and so it begins.....RTW16

[cbb]

Monday, Feb 22 we took a walking tour of Stone Town, Zanzibar. We had originally planned to do this DIY but I began to read too many things concerning safety so we went with a ship's excursion.

 

Our guide was excellent and took great pride in showing us his hometown. He was an older gentleman, quite educated, and did a wonderful job explaining the various sites.

 

Stone Town is located on a natural harbor and the first Europeans were the Portuguese. Quickly realizing the potential of the area, they began to export spices and slaves....lots and lots of slaves. The Portuguese ruled the area for more than 200 years.

 

The first stone structure was the old fort which is now a market for arts and crafts. Stone Town is aptly named as all of the buildings are built from coral and stone and narrow allies and streets branch off from each other.

Had we not had a guide, I'd have been lost and would still be looking for my way back to the ship!

 

We were told beforehand never to photograph the women and to ask the men before we took pictures and our group was very careful to do that. We were also warned not to take any pictures of police, army men/women, or anything that could be construed as military or governmental.

 

I had taken a sky picture of an Anglican church steeple with the cross on the top and just behind it was mosque minaret with the crescent moon and star on its top. Our guide told me that his town was a place of great religious toleration and later showed us another place to get a sky picture of the 2.

 

He took us inside the Anglican Church which is built on the site of the former slave quarters. We went into the basement which was used to pack the slaves in until the slave ships would arrive.

 

The pulpit area is built where the whipping post was used. Our guide said that if a slave could survive the whipping, then he/she could survive the sea journey. Absolutely heartbreaking to see these places. The church was indeed consecrated by blood.

 

We walked through the central market which had beautiful fruits and vegetables, stinky fish and a huge amount of other goods for sale. I was very glad to be with him as he shooed away street peddlers and watched over us very carefully. He seemed to command respect.

 

Stone Town is most famous for its doors. Some of the doors are Indian in design...straight lines around the door, highly carved and gorgeous. Other doors have straight sides but an arched top often carved with arabic writing reflecting the influence of Arabian traders. Today these doors are being protected from theft, the elements, and time by their owners and organizations.

 

Stone Town is a UNESCO Heritage site and I'm so glad I got to see it. It is such an important historical place but it is also a city with people buying food, children going to school, motorbikes everywhere...in short, a thriving port city.

 

 

 

[cbb]

Jo-b--

 

I know you were teasing but the buses were all disinfected BEFORE we got on board and probably were AFTER we returned to the ship.

 

I am always amazed at the living conditions of some of these port cities. The population's life expectancy is much lower than North Americans and western Europeans but they are remarkable for thriving as they do.

 

One of our guides told us that it takes him almost 2 hours to go to work every day...one way, so he has decided to become President of his country so he can get a police escort and cut through traffic, ignore red lights, and drive on the other side of the road! We all agreed that it was a great reason to become President.

[cbb]

Tuesday, Feb 23 was a childhood dream come true!

 

We left the ship (the buses were sanitized before we got on!) and took off for Mombasa's airfield. We boarded a twin engine plane that held 19. 4 other planes were waiting and they each held 12.

 

Off we flew over the vast interior savanah of Kenya. I had always thought that the Serengeti was shades of brown and yellow but they had received rain for the past several days and large portions of the land was green. It reminded me of parts of North and South Dakota.

 

D and I sat on opposite sides of the plane (the better to take pix out the windows) and he held his gps. Periodically, seeing a mountain, I'd say "is that it" and twice he shook his head, looking at the gps.

 

Then suddenly, he looked out, his eyes widened, he looked down at the gps....and pointed out the window.

 

I immediately stood up and looked out the opposite window and there, perfectly framed in the window, was a fully visible Mt Kilimanjaro....my dream to see it had come true!!

 

Then, of course, everyone jumped up to see and cameras were passed around so that the passengers on the mountain side could take pictures for the right hand side people...sorta like a group hug without touching!!!

 

The Serengeti was huge and beautiful and green and stretched out from every view and side of plane. For me....anything that we saw after touch down would simply be icing on a magnificent cake!

 

We, of course, landed safely and were escorted to our waiting vehicles. Think of something about the size of a passenger van with the top popped up with ~3' struts holding it in place which allowed for ample viewing if one stood up but shaded.

 

I say, of course we had a safe landing, because our pilot was a corporate pilot and when he was flying for his company, he took tourist gigs and when he wasn't doing that he was a flight instructor and an airplane crash investigator... we were definitely in good hands!

 

Everyone in our van of 7 sat during the drive, only rising to take pictures and then sitting back down. Some in the other vans chose to ride standing up. Since Amboseli is a national park there was no off-road driving.

 

Because we arrived fairly early in the morning and the grasses were green, we saw satiated hyenas, active elephants, zebras, various types of grazing gazelles, swimming hippos, wildebeests and water buffalos but did not see cheetahs, lions, or giraffes.

 

Lunch was at the Amboseli Lodge and it was a buffet of different meats, starches, cooked vegetables and a salad and a dessert table. Some ate everything, but I erred on the side of caution and ate only those things that were cooked or baked. The food was very good. I made sure to thank everyone I saw and they just beamed.

 

Masai men had been employed to keep the monkeys away from us. They were dressed in beautiful bright red clothes with amazing arm and ankle bracelets. "Thy shall not covet" ....but I did.

 

We saw signs telling us not to feed the monkeys and to keep away from them as they were dangerous. One of our intrepid RTWers was literally jumped by a monkey and had bread stolen from his plate. Our guy laughed -- he'd just been mugged by a monkey!

 

Many of us visited the small gift shop and a munchkin in our family is going to get a Masai beaded item.

 

We re-boarded our van and took off for more adventures. We were in hopes of finding lions and giraffes but the logical part of our brains told us that they would be sleeping under some trees well out of our sight...and our left brain parts were correct.

 

Never mind that...we saw many types of birds that we don't see in North America: Nubian vultures are only slightly prettier than our turkey vultures (which are just plain old ugly,) crown birds, and the lovely named Queen of the Marsh, fish eagles, Maribou storks, a variety of ibis with different colored legs, bills, heads, etc.

 

We saw one "umbrella tree" that was covered with big balls and as we pulled up under it we could see many, many bright yellow weaver birds busily building their balled nests which are entered through the bottom...simply amazing.

 

Soon it was time to leave the Serengeti and return to our planes which looked tiny as viewed from a distance. They only got a little larger as we climbed aboard and took off.

 

I looked out the window and Mt Kili was visible again! I looked as long as I could. One corner of her had only appeared briefly while we were on the ground, so it was a lovely goodbye gift.

 

What an incredible excursion and I was so lucky to see what I had always hoped to see....a childhood dream come true.

[globevest]

cbb.....lovely report. You brought back to us an 8 year ago memory. We were on a Kenya/Tanzania safari trip in the first two weeks of March.

I remember the thrill I had when we flew close to Mt.K.

Thank you.

[jaxw17]

Fantastic you brought that to life. You are having such a wonderful trip and I am so pleased that you are sharing it with us.

so much more to go enjoy.

[RJB]

Sounds like a once in a lifetime. Wish we could do it. Keeping having fun. :)

[osandomir]

cbb - I follow your wonderful blog in preparation to our South Africa cruise next your. Your posts are great.

 

I know you went on overnight Safari to Phinda and you liked it. Was overnight to Thanda reserve also an option? If someone went there did you hear from other people how good was it? We're trying to decide which one to book.

 

Thank you for posting.

[Hunding]

Tuesday, Feb 23 was a childhood dream come true!

 

We left the ship (the buses were sanitized before we got on!) and took off for Mombasa's airfield. We boarded a twin engine plane that held 19. 4 other planes were waiting and they each held 12.

 

Off we flew over the vast interior savanah of Kenya. I had always thought that the Serengeti was shades of brown and yellow but they had received rain for the past several days and large portions of the land was green. It reminded me of parts of North and South Dakota.

 

D and I sat on opposite sides of the plane (the better to take pix out the windows) and he held his gps. Periodically, seeing a mountain, I'd say "is that it" and twice he shook his head, looking at the gps.

 

Then suddenly, he looked out, his eyes widened, he looked down at the gps....and pointed out the window.

 

I immediately stood up and looked out the opposite window and there, perfectly framed in the window, was a fully visible Mt Kilimanjaro....my dream to see it had come true!!

 

Then, of course, everyone jumped up to see and cameras were passed around so that the passengers on the mountain side could take pictures for the right hand side people...sorta like a group hug without touching!!!

 

The Serengeti was huge and beautiful and green and stretched out from every view and side of plane. For me....anything that we saw after touch down would simply be icing on a magnificent cake!

 

We, of course, landed safely and were escorted to our waiting vehicles. Think of something about the size of a passenger van with the top popped up with ~3' struts holding it in place which allowed for ample viewing if one stood up but shaded.

 

I say, of course we had a safe landing, because our pilot was a corporate pilot and when he was flying for his company, he took tourist gigs and when he wasn't doing that he was a flight instructor and an airplane crash investigator... we were definitely in good hands!

 

Everyone in our van of 7 sat during the drive, only rising to take pictures and then sitting back down. Some in the other vans chose to ride standing up. Since Amboseli is a national park there was no off-road driving.

 

Because we arrived fairly early in the morning and the grasses were green, we saw satiated hyenas, active elephants, zebras, various types of grazing gazelles, swimming hippos, wildebeests and water buffalos but did not see cheetahs, lions, or giraffes.

 

Lunch was at the Amboseli Lodge and it was a buffet of different meats, starches, cooked vegetables and a salad and a dessert table. Some ate everything, but I erred on the side of caution and ate only those things that were cooked or baked. The food was very good. I made sure to thank everyone I saw and they just beamed.

 

Masai men had been employed to keep the monkeys away from us. They were dressed in beautiful bright red clothes with amazing arm and ankle bracelets. "Thy shall not covet" ....but I did.

 

We saw signs telling us not to feed the monkeys and to keep away from them as they were dangerous. One of our intrepid RTWers was literally jumped by a monkey and had bread stolen from his plate. Our guy laughed -- he'd just been mugged by a monkey!

 

Many of us visited the small gift shop and a munchkin in our family is going to get a Masai beaded item.

 

We re-boarded our van and took off for more adventures. We were in hopes of finding lions and giraffes but the logical part of our brains told us that they would be sleeping under some trees well out of our sight...and our left brain parts were correct.

 

Never mind that...we saw many types of birds that we don't see in North America: Nubian vultures are only slightly prettier than our turkey vultures (which are just plain old ugly,) crown birds, and the lovely named Queen of the Marsh, fish eagles, Maribou storks, a variety of ibis with different colored legs, bills, heads, etc.

 

We saw one "umbrella tree" that was covered with big balls and as we pulled up under it we could see many, many bright yellow weaver birds busily building their balled nests which are entered through the bottom...simply amazing.

 

Soon it was time to leave the Serengeti and return to our planes which looked tiny as viewed from a distance. They only got a little larger as we climbed aboard and took off.

 

I looked out the window and Mt Kili was visible again! I looked as long as I could. One corner of her had only appeared briefly while we were on the ground, so it was a lovely goodbye gift.

 

What an incredible excursion and I was so lucky to see what I had always hoped to see....a childhood dream come true.

 

 

Your account is magical - thank you. I am so very happy for you, and for your fellow travelers. I had never aspired to see to Africa, but now.............

[cbb]

osandomir,

 

Phinda was absolutely wonderful in every way. People who went to Thanda raved about their choice as well.

 

We did see more animals than the Thanda people but that might have been the luck of the draw. We saw cheetah & lion cubs and their mothers, and adolescent male leopards as well as the rest of the African veld animals.

 

Thanda, if I remember correctly, didn't see the cheetah or leopards but I'll ask today for details of their overland. i know they loved the accommodations as we did.

 

Either choice would be wonderful.

[cbb]

A gorgeous, but very warm day today in the Seychelles. This place is beautiful and reminds me so much of south Florida.

 

We took a tour from the ship that took us into Victoria and the Botanical Gardens. I knew most of the flowering plants, not because I'm so knowledgeable, but because they grow in Florida. They did have some palm trees that are not grown in Florida and the nuts are gigantic. Florida hurricanes would sweep up those nuts and wipe out neighborhoods.

 

The town is petite and very nice. We were told no building can be built taller than a palm tree so most of the buildings were maximum 3 stories.

 

The walk downtown was great, many of the locals said "good morning" and even though they are used to the heat, several of them were mopping their faces as were we!

 

The central market was as you can imagine....lots of fruits, vegetables and fresh fish. Very colorful and many people were there doing their shopping...a little of this, a little of that, how much for those?

 

We told our guide that we thought we'd mosey back to the ship and left the tour. They were driving on in the bus and we were ready to walk. Sea days will do that!

 

If you dock where we did, Port of Mahe, Mahe Quay, it is an easy walk to town and back. The port guide said it was ~1.2 miles but my fitbit had it longer...nearer 2 miles.

 

Leave the ship, walk straight, turn right. Walk until you see 4 mirror image swordfish touching "noses" in the center of a roundabout/traffic circle. Turn right....tah dah....town! (google "roundabout art")

 

I have a couple of people I send postcards to and there was a seller of postcards, stamps, and a few things that one might need in the cabin, and directly behind that kiosk was an old-fashioned red metal post office box!

Talk about making it easy. Several people bought gifts of Seychelle stamps; I can see why, they are gorgeous!

 

Elevator buttons covered in plastic but most people, I've observed, are using their knuckles to punch their floor choice. Noro prevention continuing.

 

Lovely day!

[hypercafe]

I have been following your trip through Africa. looking up the Seychelles the place looks very beautiful and quite prosperous. Is it truly like that? It is a place I never knew existed!! Thanks for taking the time to post this great info.

[cbb]

I should have added the following to my comments on Seychelles:

 

After having visited many ports in Africa, we saw few signs of poverty in the Seychelles that was everywhere in Africa.

 

The market was filled with fresh produce, the goods in the stores were new, people had shoes on their feet, and there was running water and electricity. People seem to have a purpose to their walk and there were few men just sitting around.

 

Mahe is a very beautiful small town, with prosperous looking, well dressed citizens, the children were in uniform to go to school, the streets were clean, the buildings were painted, often very vivid colors, the grass was cut, shrubs were trimmed, in short....the tropical paradise the tourist board says they are.

[tropicalkerry2002]

Your descriptions do sound like Paradise. The Seychelles and the Maldives have always come to mind when I hear the word. Don't know if I'll ever get to either... hoping FP fits the bill when we join Insignia in May!

[cbb]

We leave the Maldives to fly to India for an O overland to the Taj Mahal.

 

Truthfully, I'm kinda glad I'm not going to be in the Maldives since my research seems to suggest it is not a place that women tourists feel comfortable.

 

I obviously don't know, and won't know if that is true, but I'm glad I'm heading for another place on my bucket list.

 

Give me a monument to love instead of men worrying about being offended by a woman's clothing.

[SellaVee]

I really appreciate the time you're taking to keep us up to date on your trip, and I'm particularly looking forward to hearing about India as we're taking a land tour there at the end of next month. Your descriptions have been magical.

 

This time next year, or even sooner, you'll be able to look back on your trip with the aid of a really great record of your travels here and on your blog, so it's well worth doing but I know how long it takes to post when you're on board.

 

Thank you,

 

Sella

[cbb]

Sella,

 

Among the RTWers there is an ongoing discussion of which perk we love the best...after the safaris and the potential for our clothes to stand in the corner by themselves, we agreed the free laundry was the best.

 

On days when we want to get in touch with people we love, or get caught up on current events (why we Americans want to do that remains a mystery)and those of us who contribute to ccritic or to blogs, then obviously the free internet is the best.

 

If I had to look for hot spots in the ports or buy internet packages only to run out of minutes while posting, I wouldn't be doing these computer activities.

 

btw... we are also traveling with a small stuffed animal that gets its picture taken in exciting places and then the pictures get emailed to a munchkin.

[cwn]

Cbb, I am loving your blog....reliving all the wonderful stops especially the various safari stops from our rtw trips.

 

You made me laugh with your little friend! We travel with a 4 oz ball of brown fuzz, that gets into some of the pictures. He actually got to sit in the co-pilots seat on one of our flights last year, with pictures included! Even though our grandkids have out grown him, we haven't! He has turned into a great ice breaker/traveling companion.

 

Spent two nights in the Seychelles at the end of March last year and toured the island. You description is right on. The whole countryside and all the beaches are clean and beautiful....more cove like than in Florida though. There are some pictures of the island beaches in our blog.

 

You are going to love India...or al least we did. There is lots of poverty, but you don't see many idol hands. DH did not ever want to go to India because of the horror stories from friends that had been, but even he admits it was worth the long trip because it is a truly fascinating country. We did a blog for that trip...you can find it by clicking "About Us" on the rtw blog if you are interested...your pictures have been wonderful and you will have a golden opportunity in India for outstanding photographs!

 

Free Internet and free laundry are the gold standard for a long trip, be on a ship or overland. Thank you for taking you time to take us along. We almost signed up for the aborted 2015 cruise, but went another route. Your blog is making us think we will try one more rtw trip in the next couple of years and do it with Oceania.

 

Safe travels and enjoy India. You are ticking off all the places/things that we have been working on also! Thanks again!!

[4Lakes Lady]

I'm so enjoying your writings! Never had a thought to go to Africa but after reading your wonderful adventures, it's now on my 'list'! Hope your trip to India is awesome! Already I'm looking forward to reading about it. Thanks so much for taking us all along on your journey!

[osandomir]

osandomir,

 

Phinda was absolutely wonderful in every way. People who went to Thanda raved about their choice as well.

 

We did see more animals than the Thanda people but that might have been the luck of the draw. We saw cheetah & lion cubs and their mothers, and adolescent male leopards as well as the rest of the African veld animals.

 

Thanda, if I remember correctly, didn't see the cheetah or leopards but I'll ask today for details of their overland. i know they loved the accommodations as we did.

 

Either choice would be wonderful.

 

cbb,

 

It's awesome that you had great experience with your overnight. And you're going on another land tour to India - wonderful!

 

Your information is very helpful for us in our planning. We'll greatly appreciate any additional details on Thanda reserve if you find out something from the people on your cruise.

 

Looking forward to more of your adventures on this cruise. Thanks for posting.

[Emma Chisit]

We also had a great experience on the ship's excursion to Shamwari (three days/two nights, leaving the ship in Port Elizabeth and returning in Durban.) Saw lions mating, a two-month old baby elephant being cared for so protectively by the group, a rare black rhino mother and child, and a cheetah mother and daughters at a fresh kill - all on the same day. Even our guide said we were lucky! We also saw lots of other animals, with the exception of leopards, which were elusive. Shamwari has several lodges on the property - we were at Long Lee Manor and stayed in the original manor house built in the early 1900s. Others in our group of twenty stayed at Lobengula Lodge and also reported positively.

[cbb]

Yes, EmmaChisit is correct: lots and lots of positive feedback from others that Shamwari was terrific and please note it is one day/one night longer than the Phinda/Thanda offerings.

 

Also note that Shamwari leaves from and returns to ports that are different than those of Phinda/Thanda if that is meaningful to you in your planning.

 

Glorious sea day today...wish all of you who are following along could be here today....it would make your world a happy place!!

 

It appears that part of our Taj Mahal adventure will begin with leaving the ship in the Maldives, board a very cool transport boat to the airport, board the plane, and then takeoff on a runway that appears to begin and end in the sea!

 

We saw a picture of a plane landing at the Maldives airport and from the perspective of the photographer it looked as if the plane was going to land in the ocean! I think there is a runway at JFK that is like that.

 

I'll try to post re: our Taj Mahal adventures but am dependent upon hotel internet. We'll see.......c

[TenerifeSharon]

Wishing you continued fantastic adventures! Your positive attitude, enjoyment, appreciation, and wonderful writing is keeping us all enthralled!

 

Hope every day is beautiful for you!!:)

[hypercafe]

Looked at the airport on Google earth, does look wild right at sea level, big jet looks like it is rolling on the water. In places like this and last stop do the people talk about global warming and sea level rise as it looks like the population is right at sea level? Have a great time in India and remember, do not drink the water!

[cbb]

They absolutely are talking about climate change, especially in Zanzibar, Seychelles and Maldives.

 

3/4 of the total land of the Maldives is less than 20" above sea level so estimates are that the Maldives will be gone by the end of the century and some islands face extinction much sooner than that....less than 20 years.

[osandomir]

Cbb and Emma Chisit - thank you so much for your help. Yes, Shamwari also is very good choice but it's from the Port of Elisabeth. We really want to go to Addo from there, so it'll be Phinda or Thanda for the overnight.

 

And for now we're very happy for you getting to see Taj Mahal and may be some other places on the Golden Triangle. We'll follow you with a great interest.