Mahe, Seychelles

On Friday, April 1, 2011 we arrived at Victoria on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles.  The Seychelles are made up of one hundred and fifteen tropical islands, with white beaches, swaying palms, and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.  There are steep hills and mountains with lush tropical vegetation covering most of the island.  The island is one thousand miles east of Mombasa and 600 miles north of Madagascar.  The waters both north and south of the Seychelles are spotted with pirates as they have been since the 7^th century.  The beaches and brilliant waters truly live up to their reputations.  The islands have many very exclusive small resorts.  Some of these are on Mahe and others on neighboring islands accessible by boat.

We strolled from our pier in Port Victoria to the downtown area.  Along the 1 ½ mile walk, we passed interesting stores, schools kids and markets.  In one grocery store we saw a sign for minced buffalo meat.   At the city center stands the Clock Tower erected in 1903.  Cindy had to have her photo taken in front of an oversized bronze of the copra seed (a dried coconut kernel).  The walk was great with two exceptions, the heat and the humidity.  Victoria is only 4 degrees south of the Equator.

After an enjoyable day, our ship sailed away at 4:00pm, en route to Maputo, Mozambique.  We will have four sea days before reaching Maputo.  Once we arrive, we will disembark for a 3-day safari overland to Kruger National.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

From the mall we headed through town for our next adventure—At The Top Burj Khalifa.  This is the world’s tallest building reaching 2,732 feet above Dubai.  When we arrived we made our way through the Dubai Mall (the world’s largest mall).  We then got onboard the elevator that makes the trip to the top in less than 60 seconds.  Arriving at level 124, we were able to see over the city, the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Desert  in all 360 degrees.  But, before we could head back down, Cindy found the infamous Gold Machine where you can purchase gold for cash.  Once on the elevator we were headed back down to the mall.  We had to clear our ears 9 times making the decent. 

Our 5 hour tour ended back at the ship with both of us tired and hungry.  The ship departed Dubai at about 6:15pm en route to our next stop after 5 sea days.  Hopefully, we will arrive in the, Mahe Island, Seychelles on Friday, April 1^st unless there is a change in itinerary due to security concerns.



Day Lost At Sea

DATES:  Due to crossing the International Date Line, the dates shown in header for each Post will not be correct.  This blog was setup on U.S. Eastern Standard Time.  So, in the future, we will show the correct day in narrative of each Post.

Over night we have continued on our course toward Auckland, New Zealand stirring around small atolls and inlands. Throughout the day we will keep the same heading, but will lose a day as we cross the International Date Line. This line is along the 180 degree longitude. This has caused us to miss February 13^th and go directly to Valentines Day. In fact, one of our passengers lost her birthday because of crossing the date line.

We were lucky enough to have Princess Cruises Master Chef Commendatore Alfredo Marzi join us in Tahiti. He has contributed to our culinary delights and provided a great culinary demonstration. This morning he set up a Valentines Day display with cakes and desserts. Here is a photo of the chef doing his magic. Also, here is a photo of us and our favorite bar attendant Charoon Suttimas who serves the best coffee on the ship.

NOTICE: Our original itinerary stop in the Seychelles has been reinstated. The Captain advised everyone that based on advice from the International Maritime Organization and other authorities, that an improved security situation in the Seychelles region allows us to reinstate the port. Additionally, the ship will maintain the new port call to Richard’s Bay, South Africa on April 7, 2011. We won’t make the Richard’s Bay port call since we will be on our overland safari to Kruger National Park!

The next port call is Auckland which is still 3 sea days away.