the city’s warm climate and beautiful beaches. Durban has the busiest port in South Africa and the busiest container port in the Southern Hesmisphere. Until 2002 is was a full naval base but today it only contains a naval station and other military facilities.

We stopped at the Victoria Market in the center of Durban. It is 3 floors of stalls, run by Indians (from India) selling a huge variety of Indian goods. We were fortunate to find things here that we didn’t get a chance to buy in Mumbai! The aroma of spices dominated the whole market. I was able to buy saffron from Iran and vanilla beans from Madagascar. Here like most of the countries we visited, we had to bargain – we never paid the first asking price and most of us have become experts!

We drove along the ‘Golden Mile’ which is a stretch of beach along the Indian Ocean with beautiful resort hotels, malls and shops of all kinds. However, we were warned to be aware of sharks in the ocean. The heritage of the Zulus is handicrafts, expert weaving, intricately beaded work. The jewelry was spectacular. Even the Zulu rickshaws at the beach were totally beaded! We purchased some of the beautiful beaded jewelry which will always remind us of the friendly and kind Zulu people.

Richard's Bay, South Africa

RICHARD’S BAY, SOUTH AFRICA

Is South Africa’s largest harbor on the northern coast of the province of Kwa-Zulu-Natal., which is one of the poorest provinces of South Africa. This is the homeland of the Zulu tribe, some of whom worked in the mines. It is a patriarchal community and some Zulus still live in the villages, headed by a male leader. Mining is one of the main industries, which includes gold, copper, diamonds, minerals, coal, and ore. There is not much gas or oil. Kimberly is the main diamond mine. Crops grown are corn, wheat, sugar cane, and grapes.

Shakaland, a Zulu village, which was used for the TV series, is now a cultural center.

Richard’s Bay is the gateway to wild life; many safaris can be booked from here. There are many game preserves and more animals than Kenya but less variety.

Maputo, Mozambique, Africa

MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE, AFRICA

Maputo is the capital city of Mozambique, located on the east coast, bordered by Tanzania on the north, Zambia and Zimbawe on the west and South Africa on the south. The Portuguese landed here in the 16th century and started trade with the Asia.in the great harbor. Today 90% of the economy of Mozambique depends on the export of its resources: coconuts, cashews, spices, shrimp, lobster, coffee, tea, potatoes, sunflowers (for their oil) The official language is Portuguese, English and many dialects.

Mozambique is a poor country, the average yearly income is $800. However, it is an emerging nation, anxious to build up its tourism industry. It has been through 17 years of civil war in which over one million people died, followed by cyclone after cyclone, floods and famine. The civil war ended in 1992 and slowly Mozambique is getting back on its feet for the first time in 2 decades. Gas and oil are precious commodities. Roads and railroad tracks are being rebuilt, and trains are running again. The great dome of the railway station built in 1908-1910 was designed by Gustav Eiffel. The Portuguese influence can be seen in the architecture of Maputo. One of the sights in downtown Maputo is the five-star Polana Hotel with its old world charm, beautiful gardens and famous wrought iron elevator.

This was a maiden stop for the ms Rotterdam and we were all pleasantly surprised. The people were very friendly, most spoke English and were very anxious to sell us their craft work: wood carvings, silver work, leather, textiles, batik, and bright ceramics. Bargaining is essential in many countries and I must say we are becoming very good at it!

NOSY BE, MADAGASCAR
MAYOTTE, COMORO ISLANDS

Our stops here were cancelled by Holland America due to the piracy situation in this area and political unrest. Instead we continued on to Maputo, Mozambique and Richard’s Bay, South Africa.

Piracy in Mombasa

PIRACY IN MOMBASA, KENYA

…And we were there! You probably saw on the news all the excitement about the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. We were docked in Mombasa April 9th and 10th when the pirates were holding the captain hostage just a few hundred miles away from us in the Indian Ocean. We left the pier at 7 p.m.on Friday evening and saw the Alabama sailing into the same pier where we were in Mombasa. Kenya is bordered on the north by Somalia and this is a very dangerous area; the waters are filled with Somali pirates hijacking mostly cargo ships for huge ransoms. There are wealthy Somali war lords who have palaces in an area of Somalia called Puntland and they hire pirates to hijack the ships and collect the ransoms. These hijackers are mostly out-of-work fishermen who have no income. Thanks to the U.S. Navy, the crew and captain of the Alabama are all safe and home. However, we experienced several tension-filled days being in the midst of all the piracy activity.

Kenya gained its independence from Britain on December 12, 1963. The population is 38 million and Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya, is the capital. Main languages spoken are English, Kiswahili.There are 50 different tribes and 40 different languages.. The Masai are a nomadic tribe of about 250,000 who have herded cattle for centuries. Masai warriors greeted us at the pier and put on a native show for us. Some of us visited them in their villages on safari trips.

The hassle factor is very high in Kenya. The natives are constantly pushing their wood carvings, beaded necklaces, baskets, bastik hangings, T-shirts etc.The carvings are made of rosewood, mahogany, ebony and teak.You can get good bargains but you have to bargain. Some of us became experts at this game! Unfortunately Kenya is a poor country with 30% unemployment.

One of the highlights was a visit to Bombolulu Village which supports 150 disabled adults in a workshop funded by the government. They also make bicycles specially adapted for the disabled, pedals on the handlebars for those who are unable to use their legs. This allows them to have transportation and can get employment as messengers, etc. It was truly an inspirational visit.

After 2 days in Mombasa, we headed for Maputo, Mozambique.

Victoria, Seychelles

VICTORIA, MAHE, SEYCHELLES

There are 86 islands in the archipelago of Seychelles. The French claimed the islands in 1770 and the British took charge of the Seychelles after the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. In 1976 the Seychelles gained their independence from the British and became a multi-system republic. The main language is Creole French, but most people speak English.

We spent the day at a spectacular beach, Beau Vallon at a lovely resort. The water is so clear and turquoise, the sand is white and clean and the temperature was 86F and so was the water. We rode the waves and played like children! We were there on a Saturday so we were able to see the weekly market where the Seychellois bargain for fresh fish and vegetables. The people were very friendly and I was able to use my French! Tourism is the main resource followed by fishing, spices and wood carving.

The huge coco de mer is a double-sided nut which grows on palm trees and can weigh up to 40 pounds. It is a native plant of the Seychelles and the shells are polished and made into platters, bowls and art crafts. A fragrant soap is made from the oil of the coco de mer.

A dark cloud loomed over us on this paradise island and that was the frequency of hijackings of ships in this area.According to CNN, there have been 5 hijackings in the past 48 hours. A private yacht with 8 British & US divers was hijacked the day we were there. The divers had just been dropped off on one of the islands and pirates seized the ship and crew and sailed it to Somalia. The cargo ship Maersk which was hijacked yesterday was docked next to us in the Seychelles and left 2 hours before we did and was hijacked several hours later. We are presently in the piracy area but our captain assures us that they are monitoring the waters and are in touch with the US Navy and the Indian Navy constantly. Due to this and political unrest, we had to cancel our stops in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.

Tomorrow we dock in Mombasa, Kenya where we will be for 3 days. Many passengers are going on 2-3 day safaris in Kenya, including Svata and Dick. Since I have been on a safari before, I chose to take a land excursion which I will tell you about next posting.

Muscat, Oman

MUSCAT, OMAN

We sailed east from Dubai through the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to Muscat. This is our last stop in the Middle East on the continent of Asia. It is a Sultanate led by Sultan Qaboos bin Said who took over from his father in a bloodless coup in 1970. He is very forward thinking and has done much to modernize Oman which was at a standstill during his father’s reign. Besides the revenue from one million barrels of oil per day, the economy is boosted by copper, marble, dates, gas and tourism. It was a treat to visit gentle Oman after glitzy, pretentious Dubai.

We stopped at the beautiful, huge Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque with a capacity of 6000 inside and 25,000 outside. The enormous Persian carpet inside took 465 women in Iran 4 years to make. It arrived in Muscat in 4 pieces and took 4 months to assemble inside the mosque. We saw the Sultan’s palace, we visited the Mutrah Souk where we bargained for clothes, jewelry and frankensense and stopped at the Bait al Baranda Museum.

We couldn’t help but notice all the car dealerships. The most impressive 2-story, all glass Toyota-Lexus showroom is the largest in the Middle East. There are also many U.S. companies here: KFC, McDonald’s, Baskin-Robbins, DHL, Fedex to name a few. However, Oman has a character of its own: no skyscrapers like Dubai, the architecture is Moroccan, Middle-Eastern and the people are friendly and kind. It was a welcome change from UAE.
We left the Middle East on a southerly course in the Indian Ocean to a new continent: Africa.

The roof has tennis courts and a helicopter pad. You can land on the roof and be in your 3 story penthouse suite in minutes! The cocktail lounge is on the 27th floor was very elaborate. Would you believe my glass of French Riesling was $30? Dinners are from $300 and up.

Our guide told us that most of the skyscrapers they are now building will be torn down in 40 years because they will not withstand the high desert temperatures. Some buildings are already having structural problems. Then why are they continuing to build? Because there is so much money here and they don’t know what to do with it!

It’s hard to believe that we were just across the Persian Gulf from Iran and Pakistan and in the most westerly part of the Gulf was Iraq. It was thrilling to be in this part of the world, but difficult to absorb everything we saw and learned.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Wow! I’m still pinching myself that I was really there! My dream to see this city has come true! It was all I read about that it would be and much, much more. You have to see it to experience it. The tall skyscrapers, the huge malls, the glitzy hotels, the world’s biggest this and that, the planet’s biggest shopping mall, the world’s tallest building Burj Dubai which is not finished yet, they are still adding more floors…it was all over the top and mind-boggling. We felt we were on sensory overload for 2 days.
The contrast between the poverty in Mumbai and the decadent opulence of Dubai evoked so many emotions.

It was hard to believe that right across the Persian Gulf from Dubai was Iran and Pakistan and at the most western part of the Gulf was Iraq. The United Arab Emirates began to exist as a unified body in 1971. There are 7 emirates or kingdoms, each ruled by a sheikh. The total population of the UAE is 2,600,000 and its capital is Abu Dhabi. Due to its vast oil reserves, Dubai has grown into a world class economic and trading center. Most of the country is desert, and Dubai is mainly built on reclaimed land.

We drove through the exclusive Jumeira district where the wealthy have homes. There is a section called “Emirates Hills” copying our Beverly Hills, home to Tiger Woods & many U.S. and European celebrities. I stopped counting the Mercedes cars. Toyota Camrys are also very popular. The dealerships on automobile row have every make represented. We stopped at Emirates Mall and saw the Ice Dome located in the mall. The temperature there is -5C and 5000 tons of ice and snow are produced every night. There is a 4 person chair lift, a luge run, snow boarding. You can rent ski clothes & equipment and there are chalets where you can stay for several days of skiing. You even get a beeper to warn you of an avalanche!

We drove through the Palm Islands, a group of man-made islands with hundreds of condos, which are all sold. Construction on Palm Island Two & Three has stopped due to the economic slowdown, which has effected Dubai. The islands built in the shape of the world are incredible – you can buy a home in Africa or Europe, just choose your island. But these islands are not connected so you have to have a yacht or helicopter to get to the mainland.

One evening we went for cocktails to the famous El Burj al Arab Hotel, the tallest hotel in the world built like a sail boat, also on reclaimed land connected by a causeway.