Sea Day- Embrace the Unplanned!

Unfortunately, Mossel Bay was cancelled at the last minute today due to high winds and waves, as we tried to get the first tender boat from the ship to the shore. Mossel Bay was the first place in South Africa inhabited by Europeans (Portuguese) in 1488 although it wasn’t until 1497 when Vasco de Gama arrived there that any time was spent exploring and mapping South Africa. There is lots of history here. We had booked the Point of Human Origin tour recommended by Patti & David, who we were going to join on this adventure.

DNA research has shown that all humans alive today descend from a small population that lived between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago. Archaeological research in the last 30 years has shown that at least some of those people lived in Mossel Bay with archaeological evidence at the Pinnacle Point Site Complex (our tour spot). The main archaeological discoveries were published in the leading scientific journals with some of the earliest evidence for modern human behavior in the world, dated to 160,000 years ago. The cave that is visited on the tour was occupied by humans from ~160,000 to 90,000 years ago. Very interesting, maybe next time!

We had a rescheduled day and within hours had a list of activities after stretch, abs, pilates AND cycling classes (whew)! We had 2 "unplanned" lectures, "The International History of TV Game Shows" with Patti & David that provided great insight into many of the games shows we grew up with, and "The Future of Finance" with Jane T. I spent much of the day planning our Shavuot Celebration for next week and then meeting with Carlos (Food & Beverage Manager) and Justin (Senior Executive Chef) to plan the Service, Brunch Foods and Logistics. Very Productive. We had a "private" (it seemed that way- see photo) dinner at Polo and then saw our favorite show, "Our World" and went to the after party. At the end of the show we said goodbye to guests, entertainment, enrichment and crew that were leaving tomorrow in Cape Town and thanked everyone for a wonderful segment of this journey. Had a great day albeit not what we planned.Read more