After leaving Cape Town, South Africa on April 2nd we began our journey across the Atlantic to some of the most isolated islands on our itinerary. But before we began that part of the cruise we had a stop in Walvis Bay, Namibia. We arrived on a foggy day, but it cleared up and off we went.
Ever wonder what happens to the entertainment when they finish their time on the ship. They get dumped off in places like Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Walvis Bay is known for the desert and sand dunes that come right up to the town. Sand Dune #7 is world famous for its size. People sand ski down it and 4X wheel over it. Here you can see the sand at the edge of town. We didn’t venture out to it as we have enough sand at home.
But we did find the local vendors.
Street vendor wares.
It is a family business.
And we sailed away with some nice time in the town and some more tidbits in the cabin. Off to Jamestown, St. Helena. St. Helena is known for two things. It was the location of Napoleon’s second exile between 1815 and 1821 and death in 1821. And it has Jacob’s ladder, a 699 step staircase up the side of a mountain.
Approaching the island. It isn’t very large.
It is very mountainous. On the way to Napoleon’s tomb and his house.
The “Heart” waterfall. Can you see it?
Napoleon arrived on the island in 1815 and died in 1821. He was buried but later exhumed and moved to France. All that remains is the tomb.
It is about a 1/4 mile walk to the tomb.
The actual tomb. Not much to it but it is to Napoleon’s specifications.
A home was built specifically for Napoleon called Longwood House. No pictures allowed of the interior. Here is the approach to the house. It was a maze inside. It is reported to have housed 80 people, including guards. It took 15 people to serve Napoleon a meal. I have no idea what they all did.
And the exit.
The second attraction is Jacob’s Ladder. Built in 1829 it was used for access to forts on the bluffs. The Ladder as seen from offshore.
From the bottom.
The record climb to the top from our ship was seven minutes. I took 28:31 up and 10:27 coming down but I stopped for pictures and to restart my heart now and then. Some pictures going up and down.
Our ship from half way up Jacob’s Ladder.
At the top. Locals have a little stand at the top for water and such. They talk about having to do the steps each school day while they were growing up. It usually took them five minutes to climb as kids doing it everyday.
Rock formations and caves along the coastline.
Then it was on to Ascension Island. We arrived on April 11th but the surf was too high for landing by tender. Ascension was first manned by the British in 1815 to prevent a base from which the rescue of Napoleon could be planned from St. Helena 200 miles away. It was manned by a US Army garrison during WW II and used by the British as a staging base during the Falklands War in 1982. The island was a key NASA tracking station during the Gemini and Apollo days and the interior of the island remains restricted to tourists. Many of the more “experienced” people who work at KSC talk of doing a tour on Ascension as part of a welcome to the space program for newbies. It is truly a volcanic island with 44 craters. It was used as a test area for the lunar Rover.
Approaching the 35 square mile island.
The docking area with the town in the background. This is the location for tendering and we couldn’t dock due to the high swell.
Since we couldn’t come ashore, the vendors came to us with the valuable trinkets of the island. There are about 1000 permanent residents on Ascension.
Some of the many antennas and radars on the island.
Power comes partly from wind turbines.
We did a scenic sail around while the vendors vended. Very steep cliffs with clearly defined archeology history.
It was on the Praia Santiago of the Cape Verde Islands on April 14th.
Heading into town.
It was hot but the dogs knew how to handle the heat.
There were a lot of people settled in by the port. I’m not sure what they were waiting for or doing but it appeared they had been there a while. Perhaps jobs?
We set off again within the Cape Verde Island chain and stopped at Mindelo on April 15th. Approaching the island.
We took it easy here and just wandered around town a bit. The local fresh produce market.
A shoe repair shop.
Laying a cobblestone street.
An interesting feature of the port was the tradition of graffiti art identifying your ship on the docks. Here are some examples.
After Mindelo it was five days at sea to get back to the Caribbean and our usual cruising area. Our first stop was Barbados. This was the first time we visited the famous caves in the interior of the island.
They have two tours. A three hour climb and crawl within the off-the-track parts of the cave involving things like hip deep water and muddy small openings. Noreen wanted to take this tour but I insisted on the one hour tram ride. A short video of the cave is at http://youtu.be/q1VxN3J0TXg
Some pictures around the cave.
I haven’t tried a selfie in a while.
Outside the cave entrance.
We also saw the famous black belly sheep, I have no idea why they are famous.
This is actually leaving Barbados not the usual arrival. Our ship in the background.
The remaining three islands, St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Maarten are very familiar to us and we took it easy. No blogging from those locations.
Back in Fort Lauderdale on April 28th, 113 days from the start.Total distance sailed: 35,041 nautical miles. We also had seven suitcases, one large box, and six carry-ons plus a didgeridoo. We’re glad we live in Florida, no flight to catch.,
We hope you enjoyed the journey. We’ll “see” you again soon.
Enjoyed all your pictures. Glad you have so much energy that you are able to get about the many sightseeing places when your ship stops. It looked challenging in many places. Glad you had all great news to report. Will get together soon I hope. Love to see you and to hear some wonderful stories.
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