LUDERITZ, NAMIBIA

The country of Namibia is located on the south western coast of Africa, bordered by Angola on the north, Botswana on the east and South Africa on the south. The Nambid Desert stretches 1200 miles along the coast, it is arid, hot and there is very little vegetation. In places the landscape is similar to that of the moon and astronauts train here for their moon walks. There are sand dunes everywhere, some of them are up to one mile wide and 800 feet high.

Namibia means ‘place of emptiness’. It is an emerging country and gained its independence from South Africa in 1990. It was part of Germany until the end of WW1 through the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1883 the area was founded by a German merchant Adolf Luderitz who purchased the land from a local Nama chief. Luderitz was mostly a trading post.and the economy depended on fishing and guano-harvesting which is used to make fertilizer. Luderitz is a charming German village. Languages spoken are English and Afrikaans In 1909 diamonds were discovered here which resulted in a huge burst of prosperity. Kolmanskop which was the hub of the diamond mines is now a ghost town and is owned by the Namdeb Diamond Company. We were fortunate to have an interesting young man as our guide. His name was Leonard Namupala, a member of the South African Olympic racing team and he was 17th in the 42 km event. When he is not training, he acts as a guide to supplement his income.
We spent a pleasant day exploring the sights and in the late afternoon we set sail for Walvis Bay.

Cape Town, South Africa

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

We sailed south in the Indian Ocean from Durban, around the Cape of Good Hope and about noon, there before us against white clouds and blue skies was Table Mountain in all its splendor. What a breath-taking sight! Again I had to pinch myself to believe that I was really there! The only negative to this glorious sight was the high wind and rough, choppy waters. Unfortunately due to the gale force winds, the harbor to Cape Town was closed to shipping vessels, therefore we had to anchor outside the breakwater until the winds calmed down. It was not until 10 hours later, at 10 p.m. that we received clearance to sail into the harbor and dock at the pier.

The population of South Africa is 5 million and Cape Town is the legislative capital. It lies at the foot of Table Mountain which is 3570 feet high. Table Mountain is named after its flat top and when there is a cloud cover, it is called a tablecloth. It is a busy commercial and industrial center with a busy port and is the tourism capital of South Africa. There are many fine museums, universities and hospitals. In 1969 Dr. Christian Bernard performed the first heart transplant at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

We were fortunate to have 2 days there. Our first day we visited an ostrich farm, we even sat on one! Did you know that one ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 chicken eggs? That’s some omelet! We then visited Durbanville Winery, tasted 6 great South African wines and had a tour of the winery. Because of its climate, South Africa produces some excellent wines. We spent the rest of the day at Victoria & Albert Waterfront on the wharf, visiting the many shops and watching the ships & sailboats in the harbor.

The next day we were fortunate to have a great guide who took us on a city tour. Her knowledge of history was amazing. She was a very proud South African and proud of her Indian heritage. We took the gondola to the top of Table Mountain, a 4 minute ride, The gondola has a revolving floor thus enabling all the passengers to have a good view of the city below which was breath-taking. In the afternoon we took a tour south to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, the farthest most southern point on the African continent. We passed many beautiful beaches, some reminded me of our own Newport Beach!
We stopped at Simon’s Town to see the colony of South African penguins. In 1927 six of these small, black & white penguins migrated from Antarctica and today there are 10,000 of them. They were very friendly and very photogenic!

We were sad to leave this beautiful city but looked forward to our next stop: Namibia.

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.