Dubai and the Desert

It’s been a busy week since I last wrote!! We spent 3 days in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. What a place! It’s really hard to imagine and describe unless you’ve been there, but I’ll try to get something down.
We arrived about noon on the afternoon of March 20. The ship was offering a complimentary general overview tour of the area, but Annie and I decided to do a “Dunes Dinner Safari” tour instead. We got off the ship about 3:00 pm and got into 4 –wheel drive SUVs (with a driver-guide!), 4 of us to a car, and a caravan of about 30 cars. (Just as a side note, they use Toyota Land Cruisers – say they’re the best for the desert). After about a 45 min. drive, we reached the desert, but before we could travel too much, we had to stop and let the air out of the tires and decrease the pressure to about 15. They said it was the best way to get over the dunes. So, with our newly adjusted tires, off we went! Talk about off-road driving! It was really pretty amazing. You just drove up to the top of a dune, not knowing whether at the top the dune would flatten out or if it would be straight down. The sands are so amazing, just the way the wind has blown and made patterns and designs. The dunes are always changing and moving, so sometimes even our driver didn’t know what lay ahead. Actually, they split us up into groups of about 15 with a lead driver and vehicle that was responsible to check out what was ahead. At the end of the line, was the back-up vehicle. He didn’t have any passengers, but his job was to make certain all 15 stayed together – and to pull out any who got stuck in the sand. And stuck they got! We didn’t get bogged down, but a number of them did. After we went down a big dune, we’d all wait at the bottom and watch the others come down. It’s so fast when you’re doing it yourself, but when you’re watching someone else slide down, it’s a different story.
After about two hours, we stopped to watch the sunset, and then it was over one last stretch of desert to an encampment where dinner was set for us. We sat on low couches and were treated to a desert “barbeque” with all kinds of food and drink (don’t know what some of it was – probably just as well!) There were henna artists, who paint these beautiful henna tattoos on your body. Annie wasn’t up to that, but I had them do one on my leg. It’s supposed to fade in 7 days, but I don’t know! And of course, we had the obligatory belly-dancer show (neither of us volunteered for that!) Anyway, it was a great night in the Arabian Desert.
The next day, we took a cab with a couple of other people out to one of the mega shopping malls, the Mall of the Emirates. Definitely not anything we’re used to! Every designer label shop you can imagine and the crowning jewel – an indoor ski slope!! There are lifts and jumps and everything!! And it was packed with people! A lot of the crew (especially those from Austria and Scandinavia) went and said it was really a good deal. It cost about $50 for two hours of skiing and that included all the equipment, including skies, boots, jackets, etc.! (If you want more info, check out www.skidbx.com) Unbelievable!
We were scheduled to do a boat tour which was a cruise around “Palm Islands and The World.” It ended up being cancelled because of problems with the boat, which was too bad, because it’s an amazing development. What they’re doing is dredging up a lot of sand from the sea and actually making islands and developments. The Palm Island developments look like enormous palm trees from the air and there are all villas and residential developments on each of the different palm fronds, or leaves. At “The World”, they’re actually creating a map of the world – all 7 continents and some of the major island chains! Again, private homes, hotels etc.
Money is no object in this oil-rich country. Dubai is one of 7 emirates, or independent kingdoms, that make up the United Arab Emirates. In the mid-1960s, the oil boom exploded. Incalculable wealth flowed into the area. Oil was truly “black gold.” In addition, Dubai became a major source for the sale of real gold, a fact that remains today. In 1971, the 7 Emirates joined together to create the UAR (United Arab Emirates), as a way to consolidate their resources and gain stature in the world community. The largest emirate is Abu Dhabi, and its sheik is the ruler of the UAR. (Abu Dhabi in particular is very rich with oil; one guide told us that it is estimated that there is enough oil to support Abu Dhabi for 150-200 years – and that doesn’t include oil reserves not yet discovered!) Some of the smaller emirates haven’t yet found major oil reserves; some, like Dubai, have basically exhausted their known reserves (only another 5-10 years left) and have turned to other areas of commerce.
In Dubai’s case, it has turned to business, business, business. And the business of this city is shopping and high-level lifestyles. The building and development in this area is unreal! Cranes and new construction are everywhere; something like 15% of the world’s cranes are at work in Dubai!! The world’s tallest building is under construction; already, it has something like 120 floors – and will go up to 165 in the next year or two!! A good percentage of the building is residential and tourist. Dubai boasts the only 7-star hotel in the world – the Burj Al Arab. It’s designed to look like a sailboat and stands out spectacularly on the shoreline. You can’t even go into the lobby – or the lounge – for a drink without a reservation – and reservations for dinner or lunch are sold out months in advance! Unfortunately, we didn’t make a reservation in time – but maybe I should change that to fortunately – for 2 people, lunch is generally $400 – dinner about $700!! Hard to believe, but it sells out!
The last day we did another tour of the city and general area – and of course, a bit of shopping (or maybe looking is more like it!) Amazingly, we were very good with non-shopping this port; I think there was just so much of everything, it was a bit overwhelming. But then again, we still have many ports – and many shops – to go before we get home!

Muscat, Oman

On Sunday, March 18, we stopped in Oman for a visit to the capitol city of Muscat. What an amazing day this was! It was grey and looked a bit rainy and cloudy but nothing major. Then the captain came on and told us that, despite the weather forecasts for upper 70s and sunshine, it began raining in Oman yesterday. Little did we realize that rain is a MAJOR event! It only rains TWO DAYS A YEAR! The next announcement was from the Tour Department saying that because of the weather, the tour operator had advised them that the tours couldn't operate because places would be closed and ALL of the tours would be cancelled! It was raining, but all of the tours??? Everyone was wondering what was going on. We had a special tour scheduled by out Virtuoso travel group and after some discussions, they told us that they were going to try and operate the tour; it might not be the same as planned and we might sit in traffic and not see much - but at least we would be bored sitting on a bus in Oman, as opposed to being bored sitting on the ship at the dock!
So off we went - and down came the rain! It poured! Major flooding on a lot of the roads - the water just flowed over everything! Cars were submerged up to the roof and rolled over. Just amazing! We had a great guide who really spoke excellent English; he's in college here - majoring in tourism! We drove around a bit more than planned, since our first two stops were flooded. But what an amazing country! It is spotless and all these stretches of green, green grass by the road - and black stone mountains and craigs rising up right behind them. The current sultan is 67 and took the throne in 1970 on the death of his father. The father had kept Oman isolated and kept visitors out; for a person to come into Oman, they had to have a visa -- signed by the sultan himself! When his son, the current sultan, took the throne, things changed dramatically. He brought people in to develop the country and educate his people. They have now started to work on tourism and want tourists to visit Oman, but they also are being very selective in how they present themselves and the type of tourists they attract. It is a very conservative country; Islam is the overwhelmingly predominant religion. Although the women aren't' in birkas as in some of the fundamental countries, they are still very modestly dressed. Many of the men wear long white smocks and a type of turban on their head.
With the new push to tourism, and with the wealth brought by oil, things are moving along. Our lunch was at the Shangri-La Hotel, which was built by the government to attract tourists and is a very deluxe property. An average room is about $700 a night (but it includes breakfast and dinner!!)
We went to the main Mosque (there are hundreds of them in Muscat) which is also new, and built by the Sultan. The mosque holds 20,000 worshippers! Unfortunately, we couldn't go in and could only see the outside. The weather delayed us, and only Muslims are allowed in for prayer after 11:00 am. We were still glad to just be able to see it.
We were so impressed with the country. We came here knowing nothing about it and would love to return and spend some more time. Maybe someday!

Africa to the Middle East

After Mozambique, we spent 3 days cruising the Indian Ocean before reaching Mombassa, Kenya on March 11th. We had been here in 2004 when we had done a safari. A number of the safaris that had left the ship in Durban came back on in Mombassa, which is the primary reason we stop there. There’s also a one-day safari, and as much as I want to return to Africa for another safari, the thought of a 6 hour (round trip) bus ride, for a two hour game ride, wasn’t that enticing. I think I’ll wait and come back and do it right (Annie says she’s been there, done that, so don’t think any more safaris are on her agenda!)

There really isn’t much in Mombassa at all. We caught a cab with the Scherers and Pattersons and went to a very nice resort called Tamarind about 20 mins. from the dock and had a delicious lobster lunch. There were a number of Crystal officers and staff there, so we knew it was a good choice! Back at the dock, there are a couple of dozen of “shops” as they call them – actually, just a blanket covered with all kinds of things, mostly wooden animals, bowls, etc. They also barter and I almost got a nice elephant bowl for a pair of sunglasses, but the “boss man” didn’t think the glasses were worth it. Should have picked up a bunch of the Oakley fakes in NYC!! We actually didn’t do that much; it was unbearably hot and we did our wooden animal shopping here last time!

When we get back on the ship, they ask all the passengers to bring all the wood items they’ve bought to the front desk where they take them and put them in the ship’s giant freezer compartments for 48 hours ---- to kill any bugs and eggs that might be in the wood!! We’re all too happy to comply – don’t want the little buggers coming alive in our cabin!

Leaving Mombassa, it was another two days at sea enroute to Victoria in the Seychelles Islands. Again, we were here before, but I hadn’t done a general overview tour, so thought it would be a good idea. Victoria is very small (actually, it’s the smallest national capital in the world!), so the tour was pretty basic, but I enjoyed it. Always a good idea to take a basic tour to see what a place has. Victoria is only 7 degrees south of the equator – very green (actually a rainforest) but VERY hot, steamy and humid. We went out to a beach resort for a cool drink – the water and sand looked enticing, but we just wanted to get back to the air-conditioned ship and take a shower!!

Another 3 days at sea was in store, but they always have something for us to do. In addition to the lectures, movies, shows, there are special events for world cruisers. One afternoon, we had a special Question & Answer session with the dancers and singers, and then a tour of the (teeny!) dressing rooms and costume areas. Another morning, we had “Waffles on the Bridge” with the captain. It was a beautiful clear morning and really amazing to see the view down the sides of the ship from up there. (The waffles were a pretty amazing breakfast treat, too!)

Next stop – Muscat in Oman!

Mozambique

Wednesday, March 7th found us in Maputo, in the country of Mozambique on the east African coast. The tour people on the ship, and all the information we had received, had warned us that this was a “developing nation” and to be prepared. Mozambique just won its independence in 1975 and up until the 90s, the country had been racked by civil and tribal wars. The impact of the fighting left Maputo just a shadow of its past glory. The country had been colonized by the Portuguese (Portuguese is still the official language) and there were some beautiful, classic buildings and gardens, but all in such disrepair.

Our tour was on minibuses that held about 25 people. They ran out of busses, and we got on the last one, which had started out being used for a run to the airport. Our “guide” was named Afonso and, though he knew a little English, was not a guide and really didn’t know what exactly to do with us. He was very pleasant though, and we gave him a copy of the tour description so he knew where to take us and told us a little about the places. It was really more of a drive through the area and we had some minor descriptions of the attractions from the info we had received on the ship.

We made a stop at the Central Market which again is in a very shabby, but elegant (1901) building. There are dozens of stalls selling all types of fish, meat, vegetables - plus just about anything else you could need from wood carvings to hair extensions to pots and pans and soaps. They had warned us to be very careful with our valuables and that the market was a haven for pickpockets and thieves. We never felt threatened, but we were surrounded by groups of people, inside and out, trying to sell us every type of souvenir – wood carvings, baskets, cloth – even “genuine” Mount Blanc pens – for $5!

They have tried to develop the area and there is a very deluxe Hotel Polana and, of course, a new casino. Other than the main roads, the others are all dirt and sand and there are people everywhere in the city. One encouraging sign was that we saw a number of schools, some quite large, filled with students – all in pressed shirts and blouses of varied uniform colors and dark pants/skirts and ties. It’s this generation that is the hope of the country.

This was a maiden call for Crystal Cruises, and they probably won’t be coming back on a regular basis. Even though it wasn’t a “highlight” of the trip, I’m glad we got the opportunity to see the country and share a little of their vision for their future. I’ll be following Mozambique’s progress in the news from now on.

Cape Town

After another day at sea, we sailed into Cape Town, South Africa on Friday, March 2nd for a 3-day stay. Annie & I spent 3 days here in 2004 after we got off our Crystal cruise and had a great time, so we were looking forward to visiting the area again. We arrived on a crystal-clear morning with bright blue skies - and what a beautiful place to sail into! Cape Town is bordered by prominent mountains on both sides and the city seems to rise abruptly from the sea. Directly behind the city is the magnificent Table Mountain. Jutting up some 3,500 ft. from the shoreline, the crests of Table Mountain can be spotted from up to 100 miles out at sea (or so they say!). The mountain appears completely flat at top and hence the name "Table". Adding more to the mystique of the area is what the natives call the "tablecloth" - the fleecy white clouds that can move in and appear to cover the mountain.

On Friday, we did a tour with our Virtuoso travel group to Stellenbosch, the wine country just outside of Cape Town. South Africa has made great strides in wine cultivation in the past few decades and are particularly good with whites like sauvignon blanc and lighter reds. There's even a special "Cape Wine" blend called a Pinotage, which is a blend of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Our tour took us about an hour outside the city to an area surrounded by vineyards (or "wine farms" as they call them here). Our first stop was for a tour and tasting at one of these farms. Of course, after trying 5 different wines, we had to bring some back (to the ship, not home!) So we left with a creative mix of 6 bottles to do some tasting of our own! It will be nice to sit out on our little deck and toast our journey these warm nights.

Our tour continued to a lovely resort in the valley, where we were serenaded with Zulu songs by a youth chorus (beautiful voices!)and then treated to an elegant - and delicious - luncheon. The entree was a fish called Kingklip which is a firm white fish, similar to a nice piece of haddock, I guess. It's native to this region and really quite tasty. Even Annie enjoyed it (and yes, it was boneless). Of course there were more wines to taste with lunch. It was good we could nap on the return to the ship!

Saturday, we decided we'd try to go to Robbin Island, a small island in the harbor which was the prison facility where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for almost 20 years. You have to reach the island by boat, and normally the tour tickets are sold out far in advance. We decided to go in and try, just in case we could get tickets and,somehow we ended up in the right place at the right time and managed to get 2 tickets for the 10:00 boat. Let me just say this about the boat...they don't bother with Coast Guard inspections! They just piled people on to every available seat and standing area. There were a few life jackets (probably enough for the crew - definitely not enough for the passengers!) We were heading into the wind the whole way out to the island and it took us almost an hour. Once we arrived, we boarded buses for a tour. Our guide had been a political activist and had actually been exiled from South Africa in the 70s and 80s. Had some really interesting stories to tell of his travels around the world and his work. Our bus tour ended at the prison facility where Mandela was kept. Here, we had a new tour guide; this one had been imprisoned in the jail on Robbin Island - from the time he was 16 until the age of 21! During that entire time, he was awaiting trial. He had some moving, and horrific, true stories of life, torture and death during the dark days of apartheid. It's amazing how firm these survivors are in their belief in "reconciliation"; they all maintain that for the betterment and strength of their country - and themselves personally - they must move through it and not let hatred and anger consume them. When you hear what they have gone through, it gives a whole new meaning to "forgive and let live."

During our tour, we were told that the weather had turned stormy and the boat we had come out on at 10:00 had been the last one for the day! All others had been cancelled, but they'd get us back to the mainland. And what a trip THAT was! A & I were okay, but people were seasick and falling all over each other every time we hit a wave - and hit them we did! Quite a ride, to say the least!! We were happy to be back on terra firma, even if it was raining. After a late lunch(more Kingklip for me!), we wondered around the waterfront area and - of course - did some shopping for a few hours before heading back to the ship for some dry clothes and a good night's sleep.

Sunday morning, we headed back to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront area again. It's a great open complex of shops & restaurants. It's right on a working harbor and there are seals that come in and just lounge around the floats, plus all kinds of boat tours, etc. We had remembered it fondly from our 2004 visit, and so were happy to spend some more time there this weekend.

The ship sailed at 3:00 and we all went up on deck for a champagne toast as we sailed out of the harbor. The sun came out again and it really was another beautiful sailaway. Cape Town is one of my favorite spots and I would definitely come back here again for a longer stay.

As we rounded the Cape of Good Hope Sunday night and headed up the east coast of Africa on our way to Durban, we caught the tail end of a typhoon of some sort. Still hundreds of miles away from us, but we had a very rough ride Sunday night and into Monday afternoon. We talked with the captain and he said the waves were only about 15-18 ft., but it was rougher than we had experienced in all our time in Antarctica. But it calmed down by Monday afternoon, and we sailed into Durban this morning (Tuesday, March 6). I tried to get on a helicopter tour out to one of the game reserves, but it was sold out. No big deal really, but there isn't that much else to do in Durban (and we had seen what was here in 2004). So it's been a good day to catch up with some things. Tomorrow we arrive in Maputo, Mozambique. It's a maiden call for Crystal and they've told us it's a very raw, undeveloped area - should be interesting. Stay tuned!

Namibia without Brad & Angelina

February 28th brought us to Walvis Bay in Namibia, on the west coast of Africa. I took off in a 4-wheel drive vehicle for some dune riding; Annie took a more mild bus tour into the nearby city of Swapomuland (or something like that!) We actually both agreed that, maybe surprisingly, we enjoyed our day here and were impressed with the country!

Namibia is actually Africa's newest country, finally gaining independence in 1990. Before that it had been called South West Africa and at different times,was a German colony, a United Nations Protectorate and administered by South Africa. There are currently about 1.5 million citizens in the country, a mix of Germans, French, Dutch, British and native tribes. The country is known for its enormous shifting sand dunes with unbelievable colors and a canyon, similar to our Grand Canyon, with some "moonscape" features. My tour went to this area and the dunes, where we snacked on champagne and farm-raised oysters. Annie's went into the city and she had a nice tour and went to a museum where they had some amazing weavings.

We passed by where Brad & Angelina stayed (baby Sari(?) was born in a hospital in Swapomuland)and the guides spoke highly of them and how they have given a lot of money to Namibia. Also, Namibia has a very strict "no trespassing" law -- and many of the paparazzi ended up in jail for "trespassing" in the personal spaces of Brad and Angelina!

The country is also very rich in minerals - uranium, diamonds and copper. We also heard, from our guide and from lecturers on board the ship, that China has made a major inroad into Africa and that the US should be more conscious of this. The Chinese are providing businesses and countries with interest-free loans for development and, of course, receive preferred status from the African countries in return. My guide said that 5 years ago there were only a handful of Chinese in Namibia -- last year's population recorded 50,000! Something for us to be aware of.

Our next stop is Cape Town, South Africa. We're there for 3 days, which should be fun. We really enjoyed it in 2004 when we visited. Stay tuned!