‘I travel because LIFE IS SHORT and the world is HUGE’. Stephanie B.
Another day at sea and at 6:30 AM after my usual gym session I was sitting outside on deck three cooling-off and letting the sweat settle when I saw a school of dolphins about 20 of them off the starboard bow putting on a show for several minutes. It was quite spectacular. Having had a contratemps with an American over saved seats to watch a movie I suggested to the cruise director that he should have tickets made for popular events. He said that was a good idea and did nothing about it. We crossed the equator last night at 11:20 PM and at one stage our bow was in the Northern hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere and the stern was in the Southern hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere. So at last we had the Neptune ceremony which involved Neptune with the maiden Queen and the judge with a jury of ships officers. Various staff were found guilty and condemned to ‘kiss the fish’. There were a couple of Americans who felt I should kiss the fish but when I saw what was involved, kissing a large frozen dead fish, I was pleased to have rejected their advances. The guilty people were covered in soapsuds and were condemned to sit under the broiling sun or to be thrown into the swimming pool. It was great fun and enjoyed by everyone.
‘Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones’. Anne Sophie Swetchine.
There was quite a change in the atmosphere of the ship since Cape Town with a lot of new faces, more grumbling and more confrontations amongst passengers. Most of the passengers were retired with obviously more interesting life experiences with a story to tell but the corollary is big egos and the American rights to everything at the cost to others.
‘Life is an ADVENTURE, dare it’. Mother Theresa.
Our next stop was Banjul in Gambia but we were delayed in docking because of a sandbar which slowed down the ship. Our tour took us to the natural history Museum depicting the history of Gambia. Then on a short drive to the city to see the sights, stopping to visit the general market with much hassle and bustle. Anything from live chickens and vegetables the herbs and wigs can be bought and sold here. We stopped at the city’s main mosque King Fahad mosque where children are inducted into Islam. We stopped at arch 22 which was built to commemorate the coup d’etat of July 22, 1994 and independence. It spans Independence Drive at the entrance to the capital, Banjul. We then continued to Serre-Kunda, the most densely populated town in the Gambia. We saw tie- dyeing by locals and finally visited the Katchically crocodile pool where we met the famous reptilian resident, Charlie, who starred in a British television documentary. Lesley managed to stroke him without having to count her fingers afterwards. Religion is 98% Muslim and malaria is the biggest killer particularly in the wet season in summer. The vendors in the markets are extremely pushy. There is a huge disparity between rich and poor that even the middle class, professionals, still have poor housing. It was assessed if you have a car you’re very rich. There were mainly high-end cars of Mercedes BMW Porsche etc. the taxis were all Mercedes. The policy for the tour was to have police on the bus to ensure safety but we were assured this is the safest place in Africa.
‘TRAVEL is still the most intense mode of learning’. Kevin Kelly.
In Senegal the capital was Dakar which is one of West Africa’s largest cities. Our tour took us past the Catholic Cathedral, the Muslim mosque, the presidential Palace and various government buildings. The University of Dakar has 60,000 students, 40,000 are Senegalese and all faculties. We visited the Kermel market which again is a tourist trap and went on to the sand painting gallery. We visited an awe-inspiring monument to the African resistance movement. This was 160 feet tall of man wife and child which was to celebrate Senegal’s 50 years of independence from France. We visited another mosque, the deity or divinity mosque. Again there was a huge disparity between rich and poor with several areas of corrugated hovels. This was a major part of the slavery trade. Again the vendors in the markets were very pushy and at times downright rude.
‘Who lives sees, but who travel sees MORE’. Anonymous.
Overall by now we were getting tired looking forward to home and back to reality. There were 12 days to go. We had a talk from Andrew Schofield on David Livingstone which was excellent. He told us that slavery began in the 1400s until the 1800s. The first nation to initiate this deplorable behaviour was from Portugal. Livingston started trying to proselytise his belief on the unacceptable trade in slaves on the West Coast of Africa and eventually moved to the East Coast. Many of these slaves were shipped to America Brazil and the Caribbean. Although William Wilberforce managed to ban slavery in the UK in 1833 the trade did not stop until the late 1800s. The slaves were taken mainly from Gambia Senegal and Cape Verde. One tour visited Ile de Goree whose history comprises an integral part in the story of the slave trade. The history that wrested 40 million human beings from the shore of Africa was described. The slave house built in 1777 with its sales and shackles is still intact. Some visitors were left in tears by this tour.
‘There are no FOREIGN lands. It is the TRAVELLER only who is foreign’. Cherkasy.
Cape Verde was the next stop on the Isle of Santiago with the capital of Praia. There wasn’t really much to see in the town, a pedestrian street, a church in town square and again a vegetable market but as we were fully fed on the ship there was little point in the latter. The main centre is the Praca Alexandera Albuquerque square and we saw the statue of Diogo Gomes who discovered the islands in 1460. Again this was a centre of the slave trade. The worst offenders in the slave trade were in order Belgian, France, Portugal and then Britain.
‘You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place’. Girlgi.com.
We were entertained by our fellow guests at an informal show with incredible talent amongst us. It was extremely funny and perhaps the highlight was a 22-year-old mongol girl who sang in her native Chek language as well as English. It is a little depressing to learn of the mortality rate amongst the passengers but I presume this is a reflection of the advanced age of the majority.
‘BETTER TO SEE SOMETHING ONCE, than to hear about it a THOUSAND TIMES’. Asian proverb.
Our last port of call was Puerto Rico, almost home at last. The several large cruise ships disgorged over 10,000 passengers to flood the town. We were impressed with Puerto Rico which had almost completely recovered from the devastating hurricane a few months earlier but I believe the countryside was not so lucky. We saw the statue of Columbus in the centre of the town and a lot of the pristine buildings of government and offices. This could be a venue for snowbirds. I tried not to become depressed from some American boorish behaviour but Lesley quite rightly ignored it. A few more days and we’re back in Fort Lauderdale, but with over 1000 people trying to get off the boat as soon as possible it was a bit congested but we were so pleased to be home with fond memories.
‘I love the feeling of being ANONYMOUS’. Anonymous.
Overall we were very well looked after by the Captain, officers and crew as well as maintenance workers. They even went to the extent of issuing a note asking forgiveness for not producing an adequate toilet paper. The things some people moan about. On reflection we enjoyed our trip but with only staying a maximum of a few days anywhere we could not get into the culture very well. Perhaps we learned what places to revisit and what not to.