Where in the World are Bill and Bob?

The Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 small islands off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, is the smallest and least populated African country. Gaining independence from the UK in 1976, it is also one of the newest. Mahe is the largest island, and Victoria is its capital and major port. But physical size masks its relatively strong economic standing: the highest GDP per capita of any African country and rated as a high income economy by the World Bank. Tourism has played a huge role in its development. Arriving in mid-afternoon, we boarded a catamaran for a brief cruise out to Saint-Anne Marine National Park for snorkeling and a glass-bottomed boat tour of nearby coral reefs.

Nosy Be (Big Island) is off the northwest corner of Madagascar, and is a haven of sunshine, beautiful beaches, blue waters, exotic flora and fauna. In short, hot and steamy! Madagascar itself, off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean is the world’s fourth largest island and the second largest island country. We took a tuk tuk (small open taxi 3-wheeled taxi) around Hell-Ville (named for a Frenchman) the largest town and main port of Nosy Be. Although we saw no lemurs, for which Madagascar is famous, we saw interesting plants, including the ylang ylang trees from which locals make pungent perfume. It felt like the South Pacific, but it is a very poor African country. Our driver with ylang ylang tree and holding blossom 

The Comoros is a volcanic archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. Geographically, Mayotte is a part of the Comoros, but after a 1975 referendum, Mayotte (Maore) remains politically part of France , and as such, Mayotte is an overseas territory of the European Union. The rest of the Comoros is an independent country. It was hot and humid when we arrived and the setting and weather reminded us of the South Pacific. The people and culture are more African than European French.

Maputo, capital of Mozambique with about one million inhabitants, straddles the north side of Espírito Santo estuary opening to the Indian Ocean. Located on the southeast side of Africa, Mozambique borders South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania. Formerly Portuguese, Maputo has kept several colonial buildings, including the train station and the Iron House, designed by Gustav Eiffel.  The style of the cathedral, built in 1944, looks like a cross between Frank Lloyd Wright and Art Deco. We met friends Laurent and Dina for brunch at their place (the white glassed building in front of the big towers), and Laurent gave us a quick tour on the way, and then dropped us at a craft market afterwards. Fun to catch up! FEIMA arts and crafts market

Richard’s Bay sits in a large lagoon and has the deepest port in the African continent. Having said that, the town of only 60,000 is pretty dull. The shuttle bus dropped us off at a big mall (where it’s safe to walk), but after a quick look around, we took the next shuttle back to the ship! The pop-up crafts market on the pier was more interesting. The surrounding Zulu countryside and lagoon are beautiful, however. See any wildlife?  We didn’t either!

Durban, nicknamed “Durbs”, with almost 3.5 million people, is the third largest city in South Africa and a huge bustling port, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. But much like Johannesburg and parts of Cape Town - its larger sisters - it is not safe to walk in most areas. We went into town twice: in the morning we took the ship shuttle to uShaka Marine World, an ocean front shopping arcade and walked along the beachfront promenade. In the afternoon, we took a taxi tour around town to the the botanical gardens; the Victoria Street market famous for its Indian spice market; city hall and square; old post office with its soaring tower; and Juma mosque, the largest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a bit disconcerting to be told to stay by a guide at all times. Morning Afternoon Queen Victoria statue  View of city with soccer stadium Monkeys in botanical garden Victoria market, one spice stall City hall Juma mosque Old post office

We arrived on Good Friday in Mossel Bay, a modest port town of about 90,000 in the Western Cape Province at the western end of the Garden Route, so many things (museum, gin distillery!, some stores) were closed. Mossel Bay was named for the plethora of mussels that were found there by early explorers. Despite the holiday, we got to see the “Post Office Tree”, a 500 year old milkwood tree where ancient seafarers on their way east left their letters for home in a shoe hanging from the branches for sailors returning home to Portugal would collect these letters and carry them to their destinations. There is now a statue of a large shoe under the tree. The Cape St. Blaize lighthouse, built in 1864, is, until only recently, only one of two along the South African coast that was manned 24/7.