Sandy and Jim WC 24-25

  Pickleball Cape Town, South Africa April 4, 2025 This blog entry belongs entirely to Jim. He has found a game in The Villages, FL, called Pickleball, and he thoroughly loves to play. Imagine his stunned reaction to find this within about 100 meters of the Cape Town Cruise Terminal! The courts are in a building which actually houses a working brass foundry. Managed to play quite a few games in the 2-hour window that was available. There was a mixture of locals and tourists and quite a variety of skill sets, but it was a VERY enjoyable day.

  East London, South Africa March 31, 2025 We began our tour of East London on the southeastern coast of South Africa with a scenic drive along Oxford Street past the magnificent City Hall.   The maroon Victorian Renaissance-style building was constructed in 1897 with the addition of the clock tower later to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.   Our first visit was to the East London Museum where the world’s only known dodo egg is on display.  By 1693 the dodo had become extinct.   This museum is also famous for its coelacanth specimen – a fish species previously known only from fossil records, it was thought to have become extinct 80 million year ago – and a hominin child’s footprints estimated to be 124,000 years old.   Many colorful birds like the Paradise Flycatcher, Forest Weaver, Ground Hornbill, Puff-Adder, many Eagles and Forktailed Drongo as well as the Rhino Horn and Manta were on display.  Our last stop was to a beautif...

  Richards Bay, South Africa March 29, 2025 Richards Bay is home to Africa’s deepest natural harbor.   Established during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 as a make-shift harbor, it was registered as an official town in 1969.   Sandy had a lesson in Zulu from one of the locals in Guest Services on board.   This region exports tons of coal and the coal dust floats over everything in this port.   Today’s excursion was a boat cruise through the very scenic St. Lucia Estuary.  Covering approximately 140 sq. miles, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of Africa’s largest estuaries.  Home to the largest concentration of hippos in South Africa, this estuary also supports more than 2,000 Nile crocodiles and about 520 different bird species.  We didn’t see any crocodiles on this excursion but a number of the cutest hippos with a mother foraging for her 2 week-old baby!!!!!

  MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE MARCH 28, 2025 Maputo, capital of Mozambique, features colonial Portuguese architecture and wide avenues lined with jacaranda and acacia trees.   Very colorful street art is featured throughout this city.   Our first stop on today’s tour was the domed bronze CFM train station cited as the 3 rd most beautiful train station in the world.  This station dates back to 1910.  Its other claim to fame is having been featured in Leonardo Dicaprio’s “Blood Diamond.”   The Bank of Mozambique is the tallest building in the city. The headquarters of TAP (Portugal) Airlines is one of the most colorful. Of course, no capital is complete without the embassy of the United States. Samora Machel, Mozambique’s beloved freedom fighter and first President, stands in the center of Maputo’s Independence Square.  The square also contains a house made of iron.   This square is the site of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Concept...