Saturday, Nov. 21
We left Los Angeles airport at 3 p.m. Flew to Frankfurt, Germany. a ten-
and-a-half hour flight, got there about 10:30 a.m. on the 22nd. Left
Frankfurt about 1 p.m., an 8-hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya. Got to the
Hilton hotel about 11:30 p.m. The hotel was okay but not like you'd
expect, being a Hilton. Nothing like the hotels in China.
Monday, Nov. 23
After a good night's rest, about 9:30 went on a tour of the city. After
we
got back I went to the supermarket and bought a bottle of water and milk,
also bought a few bananas and oranges.
Tuesday, Nov. 24
This morning we left for Amboseli, a four-hour drive from Nairobi, to the
Amboseli national park and Serena Lodge. We saw some animals on the way
to the lodge. We checked in at the lodge. It was quite nice; this was
the best lodge in the area I am told. After lunch about 4 p.m. we went
on a game drive. We saw elephants, lots of zebras, lots of gazelles,
guinea fowl and other animals.
Wednesday, Nov. 25
We had breakfast at 6:15, and left for a game drive at 7:15. We saw lots
of animals, saw our first lions this morning on our way to Tsavo national
park. At noon we checked in at the Kilaguni Lodge and had lunch. Our
room was quite rustic and old but in a beautiful area. Lots of trees, a
lake close by to watch the animals come to drink, mountains quite near.
At 4 p.m. another game drive, all kinds of animals. Dinner at 7:30. It
had
rained off and on this afternoon and there were mosquito nets over our
beds so we slept under a net. This was a first for us.
Thursday, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving Day.
It rained quite hard during the night, and it sure was nice in the
morning.
We had breakfast at 6:30, at 7:30 a game drive. the last chance to see
wildlife as after lunch we head for Mombasa and the ship, the Marco
Polo. At 7:30 a.m. we started the game drive, did not see much the first
hour. Then we saw impala, giraffes, guinea fowl, lots of zebras, and
others. Lunch at 11:30 back at the lodge, checkout and departure for
Mombasa. Some of the roads in the park had quite a few potholes. After
we got out of the park we soon came onto the main highway that goes
from Nairobi to Mombasa. I thought we would have a nice road, but it
was so bad, with lots of trucks and buses, it should have been closed.
It was a two lane blacktop road but it was all potholes and big ones at
that. We had to go around them from one side of the road to the other,
and sometimes even had to drive in the ditch. The potholes were so bad on
the road and the ditch was not much better.
Well, we made it to Mombasa and the Marco Polo. It sure looked good
and would be our home for the next 15 days. We checked in, there was
no red tape, and within 5 minutes we were in our room. Our luggage was
in our room, a nice room with a nice 3 by 4 foot window, so we unpacked
our suitcases and it was time for 6:30 turkey dinner. Dinner is always
good. After dinner we went back to our cabin and were tired so we went
to bed early.
Friday, Nov 27
We did not take a tour today, just wanted to take it easy and rest after
three days of safari and that terrible ride yesterday. There was a
shuttle
to downtown. I went downtown and walked around, even visited a Hindu
temple, took a few pictures there, did not buy anything. Mombasa is the
largest city in Kenya and has the largest port in east Africa. Mombasa
docks service not only Kenya but also Uganda and Burundi. Mombasa
has about a half million people, everything from luxury hotels and good
shopping, to hordes of beggars.
Sat., Nov. 28.
Today we are at Zanzibar Island, Tanzania. At 8 a.m. we went for a 4-
hour town and spice tour. As soon as we got out of town everything was
lush and green. tropical, quite warm and humid. Lots of coconut trees,
looked like most were 30 to 40 feet high. Banana trees, coffee trees,
and
all kinds of spices. With all this beauty it still looks like a poor
country.
The roads were very good here. We visited an old church and a mission,
and an old fort. Had some rain here. It seems to rain often; that is
why it is so lush and green. About noon, back to the ship, had lunch,
back to our room and rested for about an hour. Then we visited a large
market which covered at least a block square. mostly fish and vegetables
and always lots of souvenirs.
We went to the shopping center by shuttle. We had expected to see
large stores but it was all small vendors with most everything on the
ground or on tables. Lots of fruit and vegetables; across the street
were
shoes, clothing and all kinds of merchandise. Tonight dinner is informal;
men have to wear a jacket and a tie. I had forgotten to bring a tie from
home. I had to go a long way to find a tie. At each stall that had
men's
shirts I would ask if they had ties, they would say no and point down
farther. Another vendor he said he had ties. He had a whole stack of
new shirts all covered in plastic. At last he found a shirt that had a
tie with it, so he took the tie and handed it to me. A very nice tie.
The label said it was handmade. I asked him how much, he said five
dollars, I said one dollar, he acted as if I was trying to steal it, then
he came down to four. I said one, he said four, then I said two, he said
three, I said no, two and pretended to walk away. He said ok, two. So I
got a nice tie for two dollars. I think a tie like this would be at
least ten dollars in the U.S.
Tonight after dinner we expect to meet a couple to play pinochle. We
had put up a notice in the card room and library that we were looking for
someone that liked to play pinochle. This couple phoned us, their names
are Irene and Wally. After dinner we went to the card room and met them.
We played two games. They are nice and we agreed to play again tomorrow
at one p.m.
Nov. 29.
At sea all day, nothing much to do but relax, eat, read, etc. At one
p.m.
we met Wally and Irene again. They played pinochle a little differently
than we do with two couples. They use two decks and count meld quite
different so we played it their way. It was a lot of fun.
Nov. 30.
Today we were at the island of Mayotte, one of a group of many islands,
all lush and green, very tropical. The ship had to anchor out a ways from
the island. To get to Mayotte we had to take a tender (lifeboat) to a
small
island, and then take a ferry to the larger island. French is the
language,
very little English, and most of the shops will not use U.S. money. We
tried to get and send email, but had no luck. Some I am sure had it.
After
about an hour back to the ship, ferry and tender and home just in time
for
lunch. After lunch back to our room and took a nap, don't know why, I
just felt like it. Later teatime and visited with a couple from England.
There are about 300 from Europe on this cruise. Most cruises, 90 percent are from the U.S. This one, only about 50 percent. There are some from other countries such as Canada, Australia, etc. At 6:30 dinner. We were at a table for 8. Art and Mary from Sydney, Hy and Fay Schwartz from Florida, Hoke and Julia from Atlanta, Georgia. This evening everyone was feeling good, much story telling and laughing, like a group of good friends. We had a good dinner as usual. We went to bed quite early. Nancy is feeling better, she was under the weather two weeks at home before we started on our vacation.
Tuesday, Dec. 1
Nosy Kamba, Madagascar. Today's tour was quite interesting and
different. The ship had to anchor quite a long way from the beach that
we
were going to. The tenders took us most of the way, about a block from
the beach. There we were taken to the beach on a quite large 250-person
rubber boat (Zodiac landing craft) to make a wet landing. We had to
wade the last ten to fifteen feet. Same coming back. Once on the beach
we were escorted to Lemur Park, to visit the black lemurs (monkeys). On
our way we passed lots of vendors selling table cloths, blouses, shirts,
and many regular items sold at all shops in Africa. It was tropical and
quite warm and humid. We got back about noon. Wet feet, sandy and warm.
We took showers and put on dry clothes and off to a barbeque lunch.
Also had all the regular lunch if you wanted it. Back to the cabin and
took a nap. I dried my shoes with a hair dryer in the bathroom. Most of
the people wore thongs or went barefooted in the water, but I wore my
shoes on the wet landing. At 6:45 dinner, very good, casual dress, no
tie or jacket required, after a one-and-a-half-hour dinner went home, and
soon to bed. We sure eat a lot and sleep a lot.
Wednesday, Dec. 2
At sea all day. Dress is informal tonight, jacket and tie required.
Every
day I walk for over half an hour and do quite a bit of walking during the
day, never use the elevator. using the stairs all day, being at sea. I
do
some visiting with others. I did visit the navigation area after lunch,
played pinochle with Wally and Irene, did some reading; again. dinner for
an hour and a half, and bed quite early.
Thursday, December 3
At sea going south all the time. I thought it would be cooler, but
this
morning it was still warm. The sun was out. After a dish of cereal and
a
glass of orange juice I took my half-hour walk. Because of it being warm
and humid my clothes were soaking wet. This would be a good way to
lose some weight. I took a shower and put on dry clothes and Nancy and
I went for breakfast. We visited with Art and Mary from Australia. By
the time we got back to the cabin it was all cleaned up. About ten a.m.
the wind came up and the sea got choppy. The boat was going up and down
and swaying sideways. It was quite rough. Not as bad as when we were in
China but bad enough that quite a few got sick. They closed down all but
two of the elevators. At dinner time only about half of the people made
it to dinner. We made out okay. The weather was still quite bad in the
morning, but it improved quite a bit by noon of the next day. We were at
sea all day. did some reading, played pinochle, listened to a lecture
about Africa. The weather has improved and most of the people were at
dinner tonight.
Saturday, December 5
This morning we get to Durban, South Africa. The weather is nice. At
8:45 we went for a 4-hour city tour. Durban is a large modern city, good
roads, big interesting buildings, no two alike. We saw quite a bit of
the
city, stopped at Howard College, which had nice grounds and botanical
gardens. There was a lake in the gardens, and in the lake there were
trees that were covered with birds, ibises, some nesting, others standing
around. Then we spent quite a bit of time at a huge market. It seems
that
for miles there were sidewalk merchants' stands all over. We got back to
the ship at 1:30, had lunch, called our friends, made a 3 p.m.
appointment to play pinochle.
Dec. 6
At sea all day. A relaxing day, ate a lot, played some pinochle, after
dinner went to the show. The first time we went to the show on this trip.
Monday, December 7
Pearl Harbor Day. Today we were at Plattenberg bay. No dock, so we
had to take tenders most of the way to the shore. Then we got on a boat
that took us right up on the shore. It would go real fast and slide far
enough so we did not have to get our feet wet. Then they pulled the boat
with a tractor on the beach on a sort of a boat trailer, then with the
tractor turned it around to head out to sea, then with a long pole from
the
front of the tractor to the back of the boat and trailer. After the boat
was
loaded the tractor would push the boat into the sea where it could float
off
the trailer and the boat would take the people back to the tender. After
many trips taking about 40 each time the tender would take a load back
to the ship. This was all part of a four-hour tour of an area nice and
green and we were told that this is the only area of Africa that gets
rain
year round. Most of Africa has a wet and a dry season. This is the
first
time a cruise ship ever stopped here, and they were not very well
organized. This area is between Durban and Cape Town. Tomorrow we
get to Cape Town, will be there for a few days, and Thursday our plane
leaves for home.
December 8
On the way to Cape Town, expect to get there about noon. We just
passed the Cape of Good Hope where the sea is always choppy. It was a
little bit rough as we came near Cape Town. I took some pictures of
Table Mountain and Cape Town. Docked about 1 p.m. We already had
lunch. Our 1:30 tour started about 2 p.m., quite a nice city tour, saw
lots
of the city, spent about an hour at a museum and official gardens. Drove
up to Signal Hill. What a view of Cape Town and Table Mountain! Took
several pictures, got back to the ship before 6 p.m. Tonight is formal
dress so had better start getting dressed as it's past 6 p.m. We had a
nice dinner and after dinner we went to a show.
Wednesday, December 9
This is our last full day in Africa. Tomorrow our plane leaves at 6 p.m.
After breakfast at 8:30 we went on a four-hour tour called "Villages,
Vineyards and Views." Cape Town is a large beautiful city, three million
people, with mountains all around. Our tour was great. This is perhaps
the most beautiful area in the world. Thousands of acres of grapes, some
on the slopes of the mountains. We visited a huge winery, then
Kirstenbosch Gardens, huge grounds, lots of trees, flowers, lawns,
everything perfect. Lots of big homes in the area, some on large lots up
to two acres. Good roads, weather was great. Tonight we have to pack,
get our suitcases out by midnight. We leave the ship tomorrow at 3 p.m.
for the airport. Our plane leaves about 6 p.m.
Thursday, December 10
We and another couple, Hoke and Julia (dinner partners) went to a new
shopping area this morning, a nice new area, but we did not see anything
we wanted. We got back to the ship at 11 a.m., had lunch at noon,
finished our packing of our hand luggage. At 3 p.m. we put our luggage
on the bus and were off to the airport, a twenty minute ride. Took about
ten minutes to check in. We went to the lounge as we had about two hours
until flight time, took off about 6 p.m. for Frankfurt, Germany. Made a
one-hour stop at Johannesburg, changed flight crew and restocked the
plane. About ten a half hours to Frankfurt, four hours
layover, to leave 11 a.m. (Frankfurt time) for Los Angeles Had a nice
lounge in the Frankfurt airport to wait. The flight to L.A. was an
11-hour
flight. There was some delay, seems that the caterers were late bringing
the food onto the plane, so we were about 40 minutes late leaving the
terminal. The plane taxied to the runway and stopped. Other planes were
going around us and taking off. Seems the holdup was because one radar
station that tracked international flights had a problem. After a long
wait we took off about two hours late. The plane was a nice 747-400.
Quite new I think. We had a good flight and were wined and dined all the
way to L.A. we got in L.A. one hour late. Donna was at the airport and
brought us home. A little tired, it was about 38 hours since we left the
ship. Both of us slept quite a bit on the plane. We made it and as
always even after a very interesting trip it's nice to get home.
Grant C. Vogel
(To read Nancy's impressions, click here.)
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