February 24, 2020 - Monday

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Cruise Day 5 - Durban

Pictures to follow with better Internet

Our arrival in Durban was on time through a narrow channel that led to a division of the harbor. To the right was the passenger terminal. To the left was the commercial port where container ships, tankers, grain transports and roll on roll offs were loaded or unloaded. 

The city skyline is impressive. There is a mix of modern skyscrapers with old victorian buildings. The central business district appears dense and crowded. We will have confirmation of this on our tour this morning.

We docked at the short end of the pier. It was just right for our length. Just around the corner on the long side of the pier was MSC Orchestra. We looked like their tender. We are 680 passengers. They are 3200 passengers. Orchestra has more decks and is far longer than we are.

We all had to pass through the same terminal. Alice and I were not troubled by this since we boarded our tour bus before the congestion. 

Our tour took us to several of the city’s markets, a nearby suburb for an overlook of the city and then, a drive through the central business district.

The markets are amazing. They are very diverse with segments for herbs, medicines, produce, meat and household goods. All of this is spread over a number of blocks. some stalls are in buildings. Others run along the streets. There are also food stalls inside.

Before commencing our explorations, we were divided into 2 groups of 20. Each group had a market guide. Our guide introduced our bodyguard. She explained that we would not have to worry about vagrants or pick pockets targeting us. Very reassuring, but….

We started at a number of stalls under a highway overpass. These vendors sold balls of white clay that are used to mix with water and apply to one’s face as sun protection. The users are fully white faced. Beyond that were women selling large large bunches of dried flowers on long stems. this was used to make tonics to cure a number of common ailments. We noticed mattresses stacked against the concrete wall behind the stalls. Our guise explained that these vendors “live” here. Those are their beds.

Now we made our way past many sellers of clothing. Hung neatly on racks were garments of all types. We could not imagine anything that you could not find here.

Moving on, we came to stalls of small electronics, CD’s and DVD’s. There were many stalls with similar products. Vendors survive with loyal customers and shrewd price negotiating.

Now we arrived at the medicine market. Here we were not allowed to take pictures. The medicine men believe that taking pictures weakens the herbal medicines. They question the customer/patient before prescribing the medicines necessary for the cure. These are flowers, roots, barks and leaves. They may be soaked to apply externally, or they might be brewed as teas for consumption. There were many people here shopping for cures.

As we negotiated these markets, we were a bit overwhelmed by how dirty the pathways and streets were. There was not a trash can anywhere. Also, where we were on an elevated walkway we could see that the roofs were littered with trash as well.

Lastly, we were taken to a jewelry, spice and clothing market. This is where tourists return to their coaches, after being given 30 minutes to shop. We did a quick tour of the aisles and determined that the prices for the beaded jewelry were high. We had no desire to purchase clothes. We gravitated to the spice shops. The vendors were very cordial and gladly offered mall samples of the spices for tasting. At the last shop we visited, we found a seasoning for grilling, ground turmeric and a lemon pepper blend for seasoning fish. These were packaged in sealed jars or vacuumed bags of good portions. Each was 40 Rand. I tried for 3 for 100 Rand unsuccessfully. The 120 Rand we paid was converted to $8.05  by Visa. I doubt that we could have purchased this quantity of any one of these products for this price at home.

We boarded the coach happy. Now we were taken to the suburb of Morningside on the north of the city. It is beautiful. The houses are large and well manicured. After a nice drive through the neighborhood, we stopped at an overlook. Directly below us were a golf course and a horse racing track. They were a lush green. In the distance was the city skyline.

Now we drove to the CBD. On the way we passed many street markets. There the clothing was just dumped in piles. Customers had to dig through the piles to find what they wanted. This left quite a jumble. We have no idea how this was priced.

We passed City Hall and a number of victorian styled public buildings. We viewed some parks and passed a market in the heart of this business district. The streets were crowded.

We drove back to the pier and our half day tour came to an end. We were very satisfied with the experience. We shared our thanks with our guide.

After refreshing in our room, we made our way to Windows. This is the buffet on deck 9 aft. We were greeted by an ominous sign. An attendant at the entry directed everyone to use the hand sanitizer. This has always been suggested, but it has not ben enforced before. The place mats were removed from the tables. All of the food was plated for us by servers. Passengers were not allowed to touch anything.

We had experienced this on other cruises when Noro Virus was starting to flare up. There was no verbal confirmation of this at this time.

After lunch we took the shuttle to a water park and mall at a beach area. There was not entry fee required unless you actually entered the water park. We strolled through the small mall on our way to the boardwalk. The shops catered to souvenirs and water sports. There were a few fast food shops.

When we reached the other side we were impressed with the long beach and the very nice concrete walk that went along with it. The walkway was elevated above the sand, and it was very broad. It could handle a lot of traffic. For now Alice and I walked a short way behind another couple. We did not recognize them as being from our ship. Perhaps they had come from MSC Orchestra. The only other people along the way were what seem to be omnipresent security personnel.

We felt very safe as we walked to the channel that our ship had used to get to the harbor. It is very narrow and the entry is between two breakwaters. High on the hill across from us stood a control tower that we guessed monitors the approaching ship traffic. We decided to walk out to the channel marker on the end of the breakwater on our side of the channel. It was a long walk and the day was getting warmer, but the breeze was refreshing. When we turned back after examining the green navigation light, we saw that the tower was now showing a very bright red light. We are sure it could be seen a long way off even in this bright afternoon sun. Apparently the channel was closed for entry. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later as we were walking back to the mall we heard a ship’s horn. It was a huge container ship traversing and exiting the channel. The light turned to green after this vessel was a good distance away from the channel.

We admired the beach as we walked back to the shuttle stop. Thirty minutes later we were refreshing ourselves in our cabin. Then we enjoyed a performance by  a local Zulu group on deck 9 before dinner. This group of young men performed rapid fire acrobatics to the beat of drums. They went non-stop for 20 minutes. Deck 9 is the pool deck. After performing on the stage at our end of the deck, they moved to the other end and repeated the performance there.

At dinner Captain Magnus spoke over the PA system to give us his navigation update. Then he announced that there had been a mild outbreak of gastrointestinal disorders. He explained that the termination of self service at the buffet would continue until the health issues had improved. Crew would be performing extra sanitizing in public areas and would be wiping down railings, elevator buttons, and door handles. He encouraged frequent hand washing for a minimum of 20 seconds. That is the equivalent of singing Happy Birthday twice.

After a relaxing evening we retired and sleep came swiftly. This had been a day full of interesting and fun experiences.