World Cruise

We arrived at Walvis Bay around 2:30 PM. Bob and Dale decided to not go on the excursion in Walvis Bay. Jenni and I went to the Star Theatre to be processed through Namibian immigration.

Jenni and I were the first people off the ship. We quickly walked to the end of the pier and were shown to a 4 X 4 vehicle. We have been trying to get on the same excursion with Jeffrey and Lin since mid-cruise. Today, we were lucky enough to have them join us in our vehicle.

Jenni was very disappointed with not being able have our full excursion to the dunes. She asked the driver/guide what the exact program was going to be. He indicated that we would just be driving to the Valley of the Moon at Namib-Naukluft National Park and enjoy a local band and appetizers. Jenni asked if there was any way for us to see the dunes where the sand falls like a waterfall. He said that the location of those dunes was too far away. Next thing we know, He is exiting our vehicle and having a discussion with some other drivers. When he comes back, he says that his company had 3 vehicles and since we were there early, they were going to try to show us a bit more of Namibia. Jenni was ecstactic!

We exited the port area and drove to a location where we were able to see flamingos. Our guide said that Namibia has 80% of the world's flamingo population.

Next we drove past the salt beds. These beds are a beautiful pink due to the algae in the water that produces keratinide. This is what gives the flamingos in the area their pink colour.

We then went to a dune and had a bit of a roller-coaster ride as we swiftly drove up the dune and then plunged down a the very steep face. This gave us flashbacks to the fun we had on the 2019 WC.

While we were at the top of the dune, got out of the vehicles and were able to collect a sample of the beautiful sand.

Our drive continued through a very prosperous looking neighborhood. We were told about how many natural resources Namibia has. These resources include diamonds, copper, uranium, and marble.

We stopped at the world famous Dune 7 for pictures before we continued to the Valley of the Moon with a couple of more photos stops along the way.

When we reached the venue, we were greeted with a beautiful setting with appetizers, a full bar, a band and dancers.

We climbed a couple of small hills to get better photos.

I decided to risk a trip to another public restroom. While I was in line, Jenni asked a local woman where one could see a Welwitschia Mirabilis. She told Jenni that there was a location where they may be able to be seen on our way back to the ship. She recommended that we ask our driver if they could show us one. Well, that was all Jenni needed. She was on a mission. (I lovingly call Jenni a water-bug because she is always busily darting from one location to the next. I wish I had her energy). She went to our guide and asked if he could show us a Welwitschia Mirabilis plant. He said yes, but it would take 45 minutes. Jenni quickly asked other if they wanted to join us.

While Jenni was organizing our next adventure, I was having another adventure in the portable restrooms. As I tried to exit the restroom, guess what??? The door would unlock but would not open! What is it with me and restrooms? One of the attendants came to my rescue and forcefully yanked the door open as I, once again, flew out of the stall counting my lucky stars to be free.

I quickly ran to the 4 X 4 and jumped in the back seat. Our original guide and another Namibian gentleman got in the front seats as we waited for Jenni to collect others to join us. She returns to the vehicle and says that no one else wants to join us so let's hurry and go.

My thoughts are, wait, is this wise? Afterall, public restrooms have proven to be a danger for me. And yet, we are driving off into the desert with two men and just Jenni and myself. I had flashes of us not returning to the ship and our bodies being buried in the Namibian National Park.

Luckily, just as we were about to drive away, Ron and Carol came to our rescue and said they wanted to go. So they jumped in another vehicle and we were off.

We had a very long off-road drive through creek beds and very rough trails to the location of the Welwitschia Mirabilis. This reminded us of our off-road trips in Arizona.

According to Jenni's research, the Welwitschia plants are native only to the coastal area of Namibia and a bit of Angola. They are an ancient plant and a long-living one, living for between four and fifteen hundred years. They have only two leaves (but because they split with age, look like they are many), which grow continually, up to 13 feet long. The male and female plants get moisture from the fog and from underground water and produce seeds which are apparently easy to propagate in controlled conditions but in the wild not so much because they need an unusual amount of rain which seldom ever comes. We saw one plant which was about a thousand years old and several more about 4 or 5 hundred years old.

These plants also have unique bugs that live on them. The red bugs are nymphs and the lighter bugs are the adults.

The guides also showed us that the rocks in this part of Namibia, have so much metal content, if they are struck, music can be played on them.

We then jumped back in our vehicles for an even faster drive back to the venue.

At the venue, we picked up two more passengers. They were one of the speakers, Russel Lee and Gail, his wife. It made for an interesting drive back to the ship as we were able to ask many questions about what it is like to be a speaker on a Viking Cruise.

As Jenni and I walked back to the ship, we discussed what a great adventure we had! It was wonderful to be able to see the Welwitschia Mirabilis plant, flamingos, dunes but most importantly, we were not murdered in the desert!Baca lagi

We to the Mixed Group Bible Study

I did a bit of work and edited pictures.

We had the final Interdenominational Service. It was one of the best attended services to date. Jim and Janet have done a wonderful job organizing these services. The choir once again blessed us by leading the singing.

We had dinner at the Chef's Table with Karen and Dave. It was interesting to hear the recap of their trip to India and Africa. The menu was African. I really like it. Bob was not as impressed with the menu.

Upon returning to our stateroom, we had the next set of excursion list sitting on our bed. We had until 8 AM tomorrow to return this form. Excursions are assigned based on the time that these forms are returned. I really dislike this procedure. I wish that they would give us the descriptions of the excursions a day ahead of when they have the deadline to return forms. This would lead to a much less stressful process.

Bob and I quickly read the descriptions, made our selections and I ran the form down to Guest Services.Baca lagi

I am wanting another sea day but here we are in Senegal.

After a quick breakfast, Bob and I headed to the Star Theatre.

Our excursion today is the Bandia Animal Reserve.

We made our way to the bus and were greeted by a guide who speaks very good English. Come to find out, our guide is from Florida and has been living in Senegal since 1999. She raised her three children in Senegal. They have subsequently all moved back to the United States.

Our guide spoke highly of Senegal. She indicated that Senegal is slated to host the next Youth Olympics because Senegal already has facilities built such as basketball and soccer stadiums.

She went on to say that the buildings that look like they are falling down are actually being renovated so they can be rented for people coming to the Youth Olympics. In my opinion, she is trying to find an excuse for the poor conditions of housing because we passed mile after mile of partially completely building. Many buildings look like they have been in an uncompleted state for so long that they have started to fall down.

We were also told that the country was very clean. I guess that we should not believe our lying eyes as we saw trash everywhere. Albeit there was less trash here than in many of the other countries we have visited.

The guide also indicated that there was no drugs or gangs in Senegal.

We found it hard to believe everything thing our guide said because she came across as very biased.

We had the experience on the 2019 WC where one couple was taken by a " private guide" to a store and were held in the back room until they made "purchases".

In addition, a couple of female crew members were also taken and held until money was paid.

We doubt that major culture improvement has happened in 5 short years. Maybe we are biased.

After about an hour of listening to our guide's propaganda, we arrived at the Bandia Game Reserve. We were happy that the weather was beautifully cooler. We had a great time seeing God's creation.

The Bandia Game Reserve does not have lions or elephants. We saw many animals and had a very pleasant game drive.

We got back to the ship at 1:45 PM just in time to have lunch before the World Cafe closed.

After lunch, we showered because Senegal is very dry and dusty.

Next, it was time for a nap as my Lyme symptoms have been troublesome today.

We attended the church service. The service consisted of singing worship songs.

We had dinner with Dale and Jenni at the Chef's Table. We talked about our impressions of Senegal. Dale did see a filthy, smelly market with very aggressive peddlers which was juxtaposed to wealthy enclaves and an impressive "white house" that he also saw.

Our impressions of Senegal is that it is a country working to become a developed nation but it has a long way to go.

I welcome any research on these animals.

Oliver Emerson, can you assist in confirming that I have labeled animals correctly?Baca lagi