Today is the day! They just delivered the new TV and it only took 20 minutes. It is really big but not to big for me...but it does not sstand up as straight as I would like it to stand. I think I'll have it mounted on the wall!
This is actually pretty cool.....now I can see it really well!"
Now, as you can see I am on the computer....at 11"30 we are meeting Josh for lunch.
About Weight Watchers....we are allowed 26 points per day. We found out today that the pumpkin bread we were eating everyday is 11 points plus the 3 points for our protein drink....hmmm....Since we have not eaten it for a week, why have I not lost any weight/ lol! Really it is not funny!
It is always good to have lunch with Joshua. He is all grown up and is planning his life!
" Open your mouth and let the train in" lol!
After lunch we went to Walmart and then to get our finger nails done and then a stop to see Rosine. Now it is time to get the car loaded to go to San Diego! We are really looking forward to it!
I just heard a wonderful rumor from the computer next to me....it looks like Elaine and Dorothy are going to join us in Biloxi in May! Yea....this will be so much fun!
This is really interesting, these are the largest sand dunes in the world!
This desert is beautiful!
Kween Karen
The passengers were well into their schedule here in Cape Town, since they had arrived yesterday. Lying at the foot of Table Mountain at 3570 feet, Cape Town is the third most populated and tourist-sought city in South Africa. This city is a huge commercial and industrial hub dealing with oil refining, food, chemical, and fertilizer manufacturing. Auto making, leather and plastic goods, and clothing are the main industries. Exports include gold, diamonds, and fruit. Wines are huge here with massive acreage dedicated to vineyards. The scenery here and on the Cape of Good Hope side is stunning. Since this is our third visit here, and having seen the famous sites more than once, we opted to spend our time exploring the nearby harbor on the complimentary shuttle. We had booked a tour that would take us to see ostriches and to taste wines, but the more we talked about it, sleeping in later would be the better choice. So we cancelled the tour and took the credit back on our account (it was prepaid).
The weather was really cool and windy when we left the ship around 10am. Ther temperature was 64 degrees with a very good chance of rain later. Three large shuttle buses were cycling back and forth to the nearby Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a 10 minute ride one way. Besides a lovely, modern 2 story mall with hundreds of stores and restaurants, there are many things to do and see here. There is Two Oceans Aquarium, the Clocktower Museum, Cape Town Centre, outlying craft markets, and the ferry boats to Robben Island. This is the island where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned in the 1960's, although originally, it was used as a leper colony. Today, his prison cell is a national shrine.
Our number one mission for today was to try and find replacement batteries for our small waterproof camera. We had lost track of the time elapsed since we bought this nifty camera, and the batteries had lost their ability to retain the charge, as most batteries do. By luck, we walked into the impressive entrance of the mall, and ran right into a camera supply store. By a miracle, they had the batteries. One job down, and the second one to go.............find a good pizza restaurant, of course.
Most of the shops and boutiques were clothing outlets, which you can find anywhere. However, there were a few good souvenier shops with African art and artifacts. Not really looking to buy any more stuff, we did end up with a nice t-shirt actually made in South Africa and a beaded bracelet to match the black and white necklace/earring set from the lodge. Now all we had to do was locate a venue for lunch. Inside the mall, we found convenient kiosks that were automated by touch. We keyed in "pizza" and the map came up with the restaurant name and directions on how to walk there. Pretty good. Actually, several came up, so we zeroed in on wood-fired pizza. That brought us to Balducci's Italian Restaurant, where we ordered one margherita pizza to share. Our time was running short today, since we had to make the last shuttle by 2:30pm in order to be back to the ship at 3:30pm. So we did not linger as long as we would have liked, but long enough for the rain that had started falling to stop.
Going outside, we took photos of the nice Victoria Basin, the boats, ferries, the flywheel, and hundreds of tourists enjoying the day. Since this was our final stop in South Africa, we needed to spend the rest of our African rand and the coins. We did not have a lot left, but enough to buy more sodas and some food items for our room. With the rest of the change, we bought some caramel corn in small bags at the pharmacy. Many of our cruise buddies were doing the same thing.
We had several jobs to do once back onboard. Since we had purchased that lens and accesories in Richards Bay (also South Africa), we had accumulated quite a bit of VAT or value added tax. At 14%, that added up to over $100. US dollars to be refunded to us. Now that is worthwhile doing, even if it meant standing in a line. Little did we know, it was not going to be so easy. First we had to have a copy made of one of our passports, which the gals at the front desk kindly did for us. They handed us the tax refund form, which we filled out while waiting in the line. Now we were informed that we needed all of the receipts as well as the items we bought with us for inspection by the local customs people. The only thing was, where were the officials? No one was at the desk at 2pm as they had told us. In fact, by 3:30pm, no one had shown up, with all of us waiting for 1 1/2 hours at this point.
Finally Henk and Christel (guest relations & hotel manager) came and announced that the officials could not be reached and they were not coming. Disgusted, most folks left. Christel said that in the past, the refunds came in the mail, and their experience with that was it seldom or never arrives. Sure, it won't if we never have the chance to apply for it. Apologizing profusely, Christel said they would announce it if they showed up, and we could come back.
A departure immigration procedure was also required before we left today. That's why we had to be back onboard so early. One of us ran up to the face-to-face check and exit stamp, while the other waited in the VAT line. Then I went up at the end of the line to get mine. Another job done.
Just as we made it back to the cabin, and put the receipts and items away, Christel announced that the officials had arrived. By now it was 3:45pm, and we had 30 minutes to accomplish this task before we had to attend the mandatory muster drill. So we ran back to deck four, and found the line a mile long. We had lost our places, and had to start over. What a test of patience. Long story short, we moved through the line quickly, and passed the paperwork over to the official. He then told us we needed a copy of the exit stamp in the passport to add to that paperwork. What a pain! The reception gal made one for us, and we handed back over to the official. Now he was happy. Will we ever see that VAT refund? Who knows? Time will tell.
The muster drill was already in progress, but we made it in time to register our name and room number. This would be the last drill of the world cruise, and fine with us. We'll have one more before we leave Ft.Lauderdale on May 1st, enroute to the Panama Canal and eventually San Diego.
Sailaway was scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30pm, and it was darn cold and windy as we waited for the ropes to be dropped. The Queen Mary 2 made her way into the harbor right before we left. That ship is so large, it had to dock away from the pier where we were, with a long ways for their passengers to go to get to Victoria Wharf. The sun went down about the same time the Amsterdam hit the rough waters outside the harbor. It seemed like we were hit broadside by strong currents as we sailed out to sea. We were in for a really rough night, and Captain Mercer suggested we put anything fragile on the floor of our rooms.
By dinnertime, we carefully walked like drunken sailors to our table. The seas were rolling and so were we. What an exciting way to leave South Africa as we sailed towards our next stop in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Bill & Mary Ann
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