Namibia, lost in cyberspace and Cape Town
Monday 19th January – sea day
We saw dolphins today! No proof obviously, they’re far too quick to be caught with a camera but we definitely saw them. Captain says he’s seen a whale but we think he’s delirious 😁 Retrieved our passports from the batch Senegalese immigration control and found our stamp. Passports aren’t the travel symbol they once were because nobody seems to want to stamp them anymore … we went to Portugal, Madeira and Tenerife and they weren’t interested… maybe Senegal were as interested in our passport as we were interested in Senegal? Anyway, nice little stamp when returned to us 😊 We’ve seen the odd container ship passing in the other direction, miles away on the horizon. We’re about 120 nautical miles off the coast of Guinea apparently and the weather is really starting to heat up. Can’t sit on the balcony in full sun and if there isn’t a breeze, it’s uncomfortable out of the sun! First world problems 🤷♀️ We should be crossing the equator soon and apparently there’s a ‘ceremony’ – I hope that doesn’t involve throwing somebody overboard or in the pool or having to drink your body weight in rum or something!!
Tuesday 20th January – sea day
The Crossing the Line Ceremony was fun; it consisted of Pirates & Captains Crew competing in the pool for the right to ‘cross the line’. Almost the whole ship squeezed on to the back deck to get a view of the activities but there were two ‘ladies’ who claimed the right stand on the edge of the pool and block everyone’s view; shameless enough not to stand down when requested by the crowd and brazen enough to tell at least three officers to get stuffed when the crowd eventually persuaded or shamed the officers into tackling the two ladies. I’m surprised that the feeling radiating off the crowd didn’t melt the skin on their backs! I hope their view was worth it. It’s been a hot and sticky day today, almost 30 degrees but overcast.
Wednesday 21st January – sea day
We were invited to a special luncheon today, for all those cruisers going the whole way. I’ve been stunned by the amount t of people saying that they’re getting off in ether Cape Town or Oz. Even further surprised, when attending lunch, by people saying they were having to do two separate halves because apparently the full cruise wasn’t available; they were also being made to change cabins in the middle. We feel quite lucky that we’re here for the duration… and in the same cabin. We have only ever known this cruise so the ports it advertised but we’ve heard lots of people say that the original schedule included Ghana 🤷♀️ Searingly hot today, lunch was a very refined affair, sat talking to a lady who’d taught History in Oman, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, she was travelling with her Scottish friend who previously taught at Gordonstoun … only the best clientele on here don’t you know?! 😁 The lady across from us, a broad Yorkshire accent from Wetherby, brought us back to earth though … as did the need to do our laundry this afternoon! 🤦♀️ Black tie dinner tonight, not one of my favourite events, especially since I’ve only just remembered that the dresses I’d made specifically for my cruise wardrobe are still in the wardrobe at home!! We’re almost at Namibia; we’ve decided not to disembark, the cost of the visa and the effort it takes to get it doesn’t warrant any of the trips P&O have planned … plus, yet again, it’s a Sunday. I’ll be glad of some still and balanced ground though, I’m fed up of being slightly unstable all the time.
Sunday 25th January – Walvis Bay, Namibia
Land ho! First time in 6 days! It’s 4:45am and we’re slowly sliding into Walvis Bay in Namibia. Ports are industrial unexciting places at the best of times but in the dark, this early, it looks like an oil refinery from our side of the ship. According to the Captain’s announcement last night, we’re berthing port side on so we won’t see anything really until we get up and out because we’re on the starboard side. I was surprised to learn, during a destination talk, that Namibia as a country was only created in the 1980s after the fall of Apartheid and the dissolution of the state of South Africa. Blimey! We refuelled in Namibia … the “bunker barge” as the Captain called it snuggled up to the side of us and then started pumping at about 4pm … Captain says we should be away by about 9pm … I hope the Captain’s credit card has got enough credit left on it!! We didn’t get off in Namibia, firstly because the horror or Dakar had jaded us and secondly because of the horror stories we’d heard about getting an immigration visa. We were wrong, we heard nothing but glowing reports of a sophisticated town from everyone who came back on board … lesson learned, don’t take anyone else’s word for it, your own opinion is the only one that matters. However, we spent a relaxing day on board so not exactly a bad day.
Monday 26th January – sea day
Don’t think we’ve ever been without internet this long! I miss not being able to keep up to date with family and friends, and posting the blog pictures I said I would, but P&O really do tie you down to their very costly internet! I’ve had my free hour and now we’re down to selling our children if we need to pay for anymore! We’ve seen loads and loads of Cape Fur Seals today swimming and jumping about through the waves; from our high viewport they’re small, nimble and graceful little things darting about and for the first time (on sea days), we’ve seen birds. They don’t fly deep sea. Apparently, we’re hugging the South African coastline … I say ‘hugging’, we’re about 30 miles out! We didn’t see, it but legend has it that another ambulance came to the ship in Namibia. I have to say that the amount of people that we hear trying to cough up what can only be the size of car parts, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more! Because Chris is a social creature we have elected to be seated on a larger dinner table so that he can get some gabbing in … my God there are some dull people out there. There is a lovely lady called Jane, well I’m assuming she’s lovely because every time she opens her mouth she’s squashed by her travelling companion, a school friend… ‘we’ve known each other since we were 8 you know … there are four of us still together.’ The other two obviously got their “sorry, I’m busy extracting my own teeth that day” in before poor Jane.
I haven’t seen much of Sandra but when I do, her blue hair isn’t quite as vibrant. That’s the problem on a three month cruise, everything either fades or grows out – that’s my excuse for nothing having my hair cut or nails done anyway; who wants to see a 12 week grow out?! We’ve seen a couple of shows in the theatre … the first one was a Burt Bacharach story and the second a tribute to Queen, both were excellent…how on earth the performers learn song and dance for two fully different shows is beyond me. Another black tie dinner again tonight, that’s four in less than three weeks, I’m getting a bit tired of them, especially since I forgot all my cruise dresses! It wouldn’t even be so bad if I could do what the fella’s do and wear the same thing again and again.
Wednesday 28th January – Cape Town
First internet for days! I miss being able to research stuff … who was the guy that sang …?; that bird is unusual, I wonder what it is?; what’s the difference between a Cape Fur Seal and a Sea Lion?
We’re not yet round the tip of Africa and that was wobbly enough, I’m glad we did most of it during the night 😕.
We had a trip booked for Table Mountain today but when we got there it was blowing a hooley so the cable car up to the top wasn’t running; we’d got half way there mind you! I had no idea that Cape Town was literally sat at the base of the mountain, you can see it from everywhere … we hardly needed the tour at all!
Having said that the driver did his best to fill in and took us to some exclusive areas to gawp at the houses … their pay isn’t very good but it makes us Rand millionaires!
Purely because we couldn’t go up to the top we saw some other interesting things … not least of all a spot where you can jump off a mountain … why?! And where you can kill yourself in the sea on the end of a big kite!
After our tour this morning we had a walk to the V&A Waterfront which was absolutely buzzing and was a plethora or shopping, drinking and eating. You could hire a boat or a helicopter (we did neither) but it was soooooo hot … we cooled down in the only way we know how 🙂
