Hello Cape Town

Our arrival in Cape Town was much anticipated by everyone on the ship, and large numbers of people turned out  on the decks to view the approach on Wednesday,  March 31

The views were spectacular along the coastline with Table Mountain giving us a landmark.










And Robben Island  was an important landmark to remind us of the time that Nelson Mandela had spent in prison to make this country what it is today.

We saw the new soccer stadium in the background, the host stadium for the upcoming World Cup this summer.  We were also entertained by the antics of   seals in the harbor.

Our berth was right in the edge of a busy harbor shopping area, complete with many restaurants, bars, shops, a grocery store, craft gallery, bookstore, coffee shops and ice cream stores.  There was something for everyone within 5 min of the ship in a very safe location.  Okay, our shipboard community did experience a large number of cases pickpocketing with lost cameras and wallets and cellphones, but we felt physically safe here.



The ship was cleared quickly, and people headed out on SAS trips, shark cage diving, rides to the top of Table Mountain on the tram and shopping.  Our priority was to get to Robben Island, but we hadn't realized that the tickets could be bought online, and they were sold out for the entire weekend with the crowds for Easter and the Jazz Festival that was happening.

Table Mountain was covered with a cloud or as they say, "the table cloth was set", so we put that off for the last day.  That left us with time to "poke around".  There is a great craft center with all crafts made by African artisans, so we got some gifts with our Rand.  We also visited a local music store where I got a Miriam Makeba CD.

Then we had a lunch outside and spent time watching the various groups of street musicians.  This was fun music to watch as long as you kept your camera safe.

Then, after a dinner of African cuisine,  we headed back to the ship in anticipation of an early morning for Safari.