Category: Uncategorized
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MOZAMBIQUE & COMORO ISLANDS
Maputo is the largest city and Mozambique’s capital, political and economic centre. Located on the Indian Ocean, it is known for its beaches and deep sea harbour. As with many of the countries we have been visiting recently, ownership has varied over the centuries with the explorers from Europe plying these waters, looking for trade…
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ALONG THE EAST COAST OF AFRICA
Mossel Bay, Durban & Richard’s Bay Once again I was lucky to get around the cape with very good weather. Fair weather and calm seas have been the hallmarks of this cruise so far. Sailing up the east coast of Africa we have stops in Mossel Bay, the smallest commercial harbour on the South African…
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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town marks the half way point of our cruise and it is one of my favourite ports on our itinerary. Beautiful city and beautiful location with the magnificent one million year old Table Rock as its backdrop, not to mention the many lovely wineries not far out in the countryside. We had three days…
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Namibia
We visited Namibia with stops in Walvis Bay and Luderitz. The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world. Before its independence in 1990, it was known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika). After the Namibia War of Independence in 1990 they gained their independence, and its…
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SÃO TOMÉ & PRINCIPÉ
São Tomé & Principé is one of the smallest African countries consisting of these two main islands off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea and includes many smaller archipelagos which are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range. It is located just north of the equator. It’s name is Portuguese for…
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TRAVELLING THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA
Lomé, Togo. Cotonou, Benin LOMÉ, Togo is the capital and largest city in Togo. With a population of about one million and a half. It is located at the southwest corner of the country with its western border running along side Ghana. They speak French and learn English in school. The highlight was a visit…
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TRAVELLING THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA – Takoradi, Ghana
Once a quiet fishing village, today Takoradi is one of the busiest ports in West Africa. It is a main shipping port for container ships and oil tankers. But it was once one of the many locations of the transatlantic slave trade. We went to visit the old Portuguese slave depots here, ironically called “castles”.…
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TRAVELLING THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA – Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
This is the only place I have ever visited where our tour bus had a police escort and an ambulance, sirens and all. The escort worked like they do at a funeral at home, racing ahead to the next intersection to stop all traffic and then repeat. There was a ton of traffic and I…
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Banjul, The Gambia
Gambia is the smallest country in Africa. It’s capital, Banjul, means rope fibre, which was one of their main products early on. Banjul sits at the mouth of the Gambia River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean and has a natural port and is an important trading post that was created by the British in…
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DAKAR, SENEGAL
Another sea day away is our next port Dakar, Senegal. I have never been here before, so I was excited to arrive and get started. Senegal is situated on the most westerly part of Africa and Dakar is its capital. The official language here is French, but many speak English as well as many local…
patriciawatt 