As I write this, it is just after 5 p.m. in our part of the world - seven hours ahead of Toronto. We lost an hour almost every day of our crossing to the African coast. We sailed out of Walvis Bay, Namibia at 1 p.m. this afternoon and the seas have now turned a bit rough as we make our way to Cape Town where we will arrive on Saturday. Apparently the weather is expected to be warmer there.
Our dinner on the desert was a great experience! We had been warned that it would be cool and so we dressed accordingly and although the trip from the port to Dune Number 7 was a bit boring, our little caravan arrived at the designated spot in less than an hour. Our driver took a paved road until about the last mile but returning to the ship, with a different driver, we were subjected to a mostly "washboard" dessert track the entire way back. We don't know if he was trying to punish us or just wasting time because it took about twice as long.
It was a great evening! As you can see from the pictures, some of us got to ride camels before dinner and I must say they were much cleaner and better tempered than the ones in Jordan a few years ago. Mine was a handsome fellow named Frankie and he behaved quite well. It's always a bit frightening when they get up or down though because you find yourself hanging on for dear life in order not to pitch forward and fall off when the back legs are up and the front ones are down.
We were entertained by a talented local choir and some fiery dancers and of course the tents were quite glamorous. The food was good but I passed on the Kudoo which we were told was antelope. Those who ate it said it reminded them of venison but I was happy to stick to chicken and lamb. The Namibian beer we chose over wine was delicious too.
Back on the ship we headed to the pool deck for a bit of disco dancing and finally wandered off to bed about midnight as things were winding down. We all agreed that it had been a very nice event.
The actual town of Walvis Bay was clean and prosperous but without much character. The people are attractive and as this part of Namibia was once held by the British, they drive on the left. Modern shopping malls abound rather than individual stores that might carry something unique to that part of the world so we purchased nothing at all. Apparently there is very good sport fishing nearby.
So now we are looking forward to Cape Town. That should be very interesting and we'll be happy to see Peter and Pru coming aboard on Sunday.
We hear the weather back home has been mild and still not much snow. Hope everyone is well ... we certainly are!
Ciao for now
D & K
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