April 5, 2013  Sea Day

Candy Apples

More Desserts

After three busy port days, it was nice to have a day at sea to relax a bit. They have picked this day as the day of Celebration onboard to celebrate special occasions during the voyage like a birthday or anniversary.  We are going to celebrate our 21^st anniversary, which is May 2.  There is free wine at dinner to help us celebrate.

Barbara, our travel guide, spoke about things to see and do in our upcoming port of Walvis Bay, Namibia. George Sranko lectured on the great white sharks that call this coast home. Most every beach in South Africa uses shark nets to keep the sharks away from people enjoying the water. These carnivore sharks can be over twenty feet in length and weigh several tons. Unfortunately, with the demand for shark fin soup, hunters are killing the sharks more rapidly than they can reproduce. The great white shark has an eleven-month gestation period with more than one fetus but the strongest fetus will eat the others until there is only one left in the womb. This is a unique fact that I had never heard of before.

They had another fundraiser for the Bernard Noordkamp Center in Namibia today. Many of the folks who have been taking watercolor classes on all of the sea days during the voyage donated works of art to be auctioned off in a silent auction. Some of the paintings were quite nice, so I am sure that they will add more money to the $1,227 that was raised at the dunk tank event a few days ago.

We took in the movie this afternoon, which was: “Hyde Park on Hudson” about the love affair between Franklin D. Roosevelt and his distant cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley.  It centered on the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York. It was an interesting story about the times—romantic and sad at the same time.

Our tablemates were having dinner with the captain so Kent invited one of our lady friends, Kathy, to join us at our table. She had already eaten at the early seating but they were serving free wine with dinner and that was of interest to her….why eat when you can drink! It was a formal dinner and the dining room was completely decorated in gold, red, green and yellow fabric and streamers. Each table had primary colored Mylar balloons and there was a colorful horn and top hat placed at each seat. All of these decorations were for the Celebrations theme of the day.

Not two minutes after we started eating, Cathy announced she was not wearing underpants. Why we needed to know this I am not sure ,but Kent got quite a kick out of it and needed an explanation. Of course, prim and proper as I am, I was scandalized and had to stop eating my garlicy escargot.  The explanation can’t be printed.  Kathy is on her 75 cruise and is a hoot.  She knows where to get all the free drinks…..hates to pay for it.  She had 3 glasses of wine with us while we ate and behaved pretty well…only blew her celebration horn (like you use at New Year’s Eve) twenty times.  Kent gets along with her very well, as they both have the same sense of humor and behavior…..OMG!

After dinner they had a dessert extravaganza on three levels of the main atrium of the ship. The chefs had created a delectable concoction of delicious candy apples and desserts from the classic to the unusual. They were all beautifully displayed for folks to take pictures of before they served them up for guest to enjoy.  Oh, if Kent could only be happy with a dessert picture…instead of eating them!

The entertainment this evening was a strings group called the Soweto Strings. They were four South African men who played two violins, the viola and cello. They wore zebra printed jackets, black slacks and white shirts. They were very accomplished musicians but all of their songs sounded very similar.

April 4, 2013  Durban, South Africa

Kent and Mark at the Beach

Spice Shopping

Orchid House

The port of Durban is one of the few natural harbors between Port Elizabeth and Maputo, and located at the beginning of a particular weather phenomenon, which can cause extremely violent seas. This made Durban a busy port of call for ship repairs when the port first opened in the 1840’s. Now the busiest port in South Africa, it is also the busiest container port in the Southern Hemisphere with 1.8 millions containers a year. The port of Durban benefitted from the industrial and mining trade from Johannesburg, which is not located on any navigable body of water. The port of Maputo was unavailable until the early 1990’s due to civil war and the Port of Durban picked up and ran with the trade business. Now there is an intense rivalry between Durban and Maputo for the shipping business.

There is no written history of the area before Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He landed on the coast on Christmas in 1497, and thus the name “Natal”, or Christmas in Portuguese. Durban is famous as a major tourism center due to its warm climate and beautiful beaches. The proliferation of tourism in the area has attracted craftsmen from all over South Africa. Painting, pottery, woodworking and wire sculpture are all popular items found here.

The population of Durban is approximately 3.5 million with 68% being Zulu’s, 9% white, 20% Indian and 3% other.

Our tour today was the highlights of Durban where we took a driving tour around the city of Durban. We visited the Durban Botanical Garden with its gorgeous, well-maintained lake and grounds. We saw many birds roosting in the trees around the lake, an orchid house, cycad gardens, amphitheater, sunken garden, the canon ball tree and so many more local plants and animals.

We passed through beautiful wealthy-looking neighborhoods, with panoramic views out over the bay and homeless-looking people in the streets. The city appeared to be very diverse and very western-looking as well. The architecture was mostly traditional with stucco houses, deco style buildings from the early 20^th century as well as modern skyscrapers. We stopped at the Moses Mabhida Stadium built for the 2010 soccer world cup with its huge arch like a rainbow over the building. The arch is also a tourist attraction with its funicular, which takes you to the top of the arch to enjoy the view or you can also choose to bungee jump off of the arch.

We visited Victoria Street Market, commonly known as the Indian Market where you could purchase local handicrafts; zebra skin rugs, spices, clothing and more. Many of our fellow passengers thought the prices were good and were buying up most everything including the zebra skin rugs.  We also toured the beach-front area.

After returning to the ship for a bite to eat, with Jenn we took the ship’s shuttle to the Golden Mile and UShaka World. The Golden Mile is a stretch of beach that is much longer than a mile but has white sandy beaches for swimming and surfing. There is a wide pedestrian path along the beach front with planters where you can find tons more souvenir stands, restaurants and hotels. The locals were holding a several day long beach surf safety event for young people. They were busy with races along the sandy beach and many in the water surfing and swimming.

Also at the beach was an amusement park called UShaka that looked to be similar to a Sea World in the states. They had rides, restaurants, a water park and a shopping mall, all of which were filled with locals and tourists alike. We wandered there for a while including a visit to an Internet café where we used the Internet for the equivalent of about fifty cents an hour.

Back onboard we had a South African Braai or barbecue poolside where we were able to sample such local foods as zebra, ostrich and beef jerky. The meats were not that different in taste from our beef but they were a bit on the dry side and a bit tough. Because we did not sail until 11:00pm and many folks may have been out in town they showed the movie Out of Africa as the night’s entertainment.

When we are in a port city with a free evening, some folks venture into town to try a local restaurant for dinner.  Most we know prefer to eat on the ship and avoid any possible stomach problem from the local food.  Maybe we will try a local restaurant in Cape Town.

April 3, 2013  Richards Bay, South Africa

Shakaland Zulu Village

Zulu Dance

Richards Bay is South Africa’s largest harbor, situated on an 11.5 square mile lagoon off the Mhlatuze River on the northern coast of KwaZulu-Natal. It began as a makeshift harbor set up by the commodore of the cape, Sir Frederick Richards, during the Boer War of 1879. In 1935 the Richards Bay Game Sanctuary was created to protect the ecology around the lagoon and by 1943 it expanded into the Richards Bay Park. The town was laid out on the shores of the lagoon in 1954 and proclaimed a town in 1969. In 1976 Richards Bay Harbor was converted into a deep-water harbor with railway and an oil-gas pipeline linking the port to Johannesburg. Later, an aluminum smelter, (the largest in the word) and fertilizer plant were erected at the harbor. The port handles the largest exporting of coal in the world. Titanium is mined in the sand dunes close to the lagoon. Today 150 million tons of cargo is handled annually through this port.

Until 1870 the economy of South Africa was almost entirely based on agriculture. With the discovery of diamonds and gold in the late 19^th century, mining became the foundation for rapid economic development. In the 20^th century the country’s economy was diversified, so that by 1945, manufacturing was the leading contributor to the gross national product. By the 1990’s, services contributed almost 60% of the GNP, while industry contributed over 35% and agriculture only about 5%. Tourism now plays an integral part in the local, as well as the national economy.

About 1860 with the large sugar cane plantations and not enough labor to handle the farming and picking of the sugarcane, people were brought in from India to assist with the harvesting. They were required to commit to working for a minimum of five years. This brought many Indians to South African and they still remain today.

Our tour this day was to the Shakaland Zulu Village, about an hour’s drive from the port. On our way to the village, we passed mile after mile of sugar plantations as well as some orange groves. The weather was cool and rainy most of the day. Shakaland village is where the 1985 mini series of nine hours, Shaka Zulu was filmed. King Shaka was the King of the Zulu people and was famous for uniting many tribes into one large tribe. The Shakaland mini series set was converted to a cultural center and small hotel after the filming. Today you can stay in individual round huts, similar to those of the Zulu’s, made completely out of natural tree branches, sticks and grasses woven together. There is a swimming pool and restaurant for hotel residents to enjoy as well.

We watched a short video created out of the mini series footage to give us an idea about the Zulu people. The cultural center has many people dressed as the Zulu’s would dress to provide entertainment and to tell the story of the Zulu people. They performed Zulu dances (unmarried women danced without their tops), told us about the Zulu medicine man, showed us about the Zulu dress and traditions and handicrafts. The women do beadwork, weave mats, sculpt pottery, bake bread and even brew beer. The Zulu men show you how to carve spears and shields and how to built a hut. Unfortunately, some of the activities were limited on this day due to the rain.

A buffet lunch was included for us in the Kwabonamanzi Restaurant including a beef stew, chicken curry, ground corn with a consistency of rice, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, white rice, salads and fresh made bread.  Several desserts were also available.

It was my impression before arriving in South Africa that the country was desert with sparse vegetation–but not here. Most everywhere we went you saw green fields of sugarcane or citrus trees and things were much more green and lush than I had imagined. When we did see what they called “the bush”, it was much more thickly vegetated and green.

The evening’s entertainment was a variety show featuring the past three singers and comedians (John Martin, Richard Gauntlett, and Bayne Bacon) who had performed recently.

April 2, 2013  Maputo, Mozambique

This beetle is about 2 feet long!

Beachside souvenir stand

Batik Wall Hangings and fabrics

Iron House designed by Eiffel

Formerly known as Lourenco Marques, Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. Being located on the east coast of Africa, on the Indian Ocean, has led to an economy centered on the harbor. Coal, cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. Lourenco Marques was named after the Portuguese navigator sent in 1544 by the governor of Mozambique to explore. In 1895, construction of a railroad to Pretoria, South Africa caused the city’s population to grow. Served by German, British and Portuguese ocean liners in the early 1900’s, the harbor was well-equipped and enabled vessels to discharge their cargo onto railway trucks. The Portuguese, Islamic, Indian and Chinese communities achieved great prosperity, but the largely unskilled African majority did not. In 1962, the formation of the Mozambique Liberation Front fought for independence from Portuguese rule. The Mozambique War of Independence ended in 1974 when the government of Portugal granted independence to all Portuguese overseas territories. The People’s Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed on June 25, 1975, and the city’s name changed to Maputo. Over 250,000 ethnic Portuguese left the area, virtually overnight, and the newly independent country had no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure. The economy plummeted. The governing party turned to the communist Soviet Union and East Germany for help, but by the early 1980’s the country was bankrupt. The Civil War, which lasted until 1992, further weakened the economy, but with the end of the war, growth and stability returned. Today, tourism is playing a part in boosting the economy.

Our tour today took us on a panoramic drive through Mozambique’s capital city and to the local market where vendors sold fruits, vegetables, fish and spices for the most part. On the outskirts of the market you could also purchase a variety of essentials like toilet paper, soap, hair extensions and laundry soap. The produce looked very fresh and clean, as did the market itself. Many of the local vendors appeared not to be used to tourists as they would hide behind something rather than have a photo their taken. They also did not appear to be very friendly.

Our next stop was Independence Square with a large statue of the country’s first president, Samora Machel. Also on the square are the neoclassical city hall and a Roman Catholic Cathedral. . Nearby was the Casa do Ferro, or Iron House, built entirely out of iron. Gustav Eiffel’s 19^th century design was intended to be the colonial Governor’s Mansion. The sub-tropical climate is just not suited to a house built of heat-conducting material, so a replacement was hastily built.

Adjacent to the Iron House is the Tunduru Botanical Gardens, designed by British ex-pat Thomas Honney in the late 19^th century. The gardens are a wonderful public park in the middle of Maputo’s busy city. Unfortunately they have not been well maintained over the years and are in need of refurbishment. Everything from the walkways, lath house and buildings, to the plant materials are in disrepair.

Continuing on, we visited the Natural History Museum featuring the only collection of elephant fetuses in the world. The museum had a great collection of African wildlife taxidermies of lions, zebra, elephants, rhinos and more. There were also collections of local beetles, butterflies, fish, and most every animal found in Africa. It was an extensive collection although the well-labeled displays were tired and in need of sprucing up.

We then took a driving tour along the coastal areas of town called the Poblana and Costa do Sol. We saw everything from gorgeous five star hotels to run down, burnt out buildings sitting on trash filled lots and everything in between. The beach side road was filled with street side vendors selling batiks, fabrics, clothing, wood -carvings and other local crafts. There were stands selling roasted chickens, food and soft drinks to enjoy along the beach. The only problem with all of this was that we saw almost no one on the beach to purchase all of this stuff.

The city of seven million people is very large with many high-rise buildings and busy streets with traffic. Gustav Eiffel built the stunning train station located near the port, but once again it is in need of paint and sprucing up. Overall the city looks as though it was once nice but through the years of war and bankruptcy it has really suffered. There are signs of construction all around the city but it will take many more years to get back on its feet.

After returning to the ship for lunch we took the free shuttle from the ship to the local craft market. At the craft market we saw stand after stand with much of the identical same “hand-crafted” merchandise that looked to have been manufactured. There were many wooden sculptures, batik printed fabrics, t-shirts, jewelry items, wooden boxes, wooden bowls, and limited clothing items. Kent purchased a small round covered wooden container with a lid about the size of an egg, but that was it for our shopping.

The night’s entertainment was the UK’s musical theater concert group that gave us the music of Les Miserable a few nights ago. This night they performed a show called Beyond the Barricade featuring the music of Broadway Shows.

April 1, 2013  Sea Day

The history of April Fools Day, sometimes called All Fools Day is unclear. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days beginning on March 25.^th With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, and New Year’s Day was moved to January 1. However, because news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. The general populace labeled these backward folk as “fools.” They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on ‘fools errands’ or were made the butt of other practical jokes. This harassment evolved, over time into a tradition of prank playing on the first of April.

Our travel guide Ba,rbara, presented Things to See and Do in Cape Town this morning. Then Lawrence Kuznetz lectured on the International Space Station and the wide range of benefits that come from space exploration. He showed a video tour of the interior of the space station, which was fascinating. One of the astronauts showed the food they eat, where they sleep, where and how they use the toilet, where they conduct experiments and what you can see of earth from space.

We shared lunch with our friends Jan and Jan who had taken a five-day overland trip to India to see the Taj Mahal. They left the ship when we were in Sri Lanka and retuned the day we were in the Seychelles. They shared with us their photos and experience of visiting India. They had a wonderful time and were glad that they had gone but it was an exhausting trip with crazy flight times in the middle of the night. I hope to see India for myself one day soon. Kent visited India in 1988.  From what the girls said, not too much has changed.

The afternoon lecturer was George Sranko who lectured on the Mighty Ocean Currents where he talked about the ocean currents around the world and in particular those around South Africa. There are an billions of sardines found in the waters around the cape of South Africa, bringing out dolphins and whales that feed on them.

The weather was cloudy and drizzly today but we had a pool party with food, drinks and silly games at the indoor pool this afternoon. As part of the party they had a dunk tank where you could pay a dollar to try and dunk your favorite crewmember or the captain. The dollars went towards a fundraiser for the children with AIDS at the Bernard Noordkamp Center in Namibia.

The entertainer this evening was a gentleman by the name of Bayne Bacon who was a comedian and musician from Texas. He played the piano and the guitar and had a dry sense of humor. He was quite a good musician and had some funny lines.

March 31, 2013  Easter Sunday – Sea Day

Easter Bunny Delivery

The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The origin of its name is unknown. Many scholars believe it came from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival continue today with the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in coloring of eggs with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in egg-rolling contests or given as gifts.

The ship had several Easter Sunday services including a sunrise service on the deck at 6:30am. We did not attend! There was an Easter egg scavenger hunt and an Easter bonnet parade and egg decorating class for the kids. When the cabin stewards made up our room this morning they left us two egg shaped boxes of chocolates and small stuffed bunnies as a gift from the crew.

Barbara, our travel guide, lectured on things to see and do in Durban, South Africa. We attended an open rehearsal of the night’s show by the Amsterdam singers called Sessions. The premise was to experience what goes on inside a recording studio with raw live vocals and music from the 60’s and 70’s and some more recent. The only problem with that was that they used canned music in the background with the orchestra playing over it.

It was a quiet day but the time seems to pass quickly with our normal routines. Most sea days I go to the library and get the two Sudoku puzzles of the day and work on those as we sit and wait for a show or lecture to start. While I do that, Kent reads the daily NY Times bulletin with its eight pages of condensed stories. There are always at least two puzzles out at any given time in the library to work on as well. The puzzles they have out are often between two and four thousand pieces so it takes awhile to finish one puzzle. Three meals a day and sometimes – afternoon teas takes up a part of the day. When we are feeling motivated we walk for about 45 minutes on the deck.

The cast performance ended up to be a good show after the rough rehearsal earlier in the day.

March 30, 2013  Port of Andoany, Nosy Be, Madagascar

Chameleon

Modern Transportation

Laundry Day

Nosy Be is an island just off the northwest coast of Madagascar and means “big island” in the Malagasy language. Nosy Be is Madagascar’s largest and busiest tourist resort. The volcanic island, located five miles from Madagascar, is 120 square miles and its highest peak on Mont Passot reaches 1,079 feet. The island has diverse geography ranging from harbors and broad plains to plateaus and desert regions. There are only two seasons: one hot and rainy, from November to April, and the other cooler and dry from May to October.

Madagascar’s long isolation from neighboring continents has resulted in a unique mix of plants and animals. Chameleons and colorful frogs are particularly interesting for their many shapes, sizes and designs. More than half the world’s known chameleon species are native to Madagascar and new frogs are constantly being discovered. The chameleons that we saw were colorful including fluorescent green, brown and black, greyish pink and light green and ranged in size from very small to a foot or more in length.

The weather was extremely warm and humid during our visit. With no pier to speak of we, are required to tender from ship to shore while the ship is anchored off the coast. The shore excursion buses were small in size, holding only about 15 passengers each, with no air conditioning. The locals who are black in skin color speak a Malagazy local language as well as French as it was once a French colony. Some speak English as well. The tours guides spoke English but they had little comprehension when asked a question so communication was difficult.

Our shore excursion took us out into the countryside where we saw many Malagasy villages and plantations. We saw an ylang ylang tree orchard from which they derive oil from the flowers used to produce perfume. They also grow rice, pepper and coffee. The rainy season provides enough water that the land is lush, green and a bit jungle looking with vines and dense vegetation. Many places we stopped we would find young men holding lemurs or chameleons and asking for a dollar to take a photo.

Most of the local people are extremely poor living in one-room shacks with no running water, no utilities, no toilets and little else. They sleep in the one room, usually cooking outdoors and using oil lamps for light. The people tend to shop daily at the local market, as they have no refrigeration. They do not have out houses but instead venture off into the forest to use as a toilet with a machete in hand to protect against animals and to make a clearing.

On the roads around town you see oxen in the fields and also see them pulling a wooden cart down the street laden with building materials or something. Few people own cars and the streets were filled with potholes.  Another common sight was women with faces painted with a mud-like color, then accented with African-like designs in white.  Some said the paint was for protection from the sun; others said it was to improve their complexion; others said it was for the Easter Holiday.

We visited the town of Dzamanzar, the island’s second-largest town; where we saw an unusual cyclone proof house resembling a cement igloo. Then we headed to Andilana Beach where we stopped at a five star hotel and resort for snacks and drinks. The resort was located on the beach with a beautiful pool, thatched roof buildings and tropical landscaped grounds.  About 16 young women danced and played wooden instruments the entire time we were there.  They were part of the Sakalava folksong and dance group.

The locals all seem to be selling something along the road. You would see a small table in front of a house with a few small bananas stacked up or a few small piles of red chili peppers for sale. Next door someone might be selling some rice or a few small lemons or fruits. Craft shops and stands were everywhere you went, making me think that they have a lot of tourists although we saw very few people outside of the major town of Nosy Be. The handicrafts included woodcarvings, embroidery tablecloths and some paintings. They also make spoons and things out of the oxen horns.

At the sail-away, we sat with Heidi and Andres and they introduced us to Joe and Maria from Key West.  They even bought us drinks, as we shared the day’s travel adventures.  We felt lucky we didn’t go on the lemur island tour to see the lemurs, as those who did reported they only saw 3 lemurs, but were taken to 1,000 souvenir shops!

The night’s entertainment was another comedian who had some fun jokes mixed in with a few we had heard before. Both Kent and I were asked what our names were and what we did for a living. Kent once again told the comedian that he was a porn star bringing a laugh from the audience.

March 29, 2013  Sea Day

The new cast of the Amsterdam singers and dancers were the guests at Good Morning, Amsterdam this morning. Seven of the nine of them are from England and have worked as singers and dancers in shows in London’s West End. One boy and one girl are from Russia and Moldavia and both have two parents who were ballet dancers.

Travel guide Barbara presented things to see and do when we are in Richard’s Bay, South Africa in a few days.

Two new lecturers boarded the ship yesterday. The first was George Sranko who spoke on “Unique Wildlife of Madagascar.” George is a Naturalist and a biologist from Canada. He spoke about how Madagascar is home to some of the most unique creatures on the planet and some of the highest biodiversity, with about 150,000 species that exist nowhere else in the world. He had wonderful photos of Lemurs, many chameleons as well as the exotic and unusual creatures.

We had lunch with a fellow guest by the name of Jeri from Oregon.  She was an English teacher and has MS. She gets along fairly well although she does use a scooter when she has to be on her feet for long periods of time. She had planned to come on this trip with her significant other, but unfortunately he died of a severe heart attack in November, only a few weeks before the ship was set to sail. She thought long and hard about coming on the trip but, in the end, decided it was the right thing to do and that he would have wanted her to. In her room when she got on board were the flowers and a loving message from him, which he had ordered before his death.  WOW!

Jeri had an accident when we were in Lima and had to have several stitches in her head after her scooter’s power and brakes didn’t work. She slid backwards down a steep incline before being thrown from the scooter. Even with all of that pain and diversity she has a great attitude and is always smiling and happy.  And, she plans to book another cruise before she gets off the ship.

The afternoon brought out another new speaker by the name of Lawrence Kuznets who lectured on NASA. Lawrence had worked for NASA for over 35 years in the space suit department and has incredible knowledge about the space program. His lecture on this day was a general introduction about NASA, where they get their money, what their goals and objectives are and what things are planned for the future.

The entertainment this night was a leading musical theater from the UK with a concert featuring music from Les Miserables. They were a group of four singers and a pianist who also directed the Amsterdam orchestra and the music is beautiful.

March 28, 2013  Victoria, (Mahe) Republic of Seychelles

Fish Market

Beautiful Water

Gorgeous Beaches

Turtles

The Seychelles is a group of about 115 islands that lie 990 miles off the east coast of Africa. The three central islands – Mahe, Praslin and La Digue – are granite, while the outlying islands are coral atolls. Unlike most similar islands, the Seychelles are not volcanic – they seem to be the peaks of a huge underwater plateau that fell off the edge of India about 65 million years ago. Victoria, located on the island of Mahe, is one of the smallest capital cities in the world and the only major port in the Seychelles. Victoria is also the only town in the country, as every other settlement is a village….and it boasts two traffic lights!

Our tour today was a private tour with about 15 fellow passengers arranged months ago through the Cruise Critic website. Our first stop was in the heart of Victoria with its two traffic lights and about 25,000 residents. It was here that we visited the local market where locals were selling mostly fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, vanilla and spices. In the center of town is a clock tower, erected in 1903 to celebrate the Seychelles becoming an English colony. The clock tower is a silver tower and is a replica of the clock tower outside Victoria Station in London.

From here we headed north, following the gorgeous coastline with white sand beaches dotted with huge granite boulders. The beaches were mostly deserted, each more beautiful than the previous one. They are extremely clean, well maintained and the water is a sparkling clear turquoise blue. We continued along the coast to Beau Vallon Beach which is a village where you find many hotels and resorts for tourists and a busier beach although no less beautiful.

We traveled the winding Sans Souci Road to the historic Mission Lodge with its ruins of a school for the children of freed slaves. From this lookout high atop a hill you could enjoy views out over the island and the Indian Ocean. At this point we are now within the Morne Seychellois National Park, which protects about one quarter of the island from development. Most of the island is covered in dense tropical vegetation from cinnamon trees, tea plants, wild mint, bougainvillea, orchids, hibiscus, gardenia, coconut palms and fruit trees.

We stopped along the way to see a large private collection of giant tortoises. Not as large as some we have seen in the Galapagos Islands but very large, with some being over sixty years old and standing about 18” high and 24” or more across.   They tell us the tortoises can live to be 300 years old.

Lunch was at a local creole open-air restaurant right on the beach where we enjoyed chicken and fish curry with rice and sodas. This was located on the southeast shore of the island not far from our next stop, which was the craft village. The craft village was comprised of a cluster of individual cottages each with a different type of local craft represented. Many of the shops had the actual artists creating hand carved wooden ship replicas, paintings, pottery, jewelry, clothing and more.

Along our travels we saw several of the protected coco de mere palm trees, which is a double coconut and bears the largest nut in the plant kingdom. The coco de mere has both a male and a female palms, which requires bees to pollinate from the male to the female palm. The male plant has large phallic shaped flowering pods, while the female plant has a pouch that secures the double coconut. The unusual double coconuts when dried remind you of someone’s backside or even a woman’s lady parts. The trees are quite rare and are protected by the government.

The number one boost to the economy is tourism followed by the tuna fishing industry. The main tourists come from Europe, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, including a Sheik who has bought up considerable amounts of property and built an enormous residence on the highest peak of the island the size of a grand hotel. The languages spoken are French, English and Creole although a different version of creole than you might find in New Orleans. The native people have very dark skin like you might expect in Africa but they have softer features than what I think of from African people.

Before heading back to the ship in the late afternoon we took one more drive up to a lookout point giving us a spectacular panoramic view to the east overlooking Long Island, Cerf Island and Ste. Anne Island. All in all it was a great day with wonderful weather.

The evening’s entertainment was a gentleman by the name of Richard Gauntlett who is from London’s West End. Richard brought a variety show like you might have found during the days of Vaudeville. It was a bit of comedy, magic, juggling, singing and just silly fun. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.