Goodbye NCL Dawn, Hello 'Long Street' Airbnb!

Day 068:  We knew this day was coming.  Our 12-night cruise from Mauritius to Cape Town couldn't go on forever.  We had a chance yesterday to check out the location of our Airbnb.  It's on Long Street right in the middle of downtown Cape Town.

We had a relatively leisurely morning although NCL kicked us off the ship at 8:30 am!  Normally, one can leave the heavy luggage in front of the one's cabin door the evening before departure.  It all magically ends up in the terminal as soon as one exits the ship for the final time the next morning.  That morning was today.  

We went up for our last breakfast at around 7:45 in the morning.  So my the exit time, we were ready to walk into the Cape Town Cruise Terminal.

We walked out to the taxi stand and agreed on a $US10 taxi ride to 'the decks'.  Uber said it should cost around $4 but I guess we could easily consider this surge pricing.  The convenience was definitely worth it.  At the building's reception, we picked up our key fob from security.  It was in an envelope with Jay's name.  Then we took the elevator up to the 11th floor.

         

We found the place perfect for our four-week stay.  How thoughtful to have some essentials such as milk, yoghurt and new jars of coffee in the fridge and cupboards.

By 9:15 am we already felt at home.  The summer weather is perfect with a temperate of around 25C.

 

We found a great supermarket and have filled up the fridge and cupboards with everything we'll need for a while.  The TV has a zillion channels, and the kitchen is well stocked with cooking utensils.  We're ready to explore Cape Town and the surrounds over the course of the next month.

Sea Day 2/3 - Overeating Between Madagascar and the African Coast

Day 062:  The weather should be getting a little cooler as we slide out of the tropics and down between Madagascar and the African coast.  However, that hasn't been noticeable yet.  When we do disembark in Cape Town on the 17th, South Africa will be in the midst of its summer.

I took my weekly injection of Ozempic on Thursday, but there's only so much any drug can do.  Norwegian Cruise Lines sure makes eating easy.  All in such great quantities and qualities!  We have been walking 6 or 7 kilometers even on sea days.  Still, I think my weight is headed in the wrong direction.  Perhaps I'll need to spend our two months in South Africa getting back on track.

A Day in Réunion

Day 057:  By the time we got out of bed, our ship was already docked in Le Port on the island of Reunion.  We found that the shuttle bus just took us from the busy port section to the terminal outside by the highway.

Jay and I decided we wanted to travel further than just the town next to the port.  We wanted to see the capital, Saint Denis.  After all, that is such a great sounding place!

We found a single taxi waiting to take us 20 minutes along a highway created in front of steep cliffs. It cost nearly Euro 45!  We hopped alone in a large, eight passenger van and drove through sudden drizzle to the capital city.  We had a map given by the tourist office at the terminal.

The weather changes quickly and eventually we saw both rain and sun.  We walked to the famous places on the tourist map.  We saw the whole pedestrian street.  We ducked into a supermarket.  We had an ice cream sundae at McDonalds.  This island is entirely a part of France.  Therefore, the currency was the Euro. We withdrew some cash from an ATM.

We ended up down by the waterfront and thought it might be easy to get a taxi and a big hotel here.  A receptionist organized us into a van returning to the port area with a group of another five guests.  There were no taxis running around the streets.  I'm happy we were able to get back to the ship in plenty of time as we were supposed to be onboard by 4:30.

We walked over ten kilometers today.  We enjoyed eating in the main dining hall and saw a show with a blues singer from South Africa / UK.  Boy, what a set of lungs!

Finding Our Way Around the NCL Dawn

Day 056:  I had downloaded the local ride-share app before we arrived.  We didn't really use it until today.  A few days ago, I set up a ride to Port Louis.  It took around 45 minutes but we arrived early because our driver found us a bit early.  He was a polite, young fellow and brought us in a way that buses didn't travel.

We wanted to arrive to check into the Norwegian Dawn at noon.  Our earlier arrival didn't impact us much.  We sped through the rather antiquated system just as quickly as those at large ports.

 

It's always fun to learn a new ship.  This one holds around 2400 passengers plus half that many as staff.  We like the additional outdoor space on the Dawn.  It clearly will work nicely in warm climates.  Today and tomorrow will be over 30°C.  It took a little time looking around because we are more familiar with Holland America's ships.  I have to admit I like this one perhaps more than those of our recent experiences.

We pulled away from the port late but it is of little consequence as we will be at the French island of Reunion all day tomorrow.  

We watched practically the same sunset this evening as we've been seeing in Flick en Flac for a month.  In fact, we were scanning the island at around this time in order to spot our recent, temporary home.  Later, we ate in one of the two large dining rooms.  Food aboard this ship is plentiful with a large variety of choices.  Our dinner was sufficient enough, so we didn't stop by any of the places to eat aboard at 3:00 in the morning!

The Last Sunset Viewed from the Island of Mauritius

 

Day 055: This was our last day in Flic en Flac. We took the bus out to the junction and looked around the mall for a last time.

We also watched our last sunset from the Flick en Flac beach.  It was much like the dozens of others but it felt different because we knew we'd probably never get to Mauritius again.  We've had a restful time here for four weeks.  

We're excited about the rest of our winter away though.

 

Familiar After One Month. Never Seen Again?

Day 054:  These two pictures were taken at our current Airbnb home in Flic en Flac, Mauritius. If you're reading this message, you've already seen the photo I snapped while in the swimming pool. The second one was from the sofa looking out to the balcony this morning.

I remind myself to take pictures of the ordinary because time and distance always tend to make familiar things and places much seem more interesting and unfamiliar.

On the Move Again Soon

 

Day 053: Living by the beach has been fun for the past three and a half weeks.  We came by airplane from Madagascar's capital city.  However, we are preparing to soon leave on a ship.  

Jay and I will be on the Norwegian Dawn when it pulls away from the cruise terminal in Port Louis, Mauritius this Sunday.

Our destination will be Cape Town,  South Africa.  We're due there on the 16th of the month.  We disembark for good on the 17th.  Luckily, and not by accident, we check into an Airbnb on that day.  We will stay for two months in South Africa but only the first month will be in Cape Town.