April 23rd

Cape Town

The Day they Made us Leave the Ship…….

I awoke at 5:00AM to watch us sail in to the harbor. I have sailed into Cape Town many times as a child, but always only woke up when it was time to go ashore. This time I was determined to see Table Mountain come in to sight.

I opened the curtains and instead of seeing the mountain in front of me I could see nothing. Not only was it still dark, it was very foggy, and no sign of Table Mountain, but miracle of miracles there was drizzle. Yup, it looks like their drought maybe on its way out.

I decided to get another couple of hours sleep, and this time when I awoke we were docked at the cruise terminal, it was light now, but Table Mountain was still hidden in the clouds.

We wanted to leave our cabin early so that our cabin steward could get a head start on cleaning it. With 1200 people disembarking today it will be a very busy day for the staff.

I got dressed and looked for my shoes, but they were nowhere to be found. After searching the cabin I came to the realization that in my attempt to make sure everything was in the last suitcase to be taken off the ship at midnight last night, my shoes had gone off the ship too. Oh well, these things happen, and there was nothing to be done about it. I had to wait until later in the day to be reunited with my shoes again.

This was not the first time I had had to go without shoes. I was in a hurry to get to work some years ago, and as I parked my car and got out to head to my office I realized I did not have any shoes on. Yes indeed, I had left my shoes at home, an hour and a half’s drive from there. There was nothing else to be done. I walked barefoot to the nearest Saks 5th Avenue, and entering the shoe department, I asked to buy a pair of shoes. I was in a real hurry now as there was no doubt that I was very late for work. The sales lady was a pro. She showed no alarm in regard to my shoeless status, and instantly found me a suitable pair of shoes (not cheap mind you). In no time at all I was able to proudly walk out of the store.

We had breakfast with a school friend who took us to the airport. There was still no sign of Table Mountain as it was in the clouds, but it was raining a bit. Brian and I joke about our rain making talents, and I had always said we would bring rain to drought stricken Cape Town if they could just wait for us. The rain that did fall will not help their severe long-term water crisis, but we are always pleased to do our bit if possible. I just hope that they don’t get flooding. Sometimes our visits to drought stricken areas are too successful, and flooding results.

At the airport the agent at the Kulula (not to be confused with Kaluha) check in desk was very surprised by the amount of luggage we had, but when I explained the whole formal night thing to her, she totally understood, and apologized for having to make us pay a small fortune to be able to check our bags onto the plane.

While waiting to board our plane, I received a message that the royal baby had been born. It would have been very cool for him to have been born on his great grandmother’s birthday, or at least while we were on the ship, but I was still very excited, and looked forward to celebrating the birth once we got to Johannesburg.

Our 2-hour flight to Johannesburg was uneventful, and we spent the night with a friend from our student days. We had a lovely evening; it is amazing how when you see old friends again after several years it is just like the time apart never existed. I was so happy to be there. I had been concerned that I was going to be totally miserable after leaving Queen Elizabeth, but the time spent with friends today was so wonderful, I was able to deal with it.

When I went to bed I thought about all of those lucky passengers who had disembarked from the ship today, and headed out on safaris. I thought about the even luckier ones who were still on board. And then I thought about the rest of us who faced long flights home. Oh well, our trip has come to an end, but I am sure Brian and I will have many more fun experiences together. Safari njema!