Georgetown, Ascension Island UK

Today we learned that Mckay had been hospitalized in Orlando while on vacation with his family for the past three days. Hearing that was an awful feeling, knowing we were so far away.  The down side of travel.  We were relieved to learn that after two more days, he was released and on the way to recovery.

 

Prior to arriving at this port, the Captain announced that our next two ports of call in West Africa; Bunjul, Gambia, and Dakar, Senegal have been cancelled due to the recent increase in Ebola virus there. Also, it is possible the Cape Verde, our next stop would not let us in if we had come from Senegal. Cape Verde is a refueling stop, so we must dock there. Many of us are disappointed, but others are relieved. So we now have an extra stop in Praia, Ilha De Santigo, and an extra day in Mindelo, both in the Cape Verde Islands, and one more stop in the Caribbean, St. Lucia. This journey is like life, you know where you are when you start, but not how you get to the end. 

 

Upon arrival at Jamestown, Ascension Island, the only landing possibility for the island, we found the swells coming to the island to be 8-10 feet high.  A tender was sent in to check it out and we could see it bouncing around quite a bit due to the swells.  I took pictures of the tender at the dock through my telephoto lens and I was relieved that we did not try to chance it, as the movement of the tender in the swells while at the docking area was so erratic that it would be difficult to get onto the dock and more importantly more difficult to get back on to the tender to return to the ship.  Ascension Island is a long way from nowhere if one gets stranded.

 

Notice to the right of the tender the turtle tracks on the beach, where the green sea turtles left the sea during the night to deposit their eggs.  Approximately 150 eggs are laid in a clutch.  The turtles hatch and “run” to the sea, with a low percentage making it safely due to the birds who feed on them.  Nature at its cruelest.   

 

Ascension Island is a small island on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an undersea, volcanically active ridge that runs the length of the Atlantic Ocean north to south.  Similar to St. Helena Island, Ascension Island is completely volcanic.  It is a very beautiful island as evident with the picture of Green Mountain.

 

The island is used by several countries as a midway stop for planes crossing the South Atlantic.  It is a communications center for several countries.  It has also been used as a NASA tracking station.   It is a research center for the study of many different kinds of flora and fauna, especially the green sea turtle.  The green sea turtles travel from the east coast of South America to Ascension Island to mate and lay their eggs and then return some 2000 miles to South America.   

The Captain decided not to attempt at tender here. Instead, we boarded about two dozen people from Ascension (immigration officers, post office personnel, scientists, and a few vendors selling t-shirts, etc.) and we circumnavigated the island.

After a two hour circumnavigation of Ascension Island, a small boat was sent out to the ship to pick up the people who had boarded the ship.  It was going to take two trips to get all the people and equipment onto shore.  The seas were very rough and in doing so, the steering in the pick-up boat malfunctioned.  They drifted for a while as they attempted to fix the steering.  Many people adrift in a small boat in rough seas, not good. Eventually they were able to do a temporary fix to the steering, head close to shore where they then boarded a much larger boat and returned to the ship to pick up the remaining people and equipment.  A small drama at sea.

FYI – Last night, about 11:30, we were awakened with a jolt, as the ship went over the equator again, this time northbound, for the fourth time on our cruise.  Just saying.   

Jamestown, St Helena Island UK

 

Everyone knows about the lush, tropical South Pacific Islands, but the South Atlantic also has lush tropical islands!  St. Helena, an isolated volcanic island, is a tiny speck of Great Britain located in the South Atlantic Ocean.  It is a British colony.  It has been called “the forgotten Island”.  Jamestown, its only town, was a place of great strategic importance for ships for hundreds of years.  Before the Suez Canal was built over 1400 ships would visit St. Helena each year.  Now, except for St. Helena’s supply ship, there are fewer than 3 ships a year that come to Jamestown.  There is no airfield.  It is most noteworthy as the place of exile for Napoleon Bonaparte and it is where he died in 1821.  His tomb is on St. Helena, but he is not there, as he was moved to Paris in 1840.

 

 

Napoleon’s tomb is located in a beautiful setting, in the Valley of the Geraniums.

 

 

The Longwood House was where the Emperor Napoleon resided during his exile in the last few years of is life, and is where he died.  The Longwood House and the furnishings are owned by the French Government. 

 

 

 

We visited the home and grounds of St. Helena’s Governor.  The tortoise, Jonathan, the big one, is said to have lived on the grounds of the Longwood House when Napoleon was alive and is over 200 years old.  Next to him is his “girlfriend”. 

 

Jacobs Ladder was built in 1829 and is 699 steps long with a rise of 924 vertical feet.  It was originally used to transport goods to the top of the mountain before the roads were built.  Many people climbed it.  We looked at it and decided to rest on the laurels of our Sidney Bridge climb in February and not climb it.  Of course, we could have done it if we wanted to.  We did get to the top via our driver, huffed and puffed a few times to impress others, took the obligatory pictures, and looked down from above.  A beautiful view. 

 

We almost weren’t able to get onto St. Helena Island.  The concrete dock on the island is about 30 feet long.  Our ship had to anchor and we were tendered in by life boats to the small dock.  The seas were very rough causing the tender to move dramatically with the swells.  From the dock it could be a 3 foot step up or down to the dock depending on the wave.  Getting on and off meant that we had to time the wave on its way up or down and “jump” to the dock or back on the tender.  One tender was damaged out of the three used. Each load in or out carried about 100 passengers.  Risky but worth it.

We are now sailing in warm weather, heading to the equator again to cross it for the fourth time this trip.  The skies are beautiful and we have enjoyed viewing the Southern Cross.

Walvis Bay, Namibia

Unexpected and underrated! The towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, Namibia (sorta rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it?) were charming.  Even an LDS Church.  Let’s move here!   We chose to explore the famous sand dunes between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay via 4-wheel drive with Namibia’s version of Crocodile Dundee (Tommy), bare feet and all.  He could spot critter tracks at 20 mph, hop out of the 4x4 follow the tracks and return with his catch.  He could also look at the sky, and tell you what time it was.  

 

 

 

Finding all manner of snakes, chameleons, and other creepy crawling things, and risking life and limb going up and down the 300-400 foot high sand dunes was an adrenalin rush.  Look ma, no hands!

 

 

A sidewinder, (a very poisonous snake) getting ready to bury itself into the sand where it will lay and wait for dinner or someone barefoot.  Check out the second picture.  Looks like sand.  Can you see the snake?  He is there.  Be careful where you step.

The area has amazing 45 degree water beaches – good luck.  Surfing the sand dunes instead of the Atlantic Ocean seems to be the sport of choice.  Would love to come back here for an extended stay.  

Note: Because of the Ebola virus in western Africa that is not well contained at present, the ports in Ascension Island, Gambia and Senegal, Africa have been cancelled.  Added is an extra port in the Cape Verde Islands, the port of Praia on Santiago Island, and St. Lucia in the Caribbean.

Cape Town, South Africa

 

The night before we arrived in Cape Town the captain advised us to prepare our cabins for very rough seas as we were sailing around the Cape of Good Hope.  This is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  We were advised to take anything breakable from the shelves and desk and put on the floor or couch to prevent breakage.  Also because of the narrowness of the passageway into the harbor, he would have to bring in the stablizers exacerbating the ship’s movements.  So we were prepared, but it was actually a pretty calm night.

 

                                             Robben's Island
 

 

We loved Cape Town for its beauty and for the friendliness of the people. Cape Town is a city with quite a story.  It is made up of three major ethnic groups, the whites, the blacks, and the “coloreds.”  The coloreds are peoples who are descendants of slaves brought in from Malaysia and India.   Apartheid started in the 1948 with coming to power of the National Party, dividing land between the racial groups.  Many blacks and coloreds were forced out of their homes and relocated.  Blacks and coloreds were forced to carry passes to enter the “white only” areas of the city.   Nelson Mandela (just recently passed away, and Desmond Tutu, lead efforts fight back for equality.  We planned to go to the Robben Island Prison where Nelson Mandela was for 37 years, but the seas were too rough to go by ferry.

 

 

Our visits in Cape Town took us to museums which portrayed this period of time. 

 

 

This woman spoke to us at the District Six museum.  Her family was evicted by force from their home and the neighborhood razed.

 

We visited areas of town that were very affluent and others with people as in “informal living arrangements” (squatters). 

 

 

 

The brightly colored homes in the Muslim area.

 

We were able to take a cable car to the top of “Table Mountain” to view the city and the Cape.

 

 

     

        We were excited to see our friends Jay and Jean rejoin the cruise after leaving in Hong Kong.

Sailing to Cape Town, South Africa

Leaving Durban, South Africa heading to Cape Town is an incredible three day sail.  We arrive in Cape Town in the morning.  We have been close to shore all the way with a very big island off on our starboard side (Africa).  This was a very interesting and fun weekend.  Saturday night we were treated to a concert by the Soweto Gospel Choir.  They have won many awards and in this part of the world they are considered the world’s best choir.  Utahans might take exception to that.

 

 

 

Sunday morning we went to Archbishop Tutu’s Sunday Eucharist Service with the Soweto Gospel Choir.  In fact, as I write, he is sitting at the table next to us shaking hands, visiting and blessing the passengers.  One can never have too many blessings, don’t you think?

 

                                    Ann definitely made a new friend.

Sunday afternoon Archbishop Tutu spoke again in an informal setting discussing topics such as marriage, his relationship with his wife, the apartheid struggles and their victory crediting Nelson Mandela and de Klerk, the leader of apartheid South Africa, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  Of interest, he spoke of God knowing us “before we were in the womb”.  He also spoke of leaving the ninety and nine to rescue the one.   

 

In addition, we have Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America Group, which includes Holland America, Princess Lines, Seaborne, and P & O onboard.  The Holland America Group has over 200 cruises a year and he considers the Grand World Voyage the pinnacle of their cruises.  Also onboard is Arnold Donald, the CEO of the parent company Carnival.  Today we have a meeting at which these executives seek input from the passengers.

With Stein Kruse and his wife

Having all these people onboard has been interesting and fun.  You don’t see the CEOs out and about the decks shaking hands like Archbishop Tutu and the choir, just saying.         

Valley of a Thousand Hills, Durban, South Africa

             Breathtaking day exploring local countryside and Zulu culture. 

Surprise of the day was meeting our new fellow passenger, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu!  He is gracious and very friendly.  Ann said, “Welcome aboard” to him and he answered,

     “God Bless you”.  Later Don asked him if he could take his picture    

     and he said why don’t we have my son take a picture of both of us. 
     We look forward to hearing more from him over the next three days       
      while he is sailing with us to Cape Town, South Africa.

 

We have met so many interesting people on this voyage, both passengers and people from local cultures, truly one of the enriching aspects of this trip.  We are so grateful.