February 25, 2020 - Tuesday

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Cruise Day 6 - Richards Bay

Pictures to follow with better internet

The entrance to Richards Bay’s harbor is similar to Durban’s. It is a long narrow channel that splits into one route to a very large commercial port and another to a small passenger terminal.

At breakfast we decided that we were not taking any tour today. Rather we would take the shuttle to the mall. As we took pictures from outside on deck 5, we noticed that the guide gathering people for one of the tours was the same woman who had been our guide yesterday. She had said yesterday that Richards Bay was just a 2 hour drive from Durban. She is an excellent guide. We are sure her group will have a good tour.

We made our way down the gangway and boarded a shuttle. It left right after we settled in. 20 minutes later we arrived a large mall that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. We saw no homes anywhere near it. But inside, there was decent traffic.

Alice is doing the scrapbooking craft. She needs a glue stick so we are seeking out a craft store to purchase one. Wow! Just 3 stores from the entrance was a large craft supply store. We found the glue sticks. Then we strolled the aisles one by one. This place was fabulous. There was something for everyone. There were even crafts we have not been exposed to before. Almost an hour later we bought 2 glue sticks and moved on.

We spent a few minutes in a small religious bookstore. It was interesting to see how their selections varied from ours at home. The staff was very helpful. They watched as we looked at specific books. When we replaced them, they suggested alternative titles that we might like. Not wanting to buy books to cary home, we thanked them and moved on.

We walked past shops admiring the windows, but not going in. Then we came to a small store that looked like the As Seen on TV stores that we have at home. We went in. As we looked at a few items, the lone clerk, Daniel, came over to us. We struck up a conversation. Business was slow and he did not mind talking to us. He and his whole family had come to Richards Bay several years ago from Zimbabwe to escape the poverty there. He is a hard worker and has been with this shop for 5 years. His sister also works there. His work ethic and enthusiasm make clear why he has this job. We spent half an hour with him. We parted friends.

Next was a large grocery store. Well, it was more than that. It was like Meijer’s. It had a full array of non-food items. We cruised these aisles for almost an hour. The prices seemed high to us. We had learned from Daniel that the employers here are primarily engineering firms . There is a shortage of engineers, so wages are high. With those high wages come high prices.

We left this store and headed back to the main aisle of the mall. We were doing a quick look now. Clothing, jewelry and shoes were the dominant products now. Sounds like Woodfield doesn’t it. Those were of no interest to us, but we did have 70 Rand to spend. This is our last stop in South Africa. Then, there it was. A shop full of African products including some beautiful beadwork. After some careful looking Alice found a necklace on display in the window. It is black and white, and will be beautiful for the White Night celebration on the ship. But then there was also a nice blue beaded necklace. They were both very nice, but the black and white one was more elegant. It was my first choice. Maybe it was Alice’s also, but it was more expensive. She was reluctant. Both necklaces exceeded our remaining Rand, but the shopkeeper would be happy to let us charge the excess. That sealed the deal. I splurged for a 380 Rand ($35) necklace for my deserving wife. We both really like it.

Mission accomplished, we walked to the shuttle at the far end of the mall parking lot. Again the doors closed after we got on. 20 minutes later we were at the port.

While we were gone a large number of vendors had set up displays of all sorts of African crafts. We looked at beaded bowls, carved figures, necklaces and earrings. We avoided fabrics because we still have a number of pieces form our visit in 2018.

We saw two pairs of black and white earrings. These would pair well with the new necklace. Each pair was at a different stand. We settled on one very nice pair. After walking away when the lady asked for $4, she called us back and for $3 dollars she and we both got what made us happy.

At dinner we got some bad news. First the gastro problem still exists. Sanitizing and frequent had washing are the order of the day. But the worst news was next. Madagascar is requiring a full health check due to the coronavirus for all passengers and crew before we can go ashore. They have a small health check crew and the process would take at least 5 hours if not more. That would leave only 2 hours ashore if everything went well. We will cruise past Madagascar and taking 3 sea days to Reunion. Then we will go on to Mauritius where we will now spend 2 days. There is great disappointment among the passengers. Madagascar is on everyone’s bucket list. That includes us. In 2018 we had to skip it because they had Plague on the island. We will miss seeing the Lemurs. Maybe they will show us the movie.

In the dining room we were seated next to Denise and Mark from north of Manchester. We were having a great conversation. Mark was telling me about their trip to the Amazon. he was describing flying the great circle route from Manchester when he waved his arm over his head just as Neon arrived to set down Mark’s bowl of soup. Mark’s arm struck Neyon’s and the soup dumped onto Marks’ arm and some onto me before the bowl hit the floor. I had the same soup before Mark arrived. I knew it was served scalding hot. Now Mark did too. His arm was severely burned. 

Neyon did his best to wipe off the soup and provide ice for treating the burn. Denise, Mark’s wife, is a burn nurse. She quickly assessed things and decided the treatment should be enough. The dining room manager came over to express concern and apology. we all agreed it was not Neyon’s fault. Mark took full blame. The manager gave him a card for complimentary laundry for his soiled clothes. Dinner continued with Mark in some pain but very gracious.

A little later Denise noticed the stains on my shirt and slacks and insisted that the restaurant should cover my laundering as well. That was done. Dinner was finished and we all parted in good spirits.

The evening’s entertainment was a performance by a local gospel choir. They were outstanding. Alice and I watched sail away from deck 5. We sadly waved South Africa goodby. It does not seem likely that we will pass this way again. We are grateful for this experience, and hope to maintain these memories for a long time.