Explorer Lisbon to Cape Town Nov 28 until dragged kicking & screaming off

[Hambagahle]

That lobster tempura has my mouth watering!   Great photos too.  Thanks...

[1982CruzStart]

Here is the  view from our balcony. We docked an hour  earlier than was stated in passages. 

[1982CruzStart]

We had another excellent dinner in Chartreuse.  Unlike others who don't care for this venue, we have really enjoyed our dinners there.  

I just had appys for dinner. Once again the beef tartar, the crab salad  and the beet salad without the goat cheese cream. All very tasty.  Missed taking a picture of the crab salad which is too bad as it was quite unique.  So the first pic is the beet salad & the second one the lobster dish my DH had. 

[flossie009]

8 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Here is the  view from our balcony. We docked an hour  earlier than was stated in passages. 

 

 

View from our side of the ship was somewhat better

 

 

[flossie009]

13 hours ago, mrlevin said:

So good to see Nicola; we spent last Christmas with her aboard the Voyager.  Say hi to her from Arlene and Marc.

 

We board Mariner in five days; can't wait.

 

Marc

 

Nicola says “Hi” back and hopes you are keeping well

 

 

Enjoy your cruise on Mariner  😎

[Travelcat2]

9 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Here is the  view from our balcony. We docked an hour  earlier than was stated in passages. 

 

Really appreciate these photos.  They show that even though some of the areas are rundown, they are able to provide excursions, buses, etc.  It may not be what many of us are used to but they deserve credit for working to make their lives better.  

 

As a quick aside, we took a Regent cruise from Cape Town to Rio (that included a couple of stops in Africa).  After seeing how little the people in Africa have and how much they do with it,  we were appalled when we arrived in Rio.  They have everything - beautiful seas, beaches, etc. but did not seem to care about what they have.  Instead there was graffiti everywhere, trash in the ocean and a lot of crime.  

 

Note:  This was our first trip sailing from Cape Town to Rio and was about 8 years ago.  When we did the same sailing 3 years ago, much of the graffiti in Rio had been cleaned up (at least in areas that are seen by tourists).  

[UUNetBill]

27 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

As a quick aside, we took a Regent cruise from Cape Town to Rio (that included a couple of stops in Africa).  After seeing how little the people in Africa have and how much they do with it,  we were appalled when we arrived in Rio.  They have everything - beautiful seas, beaches, etc. but did not seem to care about what they have.  Instead there was graffiti everywhere, trash in the ocean and a lot of crime.  

 

Note:  This was our first trip sailing from Cape Town to Rio and was about 8 years ago.  When we did the same sailing 3 years ago, much of the graffiti in Rio had been cleaned up (at least in areas that are seen by tourists).  

We were originally scheduled to sail the Cape Town to Rio TA next month and had to push it out a few years - it was just about 3 days too long for us to be gone.  Hopefully it'll be even more cleaned up by the time we make it there.

[flossie009]

Today we were in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory  Coast).

Having checked in for our excursion, “Akwaba Abidjan to  Bingerville” we left the ship with our 5 documents per person required to enter the country.

 

Our bus was reasonable with efficient air conditioning. The guide was OK but the battery powered megaphone he used did not enhance his commentary.

All the buses on the excursion travelled in convoy, accompanied by an ambulance and two police motorcycle outriders. The latter very efficiently cut a swathe through the traffic and stopped other vehicles at every intersection to give our convoy right of way.

 

We visited the Cathedral in Abidjan & a museum and then the Botanical Gardens,  a museum and an orphanage in Bingerville.

 

On our return journey to Abidjan the bus driver bizarrely decided to show Tom & Jerry cartoons on the TV, without sound.

We then had a very late lunch at a waterside restaurant before returning to Explorer to be greeted on the dockside by smiling crew again offering frozen towels and cold drinks.

 

Abidjan Cathedral:

 

 

 

 

 

Bingerville Botanic Gardens:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by flossie009

[flossie009]

Museum Charles Combs

 

 

 

The Orphanage

 

 

 

PS: Apart from our ship keycard none of the “required” documents were ever checked during our visit 🙄

[flossie009]

Another day, another port. Today is Takoradi in Ghana.

 

 

 

Susan has opted to stay on board but David has opted to go ashore exploring. Hope to report more on our respective experiences tonight.

 

 

 

Last night the service in Compass Rose was a little slow, but we still managed to catch most of the production show, Paradis.

The cast this cruise are excellent and they gave a superb performance of this lively, tuneful (but sometimes quirky) production.

[1982CruzStart]

We also ate in CR but didn't have the slow service but that is because we ate 6:30 & there were still buses coming in just before we went in. 

Dinner was delish as always. Included the teriyaki salmon and finished with the pavlova. 

[1982CruzStart]

I don't have many pictures to add to Susan's super pictures of the tour yesterday but may post a few. There were 6 buses in all travelling together to take advantage of the police escort.  We couldn't have done half what we did without them speeding us through the traffic.  

 

Our guide tried on the bus to share information but the audio system wasn't the best and it made it hard to understand what he was saying. He just gave up for the most part.   I think the guide we had was very inexperienced and that caused some frustration for some of the passengers.  There seemed to be a couple of very good guides but unfortunately for us we weren't on either of their buses.  When we stopped they gave their buses some information about the various places. Our guide was nowhere to be found in most places. We were warned that not all guides have experience. No problem we got to see some interesting places. 

 

Susan showed lovely pictures of the cathedral.  After there we stopped at a very small Museum of civilization that had some interesting artifacts.  It, however, was overwhelmed with 6 buses of people all at the same time.  

 

One of the buses lost it's air conditioning and so the passengers had to be split up between all the other 5, making the buses full and consuming more time.  It would have been nice if either the guide or the staff member on our bus had told us what was going on.  We spent more time sitting in the bus doing nothing than we spent at most of the sites.   Someone worked quickly to try and get a replacement. A new bus showed up at the last stop in Bingerville. 

 

The stop i wanted to spend time at was the Museum of Charles Coombs.  Art is my thing and i could have spent much more time going through the small but well stocked museum.  Susan posted but 1 of the beautiful head sculptures.  They were absolutely gorgeous.

 

However with all the bumps along the way we ran short of time at the respective places in Bingerville.  Even though i am not a garden enthusiast it would have been nice to see more of the botanical gardens. We had a very knowledgeable man for the gardens showing us highlights of some of the trees but left us no time to see any of the floral displays in the garden. 

 

We didn't hit the lunch spot until after 3:30 so i am not sure that qualifies as lunch but maybe for some it does.  I skipped the lunch cuz by that time i had no appetite.  i learned many tours and cruises ago that i have to carry a snack with me on tours as lunch is rarely when it works for me. Hopefully those that had it enjoyed it.

 

After lunch there was a mutiny of the passengers.  After the long hot day most people did not want to go to the market.  It was determined that there would be 1 bus of market goers and the other 5 would return to the ship.  Of course the organization of this left us sitting there for another half hour.  It was nice to get back to the ship earlier than expected. 

 

Abidjan was an interesting place and more modern with seemly less obvious poverty that the places we visited before.  

 

[1982CruzStart]

Outside the gates of the botanical garden are the tallest bamboo plants I have every seen. 

 

I overheard part of what the museum guide said about how the Ivory Coast got its name when standing in front of the skeleton & tusks of an elephant. 

[1982CruzStart]

I can't resist posting a picture of the sculptures.  The problem is deciding which one. 

Okay maybe 2

[RachelG]

Having now binge read all 5 pages of this thread, I am caught up.  Wonderful pictures and commentary.  Thanks to all of you onboard.  This is just an extremely busy time of year for me—the only reason I had time to read the whole thing is that I am on an overnight business trip to San Jose CA and woke up at 4 am due to the time difference!

 

The food pics are lovely, and the ship looks beautiful.  George and I will board in Buenos Aires the first of February, so make sure they stock up of red wine!

 

I would love to visit Ghana someday.  Our youngest son worked for a GMO there one summer, and I still correspond with one of his friends there who is a teacher at a school in a very remote village. 

[1982CruzStart]

Our stop in Togo has been canceled for tomorrow due to political unrest. So we have an extra sea day. As a result Captain Serena is going to take us near the buoy that marks the spot where Greenwich time meets the equator.

 The crossing the equator ceremony will take place at 3pm. 

[boblerm]

22 hours ago, flossie009 said:

All the buses on the excursion travelled in convoy, accompanied by an ambulance

Dare I ask why the ambulance?

Also, may I ask what was the denomination of the cathedral?

Bob

[Fletcher]

From the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice re Togo:

 

There have been sporadic marches and protests in Lomé and around the country since August 2017, over demands to restore the 1992 constitution. The government has banned protests, but it is possible that opposition groups may schedule further protests. This possibility is likely to increase ahead of legislative elections scheduled for 20 December 2018 respectively. You should remain vigilant during this period, avoid crowds and demonstrations, monitor local media and follow advice of local authorities. 

 

I sometimes think cruise companies are overly cautious but they might have made the right decision here.  

[1982CruzStart]

10 hours ago, boblerm said:

Dare I ask why the ambulance?

Also, may I ask what was the denomination of the cathedral?

Bob

I think the ambulance was just a means of helping with the traffic.  It was at the front of the convoy.

There were no incidents I am aware of that required an ambulance.  

Cathedral was catholic. 

[1982CruzStart]

I discovered this morning that the GM is not on the ship. Apparently he was called to Miami for a meeting.   The Concierge & Chief purser are in charge of the hotel portion of the ship. 

[flossie009]

10 hours ago, boblerm said:

Dare I ask why the ambulance?

Also, may I ask what was the denomination of the cathedral?

Bob

 

We assume that the ambulance was with us on a “just in case” basis.

Between Regent DS, the local tour operator and the Ivory Coast authorities they tried hard to make our visit to Abidjan as smooth as possible.

The two young police officers on their BMW motorcycles were the stars of the show and obviously enjoyed their job of speeding our buses through the heavy traffic.

 

The Cathedral is Catholic. The striking building with its beautiful stained glass was designed by an Italian architect.

 

 

2 hours ago, Fletcher said:

From the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice re Togo:

 

There have been sporadic marches and protests in Lomé and around the country since August 2017, over demands to restore the 1992 constitution. The government has banned protests, but it is possible that opposition groups may schedule further protests. This possibility is likely to increase ahead of legislative elections scheduled for 20 December 2018 respectively. You should remain vigilant during this period, avoid crowds and demonstrations, monitor local media and follow advice of local authorities. 

 

I sometimes think cruise companies are overly cautious but they might have made the right decision here.  

 

The decision to miss Togo was taken by Regent’s security department in Miami following a recent further deterioration of the situation. On Saturday at least two people were killed and teargas was used during violent clashes between government forces and protestors.

 

It is a shame to be missing Lomé in Togo. We had an excursion to a Voodoo Ceremony booked ................... we will just have to put those dolls away for another time 

 

However, Captain Serena’s change of course will give a unique opportunity to visit “Null Island” where the prime meridian and equator cross - zero degrees latitude and longitude.

[Hambagahle]

Flossie - I think?  said

>> n the theatre tonight Evan Bosworth, the Assistant CD, performed a musical tribute to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. He is a very good singer and truly did justice to the wonderful songs of the Jersey Boys.>>

 

is he one of the South Africans?  I ask because Bosworth is a well know "theatre/circus etc" name in SA.   Eve Bosworth, who was from that family, was a world famous SA singer 50 or so years ago.    I am just curious!

 

Never heard of Null Island but the name makes a LOT of sense!!  What fun!

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Flossie - I think?  said

>> n the theatre tonight Evan Bosworth, the Assistant CD, performed a musical tribute to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. He is a very good singer and truly did justice to the wonderful songs of the Jersey Boys.>>

 

is he one of the South Africans?  I ask because Bosworth is a well know "theatre/circus etc" name in SA.   Eve Bosworth, who was from that family, was a world famous SA singer 50 or so years ago.    I am just curious!

 

Never heard of Null Island but the name makes a LOT of sense!!  What fun!

 

I don’t think Evan is related, but I will ask him. This is his website:

https://evanbosworth.com/

He is fairly new to Regent, working on this cruise as the Assistant Cruise Director.

 

”Null Island” is actually somewhat of a nautical joke; it is just a buoy in the middle of the ocean with a 5 mile exclusion zone around it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_Island

Our ship went around it so that we could all boast that we had visited Null Island. We have just had the Equator crossing ceremony on deck; a lot of fun and I will try to post some photos later if the Internet becomes a little more stable.

[flossie009]

8 hours ago, flossie009 said:

The decision to miss Togo was taken by Regent’s security department in Miami following a recent further deterioration of the situation. On Saturday at least two people were killed and teargas was used during violent clashes between government forces and protestors.

 

I meant to add this link to my previous post. It gives a good resume of the reasons for the unrest in Togo:

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/protests-grow-ahead-of-togo-term-limit-referendum/

[Travelcat2]

17 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

I discovered this morning that the GM is not on the ship. Apparently he was called to Miami for a meeting.   The Concierge & Chief purser are in charge of the hotel portion of the ship. 

 

Actually, there were no GM's on any Regent ship.  They were all at the meeting in Miami.  Wish I could have been a fly on the wall to listen in