Bonnetts Abroad Past Trips

Bolette Intrepid India and Africa

No breakfast at home, just tea. The car had been loaded with most of the cases last night.

Left home at 07:30, but as we were going down the lane, the tyre pressure warning light came on, and we had to reverse up, get the compressor from the house and pump the tyre up.

Got to East Cowes easily, bit gusty, but not too bad. Jo and Stu joined us in lane 14, 10 minutes before we boarded.

Met Craig and Colette on the ferry. It turns out that their ferry driver was Rose. Rose is the lady from Maisie,s charity shop, so knew Jo.

We got off the ferry and diverted into Mayflower Park, so that we could take some pictures of the Bollette, which was in City Berth.

We got to the checkin at about quarter pas 10, so had some waiting before baggage could be handed over at 11:00.

Groups of passengers were called forward, we waited until it was our turn at 11:45.

At the security gate, the alarm went off, even though I had no metal on me, I went back through, nothing had changed but the alarm didn't go off again.

Check in was a 2 part process, first out visas had to be checked against our passports, then we had to go to a second desk to get processed for boarding. They held on to our passports so that they could start processing some of the remaining visas.

We got onto the ship at about 13:00. The rooms weren't ready so we went up to the buffet for lunch. The lift operator took our hand luggage to the room whilst we ate.

The buffet is served from behind counter , nice selection. The tea bags were all Taylors of Harrogate, and they had proper yorkshire tea.

After we'd eaten we went to our room, the hand luggage was there, but not the other bags,

Went to have a look around the ship. First impressions were very favourable, lots of different rooms for sitting, all airy and with different themes.

Went back to the room, some of our bags had arrived, so we unpacked those and then went to look around the ship some more. Had a cup of tea upstairs in the buffet area, Went back to the room, some more bags had arrived, unpacked those.

Dinner was at 18:15, table for 6, but tonight there were only 4 of us, the other couple were Keith and Alison, nice couple. Dinner was nice.

Went to the after dinner show, an introduction, a bit of everything, went back to room.

Clocks go forward one hour tonight.

Seas quite rough, force 7 as we left the channel and entered the Bay of Biscay.

We had breakfast in the restaurant, eggs benedict, although Debbie didn't eat much.

At 10 Deb went to investigate the craft room, I sat in the Piano Bar and read, before I headed to the auditorium at 11:15 to investigate ukulele lessons. About a dozen of us in all. We were all loaned a Ukelele for the duration of the cruise.

We had lunch in the restaurant, served in pairs on a larger table, we were joined by a couple who were just doing the first leg., then a couple of single travellers.

In the afternoon I went to a talk on Radio Caroline followed by a talk on the battle of the Atlantic, from the German perspective. Both very good talks.

Deb still feeling unwell so I went to find a shop and bought travel sickness bands. I then went to have a meal in the buffer.

Sat by the Lido Bar and had a beer, still quite rough seas, went back to the room then went out to the show, an improv show, 'The Brothers Ridiculous'.

Breakfast in the buffet. Fizzy wine was available (Pierre Terre , a Portuguese wine), which was very nice, apparently it's served for breakfast any time there is a formal night.

Sat and read for a while before going to ukelele lesson. Calm seas

Lunch in the buffet then went to Astronomy talk, very good intro. Stayed in the theatre for a talk on Napolean's expedition to Egypt and the Rosetta stone, also a very good talk.

Deb went to art, painted pufffins

Went back to our cabin to get changed as it was a first formal night postponed from yesterday due to the rough seas, and captain's party. There was free flowing wine, fizz and G&Ts. The captain's speech was very amusing.

When we arrived in the dining room, Keith and Alison were already at the table. Dinner was good.

After dinner bumped tin Craig and Colette, went to the show to watch the Saxophonist.

After the show we sat through the quiz with Craig and Colette, stayed up drinking and talking until one in the morning.

Had breakfast in the buffet, and then delivered a note under C&Cs door, cancelling an appointment we'd made for lunch as Deb wanted to go to the book club meeting.

I went to Ukulele and then up to lunch by myself in the buffet, BBQ on the aft deck, so had a burger.

Down to the astronomy talk, to tired to stay for Egypt talk, so went back to the room.

Debbie arrived in the room half an hour after I did, so we had a cup of tea and then went and sat and read in the library.

Back to room to get changed for dinner, Moroccan chicken.

Went back to room to get organised for our first port or call, Tangier, tomorrow.

Deb's art from today

Views around the ship

Ship had already docked by the time we awoke. We had a leisurely breakfast of Eggs Benedict in the view buffet before heading down to the gangway.

The gangway was on deck 1 midships. We got off the ship and headed for the shuttle bus, there was free WiFi in Tangier port, so was able to catch up on emails while waiting for the bus to fill up.

The bus dropped us in the old centre of Tangier by the entrance to the Medina.

We weren't sure of where to go, so wandered around aimlessly for a while, there didn't seem to be any tourist information so we went through the Medina gate and asked a local ‘”Abdul” where we could get a map. He directed up out of the Medina, but I don't think he was too straight with us.

We went back through the gate towards the Medina and turned off into what was a locals market. Huge slabs of meat and mountains of olives.

At the end of the market was the fish section with many varieties of fish, shellfish, squid etc.

We left through a side door and made our way back to the square where we were dropped off.

We saw the HoHo bus so boarded that. 13 Euros each.

The bus took us around the narrow streets of Tangier on the blue line.

At one point we were blocked by a car stuck sideways in the road. The car driver was trying to park and had got stuck. The bus driver got out and into the car and maneuvered it into the parking space, so then we could proceed.

At the end if the blue line we stayed on the bus, which turned into a red line bus, which would take us out of town to Cape Sparta.

We saw camels, donkeys and wild boar. The bus stopped at Cape Sparta and Hercules caves, 10 minutes at each.

The bus took us back to the town and stopped outside the port, from there it was a short walk back to the ship.

We had a late lunch at the poolside, marinated tuna, lovely.

I went back to the room to practice.

Dinner was in the Bloomsbury restaurant, we were joined by Keith and Alison.

We went to the show, a comedian, who wasn't too bad.

At 21:45 there was a stargazing session on deck 10. They turned the deck lights off and we got quite good views of the night sky, although there was some light pollution from Spain, and the moon was quite bright

Deb had done some hand washing the night before which was still wet, so I took it to the launderette to put in a tumble drier, walked a few laps of the promenade deck whilst it dried,

Went to the buffet for breakfast and then sat by the pool and drank coffee we were joined by John and Judith.

There was a food fair advertised so we went to see what that was, but it was just showcasing the different restaurants, so nothing really. So headed to lunch in the buffet, freshly made sweet and sour pork stir fry, sat outside by the pool area to eat it.

Went to talk on the transatlantic balloon race, very good.

Met Deb back in the room and then went to the afternoon trivia quiz (11/20) Joined by 3 others.

After that Deb did bingo and I went back to the room.

Force 8 – Woken up at 04:30 by motion of the ship. Showering was not easy!

Breakfast in the buffer, eggs Benedict, talked to Judith and John a bit.

Read in the Piano Bar for a while, one of the officers, Karin, a dutch lady, was walking around checking on how people were and chatting with the passengers.

Went back to room to practice Ukulele a bit.

Ukulele lesson, learnt F chord, struggling a bit with the fingering.

Lunch in buffer, fish tagine.

Went back to cabin to have a nap followed by some practice.

At 15:30 we had been given a booking for afternoon tea.

Met debbie outside the observatory. A week into the cruise, we were the first people to have tea there. We were the only customers.

A three piece band and 7 servers.

The tea was very good, proper pot, with leaf tea, little sandwiches, sweet treats and 3 different kinds of scones, cheese, plain and fruit.

They also gave us a complimentary glass of sherry each.

After tea we went back to our room for a while.

Dinner with Alison and Keith in the Bloomsbury restaurant, veal followed by seared tuna.

Went to the show to see the comedian 'Lloyd Davis', quite good.

then back to the room for the night.

Breakfast in the buffet, asked for black pudding.

We could get the Valletta port WiFi so could catch up with e–mails etc whilst eating.

After the ship completed its docking procedure we headed out, the gangway was on Deck A, below deck 1, the crew deck.

We picked up maps from the tourist information kiosk and started walking.

The lift to the city centre was about 800 metres from the ship, one euro each for up and down, they wanted cash, which we had.

The lift took us up to the Upper Barracks gardens.

We set off walking across the isthmus, not that far, and then headed down to the tip.

On the way a couple of locals asked us if we were cold, we were in light summer clothes, they were wrapped up in fleeces and jumpers, both of them were on their way to church.

When we reached the tip we chatted to a man from Finland (who lived in Estonia), he was there for a few days. It was his aim to tick off all the countries in Europe, he only had Belarus and San Marino to go.

We paid to go into St. Elmo's fort, where there was a reenactment of a knights templar tableaux taking place.

Didn't really follow what was going on, but it was quite colourful.

The fort itself was quite interesting, tracing its history through the ages.

After the fort we walked back up into the city and browsed the restaurants and food markets as well as some other shops.

We bumped into other cruise passengers once in a while, including Craig and Colette.

We'd been walking for over 6 hours, so decided to head back to the ship, going down to sea level in the lift.

We got back to the ship in time to have afternoon tea, which served as our lunch.

Dinner was Maltese rabbit stew, very nice.

Decided to skip the show and came back to our room.

Remembered to put clocks forward by one hour before we went to bed.

Tea in the room, followed by laps of the promenade deck.

Back to our room to pick up bags before heading up to “The View

Sat in the Lido to drink tea before Deb went to craft.

I went to the talk on the pyramids before going back to room to have a practice.

Ukulele lesson, and then back to room to meet up with Debbie.

Seafood skewers in the restaurant for lunch.

Tea in the Lido before Deb went up to painting and I went to a talk on the Suez Canal.

Met up with Deb and sat and read in the library before going to a facebook group meet up, left as soon as we could!

Went back to the room to relax and get ready for the formal night.

By ourselves on the table tonight, nice meal, scallops followed by halibut.

Back to room to watch theatre show on TV.

Laps of deck.

Breakfast in the ‘The View' then moved to the back of the ship to drink our tea, but they started setting up the BBQ for lunch so we drank our teas and moved.

Deb went up to craft and I went to the piano bar to read for a while before heading back to the room to practice.

Ukulele lesson and then back to room and then up to the buffet for lunch.

Tried to buy a tea bag holder from guest services, but they had none.

In the afternoon went to a talk on Astronomy in Egypt.

Couple of laps of the deck before dinner, beautiful sunset.

Dinner with Alison and Keith.

Breakfast in the view before heading to the Neptune lounge to get our passports stamped and tour bus allocation.

It was a bit chaotic with several queues merging into one, but we got our bus sticker, “no 5

Our bags were x–rayed as we left the port. It was all a bit confusing as to where to go, we seemed to have to double back on ourselves, but we got to where the buses were parked and found our coach, a distinctive yellow.

Once all 39 of us were onboard we drove off to our first stop, the Qait Bay Citadel, an impressive building on the site of the ancient lighthouse.

The signage in the citadel was sparse and the rooms were empty.

Also we couldn't go right to the top to get the views over the city.

We walked around the walls outside instead, which was quite nice, but we soon ran out of time and had to return to the coach.

The next stop was the Roman amphitheatre, which was quite impressive.

There were also many other artefacts there including a number of baths carved out of solid marble.

The third stop was the library, a modern building on the site of the famous library of Alexandria. An impressive structure, the second largest reading room in the world next to congress,

As we passed shops and things in the morning it was all closed, with only one or two street vendors around and everything looked a bit rundown.

As we returned to the ship in the afternoon the shops were open and it looked a lot more lively, but still rundown.

We passed by the market, which was huge and sprawled over several streets.

When we made it back to the port, sniffer dogs checked over the coach and it was a while before we could proceed to the ship.

Before getting on the ship our bags were x–rayed again.

The Library

Entering the library bags were x–rayed. I had tooooo empty my bag out because I had a device which took AA batteries, my GPS unit..

Back on the ship they collected our passports.

The forecastle was open, so we had a look up there before heading up for something to eat. Although it was late, they had kept the buffet open for lunch.

After lunch we bumped into Craig and Collette who wanted to introduce us to the other two who would be joining us on the Kenyan safari, Jackie and Colin, who as it happens had been on the same coach going around Alexandria.

Deb went to cooking demonstration and I went back to the room to offload pictures and GPS tracks.

Dinner was just the two of us.

An earlyish start, we were booked on a tour with a start time of 07:00, so had breakfast in the view at 06:00.

Getting passports and bus allocation was a lot more straightforward than yesterday.

We boarded bus 2.

There were 4 busses in total and we had to wait until all 4 were full so that we could move off in convoy with a police escort. Police in front and behind with motorcycle outriders.

We travelled to Cairo via toll roads which were quite good, but there were frequent stops at toll booths which seemed to take an awful long time to get through.

We reached Cairo and crossed over the Nile. The pyramids came into view on the right hand side of the coach.

We drove up to the viewing area and then back down to park near to Menkaure's pyramid.

We got out and got fleeced by local vendors.

There were lots of camel rides, photos with camels and pony and trap rides.

We walked around, photographing the pyramids, before boarding the coach which took us up to the panoramic viewing area. This offered splendid views of all of the major pyramids and some of the minor ones.

Then we boarded the coach again and were taken down to see the sphinx.

we then had a half hour drive to have lunch on a boat on the Nile.

Buffet lunch, salads and cooked fare with one free drink.

Entertained by a male dancer and then a female belly dancer.

After we had docked it was time to board the coach and head back to port Said.

From where I was sitting on the coach I could clearly see the red “STOP

Same procedure on the way back with the police escort.

As we were late back we had dinner in the buffet before retiring to our room.

Went out on deck early to capture pictures of the canal. The forecastle was open so had a look there, Keith and Alison where there.

Walked around the deck a bit and then Deb met me on deck.

Had breakfast in the view and then went outside on deck 9 to have a look, bumped into Craig.

Deb went to craft and I went down to the piano bar to read for a while before going oustide for a bit on deck 3.

Went back to the cabin to meet Deb and then went to lunch in the restaurant, a very nice goat's cheese tart followed by fish and chips.

Went back to the room to rest for a while and then headed out for more pictures on deck.

Dick Taylor was giving a commentary over the PA system at various points throughout the day to point out sights along the canal.

A leisurely start to the day, toast for breakfast in the view and then sat out and talked with Judith and John until ten.

Went down to get our passports from the Ocean Bar, very easy to do.

We went down the gangway and had a half hour wait for a minibus to take us to the port gate. Here the Etrex SE caused consternation at the security scan, had to switch it on for them, and then the guard had to take it superior, who then showed it to another man, who said it was ok.

We boarded a larger coach which then took us to Naarm bay, a modern resort, nothing there for us, although Deb did get a packet of seasick pills from one of the many pharmacies there.

In an attempt to get WiFi we went into a KFC and had a cold drink, but it wasn't working, then we tried McDonalds, had an ice cream but they didn't have a working WiFi either.

A local coffee shop had a QR code to scan for WiFI, but that didn't work for us, so we gave up and went back to wait for the shuttle bus back. Judith and John were in the queue, and they told us that the shop we were standing by had WiFi, but again it wouldn't work for us.

We got back to the port gate, had our bags scanned and rather than wait for a bus, we walked back to the ship.

We were back on board for a late lunch. Then did some Ukulele practice.

Had a walk around the deck at sunset.

Just the two of us for dinner tonight

Slow start, sat with Judith and John for breakfast, egg benedict today. We drank tea out by the Lido and then went down to the gangway.

Headed out through security and the bag scan and headed for the port entrance, which was quite some distance away.

Outside of the port there was one immense queue of lorries all waiting to be processed.

As we walked we met people coming back who said there was nothing to see, but we kept walking. We eventually met with a couple who lived there and they said there was nothing to see, but there was a shopping street running parallel to the street we were on. We didn't fancy it, so we decided to head back to the ship, we had been out of the port for only 90 minutes.

Back to the port, through security again and back to the ship, sat and listened to the trivia quiz and then read for a bit before lunch in the Bloomsbury restaurant, game pie.

Came back to the room to practice and read.

Dinner in the Bloomsbury, finally met the other couple on our table, Anne–Marie and Malcolm from Dundee, who had been confined to quarters because of covid. Malcolm still had a nasty cough.

Went to Egyptian cultural show, music pipe thing and two percussionists followed by spinning dress man, the show was quite short, 20 minutes. Then back to room.

Clocks had gone forward one hour, so it was nearly 9 o'clock before we went upstairs for breakfast.

Debbie went upstairs to craft, I went downstairs to the piano bar to read. Finished the Odyssey, started the Iliad.

Went to room to practice before Ukulele lesson at 11:15.

Met Deb back in the room as just after 12, and went to lunch upstairs.

After lunch Deb went up to art. I was heading downstairs, but bumped into Jackie and Colin by the pool, talked to them for a while, before heading downstairs. Bumped into Craig and Colette, chatted for a while.

Had to wait for Neptune lounge as a rehearsal was in progress.

The talk today was an Introduction to Islam. After which I went back to the room, before going to the Botanical room to meet up with Deb.

Bought tokens for the laundry and then went to An Introduction to Arabic for an hour, John joined us, learning how to say Hello in Arabic.

Went back to room to get changed for formal night. Nice dinner, joined by Anne–Marie and Malcolm.

We had to be in the Neptune Lounge by 8, so it was up and straight out for breakfast

Getting our bus allocation for the tour was quite straightforward, but we had to wait for the ship to be cleared by the Saudi authorities.

When our trip was called we header down to the gangplank on Deck A forward. Once off the ship we boarded a shuttle bus to take us to the cruise terminal and immigration, where an official directed us towards one of several queues. There were 3 women being processed ahead of us, which seemed to take ages, when it was our turn getting through immigration was easy.

Once through, we went outside and boarded our bus and waited for everyone else to get through immigration and get on board, which took a while.

The audio wasn't working on the bus, so we couldn't hear the guide.

We were driven to a car park by the entrance to the old town. The gates and walls are made from coral.

We were taken into the old town, where there was a lot of construction and restoration work going on.

We went into a mini library.

More sightseeing, a coffee shop. Stuart Laing turned up and pointed out a framed portion of the shroud of the Qibla from 1976, along with a family tree which went back many generations.

We stopped at another coffee shop for a cold drink, but there weren't enough seats inside and not everyone got a drink.

Then we had some free time to wander around, met Craig and Colette.

Many incense shops.

We walked back to the coach, which took us back to the ship via a different route, past the Ritz Carlton and along the Corniche.

Back at the terminal we had the promise of WiFi, which connected but would not give internet access

We went outside and waited for the shuttle bus to take us back to the ship.

On the ship we got changed and had a late lunch in The View.

Practices Ukulele in the afternoon.

Dinner in the Bloomsbury, all 6 of us were on the table tonight

Ship's speed is currently 16 Knots, captain says it will increase to 24 Knots at 18:00 to minimise time in a medium risk part of the Red Sea.

Clocks changed, so late breakfast, and then went down to watch talk on Women in Saudi Arabia, very good.

Back to room to pick up Ukulele, and then went to the lesson.

Put laundry into washing machine, wash cycle takes 28 minutes so went back to room to wait.

Quick lunch in the view whilst the cloths were in the tumble drier, takes 45 minutes.

Practised Ukulele and then went upstairs to wait for Deb so we could both do the afternoon trivia quiz, 13 out of 20.

Couple of laps of the promenade deck then back to room for a cup of tea.

Dinner in Bloomsbury with Keith and Alison.

Back to room and watch the show from the Neptune lounge on tv, very good.

Breakfast in The View, just toast. Deb went up to craft, I went to a talk on whale spotting. Then I went back to room to pick up Ukulele before heading to the lesson.

Lunch in The View, salad. Joined by Craig and Colette, they were just sitting down to lunch as we finished.

Back to room and then out to a talk on the Portuguese in Goa.

Back to room, Deb was already there, had a cup of tea before ding a couple of laps of the deck.

Back to cabin, Deb did a whatsap call with Jo. Watched the choir doing Sea Shantys on the TV, not too good.

Then watched show Lorraine Charlotte on electric violin, excellent.

Couple of laps before breakfsat in the view, watched a masked boobie diving to catch fish whilst we were eating.

Then Deb went up to craft and I went to the Piano Bar to read for a while. Then returned to the room to practice.

Went to Ukulele lesson, new song to learn, Mull of Kintyre. Also possibility of Christmas Day 15 minute appearance. Little Town of Bethlehem, being the only carol within our reach, if we learnt the g–Chord.

Met Deb back in the room and then dod a couple of laps of the deck before going up to the View for lunch, salad.

Went back to room to practice and then went up to the Piano Bar to meet Deb for the 3:45 quiz, teamed up with Anne–Marie, Malcolm and Sue and Steve, 15 out of 20. After which Deb did Bingo with Anne–Marie and Judith while I read in the Piano Bar.

Then it was time to get ready for dinner, all 6 of us on the table tonight.

Toast and tea in the view at 07:00, then sat in the Botanical room until it was time to congregate to get our bus allocation in the Neptune lounge. We were on bus 1 and made our way down to the gangplank as soon as we had our sticker.

On leaving we were given a landing card, bus 1 was waiting and we were soon off.

The guide was very good and enthusiastic abut Oman and Salalah, his local town.

We made an unscheduled stop to photograph a herd of camels by the roadside.

Our first scheduled stop was at the Ain Razat Springs, flowing water with fish and caves.

We then continued on to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, shoes off to go inside.

And then onto the Huan Palace, where we couldn't go inside, so it was just the wall and the coconut trees outside.

The last stop was the Crown Plaza resort, where we were given lunch and mango juice to drink. We ended up on a table with Barry, Wendy, Judith, John and 2 others,

After coffee I went to look at the beach and to get access to their WiFi,

Back to the ship and did some Ukulele practice then met Deb for afternoon quiz, we teamed up with a lady with broken glasses, we got 15 out of 20.

Deb went to watch cookery demonstration and I went to take some pictures from the back deck.

Dinner by ourselves in the Bloomsbury and then back to the room, watched magician Daniel McCawley on TV.

Clock go forward an hour tonight.

Eggs Benedict and fizz in the View this morning, sat on aft deck drinking 3rd glass. Photographed large grasshopper on the window.

Deb went to craft, I went to Piano Bar to read, JC came in and talked Ukulele for a while. Went back to room to practice.

Ukulele lesson, attempted Pretty Flamingo, not very good.

Met Deb in room at 12:00 and went to Bloomsbury for lunch

Went back to room for a nap, and then did some prectice, Met Deb for afternoon quiz, joined by Anne–Marie and Steve and Sue. Quite hard, 11 out of 20.

Checked at tour desk about tours for extra day at Nose Be.

Went back to room to get changed for formal night, which was also the Black and White theme night. Scallops and Beef Wellington. Shared table with Malcolm and Anne–Marie

Added Christmas decoration made by Deb in craft to door.

Breakfast in the buffet.

Sat and read in the Botanical room, but had to move as it was too noisy. Went to room to practice.

Ukulele lesson, ‘you to have', quite hard chord changes.

Dropped Ukulele in room and then straight up to buffet for lunch, as Deb was at Book Club. Then back to room.

Met Deb in the Botanical room, talking to John.

Went to morning light area and played shuffle board for a while and then did the trivia quiz (16/20)

Back to room, dinner in buffet, beef bourguignon

Beer by the pool and then back to room to sort out documentation needed for India tomorrow.

We had received updated tickets for out tour today with an updated time, half an hour later than was first advertised. However when we arrived in the Neptune lounge, half an hour before the new time, they were already calling our tour, so we got our bus allocation sticker, bus 3, and headed out to the gangway.

Indian immigration was a bit slow, I had to supply thumb prints, which took several attempts, and never worked properly. And then as I was walking away, they called me back, because they'd forgtotten to stamp my passport.

Had to show stamped e–visa at least 3 further times before we left the port, passports were taken from us by the crew before we left the cruise terminal to board the bus.

Our guide was Jasmine, a local lady with excellent English, our ship's representative was John Kelly, the Ukulele teacher.

Getting out of the port seemed tricky, with cars and busses blocking the way out, but after our last check of visas we were finally out of the port.

First stop was outside the state central library of Mumbai, former town hall, we walked past the stock exchange and onto St. Thomas' Cathedral, Where we had a bit of a walk around. All of the monuments inside of the Cathedral were to British soldiers and Seamen, all in English.

We walked along a bit further past roast nut sellers and past women selling bananas, whom Jasmine described in detail.

Then we continued on to Flora Fountain, where there were streams of commuters who had just got off the train, 4 million commuters per day for each of the 2 station in the city.

We walked past the law courts, an impressive old building with spiral turrets.

We boarded our coach, which had driven to meet us, driving past victoria station , the coach dropped us off at the market.

After the market we boarded the coach again, which drove us Churchgate station, to see the dabbawallahs at work.

We then crossed the road into the station and boarded a train, which took us 6 stops up the line to Mahaladim, here we got off, exited the station to have a look over Dhabi Ghat, the world's largest outdoor laundry.

The coach was waiting for us and it took us to Ghandi's house.

Then we went to lunch in the Hotel Maine Plam.

After lunch it was off to look at the Gateway to India, and to look at the shops for an hour or so.

Then we were back on the coach and back the the port, where we had to show e–visas prior to reboarding the ship.

Dinner in the restaurant, just the 2 of us.

Breakfast in the View, just toast for me, plus a slice of the local fruit of the day. Which was guava.

Went down to the Neptune Lounge to wait for our trip to be called, talked to John and then Susan. Our trip was soon called and we were allocated bus number 2.

Went down to the gangway and boarded the bus, drove to the terminal, got off the bus, had our e–visas stamped, got back on the bus, drove to the gate, a security officer boarded the bus and inspected our e–visas and cruise cards..

Then we could get going, quite a long drive to our first stop, a Hindu temple. Shoes off, there was a guard checking that everyone was suitably attired, knees, shoulders, elbows covered

No photography was allowed inside. Devotees were chanting tracts from their holy book.

Outside again and we looked around for a while, and then back on the bus.

We drove to old Goa to see the basilica, the inside of which could only be photographed with phones, not cameras, which caused a bit of a misunderstanding with the ships escort, who thought it was no photos at all. After that we walked over the road to the Cathedral

Back on the bus and we drove to Panjim, where we were given a tour of the old houses, and then left to look around for an hour, bumed into Keith and Alison and went into a bar with them, 2 bottles of Kingfisher beer between the 4 of us for 350 Rupees, Keith paid.

Back on the bus for a 45 minute drive back to the ship. Security check at the port entrance, 2 queues, one for men, one for women. E–visas check, back on the bus and a short drive to immigration, e–visas checked, walked back to the ship.

We'd missed lunch and afternoon tea, so relaxed and showered in the room before dinner in the Bloomsbury restaurant, just the 2 of us. Back to the room and watched show on TV.

Breakfast in the buffer, tea and toast. Went to the Neptune lounge to wait for our bus allocation. We got our sticker but were told to sit down and wait because the ship hadn't been cleared.

When the ship had been cleared we were told to head down to the gangway on deck one, midships. But whilst we were in the queue to get off, they changed the gangway to Deck A forward, so that caused a bit of chaos. There were dancers on the quayside with animal masks on.

Through immigration. Again they tried thumb prints, but they didn't work, but they stamped my e–visa anyway. On the way out of the terminal there were people dressed in traditional costumes.

We boarded bus 4 and were soon on our way. The first stop was a cashew nut factory. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the factory. We were shown each stage of the process. First the nuts are washed and then roasted to weaken the shell, then, after they have cooled, a machine splits then open. This machine has a rotating blade that slices the nut in half as it travels by, a health and safety nightmare as it had no guards or protective screens of any kind.

A group of women separate the nuts and the shells as they travel by, then they are roasted again, left to cool, and the inner skin removed. They are then graded into 27 different grades.

We bought a bag of nuts, and were also given a small bag of nuts each.

The second stop on our tour was a Hindu temple, the Sri Gokamatheshwara Temple. Shoes off to enter.

Stop three was the Saint Aloysius Chapel, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, which was decorated in fabulous painted frescos and canvasses to imitate marble pillars and 3D statues, quite amazing.

Next stop was another Hindu temple, this one from the 10th century, shoes off again. By this time it was getting very hot .

The fifth and final stop was the market, fresh fish, dried fish fruit and veg.

Then it was back to the ship, where, after a shower, we put some washing on and went for afternoon tea in lieu of lunch.

Dinner in the Bloomsbury with K&A and then back to the room. Started watching the show, but turned it off.

Assembly time for our tour was 08:15, but getting the ship cleared had taken longer than anticipated, and there was a half an hour delay.

We boarded bus 1, which soon set off and drove us to the fort on the water front. From there we walked past the Dutch cemetery and around to the Chinese fishing nets.

Then we continued walking to St. Francis church, which we spent some time looking around.

After the church, we boarded the bus, we took us to the basilica

A toilet stop at a shop, long queue for the single toilet, and all of the busses had arrived at the same time.

The last stop was the Jewish quarter, where we had time to look around by ourselves

We were back to the ship by lunchtime, so after a shower, headed up the buffer to get a prawn curry,

It was Indian theme night, so made a bit of an effort at dressing up and went up to the Lido area , had a curry, sat with John and Judith. It was very hot and very noisy so didn't linger.

Breakfast in the View, eggs Benedict, fruit of the day 'Chico', the green fruit was horrible, but the brown fruit was like a small pear.

Sat in Piano bar and read when Deb went up to craft. Then headed back to the room to practice for a while.

After Ukulele lesson, we met up and had lunch in the restaurant, Halibut for starters and veal for main. In the afternoon went to the talk on the Seychelles, whilst Deb went to art, where she painted fish.

A few laps of the deck before breakfast. Fruit of the day was Custard Apple, very nice. Also there was fizz available, which meant it must be a formal night.

Normal daily routine for a sea day, read in the Piano Bar, practice in room before lesson. In Ukulele lesson we were told that we were in a concert tomorrow, so ran through list of songs.

Met Deb back in the room and then went up to the view for lunch,

In the afternoon went to a talk on Living With the Masai.

Back to room, got change into formal gear. All 6 of us on the table tonight.

Clocks go back one hour tonight.

Up early due to clock change, went up to breakfast in the View. Deb had to take bits up to craft room for today's exhibition, so I read for a while in the Piano Bar.

Ukulele lesson, and then back to the room to meet up with Deb.

Went up to the View for the seafood buffer, there were free drinks between 12 and 2, so stocked up with wine for the room, and had a couple of beers as the Spitfire was free.

We were crossing the equator at 14:24 so there was much celebration and partying on deck.

I went back to room to change into Hawaiian shirt and then went to the Neptune lounge with my Ukulele for 15:45. The choir practised first so sat and waited. John tuned the instruments. We had no practise.

The choir performed first, they left the stage and we came on.. Show went ok I think, finished at 17:15, changed for dinner.

Did a few laps of the deck after dinner, clear skies but very hot and humid.

Got certificates for crossing the equator.

Bacon sandwich for breakfast in the View and then went to read in the Piano Bar before Ukulele practise and lesson.

Seafood curry in the view for lunch. In the afternoon we went to watch the film (‘I gave you my heart') in the Neptune lounge, Judith joined us and fetched popcorn from down stairs.

Back to the room for a cup of tea, and then went outside to watch the sunset over Silhouette Island.

Had dinner in the view.

The ship was moored off Mahe, after breakfast we went down and got a ticket for a tender, we were on tender 8. Whilst we were waiting we played shuffleboard and then sat down to wait.

We were joined by Craig and Colette who had 2 spare tickets for tender 7, so we had those and passed our tickets on to Ann. Shortly after that our tender was called, we'd waited about an hour

The tender was moving around quite a bit against the ship, but once we were underway it was a lot smoother. On the shore there were cold drinks available, we had one before getting onto the shuttle bus, which took us to the centre of town.

Our first task was to find the tourist information office, which we did fairly easily, although we did ask a police woman for directions.

The tourist information gave us a map and a brochure. We asked for directions for the botanical garden and set out walking, it wasn't too far and we found it fairly easily, again asking a local for confirmation that we were on the right route.

The gardens are card only paymant to enter, contactless Revolut worked without any problem.

Our first stop was to see the giant tortoises, they were easy to find, and then we continued on around the rest of the gardens.

After the gardens we walked back into town, we sat and ordered a beer, before it arrived we were joined by Anne–Marie and Malcolm. After the beer we headed back to the shuttle bus, to get a tender back to the ship. We got back to the ship too late for afternoon tea, so we showered and waited for dinner time. Just the 2 of us at dinner tonight and then back to the room to watch the show on TV.

Breakfast in the view , we were not docked, so we waited until the announcement and then went ashore at about 09:00. We thought the hire car would be in the port, but it was actually outside the port gate, and as we exited the gate we saw a women with our names on a placard. We followed her out of the car park to where the car was parked, outside of a local supermarket. Apparently the card I'd used to pay for the car had expired so I did a contactless Revolut to complete the payment.

The car was ok, a small Hyundai automatic. I enlisted the help of a local to help us reverse out of the parking space and into the busy street. We were soon on our way, heading to the south of the island, stopping to photograph the stunning beaches on the way.

We drove around the south of the island, and started heading north again, eventually finding the turning up to the teas factory, where we stopped, to find Craig and Colette, who had also hired a car, already there. We had a drink (iced tea) together before proceeding on our separate ways.

The roads have no edging, and many of them have deep drains running down the side of road. The condition of the roads was a bit variable, but mostly pretty good.

Driving was easy until late afternoon, when the traffic started to build up, then we decided to call it a day and headed back to the port car park, which, by pure luck, we found very easily. Craig and Colette had just arrived in their hire car. Deb phoned the hire car people to tell them we were there and they sent their daughter out to check over the vehicles and collect the keys. We were just back onboard the ship in time for dinner.

Eggs Benedict in the View for breakfast. Then we ventured outside, we tried the ports free WiFi, but that proved to be unreliable, so we gave up on that and walked into town.

Deb got a blister on her heel, so we sat down to apply a plaster, during which time it started to rain, so we sheltered by some shops as the rain got harder and harder. We took this opportunity to pop into pharmacy to get some more blister plasters.

When the rain stopped we walked around the edge of the market and then went up to the Roman Catholic cathedral, we didn't go in because there was a service in progress, so we walked around the outside, before heading down to the Hindu temple, shoes off and went inside.

After the temple we headed back, nut then thought that we'd get the shuttle bus, mistake, as the bus took over half an hour to get to the ship, it would've been much quicker to walk. \but we were back in time for a late lunch.

We went to the cooking demonstration, Red Snapper. Had some for dinner.

Toast for breakfast in the view, and then down to the Neptune Lounge to get stickers for our tour. We got stickers straight away, but had to wait for our tender to be called.

When we go ton the tender it seemed to take ages for it to reach land, it looked as if it had tried to go to the wrong quay. But we got there in the end, our tour bus was waiting, we were one of the last ones on.

It was only a short ride to the ‘Vallee De Mei' reserve. It was a walking tour. Our guide, Florrie, was very good and pointed out animals and plants along the way, it was about 2 miles walking, with quite a few steps up and down, also it was quite muddy in places. A very interesting place to visit.

The coach took us back to the quayside, we had a bit of a wait for a tender to appear. Back on the ship we showered and went for a late lunch.

Did the afternoon quiz, not bad, 17/20, lost on the tie–break, and then went to the cookery demonstration, which was bubble and squeak. After that we hung around for the free fizz at the sommelier talk.

Fishermans pie for dinner, just the 2 of us tonight.

When we got up we were already moored of La Digue, it was raining, heavy black clouds were hanging over the island. We were in 2 minds as to whether we should go ashore at all.

We waited a while, and after an hour or so, the rain slackened a bit, so we though we'd give it a go.

The tender trip to shore was quite quick, as it was only 1km.

We found out bicycle hire man on the quay, and we and a few others were taken to his shack. We were allocated bikes, not all that well maintained, Debbie's gears didn't work.

As it was still raining quite hard we put on our ponchos and headed off south. Inspite of it only being a single road, we were diverted through the town.

The cycling was quite easy at first, but as we got further south we encountered some quite steep hills, so we got off and pushed.

The road to the south terminated at Grande Anse, a beautiful beach. We didn't stay there long and headed north., pushing the bikes up the steep hills gave us a good opportunity to spot the wildlife of the island.

We weren't diverted on the way back, so although we didn't know it we were actually heading back towards the main town. Giant tortoises were roaming wild, feeding on the verges by the side of the road.

We reached the town and kept going North, reaching the far north of the island. Along the way we saw more tortoises, snails and lizards, and some beautiful beaches.

By this time we had been cycling for several hours, so we decided to call it a day and headed back to where we got out bikes. No one was there so we propped the bikes up against a tree and left them there.

Got the tender back to the ship, we were quite tired and a bit soar from the cycling.

Just made it back in time for a late lunch before they closed the buffet.

Dinner was in the restaurant with Malcolm and Anne–Marie. Then we went to the show, and Adele tribute act.

Sat in the Morning Light lounge, had a drink and listened to the guitarist/singer.

At midnight, waiters brought round sherry, port and mice pies. We were joined by Judith. We stayed up until gone one.

The captain appeared and was mingling with the guests.

Got up quite late and had breakfast in the buffet, fizz was available.

The deck party started at 10:00, egg nog and sangria were freely available. Lots of music, the crew and the captain were dancing and singing, it went on for 2 hours.

Then we had lunch in the restaurant, relatively quiet in there.

I had to be in the Neptune lounge for 3:45 for the ukulele concert at 4. It went ok.

We had half an hour to get changed for the captain's party at 5:15, wine, g&ts and little canapes, very nice. We took spare wine and g&t to the dining room to have with dinner.

Full table

The show in the evening was the crew performing various acts, it was ok.

quite a good day.

Toast for breakfast in the view, followed by a bit or reading in the Piano Bar and then ukulele lesson and then lunch.

We were going to go to the afternoon quiz, but Deb was waylaid by Judith and they went for a tea.

Just the two of us for dinner tonight.

The show was a panto put on by the crew, with a guest appearance by the captain, very funny.

A quiet day at sea, Eggs Benedict for breakfast in the view, followed by the by now normal reading in the Piano Bar followed by ukulele lesson. Then lunch in the view.

In the afternoon went to a talk on Madagascar.

An early start, breakfast at 05:00 in the view, and then back to our rooms to pick up our bags.

We met Craig, Colette, Colin and Jackie at guest services at 06:00, there was a bit of a delay collecting our passports before we were able to head down the gangway into the port.

It was only a short walk out of the port.

A number of Toyota land cruisers were waiting, we were allocated number 7, and given safari hats.

It was a bit of a wait until we set off, the roads out of the port were very bad, but they got better as we headed through the town.

It was a couple of hours drive, and then we stopped at a craft shop. Very high prices so we didn't buy anything.

Then we were off again, we entered Tsavo at about 10:00. The roads in the park were extremely rough and dusty.

Within half an hour of entering the park we had seen Impala, buffalo and zebra.

Later on we saw a lone elephant, and then a little further on, some distance away 2 more elephants.

We also saw a giraffe some way off.

We stopped to look at a lion that was asleep under a tree.

And a lot more zebras, gazelles and hartibeast

We checked into the Voi safari lodge, which was just outside the gates to the park. The room was basic but spacious, with 2 large double beds with mosquito nets. We had a buffet lunch, goat curry and then headed out into the park again.

We came upon a lone elephant that was close to the trail we were on, spent a long time admiring it.

We had to be out of the park by 18:00, so we were back at the lodge quite early. We showered and changed and met the others on the bar at 19:30.

Dinner was another buffet, not quite sure what I was eating, but it was tasty enough.

There was a cabaret of Kenyan acrobats, who were exceedingly good.

Then we retired for the night. Didn't sleep particularly well because it was so hot,

We were scheduled to be heading out of the game lodge at 07:30, so we breakfasted and checked out. Because we only had a 24 hour pass for Tsavo, we had to be out of the park by 10:00.

As we entered the park we saw a little dik dik

Saw more gazelle and Zebra, and also stopped to look at a giraffe that was close to the trail.

Today we seemed to be racing at breakneck speed along the trails, we soon got to a spot where there must have been something, because there were a dozen landcruises stopped on the trail. A lion had been spotted, but other than a fleeting glimpse of something moving in a ditch we didn't see anything.

We eventually gave up and trying to see the lion and raced off somewhere else. Again there was a large collection of land cruises clustered near to a tree. This time we did see something, there was a leopard lying on a branch.

On the way out of the park, we were held up by an ostrich in the road.

We made it out of the park by 10:00. The driver stopped at a “corner shop” to get some more bottles of water.

Then we went to a Masai village where we were treated to a display of Masai dancing, before being taken round in small groups to see the houses and the school. We were then shown how they make fire.

After the village we were taken to the same place that we had stopped at on the way to Tsavo. There we were given lunch, and paid for a cold beer.

Then it was the long drive back to the ship, with a small diversion to see the elephant tusk entrance to Mombassa.

Then we were back at the port, with a short walk back to the ship. We showed and changed and went up for dinner, a full table tonight.

Deb wasn't feeling too well so she decided to stay on board ship.

I had breakfast in the view and then headed down to the Neptune Lounge to check in for my tour, Stone Town Highlights.

The tour took us to see the slave cells and slavery monument and the slave exhibition.

And around the Anglican Cathedral

After that we went to visit the local market.

After the market we were taken to see the palace, which is under restoration, so we couldn't go in.

Opposite the palace were some gardens along the water front.

Then to the old fort.

And then the outside of the Freddie Mercury museum. And into a shop that sold Tanzanite. And then on to a souvenir shop.

To end our tour we were taken to the Serena Hotel, where I had a bottle of Fanta. Before heading back to the ship

Deb still feeling unwell, phoned medial centre, they came to the room and she tested positive for covid. Had dinner in our room.

Deb is in quarantine, but I can come and go as I please. We had breakfast together in our cabin and then I headed down to the Neptune Lounge to check in for the tour, ‘A Glimpse of Dar El Salaam'.

The bus took us to the open air museum, which was very interesting, with examples of the different types of native huts, including a semi–underground one for putting misbehaving children in.

After that we were taken to a craft market, nice stuff, didn't buy anything though.

Then it was to the Tinga Tinga workshops, a riot of colour.

Last stop was to the National Museum, which was very good with examples of early Hominid skulls. Also had the propeller from the first aircraft to visit Tanzania, G–EAAV, a Vickers Vimy that crashed at Tabora in 1920.

Then back to the ship. I didn't partake of any of the New Year Eve celebrations, but stayed in the cabin with Deb. Watched 2 films on TV, ‘Under Silverlake' and ‘Die Hard'. Deb fell asleep so turned lights off and went to bed at 22:30. The captain announced ‘Happy New Year' over the public address at midnight.

With Deb being in quarantine I would have expected that she would have had a quite day, but no – here's her log from the morning

08:57 – Phone call from the nurse

09:15 – Phone call to guest services

09:25 – Lunch and dinner menus delivered

09:30 – Clean towels, tea and milk delivered

09:35 – TC called to arrange the morning exercise – scheduled for 11:00

09:40 – Jigsaw delivered

09:40 – Clean mugs delivered

10:00 – Puzzle table delivered

10:55 – Half an hour exercise and fresh air – supervised at rear of deck 2

12:15 – Lunch delivered.

Breakfast in the room, then the stewards came to change the bedding.

Ukulele at 11:15, and then back to the cabin for lunch.

A quiet afternoon in the cabin, fetched cheese selection from afternoon tea and brought it back to the room.

Dinner in cabin, then watched film, ‘A White Lie'

Deb still quarantined. I had a bacon sandwich for breakfast in The View. Then went to the Neptune Lounge to get my sticker for the ‘South of Island Tour'. Waited for my tender to be called, which took quite a while. The tender was a short ride to the shore.

The busses were waiting. A school bus, we set off, there was no commentary on the bus, but the scenery looked nice, although there was a lot of rubbish piled up everywhere, and many wrecked cars by the side of the road.

First stop for ‘Musical Plage', we had 15 minutes there, nice beach.

The second stop was only 100 yards further on, also on ‘Musical Plage' to see the baobab tree. The guide wasn't going to let us get off at first, thinking we'd be happy seeing it from the bus, but everyone insisted.

The next stop was ‘Tahiti Plage', we were initially told that we had 45 minutes here, but after 10 minutes we were herded back onto the bus.

We continued on to the ylang ylang distillery, where we were given a drink and some fruit. There were no guides in the plantation or the distillery, and any signage was in French, so it was all a bit opaque to me. But I did see ylang ylang trees and vanilla plants.

Driven back to the port, to get tender back to the ship. The whole experience was rather unsatisfactory. Back aboard in time for a late lunch, then back to the room.

Deb still in quarantine.

I was on the ‘Glimpse of Nose Be' tour. So after breakfast went down to the Neptune lounge. I was given a sticker straight away, but then had to wait for the number to be called before I could go down to the tender.

It wasn't a long trip to the shore, and was soon on the coach

The first stop was Lemuria. Where we were passed over to a local guide. The first thing we were shown was the ylang ylang distillery, where 100Kg of flowers are distilled down to 2.4 litres of essential oil, for use in perfumes such as channel No. 5.

The distillery also had a little museum attached with pieces of old machinery and artefacts that had been used in the distillery.

Then we moved outside, the first thing we saw was a chameleon, then as we walked on further there were family groups of lemurs, mainly the native Maki Maki lemur with brown fur. If you had a piece of banana, they would come and perch on your shoulder and eat the fruit. We also were introduced to Napolean, a blind giant tortoise that had a bullet hole in its shell.

In the park we saw several different species of lemur. Also chameleons, geckoes and crocodiles. We had a soft drink, lemonade, and then we were back on the coach.

We were driven to Helle–Ville market, in the centre of the town.

Then it was a long drive to our lunch stop. There weren't enough tables to go around, so I stood up to eat, had a free beer.

After lunch it was back onto the coach and off to Mount Pleasant for panoramic views over the island. This was our last stop so we headed back to the quayside to get the tender back to the ship. A very good trip.

Dinner in the room as Deb still in isolation.

Deb still in isolation.

A bonus second day in HellVille and I'd managed to get a ticket for the ‘Isle of Lemurs' tour.

Same procedure as yesterday, tender to the quayside. Then we had to wait for the tender to go. When it had vacated the quay, a catamaran backed up to the side. I was one of the last on board. As I was boarding, the sea erupted with thousands of little fish jumping out of the water.

On the cat we had to wear life jackets as we sped back the way we had come in the tender, past Bollete and on to Nose Kombe.

The cat backed up to the beach as far as it could, and then we had to wade ashore, so shoes and socks off and trousers rolled up, and into the very warm water, waded ashore and up the beach.

At the top of the beach there was a hard standing with bowls of water to wash the sand of our feet. There wasn't much space available to wash and done shoes and socks, but we managed, I had a couple of ship's flannels in my bag, which I used to dry my feet.

We walked through the main trail, which was initially lined with stalls selling local craft produce. But these petered out as we reached the trail proper.

There were many lemurs in the trees, both old and young, living in the wild, tempted by bananas to perch on tourists shoulders.

We came across many chameleons, giant tortoises and a giant python.

Drinks and fruit were provided at the end of the walk.

Then it was time to wade back onto the cat and speed back to the quayside.

Tender back to the ship and a late lunch in the view.

Hooray, Debbie's out of quarantine!

We were booked on the ‘Amber Mountain' trip. We loaded , four at a time, into 4x4 cars, and headed out, one and a half hours of extreme driving. Dodging potholes, tuk–tuks on the main road. Then we headed off on to a side road, and that definitely needed a 4x4, we were thrown around a lot for quite some time.

Once we got to Amber Mountain, we had a 2 hour walk around a trail, lemurs were present, but elusive, we caught glimpses of them in the canopy. But we did see many different species of chameleons and some beautiful waterfalls.

Lunch was supplied from a small buffet, we ate in open sided huts.

One and a half hours back to the ship. Then a shower and some afternoon tea.

Dinner in the view.

The by now normal routine of a sea day, breakfast in The View.

Practice in the cabin before ukulele lesson.

Lunch in the view

Deb painted baobab trees in art.

Dinner in the view

Breakfast in The View at 06:00 and then gathered in the Neptune Lounge to get allocated to bus 4. Wehad to wait a bit in the ounge for the gangway to be announced. We were called to go to our bus at about 07:30.

Due to a mix up in the bus allocation, we had a full size coach for a group of 19. We could spread out.

We set off, the roads were smooth, the ride comfortable and we could hear the guide clearly over the address system.

First stop was a Hindu Temple, we couldn't go in, but just walk around the outside.

Then off of a vanilla plantation, where upon arrival we were given rum laced vanilla coffee, it was 08:30 in the morning.

The guide translated the owner as he told us about growing and processing vanilla. We bought some vanilla pods from their shop.

We drove up into the mountains and stopped at Salazie, the crew representative was flying a drone.

We then drove up to Hellbourg, where the guide took us on a tour of the creole houses.

We were given lunch in a restaurant, with it being French were supplied with rum punch before plus red and white wine during the meal.

The meal consisted of cheese gratin for starters. Rice with fish and meat for main and flambe bananas for dessert.

After the meal we went back to the coach and started heading back to the ship, stopping on the way at a viewpoint to take picture of the Bride's Veil waterfall.

We got back to the ship at the scheduled time.

Had dinner in the view.

Did the laundry in the morning, had breakfast whilst it was in the drier.

There had been a mix up at Fred Olsen and initially the shuttle busses weren't allocated, but they managed to get 2 small ones to give a limited service. Hence we had to wait a while before we could get a shuttle into town.

On the shuttle, some people wanted to get off at different locations, so it was a bit of a slow journey. We were dropped off at the postal museum on the waterfront. First job was to find an ATM to get £50 worth of local currency, about 3000 Rand.

We used an underpass to get into the city proper, but lost track of which way we should be heading to get to the bus station, but we got there via the market.

At the bus station we asked for the botanical gardens and were guided to a bus, it was empty, but soon started to fill up. The bus conductor told us when to get off., which was outside the botanical gardens, but we still had quite a walk to find the entrance.

Payment for the entrance was by card only, Contactless Revolut worked without a hitch.

Once inside the gardens we elected to go with a guide. The guide was very good and stripped off bits of bark from a cinnamon tree as well as other spices such as nutmeg, allspice, clove. We saw a pond full of giant Amazon lilies. A very good tour for only a few pence.

After the tour we wandered around a bit looking at the tortoises and deer and seeking out the baobab tree.

We left the park and walked to the nearest bus stop. It wasn't long before a bus arrived and took us back to the bus station in Port Louis.

We made our way back to the waterfront quite easily, but were greeted by passengers and crew from the ship who had just heard that the shuttle busses had stopped running.

It was all a bit of a debacle, but the crew were rallying round and organising taxies for people, and if they got a receipt they could claim the fare back from the ship.

Dinner in the View. A tiring day.

We had a hire car booked. So we got a shuttle bus (which had by now been sorted out) to the waterfront, and crossed via the underpass into the city. We asked directions a couple of times, and on one occasion got misdirected, but found the car hire place. Unfortunately, they hadn't got the car we had booked, and wanted to charge us more for a much bugger car. We declined.

We were quite close to Victoria bus station, , so we decided to take a bus to Mahebourg.

The bus journey was nearly 2 hours, and still cost less than a pound each.

Mahebourg is a thriving town wit a beautiful cost. We walked around for a bit, had a bite to eat and then got a bus back to Port Louis.

The bus route runs along the main motorway, through the economic heart of the island.

Back in Port Louis, we recognised where we were and found our way back to the waterfront quite easily

We sat and had a beer each on the waterfront before heading back to the shuttle bus.

Back aboard ship, we could cool off a little before having dinner in The View.

We had breakfast in the view and headed down for the shuttle bus.

We got into town as the Blue Penny Museum was opening, we paid our entrance fee and went up the stairs to the exhibition

Good displays on the history of the Mauritian postal service and also on navigation and the history of Mauritius. The stamps are kept in darkness, and only lit up for 10 minutes every hour. We managed to get a good look at them.

Downstairs there was an exhibition space dedicated to ‘Paul and Virginie”, a children's book that I wasn't familiar with , but that had inspired paintings and sculptures.

There was also a temporary exhibition with botanical drawings of local species, which was nicely done.

We bought a couple of post cards from the shop and then headed to Aapravasi Ghat, a World Heritage site, dedicated to the indenture scheme devised by the British to replace slavery as a source of labour. Quite good exhibition and very educational.

After that we walked back to the shuttle bus, used up the last of our Mauritian currency on a small dodo, and headed back to the ship, in time for lunch in the Bloomsbury restaurant.

There was a Mauritian themed barbecue on the Lido Deck in the evening, so we sat up there for most of the evening.

Toast for breakfast in the View. Formal night tonight, so fizz available. Sat and read in the Lido, drinking Cava.

Realised I'd left cruise card in cabin, so went up to craft room to get Debbies.

Debbie was sewing quilt squares

Ukulele lesson, learning ‘Obla–de Obla–da'.

Lunch in the Bloomsbury, Debbie went up to art. Painted a dragonfly.

Formal dinner, table was us plus Malcolm and Anne–Marie

Breakfast in the view at 07:00 and then down to the Neptune Lounge for 07:45. Waited for our tour to be called. We got out sticker for bus 8 and waited to be galled for the gangplank. A small bus, only 10 people aboard, a few spare seats.

We set off through the city, the roads were very poor in places. Stalls lined the sides of the roads until we were some way out of the city.

We reached our stop by the riverbank and 2 busses converged. We boarded a small boat that would take us across the river. The journey only lasted a few minutes, and then we were on the other side. We were greeted by Madagascan dancers.

We were shown a patchouli oil distillation plant and then led off around the gardens, very natural and not at all touristy. We were shown patchouli plants, ginger, clove, an aromatic lemon, giant bamboo, etc.

When we'd finished the garden loop, we were taken to a covered table near the river, laden with fresh fruit and fruit juice, as well as some dried banana. In spite of the warnings issued on the ship not to eat anything and to only drink bottled water, we indulged freely on the pineapple, mango and passion fruit.

Then it was back to the bus. We stopped briefly by a palm oil plantation, to wait for the other bus to catch up. We didn't get off.

The drive back to the city was uneventful, although much flooding was in evidence as we got into the city.

We stopped at the city market and had some free time to look around. We got back on the bus early to avoid the beggars, and waited for the others to return, so that we could go back to the ship.

Showered and then did the laundry.

Breakfast in the View, then read in the Piano bar for a while, before going back to room to practice for ukulele lesson at 11:15

Lunch in the Bloomsbury restaurant, pork cordon bleu.

Deb went up to art, made dragonfly cards.

Dinner in the restaurant with Keith and Alison.

The ship docked at 07:00, but our trip wasn't until 09:40, so we had an easy start to the day, with tea and toast up in the View.

We got out sticker for bus 7 and then waited in the Neptune Lounge for the bus to be ready.

When we were called we headed down to the gangway and out to the bus, a blue minibus, 10 per bus. There were no spare seats on the bus.

We headed out of the port, the main road out of the port was quite good, but once we'd turned off onto a smaller road it was appalling.

The first stop was at a vanilla plantation, where we were shown vanilla plants and, what they called, the ‘transformation room', where we were given the low down on vanilla processing.

Then it was back to the bus to continue on to the main reserve.

There we were taken on a guided walk and shown paddy fields, guava trees (tried a guava picked from the tree, not quite ripe), three sided palms and various other plants. Didn't see any wildlife.

The end of the walk was at the ‘Piscine Naturalle', a large natural pond, filled from a waterfall. We were served soft drinks , Deb had a coconut, I had orange, and some fresh fruit and local pastries.

Then it was time to head back to the busses and start making our way back to the port. On the way back the guide gave us a gift of locally made necklaces. Also some scent that he had made.

It had been a short trip, so we were back on the ship in time for lunch, it being a Sunday, roast beed was available.

Back to our cabin for a show and a rest .

Dinner in the restaurant, the curtains were closed at first because the sun was very bright and dazzling everyone in the room.

After the sun had dimmed a bit the curtains were opened. Shortly afterwards we saw a pair of dolphins quite close to the ship, with the coast of Madagascar in the distance.

Normal sea day, Ukulele for me. Craft in the morning for Debbie, and in the afternoon art class, a giraffe. Judith gave Debbie a beadwork dragonfly.

Normal sea day, breakfast in the View, reading in the Piano Bar, followed by Ukulele lesson.

Lunch in the Bloomsbury.

Went to a talk in the afternoon on textile manufacturing in the pre–industrial period. Quite interesting.

Then stopped in the Neptune Lounge for a classical concert, Piano and Violin, very good, they played Brahms Hungarian dance, Gershwin, etc.

Dinner in the restaurant with Keith and Alison.

Bacon sandwich for breakfast in the View. The gangway was announced shortly after 09:00.

We were walking independently, so headed out of the port.

The first thing we wanted to see was the train station and the CFM Museum, we ran into several Fred tours doing the same thing. The museum was very good with many different artefacts from years gone by.

After the railway museum, we headed along the streets to the central market, again bumping into several Fred tours.

Had a bit of trouble finding our way out of the market, but eventually chose to leave the same way we came in. We skirted around the market and started heading towards the cathedral. There were many stalls on the pavement selling, what appeared to be, second hand clothes. On the way we saw the tin house designed by Eiffel, and the statue of the first president in front of the city hall.

At the cathedral there were more Fred tours just arriving.

We left the cathedral and walked down to the botanical gardens, where we sat on a bench for a while and admired the view. Again lots of Fred tours coming and going. There where many fruit bats clustered in a tree. We also saw a large lizard on a tree stump.

We continued walking down towards the fort. A lot of merchandise spread over the pavements, mainly fish.

We then followed the coast road back to the port gate and onto the ship, in time for a late lunch in the restaurant.

We were in port overnight, but leaving in the morning.

We were scheduled to leave port at about 08:00, so stood out on deck 3 and took some pictures as we sailed away.

Then went up to breakfast in the View, Eggs Benedict and, because it was a formal night, Cava. Sat in the Lido area and watched as we headed north along the deep water channel.

We reached deeper water after a few hours and could start heading south to our next port of call. Went to ukulele lesson.

Had lunch in the restaurant.

The formal night was also a 20's theme night, but didn't dress up. Nice dinner and a full table.

First order of the day was to see the South African immigration officers in the Neptune Lounge, to get our passports stamped. A very straightforward process, as at the time that we went there was virtually no queue.

Then we went up to breakfast.

The port is a vast coal yard, but on top of the each of the floodlights, there was a nest of pelicans. The floodlights closest to the ship had 2 pelican chicks being fed by their parents.

On the quayside, local sellers had spread out their goods.

Our trip wasn't until the afternoon, so we sat and read in the botanical room for a while, and then had lunch in the View, before heading down to get stickers for our bus.

The bus was very comfortable, and spacious. We drove past vast plantations of eucalyptus trees, which had been planted for paper production, as they grow very fast and can be harvested in 5 or 6 years.

We arrived at the village and were greeted by a people in traditional Zulu costume. We walked down to the centre, where there was a long drawn out process of one of them introducing himself to everyone individually.

Eventually we were led to the village proper, where there were a few people/Zulus performing various traditional acts , spear making, shield making, a healer, etc. And a group of women demonstrating carrying pots on their heads.

Then we were ushered into an arena, were all of the Zulus we had met gathered together and performed various dances for us, quite athletic and very entertaining.

Then it was time to get back to the bus and head back to the ship.

The port was black from coal, the ship had all sorts of matting in place, but it still got walked in.

We were too late back for the restaurant, so had dinner in the View.

The ship was edging into its berth, adjacent to the new Nelson Mandela cruise terminal as we had breakfast.

We went down to the Neptune Lounge to get stickers for our tour, the lounge was full, the ship was late docking, so non of the other tours had left yet.

Our tour was called and we got our stickers, and then headed down to the gangway and boarded our bus.

Commentary was very good. Our first stop was the Victoria market, which was full of Zulu shields and bead work. We were told not to go out of the market, as it was too dangerous, but did venture just outside so I could see the Emmanuel Cathedral.

After the market, we were driven around the race course and then on to the botanical gardens, very nice indeed.

Then it was a viewpoint, on top of a water tank, overlooking the city.

And then finally onto the football stadium, before being driven back along the waterfront to the ship. A good tour.

We went to lunch in the restaurant, it was 13:25, hadn't realised that they closed at 13:30. Didn't want to hold up the staff, so had a single course and ate quickly.

The afternoon was spent relaxing, we had afternoon tea, so weren't hungry when it as time for dinner. Had a latish bite to eat in the View. Then we selected our pictures for the photo competition.

We'd been in port overnight, and were leaving mid–morning. Loads of jellyfish in the water.

Today was the ukulele concert for the people leaving in Cape Town. Also a formal night. Concert went reasonably well I think.

We were booked on a ship's tour:

KHAYA LA BANTU CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

Tour D | 4 hours

Visit Khaya La Bantu, an open–air Xhosa cultural

museum. You will be welcomed with traditional Xhosa

singing and dancing with drums beating the heart of

Africa. Next, you will embark on a guided walk through

the village. After, stop for refreshments and taste a

variety of traditional Xhosa foods. Conclude your visit

with some free time to browse the local handicrafts that

are available to purchase.

We had to be in the Neptune lounge for 09:45 to get our stickers for the coach. We could go straight down to the coach, which was a short walk away, out of the port.

The drive to the cultural experience took about 45 minutes, but once we were there we had to wait for the second coach to turn up, Which hadn't left the ship until 10:30, and it had been delayed. So things didn't get started until 45 minutes after we'd arrived.

Once it did get started, it was very good, with groups of women performing traditional songs and dances. They also sang the National Anthem.

We were split up into male and female groups. The men went to the ‘crall', to have a taste of beer and brandy. The crall was an outdoor fenced in enclosure with seats, where we were talked through the initiation ceremony of boys to manhood, which involved circumcision, and then being isolated in a hut for a week without water, and then a further 3 weeks with minimal water to heal.

We were shown the hut where they would be isolated, and the blankets that they would be wrapped in at various stages of the proceedings.

After that we were shown the kitchen hut, where there were a number of pots being heated on an open fire, this was our lunch,

The women had a totally different experience

Then we could rejoin the women, and have some of the food that had been cooking, which all tasted very nice.

Then it was time to head back to the coach, and then back to the ship for an afternoon tea.

CITY WALKING TOUR

Tour J | £25pp | 4 hours

Gqeberha City Hall

Embark on a panoramic tour of Gqeberha, one of the largest cities in South Africa.

Departing the pier, you will begin your tour at the Campanile Memorial, a 52m–high tower built in 1923 to commemorate the first British settlers who arrived in 1820.

Continuing on foot, you will pass landmarks such as St. Mary's

Cathedral, the Library, the City Hall and the Opera House en

route to the Donkin Memorial, a stone pyramid built in memory

of Sir Rufane Donkin's wife, Elizabeth – the namesake for

Gqeberha's original name, Port Elizabeth. Next, you will drive to

the Athenaeum and enjoy refreshments while your guide regales

the history of the city. The heart of Gqeberha's flourishing

creative industry, the Athenaeum aims to cultivate, develop, and

promote the culture, heritage, and arts of the Eastern Cape.

From here, you will visit Fort Frederik before driving along the

beachfront to Summerstrand, stopping at Shark Rock Pier along

the way. Finally, you will head to the Nelson Mandela Stadium

before returning to the pier.

We were booked on the City Walking Tour, so the first thing we did was board a coach, which took us about 200 yards out of the port

We walked to the Campanile , which had been erected to celebrate 100 years since the British settlers arrived. There was a frieze outside, depicting the history of the interactions between the local people and the settlers. Inside was a model of the ship that had brought the first settlers.

We were shown the first of a number of plaques, with quotes from Nelson Mandela.

We crossed the road, and headed up some steps, with more Mandela quotes.

The steps led to a square, with the city hall and a replica of the cross that Diaz had planted to mark his arrival.

Over the road from the city hall was the library, which had a facade that had been shipped from England, along with the stained glass windows.

From the library we crossed to the cathedral, which was locked, but one of the apprentice tour guides with us ratted on the gates until someone came out and opened them.

From the cathedral we walked up some more steps to see the steps leading to Donkin park.

And then on to the opera house.

From the opera house we walked to a craft shop.

From there we boarded the coach again and were taken to the “Little Theatre” where we were given drinks. It also had WiFi, we worked briefly, until Load Shedding turned it all off.

After looking at some of the art in the Theatre, we were rounded up and taken up to Donkin Park, with views over the city, mosaics and art works.

A brief stop at the football stadium

From Donkin park to Fort Frederick and then to Sharks Pier. From there it was back to the ship, in time for lunch in the View.

Dinner in the restaurant, just the 2 of us.

The ship was anchored in the bay, there was quite a swell on.

We were on this tour:

HIGHLIGHTS OF MOSSEL BAY

Tour G | £49pp | 2 hours

Leaving the pier, begin with an insightful driving tour around the city of Mossel Bay joined by a knowledgeable guide.

Next, you will visit the Dias Museum Complex which features the Old Post Office Tree; the granary building which serves as a reception and information centre; the Maritime Museum; and the Shell Museum and Aquarium.

Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to arrive at Mossel Bay and the museum complex is built on the site where he first came ashore.

Enjoy a guided tour of the museum complex and some free time to browse the shop before reboarding your coach to return to the pier.

What's included: Guide, transport, and entrance fees.

Walking: Less than 1⁄2 a mile over uneven ground with 12 steps.

We were due to get our stickers at 09:15, but none of the earlier tours had gone yet, so there was quite a delay whilst they got the tenders sorted out.

We were told that the tender ride was very rough, and that any passengers who wanted to cancel would get a complete refund for their trips.

We thought about it, but before our sticker was called before we had made a decision.

Boarding the tender was eventful, the couple in front of us in the queue turned around and left, when they saw how much the tender was moving around, they'd decided not to risk it.

We boarded the tender, there were only 16 of us on board when the tender left the ship. It was quite a wild ride for a while, but when we entered the small harbour it became very smooth and we were able to disembark easily.

We found out later that independent travellers weren't allowed to go ashore, and that we were the last tender to leave the ship, all other tours had been cancelled, because people had been injured being thrown around in the tenders.

We found the coach and the 16 of us got on. The coach took us to the Diaz complex, with the reconstruction of the caravel that Diaz had arrived in.

Outside we saw the 800 year old milkwood tree that had served as a post box. We had bought post cards and stamps, but were told that the postal system in South Africa was so bad, that they would never be delivered.

After the Diaz complex, we were taken to St. Blaize Point, where we climbed the steps up to the lighthouse. There were groups of Hyrax scampering around the rocks.

Then it was back to the quay side and a tender back to the ship, not as rough as on the way to shore.

From the promenade deck we could see hammerhead sharks swimming around the ship, and the occasional seal and dolphin.

We had dinner in the restaurant. Anne–Marie popped in to say that Malcolm was ill and was confined to quarters, so might not make it for tomorrow's formal night.

We had stayed at anchor in the bay overnight. The ship left in the morning.

It was a formal night, so Cava for breakfast. Sat in the Lido and drank fizz as we set sail out of the bay.

Some dolphins escorted us out.

Then went down to ukulele lesson.

Debbie had her craft exhibition today.

We were on the table mountain tour this morning, so went down to the Neptune Lounge at 08:30 and got our stickers for bus 5.

TABLE MOUNTAIN

Tour B | £59pp | 3 1⁄2 hours

Table Mountain Cable Car

Leaving the quayside, you will begin your tour with a scenic

drive up Kloof Nek – the saddle between Table Mountain and

Lion's Head, to the lower cable car station. From here, you

will board the cable cars and ascend to the summit in just

under four minutes. The cable car rotates 360° allowing you

to soak in panoramic views. Once you reach the top, you will

have some free time to explore the area before returning to

the lower station. After, you will conclude your visit with a

brief tour of Cape Town.

NB: Please note, long queues can be expected to board the

cable car in peak times. This tour is not suitable for those with

a fear of heights. This tour is weather permitting – should the

weather be inclement you will visit the South Africa Natural

Museum instead. We recommend taking a warm jacket as it can be cool at the summit.

Table mountain was covered in cloud as the coach left the port, so we weren't too optimistic about seeing anything.

The guide changed the tour around, and gave us a tour of Cape Town first, which gave time for the sun to burn of the clouds on the mountain.

By the time we got to the cable car station we could just see the top. When we got to the top, it was still a little bit misty, but clearing fast. Although Cape Town itself was still obscured by mist.

We were give one and a half hours to walk around, so did a large loop around the top.

After the mountain we were driven to Maiden Cove, where we stopped for half an hour.

Then it was back to the ship, for a late lunch.

In the evening we had another trip booked.

SOUTH AFRICAN DRUMMING & DINNER

Tour EVE | 3 hours

Immerse yourself in a thrilling evening of African food and

entertainment at GOLD restaurant. Watch an interactive

Djembe drumming performance before enjoying a

14–course tasting menu of traditional African dishes.

As each dish is served, you will learn about the country

of origin, specific cooking techniques and the different

flavours to expect.

NB: Dinner will consist of a 14–dish tasting menu of

traditional African dishes.

We assembled at the quayside for this one. The coach took 16 of us to ‘Gold'. We were all given a drum, the entire restaurant, and were led through a series of drumming exercises and drumming rhythms, by the host on stage. Quite effective with a large number of diners.

Debbie had her face painted.

Then the drums were taken away and we embarked on a 14 course tasting menu.

All of the food was very nice, and all authentic African dishes.

After dinner we were taken back to the ship.

We got the first shuttle into town at 08:00, followed by a dash to the HoHo stop by the aquarium.

There was some confusion over tickets, so we missed the bus for the vineyard tram. But we managed to swap things around, and got tickets for the wine tram tomorrow, and the cape of good hope today.

While we were waiting for the bus, we got money out of the cashpoint. We boarded the bus, we had a very good commentator/guide, Paul.

The scenery as we drove was spectacular.

We drove down to Cape Point bought two baguettes and some fizzy drink. Birds stole some of the bread.

We got the funicular up to the point, and then walked up to the lighthouse. But got down just to late for the guided walk to the Cape of Good Hope

We got back on our tour bus, which drove us to the Cape of Good Hope. A colony of seals occupied a rock out to sea.

Then it was back on the bus, to be taken to see the Cape Penguins at Boulder's Beach.

Then it was back to Cape Town where we were dropped off by the aquarium. We eventually found our way back to the shuttle bus drop off point, had to wait for a while but got back to the ship, and had dinner in the buffet.

We were on the first shuttle bus at 08:00, got to drop off point at 08:20. Dashed to the HoHo by the aquarium and managed to get on the bus for the wine tram tour.

The bus was very full, so we had to sit separately.

When we got to the tram, we were allocated white stickers, and were directed to board the tram, so we did and went upstairs. We were served a taster of wine .

The first tram stop was at Plaisir, there was a bus waiting that took us down to the tasting area. We had 4 tasting glasses each, sitting outside by the vines. Very pleasant, and good attentive service. When it was time to go, the bus took us back just as the next tram was coming..

We got off at Lust, here we sat inside on couches, and ordered a cheese platter, as well as a three wine taster. The bottles were left on our table, so we helped ourselves to more.

The third stop of the tram was for Boschendale, but there was a problem with a broken down transfer bus, so we were taken back to the tram station, where we boarded a bus, which took us there. If we were going to keep to the schedule, we would only have had half an hour there, but we chose to linger and spent an extra hour there. We had a 4 glass tasting flight. After we'd finished our wine we had a look around the estate. The bus came and took us back to the tram stop, which was quite a long journey, through the estate, where families were having picnics on the vast lawns.

The tram took us back to the terminus. We had time for one more estate, Allee Bleue, which was only a short ride away by bus.

Here we sat on the balcony overlooking the vineyards, with a beautiful backdrop of mountains in the distance. We thought we had an hour, but were told that we would be picked up after one and a half hours.

We had the ‘Farmers Tasting' flight. Because we'd chosen a different flight to everyone else, we got an extra glass, as they'd poured out extra ones by mistake.

It was very pleasant watching the squirrels scurrying around a tree.

We chatted to a couple of ladies from Johannesburg for a while, extolling the virtues of their city and of the “Bry” (AKA barbecue ).

Then it was time to go and we headed back to the transfer bus, which took us back to the tram terminal. Here our HoHo coach was waiting for us. This time there was plenty of space available, so we sat upstairs and admired the scenery on the way back to Cape Town.

Finding the shuttle bus stop was easier this time. There was quite a queue for the bus, but we got on ok and made it back to the ship by 19:00. Dinner in the view

Checked on results of photo competing in the morning, we came second.

We were booked on a tour to visit the botanical gardens.

KIRSTENBOSCH & CONSTANTIA

Visit Kirstenbosch National Gardens, home to over

8,500 species of endemic plants. Enjoy some free time

to take a stroll through the gardens and browse the

curio shop. Next, drive to Groot Constantia Winery,

located in the heart of South Africa's wine region. Enjoy

a guided tour of the estate before concluding your visit

with a wine tasting.

We headed to the Neptune Lounge at about 08:30. Lots of other trips had been cancelled due to high winds, so the staff were busy trying to reallocate trips and lay on extra coaches.

We got our coach sticker and headed down the gangway. We boarded coach 7, which was pretty full, then a member of staff asked for volunteers to move to another coach, which we did. There were only 17 of us on this coach, 5 of which were Fred Olsen people. We had the same guide as we had for the dinner and drumming a few days previous, Elizabeth. One of the Fred people was Michaela Strachan.

Because of the complications associated with the change in tours, we were late setting off, we left the port at around 09:30.

It was a pleasant drive to Kirstenbosch.

The guide got us into the gardens, and gave us quite a fast paced tour of some of the highlights of the garden.

Then it was back onto the coach for the drive to the Constantia Winery. Because we were running late, we didn't have time for the cellar tour, only for the wine tasting, which was more formal than yesterday. Five wines were brought out, with matching chocolate. Each wine was described, and then we were left to it.

Then it was back to the ship. We had lunch in the view.

In the afternoon we all had to go through South African immigration to get an exit stamp in our passports.

This involved each deck being called in turn to get shuttle busses to the cruise terminal (nice building), where we queued to see an official who stamped out passports. Then we had to queue to get a bus back to the ship. Lot of queue jumpers!

Dinner in the restaurant with Keith and Alison. It was also an African theme night, with a barbecue in the Lido area, but we didn't go.

Watched film, ‘The Portable Door' on tv.

A sea day, much needed rest after four days of Cape Town.

Breakfast in The View, Ukulele lesson, and lunch in the restaurant.

Debbie painted penguins in her art lesson

Needed immigration stamp in our passports, there was quite a long queue that wasn't moving very fast, because immigration forms hadn't been completed. But we got our stamp and went down to the tenders

We walked around town, visited the magistrates house.

and the church on the rock.

Then we walked down to look at the old railway turntable, stopping into a library on the way.

Then we went to the shops and bought some soap, before heading back to the tenders.

Took pictures from the deck in the afternoon.

We were booked on a ship's tour, so we had breakfast and went down to the Neptune Lounge.

THE MOON LANDSCAPE

Tour B | £125pp | 4 hours

Your scenic drive will take you to the Namib, passing by endless waves of sand dunes. Turn into the Welwitschia Drive where

the landscape becomes dotted with the extraordinary Welwitschia Mirablis plant. Continue onto the ‘Lunar Landscape' of this

vast area of eroded valleys, where you may feel like you're on the moon. Conclude your trip at an oasis in the canyons of the

moon landscape before returning to your awaiting ship.

What's included: Guide and transport.

Walking: Less than 1⁄4 of a mile over sandy and uneven terrain. Any additional walking is at your own discretion.

Bus 24, an off road 4x4 bus, carrying 20 passengers.

The first stop was to view Dune 7, so called because it's 7 miles from the town centre.

Then we drove to look at the miracle plant, the oldest example of which is over 2000 years old. The oldest specimen we saw was about 800 years old.

Then on to the moonscape viewing point, which offered views over a dried up river canyon.

Then we moved on a bit more to a restaurant nestled in the valley. The buffet lunch was nice. Quirky place with old cars scattered around.

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Then it was back to the bus, we started heading back to the ship, but before we got there, we detoured to see the flamingos in the lagoon

Back at the ship, we had to queue to get an exit stamp in our passports.

We did some laundry and then went up for afternoon test.

Formal night tonight, so Cava with breakfst. We'd forgotten to change the clocks last night, so we were up early.

Sat in the Lido, reading and drinking Cava, John came by for a chat.

Went to Ukulele lesson. We were given the ‘Intermediate' book to keep. Practised ‘Deadwood Stage', ‘Leaning on a Lampost' and ‘As Tears go By'.

Lunch in the Bloomsbury.

Met Debbie in the room at 17:00, and got dressed for formal night. It was also a theme night, the Masked Ball. Wore masks, but not for long because they're not compatible with wearing glasses.

Table with Malcolm and Anne–Marie for dinner.

Went back to the room and watched ‘Tolkein' in tv, good film.

Today we crossed back into the Northern Hemisphere, that was a bit of a party on deck, but nothing like when we crossed the equator going south.

We did get certificates.

LOMÉ HIGHLIGHTS & FETISH MARKET

Tour D | 4 hours

Discover the highlights of Lomé on this guided walking tour. Visit the Fetish Market and embark on a guided tour of the market by a Vodou priest.

Head to Lomé University for a brief tour before visiting the Arts Centre.

Proceed to Independence Square before heading to the pier to admire the beach road lined with colonial buildings.

NB: At the Fetish Market, you will see a variety of

deceased animals which are used in traditional medicines

and tribal rituals.

First stop was at the fetish market. An interesting place, visiting it once is enough though.

Next was the university, a huge campus.

A drive along the border with Ghana

A visit to independence square.

A visit to a craft market, Debbie bought some material here.

And then back to the ship

Booked on Ship's tour

HISTORICAL GHANA

Tour C | £259pp | 9 hours

Begin your tour with a scenic drive to Elmina Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea by the Portuguese in 1482 and the oldest European building south of the Sahara. Here, you will explore the slave dungeons.

Next, you will drive to Cape Coast Castle, another UNESCO Listed World Heritage Site which played a significant role in the gold and slave trades.

After, you will drive to Coconut Grove Beach Resort for lunch before returning to the ship.

NB: Toilet facilities are not available.

What's included: Guide, transport, entrance fees and lunch.

Walking: Less than 1 mile over varying terrain with 140 steps.

I was not feeling well so phoned medical centre and was confined to quarters. Hence, Deb did this tour by herself.

Because the ship had moved to a code red status, my quarantine period had been increased from 24 hours to 48 hours. So still confined to cabin, even though I was feeling fine.

I was let out of quarantine in time to go to ukulele lesson. Told about the end of cruise concert we were doing on the 18th. Given the song book for it.

Normal sea day. Practised for concert in ukulele lesson.

DAKAR SIGHTSEEING

Tour A | 4 1⁄2 hours

Discover the highlights on Dakar on this panoramic

driving tour. Visit Soumbediuone Market, Ngor Village and

the Art Village. You will also see the “Door of Millennium”

and the new “Monument of the African Renaissance”

which is now the tallest statue in the world.

We were on the Dakar sightseeing tour. Didn't get off to a good start, the coach was dirty, and the sound system didn't work. So we ended up being driven around the city, not really understanding anything that we were looking at. The windows were filthy and made of perspex, so couldn't see much anyway.

There'd been violent riots in the city in the days before our visit, so we weren't sure if we'd be allowed off until the morning we arrived. There was a heavy police and army presence on the streets as we drove through the city.

In the port, there were hundreds of Black Kites circling around.

Because we'd missed out Benin, we had arrived in Santa Cruz a day earlier than originally scheduled, and all booked trips had been moved forward a day.

We were booked on the Mount Teide cable car tour, the departure time for which had been changed to 11:30. So we hung around the ship reading. But then at about 10:30 it was announced that our tour was cancelled, because of high winds. So we set off walking into town.

It was carnival week, so there were barriers around many of the statues. As we walked we bumped into Judith and John, spent quite some time chatting with them.

We were heading back towards the coast, when we met another couple, who told us there were some nice gardens to see, so we changed direction. The gardens were delightful, the central pond was full of frogs making a lot of noise. We sat and had a beer and a bite to eat in the cafe there.

We walked into town, using a different route to yesterday, looking at some of the old town. But out heart wasn't in it, so turned back early and went back to the ship and did laundry instead.

We had lunch in the view and dinner in the restaurant, just the two of us.

LEVADA WALK

Tour X | £65pp | 5 hours

One of the most enjoyable ways to spend a morning in

Madeira is to go on a walk along the levadas, Madeira's

myriad aqueducts. Follow the water channels and let

yourself be guided through the landscapes dominated

by terraced farmlands, valleys and mountains and gain

an insight into the exotic flora of the island, including

eucalyptus, acacia, and pines. After the walk, enjoy a short

stop in Câmara de Lobos fishing town, for a well–earned

coffee break and a quick stroll through its narrow streets.

NB: This tour is not recommended for those with a fear of

heights.

What's included: Local guide, transport and coffee and cake.

Walking: 4 1⁄2 miles over challenging terrain with 50 steps.

We assembled in the Neptune Lounge for the Levada Walk tour before the ship had even docked. Got our bus allocation stickers and waited.

We went down to the bus when we were called. We were driven to Cape Girao, where we had a bit of time to ourselves. Didn't pay to go to the skywalk as it was quite misty.

We set off in single file, walking along the levadas, very spectacular views. We walked through a 200 yard long tunnel, using our phone torches, and then back along the other side of the valley.

Descended a slope to where our bus was waiting for us, which then took us to Camara de Lobos. Here we were given coffee and pastries in a local bakery, delicious.

After we'd eaten we had time to admire the view of the cliff and to have a look around the local church.

We were then led on a walk to the fishermen's village. Where again we had some free time before making our way up the hill to where our bus was waiting.

We were given a driving tour of Funchal before returning to the ship. Once at the ship we had a late lunch by the Lido pool.

We entered some pictures into the final photo competition at 09:00, and then went up for a late breakfast.

I went to a talk on forensic pathology, which was very good.

The ukulele lesson this morning included the intermediate group and the new beginners group, so that we could all practice together for the concert tomorrow.

We had lunch in the Bloomsbury, and then in the afternoon there was another ukulele practice at 14:00.

Went back to the room, Deb had started packing.

Went to see the drama group end of cruise performance, with John in it, it was quite good

Another large ukulele practice in the morning.

Deb had to take all her crafts up to the craft room for the exhibition.

Ukulele concert in the afternoon. Very crowded on stage, not really enough room to play properly.

Afterwards went back to room and started packing.

It was out last formal night, we had a full table for dinner.

Our last full day at sea.

Went to ukulele class in the morning, played a couple of songs and then handed the ukulele back. Certificates were handed out.

Spent the afternoon packing. Then had a drink with Craig and Colette, who told us about priority disembarkation. Went to guest service to get priority labels.

Dinner with Keith and Alison.

In the evening, we put all of our bags in the corridor outside of the room.

The end of the cruise. Bags had been taken overnight. We decided to have one last walk around the deck. It was about 06:30, bumped into Judith on deck.

Went to passport face to face in the Neptune Lounge, and then walked off the ship.

Our bags were waiting for us in the arrival hall, very straightforward. Used to trolleys to go to the taxi rank.

Taxi took us to the Red Funnel terminal 1. We were just too late for the 07:30 ferry, so hung around until the 09:00. The Red Funnel staff were very helpful and helped us get our luggage on board.

In East Cowes, they also helped us get it off. Jo was waiting for us. Took us home.

So after 21000 miles of cruising, with 34 stops in 21 countries, we were home.