Around the World Again

Cape Town, South Africa – April 3, 2018

Today did not go as planned. We were supposed to sail-in with commentary from Barbara at 7 am. When I woke up at 7:15 and could not hear her muffled voice from my deck, I knew something was wrong. Turned out we were nowhere close to coming into port. A few minutes later the Captain announced that we had to wait. Some time later he announced that there was a cargo ship blocking part of our berth and it had to move before we could dock. We sat and waited and it was after 10 am (we were supposed to be docked by 8) before we actually tied up.

Once we were tied up I went to the Queen’s Lounge and waited to hear what was going to happen with the tours. We were told all would go but some itineraries would be changed. I was on the “Cape of Good Hope” tour which was supposed to be nine hours. The tour was the second one called at 11:30 (our original time had been 9 am). Getting off was really backed up and it took a little over 15 minutes to make it off the ship. Then we had to go through immigration which took another 25 minutes. The bus finally left at 12:30.

Getting out of the city was very slow. This might have been because there were a number of small brush fires on Table Mountain. Helicopters were flying over and dropping water to try and put them out.

We drove along the Chapmans Peak Road and passed some beautiful seascapes and beaches on the way to the Boulders Penguin Colony. Since it was already about 2 pm. we had lunch at the Seaforth Restaurant. Our guide, Paul, said that fish and calamari were on the menu and I thought I would have to make do with the salad appetizer. When the meal came I found the calamari fairly good - the only time I had ever had it was in 1986 in Greece. It tasted like chewing on rubber bands so I was surprised. The fish was lion fish (never heard of it) that turned out to be bland (I don’t like fishy tasting fish so bland was good). The dessert was a very tasty cake (nobody at our table knew what) with a sauce on top.

We then walked down to see the penguins. These are known as African Penguins and they are the descendants of a pair of penguins from 1982. There are now over 2000 but are on the endangered list.

Leaving the penguins at about 3:30 we headed to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Paul told us that the cape was once named the “Cape of Storms” (by Portugese explorer Dias) but was renamed by King John II of Portugal due to his optimism in opening a sea route to India. The Cape of Good Hope is often considered to be the southernmost point of the continent of Africa. Actually, that is Point Agulhas. The Cape of Good Hope is the most south-western point of the continent.

We were supposed to take a funicular up to a view point but by the time we got there the funicular was making its last trip to the top. If you went up, you had to walk down. About a third of our group chose not to go. Instead I went shopping at a great little shop called “Out of Africa”. We were late leaving because one couple missed the part about having to walk down and were waiting to take the funicular down.

A few miles away was the actual cape and we took pictures of each other with the sign.

Paul told us we were not going to be able to go to the botanical gardens because they closed at 6 pm. As it was, we did not get back to the dock until almost 8 pm.

My day was not over yet, however. I had gotten some Rand (South African currency) before I left home but did not check to find out that the 50 Rand I had was under $5. I needed more money and I hate changing onboard because of the terrible exchange rate. So, I took the shuttle (with the captain and his wife who were heading to dinner) to the V&A Waterfront mall to go to an ATM.

That done I returned to the ship just before 9 pm. One of my Cruise Critic friends, Helen, is getting off tomorrow and she had an extra suitcase she could not take with her. Another friend needed an extra case so I went by Helen’s cabin to say good-bye and pick up the bag. By then the Lido was closed so I had room service. I had a very good quesadilla appetizer, a roast beef panini, and a piece of the delicious chocolate cake that is on the room service menu.

It is now 11:47 and I have not processed my photos yet and I have another 9 hour tour tomorrow. It may take me a few days to got all my pictures up, so check back.