Cape Town

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We had two days at sea after Durban before we reached Cape Town. The highlight of this time was our choir concert. When we embarked at Fremantle I joined the passenger choir. Since then we had been learning some songs to get ready for a concert. There are quite a number in the choir but we thoroughly enjoy our daily practices with Thiagos, a Brazilian, who has a fabulous voice and is choir master. The day before we reached Cape Town we assembled for a rehearsal at 12 and then a sound check in the Palladium Theatre. We were joining with the large group who have been learning to play the ukulele. Then at 2-30 the concert began. First the ukulele players went through their repertoire, then we joined with them to sing and play Can you feel the love tonight from the Lion King. Then they vacated the stage and we assembled to sing our 5 songs. We did a great arrangement of Happy Together then some Andrew Lloyd Webber numbers. We finished by singing a Brazilian song in Portuguese!!. It was great fun and our large audience loved it.
The next day we arrived, literally with a bang, in Cape Town. As we were docking the wind was so strong we bumped into a moored cargo ship and the dock. Fortunately no injuries and not much damage. We did the morning quiz and then disembarked about 10-30. As we had been here twice before and had visited most of the attractions we decided to walk to the nearby V & A Waterfront area. The wind was so strong as we went from the ship to the terminal we got blown backwards almost.
However, we made it to this lovely area containing shops and restaurants. The harbour contains a variety of boats from fishing vessels to luxury yachts. We wandered through the various shops but only bought a book. We stopped for lunch at the Cape Town Fish Market, a large restaurant. It was very pleasant, sitting outside having a lovely fish meal and drinking a Stellenbosch Sauv Blanc. The service was excellent and we enjoyed people watching.
After a very pleasant hour or two there, we walked to the end of the wharf where a pod of seals were sunning themselves. We watched their antics for a while, mothers protecting their babies, and big males snoring in the sun. They had a steps down to the water so every now and then one or two would go for a swim. We found another restaurant, Den Anker, and used their WiFi while enjoying another white wine. Then it was a slow walk back to the ship, with one last stop at a bar on the way. It had been a very pleasant day. Back at the terminal we went through Customs and then were blown back to the gangway. What a lovely day!!

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