Month: April 2023

On April 5, I was able to take a boat on an excursion to Robben Island. Robben Island is a fairly short boat ride from Cape Town Harbor and was a prison, particularly a political prison from many years. The prison is now closed and it is now a national estate and world heritage center.… Continue reading Robben Island

We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa in the dark of the morning on April 4 (Day 80). Cape Town was a favorite port for many on the ship because we docked right downtown, within walking distance of a very nice shopping and restaurant area. I joined many of my fellow guests and staff to… Continue reading Cape Town Vistas

Early on Palm Sunday morning, we arrived in the town of Luderitz, Namibia. While the Portuguese first discovered the harbor in this area in the 1400s, Luderitz is a fairly young town. It was founded as a German trading post in 1883 on the edge of the Namib desert. The town has a distinctly German… Continue reading Ghost of a German Colonial Town

Namibia is one of the largest and driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and is characterized by high climatic variability through persistent droughts, unpredictable and variable rainfall patterns, variability in temperatures and water scarcity. The climate is generally hot and dry with sparse and erratic rainfall. 92% of the land area is defined as very-arid, arid,… Continue reading Oldest Desert

Before this trip, I couldn’t have told you anything about Namibia. After visiting Walvis Bay for two nights (March 31 and April 1), I can recommend it. On March 31, I took one of the best excursions on the trip so far, a boat ride to visit Pelican Point. The ride started with an up-close… Continue reading Walvis Bay, Namibia

A warning up front. This post is about a ritual that, when carried out in the past, can only be described as an initiation hazing that we know can lead to shame and trauma in those who experience it. I tried to make some sense of what I read about this, but kept coming upon… Continue reading “I Want to be a Shellback”

In Lome, Togo, I did an excursion titled Traditional Togo, and left with at least some appreciation of some of the beliefs and customs of this part of West Africa. I also left with a feeling that my tourist veneer had been overwhelmed. This excursion was quite a production. There was a caravan of five… Continue reading Traditional Togo

And, as I am posting in holy week, anticipating Easter tomorrow:

Our ship left Fortaleza, Brazil on March 12 (Day 57), crossed the Atlantic stopping at Cape Verde islands on March 17 (Day 61), and then cruised south along the shores of West Africa from March 18 to March 25. In West Africa, we visited the ports of Dakar, Senegal (March 18), Banjul, Gambia (March 19),… Continue reading West African Tourist

Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization. Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply will not see it. It is, as Ruskin says, “not merely unnoticed, but in the full, clear sense of the word, unseen.” —Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Dillard 1974, p. 33). Sailing ships… Continue reading Slave Trade