We have left South Africa for the final time this cruise. We are now off the west coast of South Africa approaching the Namibian border. We should reach Walvis Bay, Namibia by noon tomorrow.
After we left Richards Bay and the wildlife parks, we sailed overnight to Durban, the third largest city in South Africa. Michael and I had scheduled no excursions. We opted, instead, to take the Silver Sea shuttle bus from the ship to a nearby water park and shopping mall. We walked along a gorgeous beach for more than a mile, then along a main city street for a few blocks until we found an internet café. We checked our e-mail and Facebook accounts at a cost of 5 Rand for an hour of good Internet connectivity. 5 Rand is about 58 cents.
Durban was the first city we actually walked around since we embarked in Cape Town. It is a modern, bustling city that could be anywhere in the world where autos drive on the left hand side of the road and nine out of ten faces are dark. There were a few young men hanging around. Even though the unemployment rate is very high, most people were going about their everyday business. We returned to the Silver Wind after a few hours in the 90 plus degree heat and near 100% humidity. Our timing was good as at started to rain as we reached the ship. Michael spent most of the afternoon watching the port operations while I read a book.
Durban to East London is a relatively short distance that seemed a very long way in seas as rough as I have ever experienced. Much to my surprise as I have a long history of getting air sick, the rough seas did not bother me nearly as much as they did Michael and most of the passengers and crew. We were sailing off the southern coast of South Africa where the Atlantic currents meet the opposing currents in the Indian Ocean. There are always swells. This time there was a storm too. Lots of up and down and side to side motion. The captain slowed the ship to minimize our discomfort.
As a result of our slowing down, we were two hours late arriving at the port of East London. Most of the planned tours were canceled. Michael and I had not scheduled any tours having little interest in more small game parks or visits to tribal villages that are mostly staged reenactments. These trips were to have featured tribal dancers, medicine men and women performing "traditional" tasks in primitive straw huts.
We again took a Silver Seas hired shuttle bus. This time it drove through an interesting small city of wide streets, mixed industries to a shopping center similar to those found anywhere in the developed world. Michael bought some rechargeable batteries for his camera at a store called Game that was very similar to a Best Buy in the U.S. We walked around for half an hour and took the bus back to the ship.
There was evidently a significant auto industry in both Durban and East London. We saw new cars and trucks lined up for shipping on the piers. In Durban a car carrier docked next to us was loading Toyotas. I'm not sure what brand the little white cars on an opposite pier in East London were.
We were again in rough seas as soon as we left the relatively sheltered port of East London. The port is so small that we required a tugboat to pull us away from the pier and help us turn in a relatively tight space. Silver Wind is not a large ship so East London is indeed a small port.
I was impressed that East London seemed so prosperous. This little city on the southern edge of Africa has developed a significant black, mixed-race and Asian middle class. The shopping center was busy with a Saturday crowd. The stores were all clones of familiar Western chain stores or small, local boutiques. Some of the storefronts in the downtown area were run down or empty but the streets were clean and the people well dressed. The homes in the more affluent suburbs all had fences topped with concertina wire or electric wires but the general impression was one of peace.
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Barbara Borsuk
barbara@mborsuk.com
Boulder, Colorado, USA
303 408-3639
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