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All good things come to an end and that is now the case for this momentous cruise. As expected we were off the ship right at 9AM (some of the last to go because we were on an independent exit). The cruise industry has evolved the disembarkation process over the years to where it is quite efficient and not overwhelming with hundreds of people emerging and trying to find their luggage at the same time. These days groups of maybe 50 people are called to exit and thus it is much easier to find your luggage which is neatly grouped by color code in the cruise terminal.

Upon our exit we easily found our local tour guide, Claudia, an American lady who has lived in Cape Town for 25+ years, who loaded our luggage into her into her ample sized SUV and off we went for a partial day of sightseeing before going to the airport for our flights. When hiring her (tours by locals.com) I indicated we had already seen the major sights (Table Mountain, Robben Island, the colorful buildings/culture of Bo-Kaap, the nearby wine country, Cape of Good Hope- normal attractions covered by guided tours) and asked that she show us some of the lesser known attractions in the city, which she did, including a fascinating museum dedicated to Bishop Desmond Tutu who might be as important as Mandela when it comes the dealing with apartheid in South Africa, the Castle of Good Hope, a former 17th fortress now a museum and a visit to a tea shop we were learned about different types of local teas and their medicinal properties. We even got in a bit of shopping at the local African market where we managed to pick up a few mementos of the area. As requested she delivered us to the airport about three hours before our scheduled flight(s) home, which leads me to relate a story about our complicated trip home!

Steps for the day: 9,420.

One of the benefits of cruising with Regent is they include business class seats on flights when flying internationally. I initially selected a pair of flights on Qatar Airlines through Doha with only a several hour layover in Doha between flights. We had never flown on Qatar and they have a great reputation so I was excited about the opportunity to try them. Unfortunately, months later they changed their departure times which would have required us to spend the night in Doha before flying to Seattle. That did not seem bad EXCEPT it so happened that the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament was going on at this time and there were absolutely no rooms available anywhere in the Doha area, so we had to change to a set of flights on Turkish Airlines through Istanbul.

Turkish Airlines have a good reputation and the flights would be on new 787s so I did not feel bad about the change, EXCEPT that our flight to Istanbul arrived at 6AM (after a 10.5 hour overnight flight) and our connecting 12 hour flight to Seattle did not leave until 3:30PM. Yvonne is not able to easily sleep on flights so I knew she would not be a happy camper when we arrived in Istanbul and would be facing that long layover, even though we had access to a business class lounge. I did a bit of research and found that the new Istanbul airport had a hotel located on the air-side (after security) of the terminal where we could book a “day room” to get several hours of sleep in real beds and shower before catching the connecting flight. I had a bit of a problem finding the hotel (had to ask several locals for directions) but once there, we were able to get a good 6 hours of sleep, and a shower before visiting what turned out to be the most elaborate Business Class lounge we have ever seen! It had a “Wow” factor, with multiple freshly made food offerings and relaxing seating. I almost hated to leave! The lounge overlooked the main terminal area that reminded us of the Forum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. It offered an opportunity to shop in every high end designer shop you could imagine, along with dozens of restaurants and bars. It is quite a glitzy airport!

Thankfully, the rest of the trip home was uneventful, and our luggage arrived with us! There were no other flights landing when we did so getting through immigration/customs in the USA was quick.  Thus ended what had become the longest cruise we have ever taken and my quest to visit 100 countries of the world. Time will tell how many more countries I might be able to add to my list before my travel days end.

Epilogue: This is not a cruise for everyone and not an itinerary that one would likely repeat.  Visiting some of the third world countries we did makes me appreciate what we have and living where we do.

Normally we travel with friends and I was a bit concerned that traveling alone would be a lonesome endeavor. Surprisingly, the cruise line made it easy to meet and dine with other similar people traveling alone. We met some very interesting like-minded travelers from around the world.

A parting travel comment from an anonymous source: “Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life’s not meant to be lived in one place.”….need I say more!

 

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Yesterday we were told we would be three hours late in arriving at Cape Town, originally scheduled for 1 PM. This morning the captain said the sea/wind conditions had moderated overnight so that we will only be about 1.5 hours late. We have been on 49 ocean and river cruises and this is the first time we have not met our expected arrival time. It is not a big deal for us….we are on vacation.

Today was the big day to trade in our Regent Reward points for free Regent products. Turns out I had accumulated 100 points so not only was I able to get my rain jacket I had enough to claim a golf hat, a key chain and a bookmark. Do I need them? No, but it was the thrill of the hunt!

We chose to spend part of our time before reaching port to repack our suitcases as we will be leaving the ship tomorrow morning.

As soon as we landed we were told we would need to leave the ship and have the local immigration people check our papers, after which we simply reboarded the ship until our scheduled tours left.

We have been in Cape Town before as part of a safari trip and therefore have seen the major attractions in the area. One of the tours offered on this trip was a “Sundowner on Signal Hill”, something we had not experienced so it was an easy choice. We left late in the afternoon and were bused to the tall hill overlooking the city where tables loaded with snacks and bubbly awaited us as we took in the magnificent sights and watched the day gradually turn into the evening. Leaving Signal Hill as the sun worked its way into the sea we drove along the seashore, passing several high end enclaves of homes that rival anything we see here in the USA. In my opinion this tour was one of the best of the trip and was a wonderful farewell to the cruise. For those of you who have never been to Cape Town, it is more than worthy of a visit. It is truly a beautiful city and region.

There was no live show this evening. For those interested the ship offered a viewing of Top Gun-Maverick in the main theater. Since we had seen this movie we passed and simply completed our packing. Because you are requested to put your luggage outside your door by 11PM on the last night of a cruise the challenge is to remember to leave out the clothes you will need in the morning to leave the ship! Some thought and planning is required!

Tomorrow morning we expect to leave the ship around 9AM since our flight does not leave until 6:30 PM I made arrangements for a private tour through www.Travelbylocals.com, an organization we have used in the past, with a plan to be dropped at the airport after the tour.

Steps for the day: 8,889.

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This will be our last day at sea as we will soon reach our final destination, Cape Town, South Africa. It was another “bumpy night” as the fairly stiff winds have created fairly large waves which are hampering our progress. In fact when the captain gave his morning report he said that we have been experiencing a moderate gale” because the wind speed was 30-35 knots (35-40 mph), coming directly at us from the south. As a result he said we are currently 3 hours behind our normal schedule and will probably arrive 3 hours late into Cape Town. We have been on about 40 cruises and have never faced arriving that late.

It was another quiet day at sea. Yvonne is nearing the completion of reading her 4th book while on board and I continue my quest to earn enough Regent Reward points to get my ultimate gift- the converted Regent rain jacket!

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There is a French specialty restaurant on board but there is no French onion soup on its menu.  That baffles me. I am fond of it and look forward to having some. It does occasionally appears on the lunch menu in the main dining room, and today was the day, so I voted we have lunch there. We did and my wish was fulfilled.

Lately cruise lines have encouraged talented staff members to put on a show for the guests. This usually occurs near the end of the cruise and today was the day, with their show (called Krew Kapers) slated as a pre-dinner event. It is usually a nice event with talented people performing and today was no exception. We had singers and dancers showing off their talents.

A special dinner was offered in the main dining room this evening because we are nearing the end of our cruise.

The evening entertainment was the final show put on by the singers and dancers of the Production Staff called ” Rockin Soul”, featuring songs by Tiny Turner, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, Alabama, and The Who- our kind of music! It indeed was a rockin time!

Tomorrow we reach our final destination, the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa.

 

It was a bumpy ride last night but nothing fell over and we mostly slept through it. We are eager to go sightseeing again and today we are in Namibia. Namibia has already been on my countries visited list because of a trip made to Africa a few years ago that included visits to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia as we visited the Victoria Falls area. So how did Namibia make my visited list at that time? It turns out Namibia shares part of its border with Botswana, along the Zambezi River. We went to a floating restaurant in the Zambezi River that was located on the Namibia side of the river. While there I also had a Namibian beer so I rationalized that I had indeed visited Namibia. My conscious has bothered me (somewhat) about that claim since that time so today will clear my conscious and legitimize my claim of visiting the country of Namibia.

Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa and is noted for its huge sand dunes and the “skeleton coast”. It is a relative new country, having gained its independence from South Africa only in 1990. Prior to that it was a German colony in the late 19th century and into the 20th century before South Africa took over after WWI.  Its population is only about 2.5 million people. Its main economy is based on agriculture, tourism and mining (diamonds, uranium, gold silver). People rave about its physical attractions and the animals that inhabit its dramatic climate. Walvis Bay is the 2nd largest city of the country with a population of 62,000 people. Its deep water port is important to the country’s economy and has been since its discovery in back in 1485.

I chose a tour (Treasures of the Namib Desert by Off-Road Vehicle) that would take us away from the city and into the desert area surrounding it to see its famous dunes and a unique plant that supposedly lives for a thousand years! The Walvis Bay port where we docked was busy when we arrived but it was only a short distance before we entered a world of sand, sand and more sand! Because of these conditions we traveled in small groups(6) in 4WD vehicles as we soon found ourselves on sand and dirt roads. We soon entered Namib-Naukluft National Park, noted for its moonscape like landscape and made several stops for pictures and explanations about the area and the vegetation that somehow manages to thrive there. The major attraction in the area is to see the endemic Welwitschia (named after the Austrian botanist and doctor, Friedrich Welwitsch, who first saw and described it in 1859) plant which can often live a thousand years. It is not a pretty plant in my opinion!

We stopped at an oasis in the park for some refreshments and snacks before proceeding to the famous Dune 7 located near Walvis Bay. It is the tallest dune in Namibia, with a height of 1,256 feet!  Its name is because it is the seventh dune after crossing the Tsauchab River. We were given time to climb it (if you hurried) which many younger people who were visiting it were doing. If you are successful the fun thing is to slide down it on a sheet of plastic or cardboard! We chose the wiser option of walking (not easy as the sand is very fine and you tend to sink in at each step) part of the way up and simply enjoying the views.

After experiencing the dune we were driven to the Walvis Bay Lagoon where a huge flock of flamingos resided. It was quite a sight.

On our way back to the ship I was impressed by some of the waterfront homes lining the shore. You would have thought you were in the USA. The homes were large and very modern and we were told the prices were cheap (by US standards). Too bad it is so hard to get here!

The entertainment this evening was a Beatles Dance Party hosted by the singers of the Production staff and the Regent Signature orchestra. We watched a bit but decided it was a bit too chaotic for us and retired to the luxury of our suite.

This is the last port of call before we reach our disembarking port of Cape Town, South Africa, but to get there we have one more day at sea to enjoy.

We had to move clocks ahead one hour again but because we had no place to go it did not cause any inconvenience. The routine on these last few days at sea have been the same; I can almost predict what was being offered at what time of the day. Geography lesson for the day: What is the largest continent?  Turns out it is Asia, but Africa is #2 in size and we really do not appreciate how really big it is!

I had received a voice mail on our suite phone last night by a fellow passenger who had seen me on TV and offered to tell me more about the Century Travel Club based in CA. I had known about this organization before but never pursued joining. It is a national club that attracts people interested in traveling. Supposedly there are local chapters that meet for lunch/dinner and talk about travel. We decided to meet them and discuss what the club had to offer. They gave us the list of countries that the century club acknowledges for their list of countries; it is much more extensive then the list of UN countries that I have been using. They did show us that there is a Seattle based group that meets regularly. I may have to revisit whether it is worth joining.

The ship’s chef created another focused luncheon buffet; today it was German and I enjoyed some authentic German sauerkraut, sausage and German potato salad for lunch.

Trivia has become very popular on this trip and they have moved the session to the big theater when it is not being used for other purposes so there would be more room for all the attendees. John, the Cruise Director, usually is the host and today he promised an easier version after the tough one he gave yesterday. Well, it worked and we took 2nd place.

Our trivia group, consisting of two couples from Australia and England plus ourselves had agreed to meet for dinner this evening and we had a pleasant discussion about a variety of topics, including travel plans (obviously), how people met, where they live, etc. We had a good time.

The Greek guitar player, Dimitris Dekavallas,  offered a second show tonight where he played more commonly known (to us) songs of varying genres. He was joined for awhile by Floggie Flax.

Added note: A most unusual and somewhat scary event occurred during one of the recent nights. I had forgotten to make a note of when it happened, so am adding it to this particular blog for historical purposes. About 1 AM we were awakened by an announcement that was broadcast in our room. The cruise director asked if there were any male passengers on board with type A+ blood as there was an emergency need for it. Neither of us could assist but we later learned from one of our trivia partners that he did have that blood type and went to assist. He was the 2nd person to arrive at the medical center and eventually was told he was not needed. We never heard what the issue was or the outcome. I did look up how common is A+ blood type and found it is very common-34% of people have that blood type so there would have been plenty of people on board who could donate blood. Yvonne though perhaps someone had fallen and severely cut him/herself, but a later conversation with an Australian doctor indicated that it could have also resulted from an internal bleeding issue. He also indicated that you simply cannot take blood from someone and immediately transfer it to another person as the blood needs to be filtered and other things done to it before it can be used. He would be surprised that the ship could do all that. Obviously they could and it is reassuring to know that it is available in the case of an emergency. End of story.

It is expected to be a bumpy ride tonight as we make our way to Walvis Bay, Namibia, our next stop.

This was another quiet day, so much so that I took hardly any pictures to share with you.

The highlight of the day might have been a lecture I attended on the history of Bossa Nova, which became extremely popular in the early 1960s and made famous by Brazilian, Antonio Carlos Jobim. And the most famous song we all remember is “The Girl from Impamena”. A bit of trivia: that song was recorded over 300 times by various singers and although Jobim’s version is the one we all know, he has not the first to record it. A fellow Brazilian, Pery Reibro, supposedly was the first. Also the lyrics were changed when the popular version came out. Another fun fact: Jobim was originally a piano player, later switching to the guitar which is how we remember him.

In November 1962 a concert featuring boss nova music was introduced to the American public in Carnegie Hall. It was soundly panned by the critics! So much for what critics know, for it became a great popular musical genre for many years. Our lecture included a few songs from that era, sung by members of the production staff with the lecturer accompanying them on his guitar. It was unique and a fun lecture.

Bingo, trvia, cocktails and dinner filled up the rest of the day, and our violinist, Susana, provided the after dinner evening entertainment with her second show since coming on board.

Thus ended another “hard day at the office”!

 

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