Our 115 day World Cruise, day 88, Richards Bay, South Africa

Don't pay any attention to the names of the places or the dates, just enjoy the posts and the pictures!

I have nothing to report today so I am going to watch TV.

Photos of the day!      Kween Karen, the last 2 days!
                                           
                                 

                                                                                     

                                                 
Where we did not go today ....but the Amsterdam did!

Postcards from Paradise!
 Maputo, Mozambique April 2, 2013 Tuesday

The Amsterdam arrived early to the port of Maputo, the capital and largest city of Mozambique. We have reached the mainland of Africa finally. The country's history is a mixed bag of different cultures, such as Portuguese, Arab, Indian, and Chinese, along with the local Bantu natives. Because of its location on the Indian Ocean, Maputo grew in importance with the exports of coal, cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwoods. And with the construction of the railroad in 1895, linking Maputo to Pretoria, South Africa, the city's population soared. Unfortunately, the African majority did not profit from this great prosperity, so when the Mozambique Liberation Front fought for independence from the Portuguese rule and won it in 1974, the government was turned over to largely unskilled workers, causing the economy to bottom out. The Soviet Union and Germany tried to help, but eventually lost everything by the 1980's. The country was bankrupt. A 30 year Civil War broke out and lasted until 1992, when it was finally over, and the country began a recovery, but slowly. For that reason, no cruise ships stopped here until much later, when stability returned fully. We can say that we have seen a marked improvement since we visited here in 2009, proving that tourism has played a part in boosting the economy. At least we felt a lot more comfortable, and the attitudes we encountered today were far more positive than in the past.

We still felt it wise to stay with a group when going off the ship today. Booking a tour with our travel agency, we joined bus C with Maureen, the arts and crafts teacher onboard, and 10 other passengers. Our first stop was at the Train Station, built in 1910 by Gustav Eiffel, famous for designing the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This station is an architectural highlight of the city with its bronze dome, constructed in South Africa, then assembled here. On our last visit, this station was bustling with passengers heading for South Africa. Today, we must have arrived later, because the station was empty of locals. But that gave us all the chance to really see the ironwork and classic colonial designs. Two locomotives, one built in France and one here were cool to photograph.

Of course, as with every major site, there were street vendors. Lots of them. These fellows were selling masks, fabrics, drums, wooden jewelry, beads, and cashews by the bag. We quickly bargained for a few things, but knowing their typical routine, we knew they would follow us to the next stop.

That happened to be the local produce and fish market. At this stop, we walked among the several stalls of hearty-looking veggies and fruit. That market led into the fish vendors, where we quickly made our way past the piles of fresh fish, squid, octopus, shrimps, and live crabs. The smell was not offensive, or perhaps we were lucky to still have the remnants of our headcolds blocking the aromas. Continuing deeper into this market, we found household goods and souveniers. Some of the interesting items being sold to locals were hair extensions. We were told that the ladies have these woven into their hair to give it great lengths. And the hair pieces were really human hair. Some of us tried to bargain for some carvings and drums, but these vendors were not bargaining well. We knew that by going outside the building, the other fellows would be waiting for us. 

The next stop brought us uphill to the Independance Square and the adjacent Roman Catholic Cathedral. We did not have time to go inside, so we took pictures of the exteriors. Very close to these buildings was the Iron House, another one of Eiffel's doing. Walking inside briefly, we decided building a house out of iron in this hot climate probably was not the smartest idea. It had been meant for the governor's residence, but was never used for that purpose. Outside the gates, we ran into the same vendors from the Train Station, and had some more luck buying some fabrics, a beaded bracelet, and two stick people carvings. One of the vendors was chasing us with a pair of masks that we really did not need, but would have bought if he met our price. He never did, so we didn't either. 

Continuing on, we visited the Museum of Natural History, a place we remembered well from our last visit. Full of life-sized African animals either grazing, in flight, or on attack were the focal point here. Even more intriguing was the display of elephant fetuses from one month old to full size newly borns. This is the only place in the entire world with a collection like this. Our time was short here, which was fine.

Now we were off to a drive through the upscale Polana area to see a modern Catholic church and the summer home of Nelson Mandela. That brought us to the beach and a road that housed resorts, hotels, a casino, and shopping. Our driver stopped at a spot where there was a craft market and a beer stand. We ended up with a wooden bowl with colorful carved wooden fruit, 16 pieces total. It was a good thing we had run out of time for this tour, because our room won't be big enough to hold all the stuff.

We were back to the pier by 12:30pm, with enough time to board the free shuttle to check out the shopping situation in town. Still searching for a good camera store, we hoped we would go to a regular mall or something like it. Instead of the regular shuttle, we went on a commandeered bus that had just arrived back from a tour. Well, unknown to us, the driver did not know where he was supposed to take us. Handing him our ship's map, we tried to tell him the name of the market. But it was obvious that he headed in the wrong direction, because he kept turning around and going back. Maybe he was from other parts, like South Africa. Four years ago, all the guides had come from South Africa to do these same tours, because there were no qualified guides here. Anyway, he stopped and asked a local where the Feima Market was located, and we were soon on our way. As it turned out, it was a total craft market. We would have no chance to find anything close to camera supplies. Making the best use of our time, we strolled the many displays of carvings and paintings, vowing not to buy anything else. Well, that lasted 10 minutes before we found a good bargain. There was a neat tray made of sandalwood with two carved giraffe heads used as handles. Since we noticed a "fixed" crack in the wood, we bargained for far less than the vendor wanted. He knew it was flawed and got permission to sell it for cheap. It's nothing that some glue could not fix if it did break. It smells really nice too. We got back on the next shuttle and were back to the ship by 4pm.

Another ship had silently slipped into the pier while we were gone this morning. It was the MSC Sinphonia, an older vessel about the size of the Amsterdam. It looked like it held a lot more passengers than us with more tenderboats than we have. We figured it had about 1600 or more people. They left ahead of us by 1/2 hour.

All aboard was 4:30pm, with the sailaway beginning at the same time. It had gotten so windy by then, we thought we would blow overboard the aft deck. The flags were flying wildly. What was nice was that the wind cooled us all off. Before we knew it, we were on our way, following the MSC Sinfonia out of the harbor.

At 7pm, we joined our tablemates along with Aussies, Stuart and Pamela for a lovely dinner in the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant, compliments of Barb. She said it was a "birthday" gift for each of us, whether we already had one, or were going to have one soon. We ordered one filet mignon and one New York strip steak. They were both cooked perfectly and were delicious. Tonight we had dessert too....chocolate ice cream and bread pudding with berries. The meal ended by 9:30pm, and we were all happy to call it a night well done.

Tomorrow, we will be in Richards Bay, South Africa. As we recall, it was a very nice port.

Bill & Mary Ann

 Cheetah Plains 1st Morning Game Drive, South Africa

This morning was just one of the best game drives that I have ever participated in……  First of all, I saw my first leopard, in fact we saw five!  Then there was the black mambo, a very, very deadly snake…  throw in tons of elephants and other assorted game and it was just magnificent,  Justin, our guide, is doing a fabulous job….

This morning was just one of the best game drives that I have ever participated in……  First of all, I saw my first leopard, in fact we saw five!  Then there was the black mambo, a very, very deadly snake…  throw in tons of elephants and other assorted game and it was just magnificent,  Justin, our guide, is doing a fabulous job….

Kween Karen

Our 115 day World Cruise, day 87, Maputo, Mozambique

A health update...Vicki got a call from the doctors office and her stress test came back normal!  yea!

It is really sad today.  Irwin has caught the creeping crud from Sandi and they won't be back at coffee until the end of the week.  We had coffee with George and Sally and had a nice time.
Of course we went to Curves and then to Have our finger nails done.  A stop at QT, Sprouts and we were on our way home to have lunch.  After lunch we jumped back into the car and went to Best Buy so that the blind person could look at a really big TB. lol!
Then it was over to Costco, another stop at QT , a stop at home and then over to see Rosine!  We took no pictures, no one has posted any pictures or updates and I am totally lost!

Sunday's and Monday's blogs had such nice pictures in them...I think I will just go back and look at them again since there is nothing here......let me see what I can find! lol!

                                                                     

My grandson Joshua and his friend Sam at the Diamond Backs  opening game and they won even though the family was there! lol!
                                             
                                                         

This is Rosine, Vicki's mother.  Rosine  is beautiful!,,,, and she is only 94 years old next Friday!

                                                       

                I guess we should just "Choose to Dance"  Instead I think I will take my shower! lol!



Where we did not go today.....but the Amsterdam did!

Maputo, Mozambique!

Pictures of the day!


Postcards from Paradise- It looks like everyone is going to be behind in their postings....this is Africa after all!  lol!

Day at Sea April 1, 2013 Monday
Happy April Fool's Day to all! It's quite possible that this holiday came from the changing of the calendar in the 1500's. The Gregorian calendar was introduced that changed New Year to January 1st. Many people did not receive the news of that change and continued to believe April 1st was still New Year's Day. These people who refused to change were called backwards fools. Thus, April Fool's Day evolved. Of course, the staff on the Amsterdam would never pull any hoaxes on the passengers, or would they? Yes, just check the elevator carpet for the day of the week. Bet it says Friday instead of Monday. Do you think anyone will attend the 2pm whales and dolphins release on the promenade deck? Or will they attend coloring with crayons, the power of junk food, paint the ship's hull, or little toe exercising? You may be surprised to find the folks show up for these activities.

We were treated to the first bloom of one of our tiger lilies opening up in our window garden. It has given a wonderful scent to the room. There are many more flowers to open, and we're afraid the smell may drive us out of here. Honestly, we never thought these would bloom with such large flowers. Spring has arrived to our room!

It was a good thing that there were some inside activities today, because it rained intermittently. It was a relief to have some cooler weather. Barbara H. gave a talk on Cape Town, while the international space station was discussed by Lawrence Kuznetz. The mighty ocean currents and feeding frenzies was the topic discussed by George Sranko.

Dunking for Dollars was a different activity held in the Lido pool area late this afternoon. Some of the crew, including officers and the Captain, volunteered to get dunked for a charity in Namibia. This was the highlight of the Lido Pool Party with music, food, drink specials, games, and lots of prizes. Originally intended for the aft pool area, it had to be moved when none of the tables could be set up for the drink stations. It was far too windy. Waiting for the sunset on deck nine, we got some photos of the Captain being dunked in the pool. For some reason, the folks really liked that.

With lots of discussion back and forth with our tour in Richards Bay, we made a decision to cancel it, taking the 10% cancellation fee on it. Hopefully, we will be successful in finding a new camera lens there. Barbara H. has a call into the port agent there to find out if there is a good camera store there in the shopping mall. So far, she has had no response.

We had our last dinner with our current tablemates, as Martha and Bob will be going on a safari tomorrow to Kruger National Park. They will return in Durban, where we and Van and Carol will be leaving on our separate safaris. Since Bob and Martha will be disembarking in Cape Town, we won't see them again this trip. Sure has been fun having them join us, but all good things come to an end.

Maputo, Mozambique is our port of call for tomorrow. Wonder how much, if any, it has changed in four years since we were here?

 Bill & Mary Ann

World Adventures-   We have lost Jeff or I should say, he will be posting late as he is on several Safari.

Our 115 day World Cruise, day 86, at sea!

It is the day after Easter and all is well.  We went to Starbucks this morning and had coffee all alone.  We were hardly speaking as both of our minds were elsewhere.

After coffee we went to Walmart to pick up a few things!
                                                                 

We had to wait as the nice lady got change from headquarters!  LOL!  The lady ahead of us was not happy as she waited to get her change.  It took quite awhile...and you would expect it to take long ..... as they had to go all the way to Missouri!  lol!

After Walmart we ran home and then it was time for Vicki to go for her nuclear  treadmill test as it was today.  It appears that she did very well on the test and she was out in under 2 hours.  Now she has an appointment on the 8th  to find out the results.  Then on the 10th she will see the pulmonary doctor and we should know where everything stands!

Yesterday when we were at the family dinner, Rodney, Mark's cousin showed me the pictures  he took  at the Botanical Gardens  last week.  I told him that I would like to put them in the blog....so here they are.  The photos were taken with his iPhone 5.

Photos  by Rodney Stice, Phoenix Arizona                                                                                

                                                                                 

                                                                           
                                                                             

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                 

                                                                               

                                                                                     

                                                                       

                                                                               

                                                                                       
                                                                               

                                                                                         

                                   Thank You Rodney for sharing your pictures with us!

Where we did not go today .....but the Amsterdam did!

Pictures of the day!  by Kween Karen, taken yesterday!
                                   

                                                                             

                                       
                                                                               
                                                                                       

                                                                                       

                                                 Thank You Kween Karen!

Postcards from Paradise!
At Sea!
First things first, we wish you all a very Happy Easter!  Many activities were planned today on the ship to commemorate this special event.  An Easter Sunrise Ecumenical Service took place on the aft deck at 6am, a bit too early for us weary travelers.  At 8am, another Interdenominational Worship Service was held in the Queens Lounge.  Then, a 9am, an Easter Mass was given by the Catholic priest onboard.  Guess that covered about everyone.

An Easter egg hunt took place at 10am, followed by the Easter Bonnet Fashion Show and Competition, once again, in the Queens Lounge.  A different kind of Easter Egg  seminar was given by a guest gemologist in the Wajang Theater, while what would Easter be without an egg toss?  That happened at 11:30am in the sports court, deck 9.  Oh wait.....one more event, the Easter Bonnet Bonus Bingo for guests who dared to wear their Easter hat or bonnet to the game this afternoon.

What was obviously missing was their famous Easter Brunch, always held in the La Fontaine Dining Room at 11am.  What happened there?  That is an extravaganza that most all guests looked forward to seeing and indulging in the meal.  We have always lined up early to take photos of the food displays, especially the dessert trays.  And this is where we knew we could help ourselves to the foil-covered chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs.  We did find the dining room highly decorated with Easter mobiles and fancy-covered columns, but that is for the formal dinner tonight.  Perhaps they are saving this event for another venue.  We surely hope it has not bit the dust and gone by the wayside like many traditions do.

We noticed that during our morning walk, the razor wire on the promenade deck was gone.  In fact, we did not notice the guards on duty last night when we walked after dinner.  Seems to us that we are still in a very sensitive area for pirate activity, sandwiched between the island of Madagascar and the mainland of Africa.  But what do we know? 

When we returned from our walk, we had two boxes of truffles and two very cute Steiff bunnies on a keyring laying on our bed with Easter cards and a gift card.  It said the staff and precious crew, along with the Captain and Hotel Manager wished us all a Happy Easter with the delicacies of chocolate and bunnies in the form of the traditional gifts.  Later in the day, Barb said that foil-covered chocolate Easter bunnies and Easter eggs were in the Lido at lunchtime, and they all got scooped up immediately.  Can you believe we have chocolate horders on this ship???

Barbara H. was the only speaker today with things to do and see in Durban.  As for us, we don't need to know because we won't be here.  That's the day we leave for Kruger National Park and the safari we planned last summer.  The other lecturers had the day off, due to so many different activities happening onboard.

Grasshoppers, that was a subject brought up by the Captain in regards to our visit to Madagascar.  Recently in the news, we heard there was a plague of them, but in the southern part of the island.  Although we never saw one while we were in Nosy Be, two of them did land on the aft deck this afternoon.  Quite large, they hopped away before we had a chance to get a really good look. 

The usual friendly yum-yum boy in the dining room was not in his spot tonight, dispensing the Purell.  That was due to the fact that he was dressed up as the Easter Bunny instead.  His job was to go to each table and look cute or something.  We felt sorry for him, because that furry costume, complete with a bunny head, must have been so hot and unbearable.  We were joined tonight by our new Aussie buddies, Pamela and Stuart.  They are both in the medical field, doctors we think,and have great senses of humor.  Too bad they are leaving in Cape Town.  Anyway, dinner for us was ham, the home-style cooking entree.  Sometimes simple is good.

Hope tomorrow's weather is as good as today's.....sunny and breezy.  It was nice.

Bill & Mary Ann

 At Sea

What can I say….  Another perfect day at sea!  Today as filled with excitement as we near Maputo and ready for our safari adventure.  This afternoon there was a fun charity event at the pool, dunking the staff for dollars.  It gave us all a chance to donate to a very worthy cause, raising money for the children at the Bernard Noordkamp Center in Namibia.  What a great cause!  After tonight, for the next week, I will update the blog the best I can.  In the end, there will be at least one posting per day….  Just could be late.

Posted by Jeff Farschman at 11:31 AM