At Sea

We have been at sea for 4 days since leaving the Seychelles and are no longer in pirate waters, leaving the Arabian Sea, we are now in the Mozambique Channel.  Yesterday the sea was like glass, but today it’s very rough.  I have been sick for several days (not seasick) and are on  antibiotics.  My luck, I have gone 2 ½ months feeling great and just when I’m to go on safari, I get sick.  However, I am much better today and will, hopefully, remain so throughout our excursion.  Our safari will last 5 nights & 6 days.  We get off the ship in Mozambique and fly to Johannesburg where we will transfer to a smaller plane to take us to Kruger Airport.  We will be picked up and driven to Perry's Bridge Hollow.  We stay there only 1 night then go on a 4 hour tour/drive to Simbambili where we will be for 4 nights.  From there we fly to Cape Town and rejoin the ship on the 11th. We have been looking forward to this for about 25 years.  We are not taking the computer so will be unable to write in my blog for about 7 days.

Mahe, Seychelles

One hundred and fifteen tropical islands, with gleaming white beaches fringed by gently swaying palms, lapped by turquoise waters beneath an azure sky.  A dream world for most but a reality for those fortunate enough to visit these pearls of the Indian Ocean.
No one knows who first set foot on these islands, but they were probably visited as early as the 7^th century on by pirates and traders alike. The Portuguese were active in the region in the 15^th century and a British East India Company ship called here in 1609, but still no permanent settlement was made in spite of the favorable reports.  By then, however, the islands were being used regularly by pirates, and even today there is still a search going on for buried treasure.  In 1742 the French, who owned Mauritius, sent a group from there to do some reconnaissance.  Their leader named the largest island Mahe after the governor of Mauitius, and twelve years later the tri-color was raised and the islands claimed for Louis XV, though they were named after his finance minister Jean de Seychelles.  The first settlers arrived on the island of Sainte Anne in 1770.  Ninety percent of the island’s 70,000 live on Mahe, which is 17 miles long by four miles wide.  Port Victoria, where the ship berths, is Mahe’s capital, the largest and most important island in the Seychelles group.  With a population of 23,000, it is the only real town; scattered hamlets, fishing villages and the occasional tourist development make up the rest of the island, though thick tropical vegetation on the slopes of 3,000 foot mount Seychellois, prohibit habitation. The government: Republic, Currency: Seychelles rupee, Language: English & French (official), Creole, size: Approximately 172 sq miles (about 2 ½ times the size of Washington, DC.

Gary & David D. were picked up at the ship at 8:45 to go diving. They would be finished by 11:30.  Barbara, David & I hired a cab for 2 ½ hours. We had a tour of the island, did some window shopping, took several pictures then went to the hotel where we would meet Gary & David after their dive.  There wasn’t much to see on the dive and Gary was disappointed.  We thought there would be some beautiful coral reefs but, unfortunately, all the coral seemed to be in the shops.  They saw some beautiful fish, but the dive was just OK.  We were going to swim at the hotel, but they offered no shade and on top of that were not very accommodating wanting to charge us $100 per person to use their facilities.  We, of course, declined and thought we would just have lunch but decided to go elsewhere.   The island was really spectacular with aqua water and white sand beaches.  A lot of the tourism has stopped due to the pirates.  The only ship that stops in Costa and that is once every two weeks.  They have a nice airport and do get some Europeans on vacation.  But that is also down significantly. 

Today is our Anniversary and Gary also invited everyone that was at the party last night to have dinner with us at our table in the dining room.  It was a lot of fun with everyone singing and jumping from one table to the other (again, there were 14 of us) as we were too many to all sit at 1 table.  Wonderful memories!

My Birthday

Once again I was up at 6:00 to take a picture of the sun rising on my birthday.  It was a lovely sunrise to start the day.  This will be our last day at sea before reaching the Seychelles.  My day was pretty quiet…worked out, had breakfast with friends, went for a swim, then lunch, went to one of the discussion groups then back to our cabin.  Being my birthday, I dressed up for dinner knowing that there would be about 8 of us at the table. 

Friends Andrea & Mark would meet us in the lounge at the top of the ship for a drink before dinner.  I expected Barbara & David and Anna & Joaquin (our friends from Spain) to join us at our table.  To my surprise, Gary had arranged a fabulous party for me in Sabatini’s, one of the two paying  restaurants on the ship.

Everyone was there along with friends Lance & Bill, Sonia, Carole and the Hotel Manager, Michele, who had become a good friend.  I was totally surprised!  Gary did an incredible job of decorating the room and arranging everything, from choosing the hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, the pasta, and entrée to the dessert.  Everyone gave presents that they had bought in various ports from Mumbai to Oman.  Even Chef Antonio and Maitre D’ Francisco stopped in.  It was the most wonderful evening and one I will never forget.

At Sea

There are 11 decks, with the passenger cabins ending on deck 8.  One of the ladies on Deck #3 said that her room has a porthole that has been boarded up to guard against the pirates.  As I mentioned we are now on very, very high alert as we have just transited the Strait of Hormuz and are now heading southeasterly through the Gulf of Oman.  The Gulf of Oman is a strait (and not an actual gulf) that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf.  It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea.  On the north coast is Pakistan and Iran.  On the south coast are Oman to the east, and the United Arab emirates for a short distance to the west.

The sun rises on our side of the ship (port) and this morning we were up at 6:00 to take pictures.  What an incredible sight!  

Dubai, U.A.E.

Sinbad the Sailor once called Dubai Creek home, but he’d have trouble recognizing it these days.  This largest natural harbor along the Emirates’ coast has blossomed into one of the most modern cities on earth.  As it now stands, it’s the perfect place to get a deeper peek into Arabian culture in a friendly and secure environment.  Dubai is one of seven autonomous emirates which formed the UAE federation in 1971, under British sponsorship.  Like some of its gulf neighbors, Dubai enjoys significant revenue from oil and natural gas, but trade continues to be the primary focus of local economic planners.  After all, oil deposits can become depleted in time, but trade seems almost eternal.  Unlike the other Emirates, Dubai has only one town but that one has a million people. Today the older quarter, Bur Dubai, is on the left bank of Dubai Creek, but the commercial center is Deira, on the right bank.,  Here you will find some of the oldest and most interesting markets (souks), as well as many of the glittering skyscrapers that house the muscle of modern commerce. 

The Old Covered Souk and the gold Souk still preserve their old character – most other ships look disappointingly modern.  When a man wants to divorce his wife he has only to say “I divorce you” three times.  She leaves with nothing but her jewelry, hence the gold souks. These stores house the most incredible pieces of gold you can imagine. 

Dubai boasts of having the biggest, the tallest, the widest, the most expensive, the most important everything. The world’s only  7-star luxury hotel, the Burj Al Arab is here, built on an artificial island and looks like the sail of a boat.  Our ship is offering a new tour, it’s lunch at the “Atmosphere Burj Khalifa.”  It’s almost at the very top of the world’s tallest building.  It includes 1 glass of wine (red or white) per guest and 1 bottle of mineral (still) water.  The low, low price for this dining experience is ONLY $392.00 per person (adult or child).  We did not sign up. 

In 2008 17% of the world’s construction cranes were in Dubai.  Now I understand they are having financial difficulties, the cranes are still here, but they are not operating.  

Six of us went to the gold souk & spice souk and took a water taxi to the other side of Dubai where we had a lovely lunch on the water.  Belts, breast plates, vests, skirts, anything you can imagine made out of gold.  The pieces are not chosen not for their beauty but for their weight.  An amazing sight! 

Another couple we met went to the Burj Al Arab Hotel for lunch.  They said it was spectacular and that that they were seated in the center of a circular room that was surrounded by a huge aquarium which made them feel as though they were under the sea.  The fish were very large and swimming all around them.  The stemware was very tall crystal and the china and flatware the very best.  They had 1 bottle of Spanish wine (they are from Barcelona) and he had Kobe beef while she had fish.  The bill was 700 Euros, which is over $1,100.  Needless to say we chose not to join them.  We did not get to the Burj Khalifa  and we could not get into the Burj Al Arab as they only allow entrance if a person is already on their list.  If you want to just go for coffee, they charge $100 per person to walk in the door and you must be dressed properly.

The winds were very strong and blew so much sand that by the afternoon we couldn’t see any of the buildings in the city. We now have 5 days at sea before reaching the Seychelles. The above is just one of the many store windows in the souk.

Muscat, Oman

Muscat is one of the fabled ports of the Near East, a legendary trading center connecting Europe and Asia. It has been a crucial seaport for at least 24 centuries with Links to India and beyond dating as early as the 6^th century BC. Conflict between Portugal, Persia and the Ottoman empire led to Muscat and Oman’s eventual liberation from foreign domination in the 18^th century.  Muscat and Oman have been ruled by the Al Said dynasty since the 18^th century.  In 1970, Qaboos bin Said ascended to the Sultanate, and began an ambitious program of revitalizing Muscat and Oman. Part of the revitalization process has seen the development of tourism. Visitors to Muscat will discover a fascinating amalgam of the ancient and the modern. The harbor is guarded by two 16^th century forts. Between them stands the modern Al Alam Palace.  The official residence of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the palace blends classical and contemporary Islamic architectures. Palaces and souks, museums and mosques – but beyond the city of Muscat lies the vast reaches of The Arabian Desert.  An hour’s drive leads the traveler into a region of stark mountains and hidden oases.  Ancient pre-Islamic forts stand guard over deserts springs nurturing groves of dates and bananas.  Muscat, in short, is a city out of the Arabian nights.  And if you should have any doubt, enjoy a cruise along the bay in a traditional Arab dhow as merchants, adventurers and dreamers have done for centuries.
Their population is about 3 ½ million, Capital: Muscat Government: Absolute Monarchy Currency: Omani Rial (OMR) .

We docked at about 7 am and took the shuttle to town at 8:30.  We only had about 4 hours here as the ship leaves for Dubai at 1:00 and we had to be on board by 12:30. There wasn’t much to see neither the palace nor the museum were very interesting.  We spent a couple of hours in the Souk (market) and found it to be another shopper’s paradise.  It was all inside and extremely hot.  We made it through the clothes, trinkets, purses, and silver and the gold .  It wasn’t too bad until another ship docked that carried 3,000 people.  They all came to the souk, it was maddening.  Now not only was it unbearably hot, but impossible to maneuver in a shop or just walking around. We had enough after 2 hours and took the shuttle back to the boat. 

We heard that pirates took another ship yesterday, an oil tanker, and it was only 65 miles from us.  We are on very high alert with crew standing watch through the night.  Tomorrow we will be Dubai then 5 days at sea.  We will be off the coast of Somalia for a while en route to our next stop which are the Seychelles.

Mumbai (Bombay) India

Bombay Harbor is seven miles wide at the base and tapers as it goes north.  It is an impressive sight.  The port of Mumbai, which shares with the port of Calcutta the distinction of being one of the two largest ports in the country, handles by far the major portion of the passenger traffic part of India’s import-export trade.  With a vast and growing industrial hinterland, Mumbai is ideally situated to be the “Gateway to India” for all sea traffic from the west.  The city really took off in the middle of the last century, the railway brought prosperity, textile mills were put into operation and solid Victorian buildings were erected to prove that this was an empire on which the sun never set.  Land was reclaimed, mud flats and swamps were rid (comparatively speaking) of disease and Mumbai was pointed in the direction of the international glamour city it has become, though the Western visitor to this seething mass of 12 million people might find several interventions between cleanliness and Godliness. The city was called Bombay for much of the last 400 years, but Mumbai has been used in local languages for equally long.  An Act of Parliament officially changed the name to Mumbai in 1997.

Both Davids, & Barbara wanted to shop all day – Gary and I didn’t.  The two of us hired a car for 4 hours ($25.00) and went to various places that we hadn’t seen before.  Our first stop was the Victoria Train Station, quite impressive from the outside and equally impressive inside. This is where the end of “Slum Dog Millionaire” was filmed.  It was teaming with people and was absolutely fabulous.  We then went to see the men doing laundry.  It is an amazing sight as you can see from the picture.  We saw two, the first from a bridge above and the second was street level where we walked down a long passageway. Got some great pictures.  Our next stop was the Royal Bombay Yacht Club which dates back to the mid 1800’s.  We were granted entry as Gary was Commodore of our yacht club and they honored the reciprocal. We stayed long enough to have a drink then went across the street to the Taj Mahal Hotel (where the terrorists struck in ’09) for lunch.  It is truly a magnificent hotel and they had just finished renovating it after the attack.
 

Across from the hotel is the Gateway of India, which is a huge archway that was built to commemorate the visit of King George V in 1911.  We have been to Gandhi’s house/museum before and also the Prince Albert Museum so we skipped both this time.  I stopped in a shop before heading back to the ship and made my second purchase of the trip.

Tomorrow is “India Night” where everyone wears the sari’s they bought and there’s a big party around the pool.  No,      I didn’t buy a sari.

 It was a full day and an interesting one, but totally exhausting.  We have 2 days at sea before reaching Oman and after that Dubai.