Allure of the Atlantic

Today we woke up early, showered, dressed, and headed to the Charlotte airport. We turned in our rental car and soon were on the shuttle to the terminal. We had checked in on line and quickly checked our bags and went through the TSA pre-check line. We had time to get to our gate and make a few last minute calls before we boarded and headed to Atlanta. In ATL we had breakfast and soon were on our way to Miami. We landed to windy but sunny weather and our luggage was one of the first on the carousel. After dragging our bags through the airport we boarded the train to the rental car building. This is not an easy process. And when we arrived we still had to get a shuttle to the car. We finally made our way to our white Toyota Camry ( how many of these are on the road?) 2 miles from our hotel. We were checked in and only had to pick up our keys before heading to our room. We changed into cooler clothes and got directions to Bayside Park on Biscayne Bay. We walked around the shops for a while and then stopped for our lunch/dinner meal. We had unlimited soup and salad and really enjoyed the view of the bay. After our meal we walked along the water for several miles enjoying the view of the bay and the very large yachts docked along the wall. We had a great time exploring and soon found that it was later than we thought and we were tiring fast. We had gotten up before five and it was telling on us. It was off to the car and the trip back to the hotel. We got to the ticket machine and the person in front of us had forgotten to pay his parking tick before exiting. There was a long line behind us and we were concerned we would have to sit for a while but they finally got out of the car and got it taken care of before anyone did more than beep their horns at them. At the hotel we were soon in bed and checking out the football scores before turning off the lights.

Today we got to enjoy a later morning and a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We made reservations to go on an airboat ride in the Everglades but it was later in the morning. We decided to make a preliminary trip to the meeting point then we went to a nearby mall area and did our walk for the a.m. We found a great mall with a lot of space to walk and because it was Sunday it was not crowded. We then headed to our meeting point and met our escort to our riverofgrass.com boat. We boarded our airboat with several much younger nonEnglish speaking friends. We spent the next 90 minutes exploring the river of grass. Our guide had several spots he liked to stop and interact with the gators and birds. He would actually call the gators by name and they would come to the boat. One named Scar let him pet his head and opened his mouth to show us his teeth. He fed him Cheetos and it was amazing he could even tell that the small piece of Cheetos was in his mouth. Another stop we played with a lovely purple bird that is found only in this area. It is the rare Purple Gallinule. Again he fed the bird small pieces of Cheetos and the bird would grab it and run to his hiding place before the crows could take it away. On our way back to the dock area we saw a female alligator which we were told are much harder to find as they do not interact like the males and are not as aggressive.

Slept in a bit this morning and then had a nice breakfast before we did our final packing. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport where we were met by the Oceania transfer people. Our luggage was whisked away and we were put on a full sized tourist bus for our transfer to the port. We were the only ones on the bus and we were dropped off curbside. We made it through the line without difficulty but we were surprised at how different this check-in was from our experience with HAL. We had to go to the Terrace for lunch as our cabins were not ready. Lunch was nice and we shared a table with a nice couple we had met in line. We then went and sat by the pool and we were disappointed that it was almost 4 when they announced we could go to our cabins. When we arrived we again were disappointed because our luggage had not arrived even though it was sent to the ship at 11:30. We later learned we should not have taken the transfer but gotten ourselves to the ship with our luggage and turned it over at that point. Live and learn. We did a little exploring of the ship before we had to attend the safety drill which is mandatory for everyone. As usual there was one cabin in our group that did not show up and this made it last so much longer than it should as they had to find them and get them to the muster station. After the drill our luggage was there and we unpacked and found a place for everything. It went smoothly and we were soon organized and ready for the next 36 days. This cabin is smaller than our last so it will be “a place for everything and everything in its place”. We went to dinner late and then we attended the introductory show at 9:30 where we met the cruise director and the entertainment staff. We had not done a lot but when the show was over we were ready for a good nights sleep.

This morning we got up and had coffee before we headed to the gym for the stretching and abs classes. It was a wonderful workout by our Brazilian gym instructor Lisa. We did some weights and treadmill before we went to breakfast. Because of our gym time Hugh had to head to the first lecture on the Caribbean Islands before we showered. I went to the needlework group so I could get a project to work on during the cruise. The lecturer is a university professor but is extremely entertaining. After the lecture we went back to the cabin and took all our clothes that needed a quick press to the launderette on the 7th floor and I did the job. Then it was off to shower and dress for the afternoon. We went to lunch finishing just in time for the 2 pm lecture on photography. This lecturer is world traveler David Smith and all the lectures are on getting the best travel photos you can. He is filled with good tips and I enjoyed seeing some of his photos made in the places we will visit. There is also a photo contest I look forward to entering. After that lecture we headed to the pool and spent our time reading and enjoying the warmth. We relaxed in our cabin a bit before we dressed for dinner. We went to the main dining room and had 3 lovely couples join us. Our conversation was lively and we finished just in time to skip dessert and head to the 9:30 show. The show was a group called AbbaFab, a tribute to the Swedish group ABBA. They were FABulous and we were so happy we did not stay for that last little bit of chocolate. It was time for bed when they finished and we read until our eyes closed.

Today was our first day to order coffee and use room service as our wakeup call. This ships routine is different in that they call you about 5-10 minutes before the order arrives. It is nice and gives use time to say prayers and grab a robe before there is a nock on the door. We enjoyed our coffee and juice and then headed to the gym. We are determined to not leave at the end of the trip carrying a lot of extra pounds; but we want to enjoy the food also. After our work out we had a light breakfast on outside Terrace. We then went to the lecture on the Caribbean and then out to the pool. We enjoyed the warm air and sunshine while we read our books, had a late lunch, and just relaxed until time for the 3pm photography lecture. Again we learned a lot and look forward to all the lectures by this guy. We headed to the cabin and showered and dressed for our dinner in Toscana. Toscana is an Italian specialty restaurant and we were lucky enough to get reservations when we checked in at breakfast. We arrived and were seated right away. We were to be sharing with another couple but they never showed up so we had wonderful service and food all by our lonesome. It was a great evening and we just barely made it to the show. Entertainment has been varied so far and tonight it was a comedian who used the audience for a large part of his humor. He was terrific and everyone was guffawing by the end. We walked around the ship stopping in the shops and even going to the Horizons to check out the activity before heading to our cabin. Tonight we loose an hour so after changing the clocks and watches it was off to bed!

Today we woke up to the familiar phone call and knock on the door. We had our coffee, juice, and English muffins and bagels before showering and preparing for our day in Aruba. For the next 3 days we will be in the ABC Islands of the Lesser Antilles. We have been to these islands before so we have no shore excursions scheduled. We are in Aruba until 11:00 tonight and we will divide our day up as the temperature will be very warm. This morning we spent our time walking around the waterfront taking some time in an outdoor shopping plaza to use the free Wi-Fi. We continued down the waterfront through a lovely Renaissance Resort with its own private beach and wonderful grounds covered with lizards of all lengths and colors. We stopped for some pictures of the iguanas and also the Anne Frank statue as well as the monument to Queen Wilhelmina .

We walked a mile or two from town to some beach area where mostly local families were swimming. On our way back into town we walked through the shopping area making pictures of the Dutch architecture that they are working to preserve. Outside of several shops I saw the same large man in a bright flowered shirt waiting not so patiently for his wife who must have been enjoying a long shopping spree. He seemed to be outside a lot of jewelry stores but never inside. We saw the museum here but it was closed for lunch but as we were leaving we got to see some very ornate trolleys. Hugh enjoyed these a lot. We made it back to the port for a late lunch. This is a large port which can easily handle 5 large cruise ship. We were blessed as there were only two others in port today. This meant the city was not completely overrun. We had a nice lunch in the Terrace and went to our cabin to relax and cool off. We went out much later to just enjoy the sea breeze and the quieter streets. When it was time for dinner we went to the Terrace and ate outside enjoying the view. We listened to the string quartet on board and realized we would love to hear much more of them. We then went to the show which was a favorite of ours, The Liar’s Club. Andy our cruise director was the host and the audience was divided into 9 groups. We were in group 6 with a lot of our Canadian passengers. The panel was the comedian from last night, the assistant cruise director, and the social hostess. They were excellent liars and our group was only guessing when me voted. In the end we won and were awarded a glass of champagne to celebrate. It was great fun and it was almost midnight when we made our way to bed.

Today we got up early and had our breakfast so we could get outside and enjoy Curacao before the temperature soared. We left the ship shortly after 8 and walked on the Otrobanda , the other side, which is designated the newer part of the city. The old city, the Punda, is across a pontoon foot bridge from our dock. This is the ancient Queen Emma Bridge. We explored the area which has the harbor, a harbor side shopping area, a plaza where they were setting up for a show, and a lot of restaurants. It was fun to walk and explore but not interesting for shopping purposes. We soon were ready to cross to the old town and we got our cameras ready as this is the most photographed part of the island. The old town area is a UNESCO site and gets lots of traffic. We ambled through the city area making our way into the residential areas and then back to the waters edge in a different area. We explored the old fort, some churches, and even a school.

It was getting late in the afternoon before we made our way back to the ship to cool off and have a light lunch. My FitBit said we had travelled 6.36 miles and my feet were telling me to take the shoes off and give them a break. After lunch Hugh rested while I read up near the pool. About 4 Hugh decided to go for a run but since I only run if something dangerous is chasing me, I stayed where I was. We got in the pool when Hugh came back and then headed to the cabin to shower. He has actually run across the high green Queen Juliana Bridge. About 7 we headed to the Terrace for a light dinner and then went back on shore to enjoy the nighttime activity. We soon discovered that they were filming something in the plaza but otherwise there was not a lot of activity. Close to the ship we found we had great internet service and did a final check of our emails and banking before we headed back on board to enjoy some quiet time to journal, read about some ports of call, and then go to the Rock N’ Roll deck party. We walked through the party and it was a very poorly-attended event so we just walked around the ship and then went to our cabin to watch some news, read, and the get a good nights sleep.

Today we are in Bonaire, the island on which we have spent the most time. We did not feel we had to do anything special here so we slept in a bit, did our exercises, had breakfast, and then headed out. We walked into the town stopping at the visitor center to find the nearest beach. Our lovely visitors representative told us the best beach was about 20 minutes away but we could walk. We started out in that direction and were able to see the new areas of town, a lot of activity on the waterfront, and even some of the resorts along the way. We made it easily to Eden Beach and Resort. For $5 each we had beach chairs, bathroom and changing facilities, a lovely sandy beach, and a pool, and oh yes, free Wi-Fi. We took a walk along the shore and we actually saw parrotfish swimming among the rocks right at the waters edge. We stayed until the middle of the afternoon and then started our trip back. Today we sail at 4 and have to be back on the ship by 3:30.

We took our time and arrived back in plenty of time. We went to WAVES for burgers so we did not have to change out of our bathing suits. We sailed as we enjoyed our food and the wonderful view. We stayed by the pool until we were thoroughly overheated and in need of a shower. We showered and dressed for our 5:45 Oceania Club Members party. This was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the company of a couple from Nevada. We stayed until time to go to The Polo where we had dinner reservations. We had a sharing table and the Maître’ D told us that the couple had come early and had been sent away until the right time and now they were late. We waited a bit and were joined by a couple from Bali. He spoke some English but she seemed to understand but spoke very little. We enjoyed trying to get to know them and soon found it was time for the show. We left them having dessert which we had to forego; they did not go to the shows they explained. Tonight’s show was ABBAFab again but they did a Piano Man show with the music of Billy Joel and Elton John. It was marvelous and we were all on our feet rocking out. After the show we washed out some clothes and then read before falling asleep.

Sea Day, hooray! We slept in and barely made it to breakfast before they stopped serving. We ate quickly so we could make the 10 am future tour presentation. Jennifer did a great job and we enjoyed it even though we did not win the $250 shipboard credit she gave away. The lecturers on board are top notch and we hate to miss any of them so we stayed for the 11 o’clock presentation on the people and animals of the Caribbean. We were dressed for exercise so we headed to the track to get in our 2 miles before we went to the gym to work out with weights, the machines, and even the treadmill. We just had time to shower before our 2 pm photography session but we made it and again got some great tips. After that we had a Q&A with ABBAFab hosted by Andy. This was a lot of fun and it was nice to hear about their family. It ended with them singing backup for Andy. Great time! We went back to the cabin to relax and journal. I am very far behind. We ended up resting some before Hugh went for his haircut and I got ready for dinner. We ate in the Terrace and had time to sit in the Library and journal. I am determined to catch up and head into the next 5 port-intensive days without being behind. I caught up on my journaling with just enough time to store my computer and make it to the show. Yeah ME!!!! The show was Jeff Harms the comedian and this show was just as funny as the last. I hate that he is leaving the ship tomorrow. After the show, which ran long, we walked around for a bit before heading to the cabin!

This morning Hugh got up and went to run on the treadmill and I got ready for our excursion. After Hugh showered we headed to breakfast and then it was time to meet for the Discover Grenada tour we had signed up for. We were on bus 15; must have been a lot of people like us who had not visited this island before. The buses are small and modern and our guide is Christopher. He has a lovely accent that is very easy to understand. We filled the bus and then we were off. We drove through George which is the local province closest to the port. It was a bustling little area that we might want to explore if we get back in time. Our fist stop was Fort Frederick where we met our guide Alice in Wonderland, yep, that’s how she introduced herself. She was a little wacky but gave us all the info that we needed to appreciate what we were seeing. The fort was started by the French in 1779 and finished by the British several years later. It is connected to other forts on the island by tunnels and has a large cistern system that is still in use today. There was a great view from the area to both the Caribbean side and the Atlantic side. From the fort our travels took us into the interior of the island to the Grand Etang National Park. We saw huge expanses of green mountain ferns and Christopher stopped frequently to point out different types of trees including the breadfruit, the breadnut, papaya, and the golden apple. We also saw star fruit trees which he told us went to waste because they had no export system for them. We also saw nutmeg trees, cinnamon trees, and eucalyptus trees. When we arrived at the park we were offered rum punch or soft drinks as we walked around. There was a cobalt blue lake that is in the crater of an extinct volcano. There were signs about monkeys and the ranger said they had been imported from Africa for food. They grow up to fifty pounds and are very good to eat was her explanation but we did not see any. Our next stop was the River Antoine Estate where we saw the rum making process. The oldest functioning water wheel in the Western Hemisphere is still used in the process. Our guide was very informative but the rum we tried at the end of the tour was so strong I think it killed my taste buds. Hope all the pictures came out as this was an interesting place. We travelled on from here to the Belmont Estate which has been in operation since the 1700’s. We had a lovely lunch with 2 Canadian couples and another couple from Beaufort, SC. After lunch we had a tour of the cocoa fementary and got to enjoy several types of dark chocolate. After leaving Belmont Estate we went to Leapers Hill monument. This is a monument to the Caribe Indians who jumped off this cliff to their death rather than be shot by the French in 1651. We also got to visit an old cemetery, a catholic church, and a school. We traveled through some very narrow streets and over some major switchbacks to our next stop the Dougaldston Spice Estate. This is a monument to the past whose owner has died and the family is in court fighting each other for the property. It was closed when we arrived but the caretaker showed up and let us in to see the equipment and talk about the spice processing. This was a very photographic place. We travelled to the Concord waterfall, which was lovely but not particularly high. On our way back to the ship Christopher said he wanted to show us something we had never seen before and he did, an egg plant, which was an aloe plant with eggs on the pointed leaves. We all had a good laugh. Soon we were back near the harbor and we saw a 5 masted square rigged ship. We decided it was the Star Clipper and boy was it photographic. Wish we could have seen it sail.

We got back on board and had time to upload pictures and clean up before we went to dinner. We ate as we sailed away toward St. Lucia. Dinner was great and we asked Andy if he would try to get the National championship score for us. He said he would announce it after the show if he could get it. We went to the cabin to edit our pictures and journal before the show. At 9:30 we went to hear Alex Filamonov a classical pianist from Russia. He was excellent but we left disappointed as we did not get the score. Back in the cabin I journaled and we watched the news but it was all international and they did not cover the game. Looks like we will have to find out tomorrow. Goodnight!

Hugh was up at 6 again today to get in his treadmill time while I showered and found out about Alabama’s victory over Clemson in the National Championship. What a nice way to start the day. We had a light breakfast before we headed to the showroom for our shore excursion. We had another long one today but we were looking forward to it because we had so much fun yesterday. We were on the first buses called so we were off the ship and on our bus quickly. Our guide is Candide and she is a very lively young woman with a sing song creole accent. We headed out through the capitol city of Castries past the market and the square as we made our way to our first stop. The viewpoint was called Morne Fortune or good luck mountain. We had some beautiful views and we made way more pictures than we will keep. We continued on our journey to Soufriere and we went up and down and all around as we travelled through the fishing villages of Anse La Ray(bay of rays) and Canaries(clay cooking pot). These villages looked very poor but they we so colorful. Each one had less than 5,000 people. We made a restroom stop and had some time to photo before we reached our destination, The Diamond Botanical Gardens. On our way we got our first view of the Pitons that St. Lucia is famous for. Once we arrived at the gardens we saw all sorts of beautiful plants and a waterfall against mineral deposits that gave it a diamond like appearance. From the botanical gardens we travelled to the Morne Coubaril Estate, a sprawling plateau farm in Soufriere. We had a buffet lunch upon our arrival and it was creole inspired deliciousness. After lunch we toured a small village of replica stick huts similar to those used two centuries ago by local villagers. We then walked to the coconut processing area including the copra ovens used to dry them. Then it was off to the coco area and it was similar to what we saw yesterday except today we got to see someone do the coco dance used to polish the beans and keep them stirred during the drying process. Soon it was time for our stroll back to the bus. We then drove through Soufriere and to the dock area where we boarded a large catamaran for a cruise back to the ship. This was fun with music and dancing, rum punch, and even a stop for swimming (no rum punch until after the swim). This was a fun interactive cruise and we arrived back at the ship rested and happy. We said goodbye to Candide and dropped our cameras in the cabin before walking to the market and around the port. We hopped to find some Internet service but everything was closing and we headed back to the ship to shower for dinner.

We ate in the Terrace and then sat in the library editing pictures until time for the show. Tonight’s show was an irreverent magician/comedian named Mel Mellers. We thought he was funny but some of his comments may have bothered some of the pickier guest. The end of the show was the staff of the Insignia saying goodbye to the guests leaving in Barbados in 2 days. As we walked back to the cabin we were so glad we had several more weeks not days to enjoy.

Woke up this morning in the very French island of Martinique. Hugh went for his treadmill run and I showered and dressed for the day. After Hugh showered we had breakfast before we started on our daily shore excursion. This part of our trip is very port intensive. We were on the first bus and we met our guide Eduard at the pier. He has a lovely French accent but is easy to understand. We are on a much bigger bus today with large windows but the first time I tried to make a picture the light is horrible and the reflections take over the whole picture. We are on a tour that said it was not handicapped accessible but we had canes and a wheelchair bound cruiser to deal with, it was be a slow day. We drove through Fort d’ France, which is the capital, and Eduard told us that the population of the island is 400,000 with ¼ of the people living in the capital city. He explained that their education system is exactly the same as France including the exit exams the students take. He said that the island has good health care but there is a shortage of specialists such as dentists. When we were leaving the city we passed a housing area that was built into the hillside that looks very much like the Barrio in Rio. We were soon on the highway and for the first time since leaving Miami we had to deal with traffic. Our first stop was in Lamentin at Clément’s Plantation and Rum Distillery. This is a historic house surrounded by sugar can fields and lovely gardens. The plantation gained historic significance when President George Herbert Walker Bush met with France’s President Francois Mitterrand there to discuss international affairs. We visited the distillery and tasted some very fine rum. As we left the plantation we made a stop in the banana fields where Eduard told us that 80% of the production of bananas goes to France and 20% stays in Martinique. From there we travelled to the Balata Church which is a scaled down version of the revered Sacre’-Coer Basilica in France. Our final stop was the Balata Tropical Gardens. The gardens shaded paths were lined with torch gingers, palms, lakes with water lilies, and orchids. We thoroughly enjoyed the swinging elevated walkway that allowed a birds eye view of the gardens and the vistas beyond. This garden was designed by Jean-Phillipe Thoze in the late 1980’s and shows just how fertile this island is. Back on the bus we headed to the port. Eduard asked for my website so he could see all of our pictures and that made us very happy.

We dropped our cameras at our cabin, had a light lunch, and walked into town to see the sights and try for free Wi-Fi, which we found. The visitor’s center had fast Internet and we sat in the park and enjoyed catching up. We then walked around town marveling at some lovely old buildinsg including the public library or biblioteque. Hot and tired we headed back to the ship to edit pictures and journal and oh yes, rest! We showered and dressed for dinner in the terrace. After dinner we sat in the library and enjoyed the time to get our pictures culled form over 400 to 98, just enough to help us remember our wonderful day. No show tonight so it will be an earlier, before midnight, evening. Tomorrow Barbados!

Today we started our morning slowly not getting up until around 7. We made our way to the gym to get our day going well and both of us completed a good workout. We then went and walked outside on the track and Hugh jumped in the pool to cool down. We enjoyed seeing two sailing type cruise ships; one was the Sea Cloud and the other the Club Med II. Need to check these out when we get home. After showers and a light breakfast on the verandah we headed to Bridgetown to explore. We did not book any tours here as we had spent a very full day covering the island with a photographer the last time we were here. We took our time walking and made our way along the waterfront to the town area. We came to some colorful shops along the way but we were not in the shopping mood so we continued more into the town area. Along the waterfront there are floating restaurants, pirate ships, and parks. While in the town area we walked the board walk area, crossed the bridges, visited the churches, and got in a lot of steps just wandering about. We found a Burger King with Wi-Fi and ordered cokes and sat for along time just catching up on bills, emails, and news. This was very fast Internet and we took advantage of it. From there we wandered through some of the shopping areas by-passing the large jewelry stores such as Diamonds International, Columbian Emeralds, and Little Switzerland; oh yes, we skipped Tiffany’s also. We made a few pictures but mostly just enjoyed people watching.

We made our way back to the ship and took advantage of our invitation to a lunch in the dining room instead of fighting for space with the people just embarking who will be dining in the Terrace. After a nice lunch we took some time to read, walk on deck enjoying the views, and resting. We both decided to go to the gym and try out the bikes before the 5:15 safety drill. We ended up walking on the track waiting for the announcement and got in a lot of time as they were late starting the drill. We made our way to the showroom with our life jackets and sat for a while then we evacuated to the deck to find our lifeboat. Once this was over we rushed to shower and change for our dinner in Toscana. We thought we would miss sail away because everything was running late. We made it to Toscana at 7:30 and we still had not sailed. We were seated at the window and we were able to enjoy the lights when we finally sailed at 8:20. Dinner was wonderful and we decided to go to the intro show even though we saw it on our first day in Miami. We enjoyed it and soon it was back to the cabin and sleep!

Today the clock went off at 6 but the Barrow’s slept in until 7. We went to the gym and the track and got our day off to a great start. After we showered it was off to breakfast. I am getting very spoiled with all the delightful fruit choices we have each morning. Tummies filled we grabbed our cameras and headed on shore. We are docked downtown and we were soon in the midst of a dozen or so taxi drivers who wanted to take us on a ride around the island. We finally escaped and walked as far as we could in every direction and decided we did not want to pay to see another fort, botanical garden, or beach. We have seen our fill over the many islands and they are all starting to look exactly alike. This is a poor island but very clean and there are signs in the shape of stop signs stating there is a $1000 fine for littering. We sat and listened to a steel drum band (yep, they played Marianne just like every steel drum band we have heard) and found some relatively fast free Internet before we boarded the ship and went to a long leisurely lunch in the main dining room. As we were eating we saw the large catamaran ferries from Trinidad come in, It was amazing to see them and know that they can carry 264 cars and over 600 people. We don’t usually spend this much time for lunch but the temperature outside is high and the sun is high. We are nearing the equator and we can feel the difference.

After lunch we journaled, uploaded pictures, and rested before time for sail away. At sail away we enjoyed making some photos and then we put the cameras away and walked on the track as we said goodbye to Tobago. There are more young people on this segment of the cruise and it is good incentive to move when you are walking; I am prone to slowdown if the flow of traffic is slow. We decided to go to the dining room for dinner so we showered and dressed. We were seated with two ladies from California who stated they had gotten rid of their children and their husbands and enjoyed traveling the world. We had a great dinner and had time for dessert before the show. Tonight was a singer from England and she was quite good when she sang but she talked way too much for me. Hugh said he wished he could put a sock in her mouth. The show went long so it was time to head to the cabin when it was over. We loose another hour tonight.

Today we awoke at 9:17 because we forgot to set our iPad back an hour before we did the alarm. We dressed quickly and just made it to breakfast before they stopped serving. We ate outside and just enjoyed the sun, blue water, and the breeze. We rushed to the 10 a.m. lecture on Devil’s Island and enjoyed the history of the island that we will see for the second time tomorrow. We stayed for the astronomy lecture also and this lecturer was much more interesting than the last astronomy one we had. Hope to get to see the Southern Cross in a few nights. We decided to go and sit around the pool and have lunch in a bit. The temp was nice and they were grilling kabobs that we enjoyed with our salad. At 2:30 we headed for the showroom and the next photography lecture. The lecturer, David Smith, gives us great tips for making better pictures each lecture. Afterwards Hugh decided to spend some time in the gym and I decided to loose my newly acquired blonde status (colored my hair…thank you Jeff for the supplies!). Hugh came back just as I was finishing and we dressed for the Captains cocktail party. He enjoyed being out with his brunette wife! We decided to forego the showroom and the intro to the captain since we have done this twice already. Instead we went to Horizon’s and found there was a lively group there also. We saw a pod of dolphin swimming toward the ship. Once they reached our ship they would turn and swim with us for a while. We enjoyed the free drinks and appetizers so much that we were not very hungry for dinner. Instead of the dining room we headed to the Terrace and a lighter meal. We ate outside and enjoyed a long leisurely meal. We went to the cabin for our cards and found a quiet corner in Horizons to play a few hands before the show. Hugh won 3 out of 4 and was very pleased with himself. The show tonight was a violinist from England and he was wonderful. He played classical to show tunes and did each with his own flair. We walked around the ship talking to different people about tomorrows adventure before heading to bed.

Today the alarm went off early and we got up and dressed quickly as we wanted to be on the island early. We know from experience that it will be hot and humid later in the day. We had a nice breakfast and grabbed our cameras and made the 2nd tender of the day. Loading was hard as the seas around the island are always rough. The ride was short and soon we were at the dock. There are 3 islands that actually make up what is known as Devil’s Island, Isle de St. Joseph, Isle de Diablo, and Isle Royale which is the one we are going to. We decided to walk around the island first and then explore the building at the top of the hill. There was a nice breeze and the walk was lovely. We made our way to the cells, admin building, chapel, and hospital but by the time we were at the lighthouse the sun was high and we were very warm. After visiting the cemetery we walked along the road and saw some monkeys playing. We walked over to the hotel and saw the Macaw. By this time we had seen all we needed and took the lower, cooler path back to the dock.

We got a tender and soon we were cooling off in our cabin. After showers and a clothing change we went to the poolside restaurant for lunch. After enjoying burgers we went back to the cabin to edit pictures but Hugh had a terrible headache and was not feeling well (too much sun and bright light). I did the pictures and read while he rested. I went to the track to get sail away photos but there was nothing I wanted to photograph. Went to get my computer and sat out and journaled as I was 2 days behind. Hugh joined me but he still did not feel very perky so I journaled and he sat and read. It is very pleasant now that we are moving. The show band is playing and the atmosphere is just right for the inspiration I need to get my story written.We went for showers and to dress for dinner. We had dinner in the Terrace and then we went to the library to see the atlas and determine where the equator crosses our path. Tomorrow we will cross the equator. We then went to hear the Ginger Strings but they were not playing. There was no show tonight only a movie so we headed to the cabin to read, edit pictures, and make excursion plans for Fortaleza.

We awoke to some rocking and rolling on the ship… not bad but definitely a change. We showered and dressed and made our way to the dining room for breakfast. We had blueberry pancakes finishing just in time for me to go to my art class. Hugh went to the lecture on astronomy. My art class did not start for 30 minutes but I needed to assure I had a seat. The class was on colored pencils and I drew lilies. It was fun and they came out better than I expected. Then we had the usual King Neptune ceremony for crossing the equator where everyone who had never crossed had to kiss the fish and have water poured over them. Then back to Horizons for more art work. Hugh joined me and we stayed in the Horizons, Hugh working on his computer and me working on my needlework. After a while I got a headache and decided to go to the cabin. Hugh joined me in a short while and we soon figured out it was lunchtime and we needed to eat so we could make it to our photography lecture. We ate in the Terrace and it was nice on the patio. We then went to the showroom for the next two lectures. The photography one was on photographing people and cultural icons. We then stayed for the lecture on our Brazilian ports of call. We were a little disappointed that he did not talk about the specific cities but more on the history. We still did not know what we were doing in Belém tomorrow. We went to the library to read for a while and then to the cabin to rest before we had to dress for our dinner in Toscana. At 6:30 we were seated with a lovely couple from Canada for our dinner. It was served at the perfect rate and gave us plenty of time to talk. After a delicious meal we still had some time before the show. We went to the library and then to the showroom. The show was Eric Christensen one of the entertainment staff. His voice is nice but not very strong. He had chosen songs that were not familiar and not particularly suited to his voice. We left about half way through and went to the cabin to read.

The clock went off at 7 and we got up at 8. Lazy is the word of the day. We dressed and went to breakfast and then to the gym. We had a great workout and then showered. At about 10 we descended the stairs to the tender boarding area and were surprised to see that the local tender was a 2 storied brightly painted open-air boat. It was a smooth crossing but the river is getting wide in this area and it took a while to get to the city boat terminal. Once we docked we were blessed with excellent Wi-Fi and were able to catch up with our children, family, and friends. From the terminal we walked toward the fort past the Mercado do Ver-o-Peso where we saw more shrimp than either of us could imagine. From the market area we passed a small harbor with very colorful fishing boats. The funniest thing we saw were vultures, not gulls, lined up on the dock waiting for fish to be thrown overboard. We also went to the municipal market with its lovely ironwork so indicative of Belém. We made it to Forte do Presepio, a 17th century fortress that originally was the hub of the city. Across the square from the fort was the Cathedral de Sé . This was a beautiful church inside and out. From the cathedral we walked through some neighborhoods and down a large boulevard as we navigated our way to the Teatro de Paz. This opera house located on the city’s main square is a reminder of the former fortune of the rubber barons. This theater was built in the 19th century and was recently restored to its former splendor. We continued our walk along the Avenido Presidente Vargas passing many shops, museums, and schools. We finally found our way back to the port hot and tired and hungry. We were able to get on a tender as the last cruisers and soon were on our way back to the ship. This trip was not nearly as smooth as our trip over and water was splashing in the tender.

It was raining and windy but dry and sunny when we arrived at the ship. The weather here changes on the turn of a dime. We cooled off with ice water and then headed to lunch. After a late lunch I edited pictures and read and Hugh slept. We showered and dressed for our Toscana dinner. We had a long leisurely meal in our favorite restaurant… what a treat 2 nights in a row! We then listened to the Ginger Strings quartet and went over our pictures for the last time before going to the show. The show was Mel Mellers our favorite magician and comedian. After the show I journaled and Hugh did some computer work before settling in to read.

The clock went off at 7 and Hugh and I went to breakfast. We enjoyed sitting on the Terrace before we headed to the gym. We always enjoy talking to Bruno as he makes sure we have everything we need. I walked on the track and Hugh went to the treadmill. After about 90 minutes we headed to the cabin to shower. At 10 we climbed the stairs to the showroom and enjoyed the lecture on travel photography. We decided to stay for the lecture on the Amazon River and its basin. We decided to go to the pool and have lunch, very light as the seas are rough, and then get bathing suits and sit by the pool. It was a great afternoon and later in the day we went to rest before dinner. It was a lazy day and appreciated by both of us as we caught up on computer skills and reading. We dressed for dinner and then went to the Terrace. We lingered over a tapas style dinner and then went to hear the Ginger Strings quartet and play some Kings on the Corner. I won 4 quick games and we then decided to claim seats in the showroom for the show. Tonight was Michelle Montuori for her 2nd show. She was even better this time keeping the talking to a minimum and singing more. We headed to our cabin after a brief walk around the ship. We read about Fortaleza before sleep.

Today we awoke at 7 and went to breakfast before going to the gym. I could not walk outside as it was pouring rain so I did the abs class instead before getting on the treadmill then the bike. Hugh did the treadmill, bike, and pool. We then went to the cabin to shower and dress for the day. It is cooler than usual so for the first time we are in traveling pants and long sleeves. We went to the Horizons and I did my needlework and Hugh worked on the web pages until time for an early lunch. We headed to the Terrace and had to have our lunch inside. At 12:45 we assembled in the showroom for our highlights of Fortaleza tour. It was still raining and the disembarkation was very slow. We had to take a bus to the cruise terminal to meet our tour bus. Our guide spoke good English and we began our tour. The first thing we saw was the Mucuripe Lighthouse built by slaves between 1840 and 1846. We continued our drive into town passing very poor areas and some beaches that were not in use on this dreary day. Our impression of this city was definitely colored by the rain and grey skies. As we drove along the rain subsided and by our first stop had stopped. We stopped at the Catedral Metropolitana de Fortaleza. This neo-gothic church was built over a 40-year period between 1939 and 1978 and is renowned for its stained glass windows. This cathedral looks much older because of the pollution. We continued our drive through the newer and wealthier portion of town. This area looked better but still was not as lovely as some of the other cities we have seen. Our next stop was Parca Jose’ de Alencar & Teatro Jose’ de Alencar. The park is the city’s premier square and is located in the heart of the commercial district and fronts the beautiful theater. The theater was built in 1910 and named after a 19th century novelist and poet. The cast iron frame imported from Scotland supports an eclectic mix of classical and art nouveau architecture. There were lovely folding cane seats in the theater. From the theater we went to the Centro de Turismo, which at one time was a prison and now houses a market filled with arts and crafts. We walked around the market and purchased some cashews. We are not shoppers so this was not our favorite stop. As we made our way back to the ship we were able to check our email on the bus.

We had to rush to the cabin for showers as we had dinner reservations in 30 minutes. We showered and dressed quickly and enjoyed a long leisurely dinner in Polo Lounge. We finished in time to edit some pictures before the show. We listened to the Ginger Strings and then claimed our seats for the violin performance of Craig Owens. This show was not as entertaining as the first but still enjoyable. We were exhausted by the time it was over and soon we were in our cabin.

Today we awoke at 7 and again headed to breakfast before heading to the gym. I walked outside until the rain started then joined Hugh on the treadmills. We did a good workout and then went to the room to shower and prepare for our afternoon shore excursion. We had an early lunch and then joined the gathering masses in the showroom to get our bus assignments for the tour. We are on bus 4 and after taking the shuttle to the terminal we met our guide Gladys and took off. I was seated by a nice gentleman whose wife was sick, and he and I enjoyed taking pictures even though we knew that most of them would not come out as the bus windows were tinted. Natal (Natal, Rio Grande do Norte) is the most eastern point of the Americas and the closest to Africa. We drove through the heart of the city and saw the star shaped fort built in 1598 and used against French pirates. This is a much cleaner and more prosperous city than yesterday. We made our way across the city and were soon traveling the highway to the Parque das Dunas, a large urban park which covers 3,000 acres of coastal forest and sand dunes. These dunes are covered with natural vegetation except for one of the largest which is bare and is the symbol of the city. Our first stop was at the largest cashew tree in the world. We stopped for a visit in this lovely little beach community and the view was fabulous with the dunes in the background. We then made our way along the beaches seeing the Brazilians at play and also the grand hotel resorts built along this stretch. We made a stop along the way at a view point for the view of the Forte dos Reis Magos, the oldest historic site in Natal dating back to 1598. It was conceived as a barrier against French pirates. Our final stop was at the Centro de Turismo, a former prison where all the cells are now artisan shops. We were not in the shopping mode so we sat and checked our emails on the Wi-Fi we found there.

Soon it was time to head back to the ship and we had time to clean up and upload pictures before we went to dinner. After dinner we played some cards and then made our way to the showroom for the Amazing Gaucho performance. This was not a favorite even though the actual performance was good it was the video and down time that was not. We walked around the ship and ended up back in the cabin ready to read and edit our pictures.

Natal, Brazil pictures

Today we awoke and there was no gym time for us. We dressed and packed for the day before going to breakfast. We sat on the Terrace for sail-in and we could see the immense skyline of this very large city. Our tour was at 8:45 and we were on the first bus. We enjoyed driving through the city to our first destination. Recife if made up of 3 islands and 6 rivers giving it the name Venice of Brazil. As we drove we crossed bridges onto all 3 islands and soon found ourselves in Olinda, a 16th century colonial town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here we visited the Catholic Cathedral. The views here were wonderful and we then went to a little shopping area and then explored the other sites of the town. From Olinda we drove back into Recife and our first stop was the Capela Dourada or the golden chapel. This Franciscan Convent dates back to 1588. It is now a museum and very well preserved. Behind some very fine metalwork is the oldest area with very lovely Portuguese tile depicting the life of Christ. Gold leaf covers a lot of the surfaces and there is a wonderful courtyard centered around a cross. From here we drove to the Boa Viagem a seaside suburb. This area is newer and filled with high-rise condos and hotels. We stopped for a short walk on the beach and the area is filled with people and umbrellas. Vendors are hawking their wares and there are bar areas selling libations. It was lovely and quite warm. On our trip back to the pier we saw an old sugar factory with beautiful patina on the metal sides and storage tanks, and a train graveyard. Hugh was disappointed we could not see more of this. We made it back to the pier and when we arrived at the terminal we were disappointed that no Internet was available. We have 5 sea days coming up and the satellite coverage has been poor. I sent out texts to the kids and we went for a late lunch. After lunch we edited our pictures from the tour and they were very nice. We read and rested before our 5 pm sail time. We were on the top deck for sail away and the view was terrific. We had to make a severe right hand turn to get out of the harbor and everyone was running port to starboard to see how close we came to the breaker walls. Once out of the harbor we could judge the sea conditions by the pitching and rolling of the pilot boat.

We went back to the cabin to shower and dress for dinner after we had walked the track for a while. We had dinner in the Terrace buffet and then went to the Horizons to read before claiming our seats in the showroom. Tonight’s entertainer was a pianist who played show-tunes, movie themes, and some Elton John and Liberace. He was fun to listen to and an excellent entertainer. It was off to the cabin to read because we loose an hour tonight and we want to get to the church service at 9.

Today is the first of 5 sea days. We awoke in time to read a bit before heading to breakfast. We chose to dine in the main dining room and the service was wonderful and it was a relaxing experience as opposed to getting in the buffet line. We made it to church on time and there was a good turnout. Andy and Tammy did a lovely job. There is nothing quite like getting into God’s word, singing some hymns, and prayer to get our week off to a good start. We stayed in the showroom for the presentation on our first African port of call Lome’, Togo. This is a third word country with a lot of voodoo practices and the things we will see on our tours and our visit to town will be new and interesting. We are glad we signed up for a tour as some of the things seem a little frightening and will be best experienced with a guide and other people. I stayed for the presentation on our ship and to journal and Hugh headed to the gym. He missed his workout yesterday and he is anxious to get back; me not so much although I will get there before the day is over. The presentation of sailing was funny and informative and I am glad I stayed. I went to the cabin and put on workout clothes and went to the track and did a quick mile and then met Hugh in the room to clean up for lunch. We went to the Terrace for lunch and then it was off to the photography lecture. A lot of the things we were told were repetition but we got to practice, which was good. I am not sure if I will use all these techniques because it takes a lot of time and I like spontaneous shots but they are nice to know. I went to the track to walk and Hugh went to the astronomy lecture. We met back at the cabin and decided to read and rest and I colored in my adult coloring book. A great afternoon! We dressed quickly and rushed to the early performance by the ships orchestra featuring the clarinetist and saxophonist. He was fabulous! After the show we went to dinner at the Terrace finishing in time to hear Ginger Strings and play cards before the Battle of the chefs (a cook off). This was funny but not informative. Late when it was over and we were off to bed.

Today we slept until 8 and it felt great. We got up slowly and made our way to breakfast finishing just in time for the 10 am future cruise presentation. I just went for the raffle and someone else got my $250 shipboard credit prize. We stayed in the showroom for the lecture on the Beginning of Time: the lecture by the astronomy professor. We then went for an early lunch and then it was off to the gym. After a hard workout we got in the pool and hot tub. After relaxing a bit we lay in the sun to dry off. In the cabin we showered and dressed for the photography lecture. Our next stop was the afternoon tea and a relaxing time watching the nautical miles go by. From here we met with the Future Cruise planner, Jennifer, and booked our next cruise. We got a very good deal and know that if we find something we like better we can cancel with a full refund. We went back to the cabin and read and watched some news before dressing for dinner. We took our time at dinner with several courses of delicious food and then went to play cards until time for the show. We also did a little boutique browsing on our way to the showroom. The entertainer was Costanza Savarese a classical guitarist. She was good but her choice of music almost put the old folks to sleep. We returned to our cabin and read until lights out. We loose another hour tonight.

This morning we had coffee delivered at 8 and slowly got up and dressed for breakfast. We went to the dining room and the service was slow. We just made it to the showroom for the presentation on Cotonou, Benin. The excursion we choose looks like a good one and we are excited to see this part of the world. From here we went to the pool deck for the Country Fair. We played all the games and got a good number of raffle tickets but did not win any prizes. We then dressed for the gym and did a hard workout getting soaked with sweat in the process. I went to the cabin to shower and Hugh went to the pool. When I got to the cabin I had to cool off so I journaled and I just finished showering when Hugh came in. It is amazing how hot we get when we exercise. Once we were presentable and our exercise clothing was washed and hung to dry we headed to the Waves Cafe for a very late lunch. This was our only choice as every other venue had closed.
After lunch we sat by the pool until time for the afternoon lectures. We enjoy these and todays were no exception. We went to the Horizons for tea after the last one and sat and enjoyed all sorts of delicious treats. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and coloring. For dinner we did not even change clothes and had a great leisurely dinner in the Terrace. After shopping a bit with our eyes, we went to the showroom for a game show which was based on the old series The Newlywed Game. It was funny and the three couples did a terrific job. It was then time for bed.

This morning’s coffee was delivered at 8 and we actually got up shortly thereafter. We dressed in nice clothes and went to breakfast in the main dining room. We enjoyed our meal and finished just in time to get to our cabin and grab our life jackets for our mandatory lifeboat drill. At the end of the drill they did not make us go outside to the lifeboat as it had rained and the decks were slippery. We stored the life jackets and changed into exercise clothes and made our way to the gym for a long workout. We have battled the extra weight associated with cruising and have managed to stay fit and trim. We changed in to swimsuits and spent some pool time cooling off. We did some time in the sun before we had lunch outside at Waves. We finally made it back to the cabin to shower and dressed for the afternoon lectures. We skipped the photography lecture as it seems to be a self aggrandizement time for the instructor. We went instead to the lecture on ships and explorers at 2 and then the black hole lecture at 3. We had time to read and rest before we dressed for dinner. We had another great meal and made it to the piano show at 9:15. David Howarth did a great job and we enjoyed it very much. It was off to read and journal.

Slept in this morning as we had to move our clocks back another hour. We dressed quickly and made a quick dash to grab a sweet roll and coffee before the 10 am lecture. This was one entitled Reflections Under the Southern Cross. I never think I will enjoy these but I always do. From there we went to the gym and worked out hard. This takes a lot of energy and because it is so hot a lot of cooling down time. We stayed out by the pool a while and then headed to clean up for lunch. We were both hungry as we had such a hasty breakfast. After lunch we went to the 2 and 3 o’clock lectures. The first told us a lot about our next port of call, Lome, Togo and the second was on how to take a good selfie. We then decided to relax and catch up on some computer work and coloring. I managed to get behind in my journaling and have to play catch up. Hugh is programming. We dressed and went to an early dinner and had time to spend some time reading in the library before the show. This was another Master Gaucho show and there were a lot less people this time around. They missed a better show as the wife did her contortionist act and was very good. After the show we walked some and then headed back to the cabin.

Up at 7 today and excited for our first port in West Africa. The weather forecast is for 94 and sunny but it is grey now and we have decided this is pollution as it seems to get worse as we dock. We are dressed and at breakfast as we settle into the dock at Lome’, Togo. We leave the breakfast area and head down to the open deck on deck 5 to see the dancers, musicians, and men on stilts that are on the dock to greet us. After photo’ing this group we head to the showroom for our tour. We got our bus assignments and headed off the ship. After a few more pictures we boarded the bus and were off to the Fetish Market. Lome’ is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lome’ is the country’s administrative and industrial center. We are told that the city was founded by the Ewe people in the 18th century. It has grown steadily in recent times because of an oil refinery located here. Our first stop is the Fetish Marche’. This is the place that the voodoo healers get their ingredients for their potions and charms. It is filled with herb spiked animals and lots of skulls and statues. This is not a place I would choose to visit but it is an important part of African life in this area. As we leave the market we see tremendous numbers of cyclist and we are told that there is a country wide law that motorcyclists must wear a helmet. We notice quickly that the 3-4 people on the motorcycle as passengers do not have helmets. The temperature is climbing as we reach the Togolese school we are to visit but the sun has not made a debut. It is still not nearly as warm as we were prepared for. When we drove up to the school a lot of the older children came out to greet us. We were able to roam freely and visit the classrooms and the children were happy to perform. Some showed us their school work and they were writing in beautiful cursive. Some sang songs and all of them smiled. We spent an hour here just making their pictures and sharing them with the kids. It was sad to leave and I would have taken about half the kids home with me they were so sweet. From here we traveled to a local village to meet the King and to see how a village operates. We were met with singing and dancing but we explored until the King and his family arrived. Three of us were shown to a woman who we were told was the queens mother. We made her picture and of course she wanted money for the privilege. When the King arrived everyone gathered around to hear an explanation of life in the village. There was a greeting ceremony and libation was poured. The king and queen actually had crowns and it was kind of hokey but we were told that there are over 450 kings in the country and it is taken very seriously being passed down through the generations. There was no shopping on this tour and that was extraordinary. Togo uses the West African Franc as do 5 other countries in this area. We did not exchange any money though. We slowly made our way back to the port. It was late and we just made it through lunch before everything closed.

After our meal we cleaned up and decided to look at our pictures out by the pool. We had made a large number and it took us a while to just look at them, not even cull through them. Editing will take a while. We were both tired after a restless night and we decided to rest before our 7 pm sail away. We got up and dressed just as we pulled away from the dock. We ate dinner and the ship was rocking. We found out we had anchored off shore to bunker and take on this cheaper fuel. We went to the library and edited pictures before we went to John Ekins, our assistant Cruise Director’s MagiComedy show. It was funny and his magic was quite good. After the show it was very late and we loose another hour tonight so it was off to read and sleep.

This morning we awoke to another day filled with grey skies but a promise of a sunny day in the 90’s. We went to breakfast after dressing for the day. Our tour embarked at 8:45 and soon we were on an old bus headed across Cotonou. The streets are dusty as is everything and the people are out and about selling their goods at roadside markets and stalls. We saw a lot of stalls with assorted jars and bottles filled with amber liquid. Our guide told us that these people were selling smuggled gasoline from Nigeria because it is much cheaper than legal taxed gasoline. Traffic was heavy but we did not have to stop except for one large overturned freight truck. There are an estimated 75,000-150,000 motorcycle taxis here. The drivers wear yellow shirts and everyone rides them. This started when they had an economic downturn and people needed transportation and also a way to increase their income. Our guide spoke good English and told us a lot about the school system here. Education is free through middle school and then boys have to pay but it remains free for girls; this is to encourage parents to allow the girls to get an education and not marry very early. He also told us that marriage is free-willed in that the girl and boy decide who but the parents make an agreement and if this cannot be arranged the marriage doesn’t take place. As we traveled we used a large highway interchange that was built by the Chinese to improve traffic flow. We also saw a large stadium built by the Chinese. We soon arrived at Calavi Harbour where we boarded our small boats to travel across Lake Nokoue’ to the lake village of Ganvie. The dock area made it easy to board the boats but the launching of the boats into the traffic flow was slow and required our captain to pole us through the maze of small boats until we reached the larger expanse of the lake. On one side of the area men were in waist deep water hauling out buckets of mud to make a dike to form a fish farm. Quite labor intensive. Boats were everywhere and carrying people, food, and lumber. They were piloted by people of all ages, 4 to 80, all sizes, and both sexes. There were boats with homemade sails; some sheets or tablecloths or just patchwork leftover cloth. It was a photographer’s dream and the temperature was very comfortable and the humidity low. Soon we were at the fascinating village of Ganvie, a village perched on stilts above the lake. This village was founded nearly 500 years ago and was situated here to protect it from warrior factions. This thriving village of nearly 20,000 is one of the largest remaining lake villages in West Africa. Hugh and I were shooting pictures like crazy people and I do not look forward to the editing process. There was a market filled with produce on a myriad of boats, children of all ages playing on open porches above the water, and daily life unfolding in these wooden shanties above the water. Everyone smiled until they saw a camera and then the women would hide behind a hat or put a bucket on their heads. Some of the people who did not want their picture taken were smuggling gasoline. The children smiled and waved back to us as did a lot of the men. We slowly made our way through the village and it reminded us of the floating fishing villages in Cambodia. We saw men fishing but only women selling the fish. This is the custom here. Women seem to be the business people of the village. We made a stop at a restaurant & bar for a cold drink and a bathroom break. The bathrooms were actually bed chambers and had a bed with mosquito netting and a toilet that didn’t flush. Not my first choice of a place to stay but just what we needed to get us through the rest of our boat ride. Of course there was a gift shop and you could bargain but there was one woman who established the price they could take. I bought my first item and it was a terrific nativity scene inside a stable. I love it and they took American dollars (we did not have West African francs)!!! On the way back we were on a different boat and I had a forward seat so I was snapping away on my camera. We arrived back at the bus and made the return trip to the port. On our way back we got to see even more people out and about than we did in the morning. It was Saturday and quite busy. The sky stayed glaringly bright all day with no blue in the sky.

We made it back to the ship and were able to get a late lunch at Waves. We spent the afternoon out by the pool sorting through our pictures. We were pleased when we got it to under 200. We showered and dressed for dinner and ate a late leisurely meal in the Terrace. We had time to play a couple of hands of cards and listen to the Ginger Strings before we went to the show. Tonight’s show was Constanza Saveriese the classical guitarist we had a few nights ago. We decided to give her a second chance although we did not particularly enjoy the first show. She is very talented for the concert stage but not an entertainer. This show started slow and we almost left but the second half improved and her encore number was wonderful. It was late and we wanted to read our book for church and look at the Togo pictures before bed. We gain an hour tonight so we stayed up very late.

Today we woke up in time to get to church before we had breakfast. The service was wonderful with a fellow passenger doing the scripture reading. She had a lovely voice and made the service even more special. From church we made our way to breakfast and then to the 10 am lecture on Sao Tome and Principe our next port of call. We stayed for the lecture on astronomy through the ages before heading to the gym. It was a hot and humid day to exercise and neither of us could cool off completely even through lunch and lots of cold drinks. We made our way back to the cabin to shower and get ready for the photography lecture on light management. Again not so much information as a showing off of the lecturer’s pictures. He likes to over process his pictures to the point that they look like postcards and not actual scenes. Not our style! We then went back to the cabin to read and journal. At 8 we finally decided to go eat dinner. We were just not hungry before that. After dinner we went to the show, Bettine Clemons. This was a remarkably talented flautist and she had some great photos. She does concerts all over the world and plays in large concert halsl including Lincoln Center. She also loves animals and has played concerts for the animals all over the world and this program was documented by PBS.

Today was not an ordinary day for the two of us….we woke up before 6. We were showered and dressed when coffee was delivered and soon made our way to breakfast. We had a tour that met at 8:15 and we were there ready to go, unfortunately the ship was not cleared until 8:20. It took a while to load all the tours onto the tenders so it was around 9 when our tour started. We were in a large van for our tour and it held 22 of us tightly. Our guide Lance spoke reasonable English but we had to concentrate a lot of the time to figure out what he was saying. We are in São Tomé City on the island of São Tomé. These islands were discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century and were a hub in the slave trade route to Brazil. We are 0 degrees and 20 minutes above the equator! The soil and the climate made this area an ideal growing place for cocoa, coffee, and sugar cane. Our first stop was the National Museum. This museum houses items that include the desk where the certificate of independence was signed including the pen . There were rooms set up with beautiful antiques and everything was open to the heat and humidity. One thing we saw that was disturbing was an underground jail where people were put and at high tide the water crept in and drowned them slowly. This was not abolished until 1953. We had time to explore and then it was on to the fishing village of Pantufo. This was a nice drive away and we saw a lot of how the people live. There were some lovely colonial buildings but mostly there were crowded shanty style houses. We saw a 5 star resort that was lovely and right on the water. In the village the people came out to greet us and the children wanted their pictures made. We saw a fisherman who had traveled out 20 miles off-shore this morning and brought in a large marlin. We made lots of pictures and shared lots of smiles. The kids asked for bosh and we did not know what that was but Lance said it was the word for sweet or candy. I had one girl tell me “no money, no picture…Mama said”. Other than that everyone smiled and wanted to see themselves. From the village we stopped at a church for a cultural performance and were swarmed by children. The show was not the highlight for us, it was the people. We then traveled to the city market. This was a lot of used clothing items, hardware, and fruits and veggies. It was two stories and very busy. Our next stop was the Presidential Palace, a very large pink complex. After the fact we were told it was not to be photographed. We also visited the cathedral. From this area we walked to Independence Square. This park celebrates the country's independence from Portugal in 1975. We had a cultural show here but it was hard to know exactly what was being demonstrated. We ended our tour here and everyone was hot and hungry.

We got the tender back to the ship and washed clothes and showered before we ate a very late lunch. We decided to cull our pictures before sail-away so we sat in the cabin where it was cool. At sail away we made some pictures of the island to show the mountains. We then went back to the cabin to read for a while and then we went to the track and walked 2 miles before dressing for dinner. We had a light meal in the Terrace and then it was off to journal before tonight’s show. Tonight’s show was the pianist Alex from the ship. He is very talented but unfortunately we cannot understand anything he says. We enjoyed the music and then walked through the shops on our way to bed.

Today we woke up at 8 and read and journaled before heading to breakfast. We finished eating just in time to head to the showroom for the senior officers forum. It was fun to hear the answers to all the questions you wished you had an opportunity to ask. We stayed put for the next lecture on the history and culture of Angola, our next port of call. This seems to be a very large country with a lot of natural resources but a tremendous amount of corruption. After the lecture we changed clothes and headed to the gym. We worked out hard and then got in the pool to cool off. We threw on cover-ups and had lunch at Waves and then sat out by the pool to get some sun. We had to make a dash to the room to shower and get to the photography lecture at 3:30. It was interesting but still a lot of looking at over processed images. We decided to skip tea because we were going to Toscana for dinner. We read and edited the pictures from São Tomé. We actually dressed up for our dinner and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Toscana is our favorite restaurant on board and has not just the best food but the best staff. After dinner we listened to Ginger Strings and played cards until show time. The show this evening was Brenda Cochrane, an international vocalist who did all genres of music. She was fabulous and we hated for the show to end. It was off to bed and a fun day tomorrow.

This morning the alarm went off at 8 and we actually got up. We are excited for this port and our tour is not until 12:45 so we are taking the shuttle into town early. We dressed and had breakfast and hurried off the ship. We got the first shuttle and soon we were walking along the sea side looking for a place to cross the busy thoroughfare. We met another couple from the ship and we took off on the mission of finding good internet. The travel representative told us the best place would be the Skyna Hotel. This sounded easy and looked simple on the map but was not as easy as we thought. The directions given by the shuttle representative took us on an adventure and we were hot and thirsty when we arrived. We each purchased a soda and were given the password ( at least the bartender typed it in for us). We sat in the lovely hotel bar in the air conditioning and did all our computer work. It was fast and for the first time in days we could get everything done. Hugh and I stayed longer than we should and we raced down the hill and along the shore to the shuttle to get back to the ship for our tour. We missed the shuttle and the operator said it would be at least 30 minutes before the next one. We did not have that long so we power walked to the port, waited a few minutes for the shuttle to the ship, and when it did not come we bravely walked into the port around all the workers and soon were at the ship. I went to the room and opened soda and Hugh went to the Terrace to grab us some pizza. We took our food to the showroom and ate while we waited for our bus to be called. We finished in time to wash hands and leave the ship. Our tour was on a small bus and it was nice and air conditioned. In ports like this you never know what you will get. Luanda is the capital of Angola and the country’s most populous city. It is the third largest Portuguese speaking city in the world behind Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a city of definite contrast, a beautiful park filled area near the shore called the Marginal Way, bombed out building remaining from the civil wars, and huge skyscraper hotels next to slum style apartment buildings. Our first stop on our tour was a beautiful church built in 1664 called Igre’ja De Nossa Senhora Da Nazare. There were beautiful Portuguese tiles here with just a simple white cross out front. From here we traveled along the waterfront to the Fortaleza de Sao Miguel. This fort was built in 1576 and became the administrative center of Luanda during the early part of colonial rule and was a self-contained city for the early military garrison and an important holding place for slaves. It contains ornate wall tiles detailing the history of the city. Hugh and I split up, each going about making pictures that interested us. Funny thing but we had a lot of the exact same shots but his were definitely heavier on the armaments than mine. From the fort we drove around Ilah de Luanda (Islet of Luanda) which is the beach area of the city and the home to a swinging nightlife. The Naval Base is here as are a lot of resorts, nightclubs, and upscale restaurants. All this being said, there is a lot of slum area and where we would be sunning ourselves on the beach, the locals are fishing for food and drying their clothes spread out on the sand. Our next stop was the Mausoleum of Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto the first President of the Republic of Angola. This was an impressive shrine complete with very large marble crypt (no pictures allowed). There was a terrific view from the top of the building including a lovely view of the tall monument that is a symbol of the city. We had 2 people that stayed way beyond the time allocated and we had to skip the parliament building to get back to the ship on time. Funny there were well over 80 people on the tour and these 2 did not even apologize.

When we arrived back at the ship we headed to the cabin for our bathing suits and went to the pool to cool off. We were hot and sweaty and the water felt wonderful. We drank lemonade, walked on the track, and made pictures of the city during sail away before we showered and dressed for dinner. We had a great dinner and then edited pictures in the library before we headed to the show. The entertainer tonight was Dave Kristian, British singer-comedian. He was excellent at both and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was late and tonight we loose another hour so we headed to the cabin. Amazing how much energy the heat takes out of you. Good night!

The clock went off at 8 this morning and we finally dragged our lazy selves out of bed at 9:45. We had After a sweaty workout Hugh went to the pool and I headed down to shower. It was too hot to stay outside for sunbathing or reading. I journaled while Hugh showered and did the laundry. Yep on this trip Hugh has been the laundry person keeping all our clothes fresh and I keep them pressed. Then it was off to lunch. After lunch we worked on our entries for the photo contest and Hugh got them transferred onto a zip drive. I turned in our entries at the beginning of the Photography lecture and that was a big relief. Deciding on just one photo per category was hard work. After the lecture it was off to finish my journaling and Hugh napped. I am also listening to a Catherine Coulter mystery on my iPod. We went to a late dinner in the Terrace and to hear flautist Bettine Clemen in the Insignia Lounge. We were hoping for a good view of the Southern Cross but clouds blew over at the last minute. missed breakfast in the restaurants so we ate outside at Waves. We also missed the morning lecture so we went straight to the track to walk and then it was off to the gym.

Another sea day and we decided to sleep in. We got up slowly and dressed and just made it to breakfast before our lecture at 10. This was a great lecture on Namibia our next port of call. We are looking forward to Walvis Bay and our trip to the desert and dunes. We put on gym clothes and went for a great workout but it was so hot we ended it earlier than planned and it was too hot to sit by the pool or even get in the pool, so we went for showers and sat in the Horizons and journaled and edited some more of our pictures. We have some very fine shots of people, much more than on other trips. We were not very hungry at lunch so we ate lightly and decided to go to the cabin and read and listen to our stories. We showered and dressed so that we could get in line for the Gala Tea early. We were able to get great pictures and grab a table before the hordes descended. We sat with a lovely couple we have met several times on the trip and ended up talking long after the tea was over. This was a lazy day so we went back to reading and journaling and did not go to dinner until late. We finished dinner just in time to go to the show, which was Brenda Cochrane, the singer that we enjoyed so much several days ago. She did not disappoint! We then walked around the ship and retired to watch the news and read.

Today we were up early, showered, dressed, and invading the buffet with everyone else! We had an 8:30 face to face with Namibian immigration and then it was off for our four-wheel adventure in the desert. While we were in line we noticed we have gotten stamps from all the western Africa ports and everyone around us was as excited as we were. The immigration part went smoothly and we went directly to the showroom where we were assigned our vehicle for our tour. We were with 3 other people and the vehicle was very comfortable. The weather is windy and much cooler than Angola, high today only 78. Our driver was Lawrence and his English is excellent. He was raised in South Africa. We were patiently waiting to leave the port and for a long time he did not get the go-ahead. He explained that African time was like Mexican el Manana but without the urgency. Soon we were on our way and we drove along the shore. Our first stop was to see the flamingos; they have two species, the lesser and the greater…. guess which one is bigger! The first ones we saw were white but at the next area they were beautifully pink. From here we drove along the coastal dune belt to the town of Swakopmund. This was a much more modern area than expected with high-rise condos on the beach. From the town we drove into the Dorob National Park stopping several times to enjoy the fantastic views. The weather and the views were constantly changing. The weather went from cloudy to sunny to foggy to sunny again. The temperature did not rise and the wind seemed to pick up as we went along. The scenery changed from dunes, to the gravel dessert, and to granite mountains with dolomite stripes. The granite erodes and the dolomite comes to the surface and is very dark against the pinkish granite making dark stripes going in all directions. We continued east into the Namib-Naukluft Park where the scenery changed to an almost moonlike landscape. It was fascinating to see and we were shooting pictures like crazy trying to capture the views, which were quite stunning. At one stop one of the drivers climbed on a mountain of dolomite stones and played us a tune on the rocks which rang out from the iron in them. We also stopped to see the welwitschia plants that keep their two original leaves throughout a very execeedingly-long life… over a thousand years! Here we also saw some beetles that live among the plants. Another stop was at a lichen-covered hill. Lawrence showed us how the desert blooms when it gets even a little moisture. He poured some bottled water on stones covered in black lichen and within a short time they were bursting out green fronds. It was pretty amazing to imagine how that whole mountain could turn green.

When we left the park we made a stop at Goanikontes Oasis for a treat. They had great bathrooms, we had been using the great outdoors! They also served us mimosas, champagne, or just fruit juice along with chips, olives, & cheese, mussels on toast, and grapes. While we ate the goats, peacocks, and the cutest little llama entertained us. We picked up another passenger here as one of the other vehicles had a flat tire. After we were refreshed we traveled on to Dune 7; named such because it is 7 km from the shore. We climbed up the side and it was amazing to see how high and long this dune area is. We were almost late to the van because we were having so much fun in the sand. From this point we traveled back to Walvis Bay and to the ship. We had to stop and dump the sand out of our shoes before boarding; a lot of Dune 7 came with us! In the cabin Hugh uploaded pictures… we had over 2200, while I went to get us smoothies for a late lunch. We drank the smoothies and decided to walk to The Raft, a local bar, to use the Internet. We had to take the shuttle out of the port and the driver said he would drop us off at our destination… how easy was that! We ordered cokes and beer and connected right away to the Wi-Fi. We sat for a long while just reading, paying bills, and catching up. All of a sudden we realized we needed to head back as the time for sail away was drawing near and we had reservations at 6:30 in the Polo Grill. We paid our huge bill of $2 and started back. The bar was on the water and we had to walk across a bridge to get there. The wind had gotten so strong it was a struggle to get across. The walk was easy and we were soon back on board and showering. Dinner in Polo was excellent and we enjoyed every one of the thousands of calories we consumed. Hugh keeps reminding me that we won’t eat like this at home! We then got the computer to look at our pictures and headed to the library. They have a lovely sofa in front of a fireplace where we enjoy sitting. We culled our pictures down to about 1/5 of what we had but there is still a lot of work to be done. We then went to the show to see Dave Kristian the comedian we loved so much the first time. We laughed a lot and then we realized we were tired and headed to the cabin after the show. We skipped reading our book for Church so we will have to read more tomorrow. Goodnight.

The alarm went off at 7:30 and we were up by 8. We went to the dining room for breakfast and then on to church. Today’s service was wonderful and again we enjoyed sharing God’s word with friends. After church we had time to journal, edit pictures, and get ready for our walking tour of Luderitz. We are expected to anchor around noon. About 10:30 we began to sail along a dune-filled coastline. The weather is warm, bordering on hot and hazy. The sail in was fabulous as we sailed passed dune after dune, each higher than I could imagine. We sailed slowly into a small shallow harbor in wind that would almost knock you down. We had to have two tugs to push us into the dock and get us secured but no one minded as the terrain and the harbor boats kept us intrigued. The water is a greenish turquoise and must be shallow as our thrusters are stirring up the bottom. We finally left the deck and headed to lunch. We ate outside as the temperature is nice and Waves is protected from the wind. At one we joined our walking tour and met our guide Crispen Clay, born in Zimbabwe but living here 40 years. He is a fount of information and presents it well. He was a teacher in his younger years and a true history buff. We found out that the town was founded in 1883 by a wealthy German merchant of the same name, Adolph Luderitz. This settlement is sandwiched between the Namib Desert and the windswept South Atlantic coast. This is a village that the 21st century has yet to reach. It has lovely colonial buildings and stunning landscapes but the 30 plus knot winds that sweep the area 5 months of the year are something I can’t even imagine. Today the winds are going stronger as we continue our walk and Crispen told us that yesterday was beautiful with little more than a breeze. We stopped at the City Council house with its huge anchor and blue tile memorial. We then made our way to the railroad and we were told that the new rail system should be operational by May. We visited the Goerke Haus that was built in 1910 on Diamond Hill. The house fits neatly into the side of a rock-face and was one of the town’s most extravagant properties. From there we walked up the hill to the Felsenkirche. This prominent Evangelical Lutheran Church dominates Luderitz from high atop Diamond Hill. It’s beautiful stained glass windows were donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II and the bible by his wife. From the church property we could see the area where they hold the kite surfing championships of the world and wind surfing championships. I can’t even imagine how fast they must go; we can hardly stand up in this wind. From here we walked down the hill to the Luderitz Museum. The museum houses town history and a lot on the diamond mining which was so prominent here in the early 1900’s. There is still diamond mining here but most of it is automated which has caused a wealth of unemployment. Crispen showed us how to get back to the ship and Hugh and I asked about Wi-Fi and he said they had one Internet café and it was extremely slow. We decided to walk to the park out on the point but when we made it up the hill the wind was so strong it felt like we hit a wall. We turned around and fought our way back to the ship.

We uploaded photos until it was time for our face-to-face exit interview with Namibian immigration. This took only about 10 minutes. I decided to shower and when I brushed my hair a cup of sand came out and my face felt like a sand blaster had exfoliated it. Hugh decided to swim and get in the hot tub to clean off. While Hugh showered I began the onerous job of packing. We then dressed for dinner and made our way to the Terrace. We had another great meal and talked to some of the people we will hate to leave (they are on the 180 day world cruise). From dinner we went to the library to finish editing our pictures. We sailed during this time and the wind was so strong that the ship heeled over and people had to help one another walk. We made our way to the show and it was fabulous. It was a variety show with all the entertainment staff and the entertainers that we have had on board recently. It ended with the crew gathering and the Captain wishing us safe travel home. We sang Auld Lang Syne and then it was rocking with YMCA. Finally the ship was rocking too much to dance so we headed to the cabin. The Super Bowl comes on at 1:30 am and they are having an onboard party. This may be one activity we skip and watch when they reshow it in the am. I journaled and Hugh exported pictures. We put out the menu for breakfast in bed and stayed up later than we should knowing we will sleep in. GO PANTHERS!!!! So glad Cam Newton was named MVP and Coach Rivera was coach of the year.

This morning we got up at 8 when breakfast was delivered and relaxed before the Super Bowl replay started at 9. We decided to use our morning wisely and pack while we watched the game. I was very efficient and I soon was ready to press the few things I needed for the safari. Hugh was slower but more interested in the game and coffee. By halftime I crawled in bed and put on my earphones to listen to my story. The game is sloppy and the seas are rolling, as is the boat. Hugh finished the game (it went from Go Panthers to NO Panthers) and then we both showered and went for lunch. By the time we finished lunch the sun was out but the wind was still over 50 knots and the ship had a good roll to it. We decided to skip the gym and go to the afternoon lectures. The first was on south Africa and the next one was the photo contest winners. We did not win but we also did not take any pictures strictly for the contest nor did we doctor to the degree most of the winners did. There were 128 entries and only 5 winners so we did not feel bad. From the showroom we headed to the afternoon tea where we were joined by a lovely couple with whom we have shared lots of good times. After tea we finished up our pictures, read, and put the last things in the suitcase. We decided to shower again but not get dressed up for dinner. We ate in the Terrace and we were surprised at how few people were out and about. There was no show so we listened to Ginger Strings, bought their CD, and then headed to the cabin. We put our bags out and climbed into bed at 10.

It was a short night as both of us woke up at 3:30. Hugh went to the Horizons and could see Cape Town and the silhouette of Table Mountain. We tried desperately to go back to sleep but by 5 we were up and showered. We had breakfast at 6 and were lined up to disembark at 7. Clearing immigration was easy and soon we were being escorted to a taxi and heading to the airport. Our driver told us he used to be in a band that toured Spain and he attempted to sing all the Platters and Temptation songs he could remember, no need for radio! When we arrived at the Cape Town airport we were met by a porter and in a flash we were checked in to Hoedspruit. We made our way through security and soon were at the gate less than an hour after leaving the ship. Our flight was on time and our plane was small, about 35 passengers, but still a jet not a prop! The flight was just under 3 hours and we landed and found our driver immediately. You have to understand this is an open air airport and even the luggage is delivered outside. Nehemiah got our bags stored and we had an hour drive to the Motswari Camp.

We were greeted like friends and given the itinerary for the next several days. We met our guide Shadrack and he took us to our cabin. It is just like the website picture and is called elephant. This is perfect as a large bull elephant that wanders through the camp left us a present on the walk outside our verandah. There was a nyala grazing when we arrived. We overlook a river but it is dry as the whole area is in a long drought. We are surprised at how hot it is, over 94 degrees Fahrenheit. We had just enough time to unpack a little before we met for the 3 pm high tea lunch. The food was great and we met a lot of our fellow travelers, a good number from the UK. We immediately left for our afternoon game drive. There are 6 of us in the Land Rover and it is a congenial group. Shadrack is a fount of information and before the sun went down we had seen elephants, lions, water buffalo, fisher eagles, crocodile, hippos, hyenas, and after the sunset we saw a genet cat with a baby in a tree. We stopped for wine and snacks during the drive and it was a lovely 4 hours well spent. We had about 30 minutes to freshen up before we met back for dinner. We were in the large open boma and everything was lovely, white starched linens and candlelight. We have to have an escort to get from our cabin to the boma after the sun goes down. A hippo had been seen wandering through the resort. We had a 5 course dinner… I thought cruise ship food would be my downfall, silly me! After dinner everyone was enjoying Shadrack’s stories when we realized it was late and we needed to get to bed. We went back and bathed before crawling under the mosquito netting and turning off the lights.

Our trip to Motswari has been a spectacular adventure with each new day bringing something exciting and wonderful people to share it with. The first three days of our trip we shared our Land Rover with a couple from Surrey, and another young couple from Germany. Our last three days we shared with two young men from Israel and a couple from Hong Kong. Our adventures included a lot of leopards on the ground, moving from place to place, and just leading us down the road. We also saw a lot of animals with babies including rhino, impala, waterbuck, kudus, monkeys, elephants, and giraffe. We also saw lions both male and female. The first time was after a kill and the male we saw was still messy from eating but the female had preened and was all clean. The last day we saw 2 young but very large male lions and 1 female. It was surprising the difference in size of both the female and male lions and leopards.

One day we saw elephants with babies and it was easy to pick out the matriarch of the group. When she said move they moved. Another time we saw a group of male elephants eating high grass and we noticed that they pulled up the whole clump but only ate the roots. They used the long grass blades to dust themselves. One of the major highlights was a mother rhino and her very young baby. The mother was indifferent to us so we were able to get very close. The baby tried valiantly to keep up but after about 12-15 steps he or she plopped down and had to rest. It was so much fun to watch up close and personal. Our tracker, Goodman, was excellent at finding things and Shadrack called out names faster than we could identify where the animal was. He knew life expectancy and gestation of each and also the age of the little ones as the rangers watch these animals as they grow and some even have names. Other things that we saw included Grey Duiker, Steenbok, Mongoose, Genet cats, Hyenas, including a very young one in a hole, a pack of wild dogs, Zebras, Hippos, Warthog with babies playing in the mud, buffalo, Blue Wildebeest, and Nyala. We saw a lot of birds including the African Fisher Eagle, Grey Heron, Rollers, owls, vultures, geese, ducks,

This experience has been different from all of our other safaris in that there was not as many animals about as in the Serengeti but being able to get up close to them and seeing leopards that were not up a tree and rhinos that were not in the distance made this a very special time. Motswari is a truly wonderful place and the people are so very friendly. You arrive a guest but go home a member of the family. Our home here, Elephant, was lovely and large enough for two people to spread out and even when Hugh was ailing I could read or edit pictures without disturbing him. We had a lovely porch and several times I sat and watched the monkeys or enjoyed the impala running across the riverbed. Several days we did game walks and these were enjoyable even though the temperature was in the mid 90’s. The food has been wonderful and diverse. The 4-5 course dinners are delicious but will take some effort to get off the hips and middle.

On Sunday our game drives were excellent and we saw large male lions and 3 different leopards. Everyone in our group was excited and could not believe all the things we have seen. Our last evening was Valentine’s Day and we had a wonderful dinner complete with chocolate mousse. We shared toasts with our new friends. We had Adrian, the general manager, as our host and we lingered over wine. What a wonderful way to end this great adventure! We then had a long rest before our big travel day.

Monday the bags were out and we headed to breakfast to say goodbye to everyone. We headed to the airport in Hoedspruit and were soon on the ground in Johannesburg. We had a long layover but spent it walking as much as possible. We boarded our British air 747 and found we had an extra seat and Hugh had a great window seat with extra legroom. I curled up in 2 seats and Hugh stretched out and we rested quite well for the 12 hours it took. We landed in Heathrow on time and we spent our 3 hours walking and stretching. Soon we boarded our American Air flight and found that it was only ½ filled. We each had 4 seats and we rested and ate lots of delicious airline food for the 8.5 hours it took to get to Charlotte. We arrived to find sunny 60-degree weather and after claiming our luggage we got our rental car and headed home. This trip was close to perfect beginning to end! Can’t wait for our next big adventure!!! /susan