Our first stop on this seven-night cruise is the Washington port of Kalama, billed as the “gateway to Mt. St. Helens.” 98% of the people on board were scheduled to take an afternoon trip by “luxury motor coach” to see St. Helens’ crater and stop by the visitor center. When Kathleen and I saw the weather (having visited Mt. St. Helens numerous times before), we decided to stay on board, and I could finish yesterday’s post. The other four members of our group decided to go ahead and go, as they had never seen the mountain before.
Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal. In fact, for most of the morning, it had been pouring. When they headed out just after lunch, they had high hopes that the clouds would be below them at the summit, but instead, they found themselves in the clouds rather than above them. As my brother Steve said (in a text from the “luxury motor coach”), “We got a nice bus ride.”
But later in the afternoon, while the buses were up in the clouds, the sky cleared for a little bit here in the port city of Kalama, so I got a chance to get off the ship and walk to the new Marketplace building, the port’s Interpretive Center and all the way into town without getting very wet from the passing showers.
This means I took some great photos (at least I think they are), especially one that showcases a very unique feature of our ship. When we sailed up to the Kalama dock, for some reason, we did not stop there. Instead, the captain went a ways down the bank and shoved the nose of the ship directly into the side of the river bank. Then, the front of the bow lifts up, and that’s how we got off and on the ship yesterday. I know it sounds strange, but here’s what it looks like in a photo I took after exiting the ship myself.
After exiting out of Harmony’s bow and getting up to the bank, there was a very nice walkway that took me all the way down to the entrance to the Mountain Timber Market. Think of this as a kind of mini-mall full of cool little shops and other attractions to entice travelers like me to spend some cash. I took a few pictures of this part of the walk that I can share.
The Mountain Timber Market
Inside were these two guys keeping everyone entertained.
Above the first floor of the mini-mall, there is a long flat board. At least it looks that way from the bottom, but when seen from above is an amazing, incredibly long cross section of a totem pole.
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If you are ever driving south on I-5 and need a break, this would not be a bad place to stop. Really, a super building with lots of great shops, not to mention that totem pole.
After visiting the Market and listening to the great music, I headed further towards downtown. I shot a few more photos of the very nice park-like riverbank. There was an outdoor totem pole, a very nice hotel, and, of course, the river itself.
The outdoor totem pole.
A very nice McMenamins hotel.
The river as seen from behind the hotel.
A passing paddle wheeler
And the city’s marina for small boats.,
From the hotel, you can stroll past the marina, climb up three rickety, swayin’ metal stairs, cross a bridge over the railroad tracks, then come down even more rickety stairs to reach downtown Kalama. The town—more of a highway-side village—was mighty quiet on a Sunday afternoon. I was looking for a birthday card to send to a close friend, and honestly, the only option available was the local supermarket, which, it turned out, had a surprisingly fine selection of birthday cards. As I mentioned, downtown is really charming and quaint, so I’ve included some photos to give you a sense of the place.
Some restored buildings shops
Really liked this one.
And I loved the name of this place.
After finding that birthday card, a funny magnet to act as a gift and some cool Christmas ornaments, it was back to the ship for me. On the way, what else? A few more photos to share.
Looking down river
One more of the marina, mostly to prove there was blue sky in Kalama yesterday.
One mystery I would like solved is that the last photo in that group was taken from a very nice pier that would have fit our ship perfectly. We know that because we drove by this pier on Monday on our way to Portland, and one of Harmony’s sister ships was attached to that pier. It would have made it a lot easier for all of us to access that Marketplace as well as the port’s Interpretive Center. No ships were docked there all day, so I have no clue why we didn’t use it.
That about covers Kalama. We had a great day with some very nice food and drink, which I will cover in another post.
There’s nothing greener than Washington state. They have the most beautiful vegetation on the planet. And the water is so clean. —Fabio Lanzoni
We have never sailed on American Cruise Lines (ACL) before. When speaking with people who have experienced it or reading reviews online, the results are typically mixed. Some love it, others not so much. One member of our Trilogy Travel Club really dislikes them, while another has taken three cruises with them and loved two of them and is going again. So, expectations were not high, but I came into this with an open mind.
As I write this, we are moored in Kalama, Washington, where 99% of the passengers will disembark to see Mt. St. Helens. Kathleen and I have decided to skip the three- to four-hour ride on the “luxury motor coach” and stay on board. We have been to the Mount St. Helens visitor center several times, and the weather is VERY rainy and cloudy (typical Pacific Northwest weather), so photos would look pretty dull. This led us to stay on the ship.
By the way, since I have been on board for almost a full day, I have decided this is a ship. It’s much too big to be a boat. We are on board the American Harmony. That’s her photo above that I stole from their website because I don’t feel like getting off and getting too soaked to take one myself. Hope that’s OK. I promise to get one myself later on the cruise, maybe when the weather improves in Eastern Washington.
Now, back to the trip. When you sail with ACL, you get an extra night at the hotel included before your cruise. At the hotel, everyone was informed of the departure time on Saturday morning and that their luggage should be ready to go by 7:00 am. Strangely enough, we were told to leave our luggage in the room, and they would come to pick it up—not outside in the hallway like on other cruises we’ve been on. There were then two options for departure. Some of the people taking the cruise would do a free pre-boarding excursion to Multnomah Falls. Since the six of us had visited the falls earlier in the week, we left the hotel at 11:00 am. We’re very glad we did because the ship carried more than 135 people; when we visited earlier, there was hardly anyone there. My photos from that day clearly show how great we had it. I think that other than the six of us, there were fewer than 20 people there.
Since most people were taking the falls tour, when it was time for the rest of us to head to the ship, there were only six of us and one other couple left. So, we got a really nice Mercedes Sprinter van for our 45-minute drive to where the ship was moored in Stevenson, Washington. We had originally been told we would board much further downriver, in the northern part of Vancouver, Washington, but the river levels at the edges were low, which meant we had to go further upriver, where dams controlled the water levels.
Once we arrived at the dock, it was a quick (but wet) walk to the gangplank, and we were on board. Since they had picked up our luggage at 7:00 am, it was already in our room (which was nice), so we could unpack and head to lunch. Here’s a quick look at our stateroom. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. Feel free to look at them on your phone. These aren’t meant to be art, just informational photos.
Our Stateroom—414. Midships on deck 4.
Inside…the bed. Very comfortable. Had a great night’s sleep.
The bed again. This time so you can see the small verandah.
The bathroom. Plenty of room, hot water and water pressure. There things I absolutely need in a cruise ship bathroom.
One of the benefits of being on Deck 4 is that both the River Lounge at the front of the ship and the Sky Lounge at the back of the ship are on our floor. The River Lounge is where performances, lectures, and other fun activities take place. Last night, our entertainment was a very funny guy named Kevin Neil. His performance was called “Cowboys and Curmudgeons” and, as I said, was hilarious in a dad-joke kind of way.
Here’s a merged panoramic photo of the River Lounge. Unlike the ship photo at the top of the page, you can click on the panoramas, and they will enlarge to fill your screen, allowing you to see the details if you want.
The River Lounge
The Sky Lounge is a really nice space that combines a mini buffet, living room, game room, and snack bar all in one. It offers chairs, couches, and snacks available around the clock, along with complimentary drinks, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. I am currently sitting on a very comfortable couch, enjoying a large glass of lemonade while writing this post. Here’s another panoramic shot of the Sky Lounge. On the far right in the back, you can see a bar that serves drinks throughout the day and evening, and it also serves as an alternative breakfast spot if you prefer to skip the dining room for that meal. We dined there this morning, and I had some really good lox and bagels with all the toppings, plus an excellent blueberry scone. By the way, the coffee on this ship is excellent, which is saying a lot because I am very picky about my coffee ?.
The Sky Lounge
Behind the Sky Lounge is an open deck area with a few places to hang out when it’s not raining, as well as an alternative food option if you are not feeling like what’s being served in the dining room for breakfast or lunch that day. It does burgers, hot dogs, wraps for lunch and oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich in the morning. There is also a large deck for outdoor seating when the weather is better. Much of it is covered, but so far it has been empty due to the cold. Here’s a shot of the Sun Deck and the Back Porch Cafe.
The Back Porch Cafe
The Sun Deck
That’s about it for Deck 4. Deck five above us only has staterooms and a little-used sun deck. But it is a great place to go and take photos when it’s not raining. For instance, I took this merged panoramic from up there as we headed west. It’s the “Bridge of the Gods.” We had seen it near Hood River last Wednesday when we drove out this way.
Deck three consists solely of staterooms and the pilot house/bridge, although decks 2, 3, and 4 feature a special alcove that we will discuss in a minute. On deck two aft is the gym. It’s a somewhat unusual gym/exercise area because, while one side features a variety of workout equipment, the other is equipped with tables and chairs that can be used for playing cards or enjoying drinks. Not sure I want to do that while I smell the sweaty folks working out, but you do your thing, I’ll do mine ?. Here’s a pano of that interesting room.
This is the exercise room/gym as well as having a place you can sit and enjoy the view?
Deck two also has the laundry. Essentially, this consists of three stacked washers below three dryers in a small room, roughly the size of our closet at home. It is nice to be able to do some laundry, especially when we have already been on the road for six days and are trying to limit our luggage so it fits in the fan. It has been really busy until this afternoon. Strangely enough, the washer/dryer units are exactly the same ones Viking Ocean ships have. And since there is one laundry room on every deck on Viking Ocean ships with 950 guests and just one room on this ship with fewer than 200 guests, it’s really not that bad.
Another thing I really appreciate about this ship is the elevator that stops at every floor. Not for me, since I usually take the stairs on a cruise, but for Kathleen, who has knee and hip issues. I also like that around the elevator on decks 2, 3, and 4, there is a small, cozy room with couches, chairs, and tables. These are great spots to play games (with many options available), assemble a jigsaw puzzle (many are provided), or simply read a book (they have a small library). Here are pictures of each one.
On deck two
On deck three
On deck three
On deck four
On deck four
I think that about does it for today. I just wanted to give you an idea of what the ship looks like. YIKES! I just realized I don’t have a shot of the dining room. A room that truly exceeded our expectations. It’s big, there is a very large amount of space between tables, and our waiter (and others) only have two tables to deal with each, so the service is amazing. More about that and the food tomorrow. Here’s a photo I took with my iPhone from just before lunch yesterday.
The Dining Room
To sum up and conclude the headline…so far, American Cruise Line is far exceeding what I thought I would get. Except for a few small glitches (to be detailed later), I am totally impressed.
Exceeding expectations is where satisfaction ends and loyalty begins. —Ron Kaufman
If you, (like my good buddy Jayesh and I) are Princess Bride fans, you know that my headline is a quote from the amazing Inigo Montoya. But that’s how I usually begin my final post about a trip.
This trip was a good one. Before we went, everyone told us it was “the trip of a lifetime,” or “the best trip we ever took.” To be totally honest, it is one of the best trips, but not THE best. It does make the top five, but it’s not number one. For me, that spot is still held by our voyage to the Galapagos on Celebrity’s Flora. Let me explain. But not before I give you my favorite African Sunset photo to break up all the text.
The things we loved
The lodging was amazing in its own way. We have never stayed in such wonderful accommodations. Starting with the only one we booked ourselves (The Radisson Red on our first night in Cape Town) to the incredible game lodges at Tintswalo. All of them were great. Two of them had rooms larger than my first apartment (The Cape Grace in Cape Town and the Fairlawn Boutique Hotel and Spa in Johannesburg). The Victoria Falls hotel was just too colonial for me. Too much of a reminder of the way the European/Western world has exploited much of Africa and continues to do so monetarily today. And eating cold food because they have no indoor restaurant is just wrong.
The lodges at Tintswalo Safari Lodge may have been bigger than my first house. But I found them dark and way too isolated. Our room onboard the Zambezi Queen was fine. A little small, but just fine. And they need either doors that lock from the outside or larger safes, along with new and higher furniture in the common areas. When you have to struggle to get out of a couch, that couch needs to go ?.
One more thing about the lodging. It is drop-dead the finest in South Africa. If you visit the websites for the Cape Grace, Victoria Falls Hotel, Fairlawn, or Tintswalo, you will find that all charge around $1200 per night for a room similar to the one we had. To be honest, the best bed I slept on the entire trip was at the Radisson Red in Cape Town. Certainly, the service at the other hotels was amazing, but we also loved the service at the Red and would have been just fine staying there at $165 per night. However, if you want the best lodging in Southern Africa, this is the trip for you.
The food was fine with some amazing standouts. The Spiced Eggs I had for breakfast three days in a row at the Cape Grace in Cape Town were easily one of my favorite dishes ever. Our dinner at Marble in Johannesburg was delicious and a great dining experience. We are glad Beverleigh talked us into keeping our reservation. A few of the dishes at Tintswalo were so good I begged for the recipes, and happily, I have all four that I loved.
This trip included some once-in-a-lifetime experiences. My favorite things we did included our helicopter ride over Victoria Falls (I was too busy being amazed to worry about being in a helicopter). Our morning game drives at Tintswalo (all but one of the evening drives were a bust) and the excellent lectures we heard. The one on the boat in the Zambezi River about Dr. Livingston was especially enjoyable. The ongoing discussion of the historical significance of the mining industry in Johannesburg remains thought-provoking. Our day in the wine country with Gen was incredibly informative in many ways, not just about wine but also about South Africa.
But my drop-dead favorite experience of the entire trip was my solo (with only Gibson driving the boat) “birdwatching” trip on the Chobe River at the crack of dawn. As a photographer, that one was special. Here’s my favorite photo from that day.
I got some great photos. A significant part of why I travel is for the photography. It always makes me happy on a trip when I get great photos that I can come back and be proud of, but Southern Africa does have its photographic challenges.
I would guess that if you asked our wonderful fellow travelers who finished the trip with us at Tintswalo what their favorite segment of the trip was, they would say it was our three days at Tintswalo. For me, that was maybe my third favorite place.
It took me a few days at home working on photos to figure out why. As I compiled my 100 favorite photos from the entire trip (for the record, I took more than 8,000 pictures), I noticed something. The area around Kruger Park and Tintswalo that we visited for those three days was monotone. Everything was brown. Everything blended together.
It didn’t help that throughout our entire stay at Tintswalo, I felt rushed. Part of that feeling is due to my expectations. I thought there would be more free time. Knowing what I know now, I would have skipped all the evening game drives except the first one. Perhaps this is related to how jaded I became about the animals by the end of the trip. I am not sure how many elephants and hippos we saw, but it must have been in the thousands, especially if you include Cape buffalo. And don’t even think about counting the impalas ?.
The one major thing we didn’t like
There is a reason we probably would not do this trip again. And this is just me. I am sure that the others were fine with it, but for us, this trip is not something we would do over. Airports and airplanes are our least favorite part of travel. It would not be an exaggeration for me to say that they are the one part of traveling that I despise. And on this trip, to see everything, you have to spend a lot of time in airports and on airplanes. When I was out for my walk with Keeley (our dog) yesterday, I suddenly realized that was the problem (for us) with this trip. So when I got home, I added up our time in airports and on planes to make this trip happen. Not counting the time it took to travel to and from the airports, we spent 75.5 hours either waiting in an airport for a flight, on the flight, getting through passport control and customs after a flight or clearing it before one. That’s hell. If I had added it up before we booked the trip, we might not have gone. You don’t realize that you can easily lose entire days at airports and on flights.
Please don’t misunderstand me, we had a great time, but when I realized how much time we spent centered on flying, it blew me away. Just under one-fourth of the entire trip was spent getting to and flying on airplanes. Sadly, I don’t know how else we could have seen everything we did in that short amount of time, but until they invent the Star Trek transporter, I don’t plan on doing another trip like that ?.
As many of you know, Kathleen and I have cruised extensively. We have always said that one of the best parts of cruising is the fact that you only have to unpack once, and your hotel moves you around for a week. While that may have been true on the Chobe River, we never really unpacked anywhere. Which also tells you that we are not the type of travelers who like living out of a suitcase. And dragging two medium-sized suitcases, one carry-on, my backpack with camera and laptop, as well as Kathleen’s backpack, was not fun. I am always envious of people like our new friends, AJ and Diane, who can pack everything they need for an 18-day vacation into two large carry-ons. One pair of my shoes would fill that backpack. And this vacation was all about layering. We needed clothes for hot weather and clothes for cold weather. And there was no real laundry service or opportunity until we got to Tintswalo. Plus, in a few places (like Johannesburg), we couldn’t send any out because we weren’t there long enough for it to come back before we left.
This vacation was just too much moving from point A to point B. We loved all points A, B, C, D and E, but getting there was no fun.
The absolute best thing about the entire trip
Hands down, it was the proud people of Southern Africa. I don’t think we met a single person who lived there who wasn’t trying to be the best they could be, even though they may have been living through horrible circumstances. The service was hands down the best we have ever received in all our travels, and all were supplied with smiles and cheerful voices.
And the openness was amazing. The willingness to discuss their countries, how they felt about what was going on in their country and the world. They had opinions both good and bad, but they expressed them with calmness and thought. They answered my tough questions and made me want to know more about the region and their country. To see the faces of our Namibian crew on the Zambezi Queen singing their national anthem for us brought a tear to my eye. But hearing from a South African that their government still has some ugly remnants of apartheid made me mad as hell. And seeing the poverty of Soweto and the wealth of natural resources, leaving the country to make a profit for those outside of it, left me seething. But as my new friend AJ told me (a very wise man), this is a generational thing that won’t change overnight. But it does need to change.
People that stood out and were amazing included the incredible Delia (this trip could not happen without her), the wine expert Gen, who gave me a five-hour education and contributed to my knowledge of her country, my birdwatching buddy Gibson, who amazed me with his knowledge of the birds, animals and fauna of the Chobe river. And he speaks 11 languages and loves his work—you can tell. Bernard, who runs the Zambezi Queen, is a great leader and so proud of his country, Namibia. Our driver (it pains me that I did not find out his name) at the Fairlawns, who had frank discussions with us on our drives. Beverleigh, who shared her perspective on her country and its foibles during one of the best dinner discussions I have had during our travels. Every single person we met at the Kliptown Youth Program in Soweto, but especially Thando Bezana. Their spirit is indomitable. They are succeeding where others have failed. They truly make a difference. Perhaps they are the beginning of that generational change that AJ discussed.
And speaking of AJ, we met and traveled with some really great folks. We missed our new friends Lorraine, Betty and Dennis at Tintswalo when they took the train as their end-of-trip excursion. Our final 12 at Tintswalo were the heart and soul of our group. AJ and Diane (who we hope to see again in the Bay Area). They did a great job of tempering my enthusiasm with their well-thought-out views. I always gravitate to people like that because they are what I need to slow me down and get me to think. The two Marinas were a total hoot. M-1 was always fun and M-2 just totally cracked us up. Riding in the back of the safari truck with her made the afternoon game drive a bunch more fun. Vicky, David, Sonnet and Fred were great people to be around, and just listening to Nancy‘s tales and Rich’s stories of cooking for her still brings a smile to my face. Look in the dictionary under “picky eater” if you want to see what Nancy looks like ?.
That about does it. We had a great time, we wish we had flown less and been able to spend more time seeing things, but Delia made it possible for us to get through airports without wanting to jump off a cliff. Thanks for coming along. Watch this space in October when the October Bunch does Portland and a Columbia River cruise.
I want to leave you with a photo that kind of sums up the end of things. I saved it for just this spot. It’s the end. Enjoy.
The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa – for he has so much to look forward to. – Richard Mullin
After passing out (not really, but it felt like it) and sleeping for almost 12 straight hours, I awoke to Kathleen feeling lousy and telling me I should go and grab some breakfast. That was when I discovered it was an outdoor restaurant and freeeezzzziiinnnggg. I had a piece of cold toast and a cup of lukewarm tea. That got me through to lunch. On the way to breakfast, I did get a chance to catch some photos of the spray rising from the falls with the rising sun behind it. Here’s a few to start the day. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
A dinosaur?
Kathleen says this one looks like an elephant.
After my quick shots and the tea and toast, I was off to the walking tour of Victoria Falls in the national park. We had a great guide, and he took us along the trail that has approximately 15 lookouts, each with increasing amounts of spray. It is a beautiful waterfall that you have to wear a poncho to tour. I can only imagine how much spray there must be during the rainy season.
Here are the photos I took along the walk. I am not thrilled with them because, basically, the water/spray looks white, the sky looks white, and everything else is black. BORING…but you be the judge.
Dr. Livingston…I presume?
Not a lot to caption.
Water goes down.
Spray comes up.
I did see a rainbow!!!!
I shot from behind trees.
Anything to get interesting.
This is kind of pretty.
And this.
Now, here’s something interesting on the trail.
And some of our friends on the viewpoint behind me.,
Looking into the cavern.
And another falls
Folks in their ponchos.
More water, more spray
They all kind of look alike.
More white water.
One last one.
These guys are performing everywhere. Same guys that welcomed us to the hotel and then at the train.
They were there when we finished our tour.
Lunch was on our own, and Kathleen was feeling better, so when I returned to the hotel, we went to the other outdoor venue and sat in the hot sun, getting warmed up. The food was okay, but I only ate half of the burger and left the other half of my fries. That tells you how lousy I was feeling. But we were both up for the next part of the day.
HELICOPTER FLIGHT OVER THE FALLS!!!
Now for the GOOOOD part. In the afternoon, we had planned a helicopter flyover tour of the falls with Zambezi Helicopters. It only flies for about 12 minutes, but it does a very cool loop over the falls that lets us see everything. And I was thrilled with the photos AND VIDEO I got. Away we go. Quick note: we could have booked the same flight through AMA, but it was about $100 US more, so we booked it ourselves. I called AMA and asked when we would need to be back. They told me 4:00 pm for the evening cruise on the Zambezi. When Delia announced 3:30, we were afraid we would miss the cruise…but we just made it.
Before watching the videos, please adjust your sound level to a comfortable setting. Helicopters are REALLY LOUD. Did I mention this was our very first ride in a helicopter? It was. Smoother than silk.
That’s the first video. Here are some still shots that I love. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Not the helicopter we were on, but we did fly her on the her next tour.
This is the map. They go both directions over the Falls in a figure eight look so you can get views from both sides.
From the start
The canyons that lead away from the falls
Looking down on their beauty.
Totally different than walking next to them in the morning,.
Loved our first in a lifetime helicopter ride.
Loving these shots.
From all the angles.
Totally amazing.
Now we get it.
Amazing
Just love it.
Blew me away.
Incredible.
I have now officially run out of superlatives.
Here’s the second video. Thankfully for you, they are very short. Again, adjust your sound. Turn it down.
This was one part of the trip that will definitely stay with us. After the ride, we raced back to the hotel, and we got there with three minutes to spare before we were off for a dinner cruise on the Zambezi River above the falls. While onboard, we heard a very interesting lecture about the explorer David Livingstone from one of his biographers, a long-time British guide.
Of course, when you are on the Zambezi River at sunset, you have to take a photo. So, here’s my last shot from a very long day.
Tomorrow: On to Johannesburg!
The most impactful place I’ve been to, where I was completely awestruck, happy, and moved, is Victoria Falls, located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is probably the most beautiful and romantic place in the world. — Hill Harper
As it turns out, this game lodge (in the absolute middle of nowhere) had great internet. Go figure.
Right now, it has been almost a week since the day I am about to write about. I am sitting in the main lodge at Tintswalo Game Lodges, watching a small herd of elephants drink water less than 30 feet from me. I have stopped writing this at least five times to go out and take their photos, but I have sooooo much to cover before you will see those. Let’s finish up our Zambezi Queen story.
Pre-Dawn Solo Birdwatching
This was our last full day on the Zambezi Queen and they had scheduled another optional birdwatching tour at 6:30 am. When they had done this on our first morning, there had been about eight of us who went out on the boat with Gibson.
I had promised myself to do every game/birdwatch cruise they offered us so I was up and ready to go. Sadly, no one else was. When Gibson came to get everyone and found just me waiting, I told him it was OK if he didn’t want to go out. That I would just stay on the Queen and process photos. He told me, “If I don’t take you I will be stuck either cleaning or assisting with breakfast. I would much rather be on the river in my boat. I will take you someplace that we don’t usually go but it is the best place to see birds.” How could I pass that up? So I got in the boat and off we went. I have to say that this morning cruise with Gibson was absolutely (so far with three days to go) one of the true highlights of the cruise for me.
We started out going in an entirely different direction than we had on all the other game cruises. We went towards the rapids that led to Victoria Falls. As we approached them, I could see thousands of nesting birds silhouetted by the rising sun. We stayed right in that area for more than an hour, with me getting to shoot any bird I wanted to my heart’s content. He would ask how I wanted the boat positioned so I could get the best shot and the best light. What a guy!!!
We also saw a couple of crocodiles and hippos. On the way back to breakfast (which was totally up to me), we stopped alongside a herd of Cape buffalo and I got my favorite animal photo up to that point. I am not much of a bird photographer, and if you are, these may disappoint you, but they make me happy. Plus I got another great African sunrise. Here are the pics from that morning trip with my new best photo friend, Gibson. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
My attempt at shooting the African moon as it set. I never have luck with moon shots but this one is pretty good.
Now the start of my day with Gibson, sunrise.
And all those trees are full of bird’s nests.
And soon the sky is full of birds.
And the sun comes up enough that you can clearly see the nests.
And they are everywhere.
A yellow billed stork
Waiting for a fly by. And there it is.
More sunrise nests
And more.
And More.
And still more. They are just so amazing. I am hoping you are looking at these full screen, with your monitor set to its brightest setting.
But more nests catch my eye in a new light.
Every photo seems different as the light changes.
Depending on where I look, it’s amazing.
I see a Yellow-billed stork flying by.
Quick action shot.
Not my camera skill on this shot but Gibson’s boat driving.
The Yellow-billed storks are gorgeous.
And I keep finding them in new places.
As we return for breakfast, I see two fishermen that Gibson tells me are checking their nets that they have left there overnight.
Then we say this guy. He as beyond majestic.
Especially when you see him in this shot.
And we returned to a comic Bernard pretending to pull in our boat.
Visiting the locals
After breakfast, everyone boarded the smaller boats to return to Namibia, heading towards a small village just east of the border station. Our guide for the morning was Tecklar, a young, single woman who lived there. She shared that the village, which had just under 40 residents, including men, women, and children, was relatively new. Tecklar had recently become a part of the community, and she had to apply to the village elder, the regional chief of the tribe, and finally the government to be allowed to move in.
Editor’s note:At this point I welcome any of my fellow travelers to correct me on any facts, as it has been over a week since our visit, and my memory might be a bit hazy.
While we were in the village we were shown the lodgings, new well and solor system, the gardens and finally the village gathering place where almost the entire village sang and danced for us. It was a an awesome visit. They even had a small bazaar set up where they sold things they had made. We came home with a hand-painted bowl and a carved wooden giraffe. So here are my photos from the visit. Hopefully you got a chance to watch the video above of the village entertaining us. You know the drill. Don’t forget to click the photos to make them bigger.
This is our guide Tecklar
On the way to the village (and every time we went to the Namibia border) we passed this small store and bar. Sometimes (like this morning,) no one was there. Other times it would be packed.
Tecklar tells us about how they build their homes and how long she had to wait for permission to join the village.
The village garden.
Strange how there was no running water or indoor plumbing, but there were satellite dishes.
A typical home.
The local well.
Guavas.
Time for dancing
And singing
And more singing
And more dancing.
This gave me a great chance to do some people pictures.
Some of our group joined the dancing.
The drummers were excellent.
This little guy spent most of the performance under his mom’s feet.
One of the drummers.
The costumes were beautiful.
So were the faces.
So much of the African spirit.
This guy had it too.
He was so photogenic
I loved shooting him. He just draws the lens.
So did this woman.
And the guys.
They passed around grains they use in cooking.
Kathleen enjoyed the show.
Bernard (our cruise director) has a twin brother ? who plays the drums.
They look amazingly alike.
And just so you can hear the music, here’s a short video.
Afternoon Game Cruise
After a quick bite for lunch, we were off on our last game cruise of our voyage. Kathleen decided to stay and pack, so I was off with a few of the others and Gibson. He finds us the best stuff. I need to add that Kathleen did not miss much by staying on the Zambezi Queen. While she packed, the Queen sailed up and down the river, and they saw as many animals as we did. Maybe they weren’t close, but they were definitely close enough. I will put some of her iPhone photos up later so you can see what I mean.
Instead of going into detail in text about what we saw on this last game cruise, I will just let my photos do the talking. Enjoy. Captions identify but you have to change into slide show mode to see them.
I loved the way this elephant was perfectly framed by this arch.
Momma and baby hippo
A family of giraffes
So often these are alone, it was great to see them together.
I loved these two.
This may be the cover of my Africa book.
Or this one.
Part of Fish Eagle triptych
An African Fish Eagle grabs prey from the shore.
And flies away with it.
This tree just said Africa.
The same place we had seen hundreds of other animals on different days and times…
Was now totally filled with elephants
And a lone giraffe.
And this little guy and his mom.
A new village being built.
See the large mound behind the woman carrying water? That’s a termite mound.
The local bus.
Some guys waiting for a taxi.
Gibson took a wide-berth around these guys.
That covers the day. It was back to the Queen for a final night dinner that featured some of the incredible crew members singing and dancing for us afterward. More tomorrow.We just got back from a game drive, it’s freezing, we ate dinner and are going to bed because we go out again tomorrow morning at 6:00 pm.
We have never sailed on American Cruise Lines (ACL) before. When speaking with people who have experienced it or reading reviews online, the results are typically mixed. Some love it, others not so much. One member of our Trilogy Travel Club really dislikes them, while another has taken three cruises with them and loved two of them and is going again. So, expectations were not high, but I came into this with an open mind.
One of the benefits of being on Deck 4 is that both the River Lounge at the front of the ship and the Sky Lounge at the back of the ship are on our floor. The River Lounge is where performances, lectures, and other fun activities take place. Last night, our entertainment was a very funny guy named Kevin Neil. His performance was called “Cowboys and Curmudgeons” and, as I said, was hilarious in a dad-joke kind of way.
Deck two also has the laundry. Essentially, this consists of three stacked washers below three dryers in a small room, roughly the size of our closet at home. It is nice to be able to do some laundry, especially when we have already been on the road for six days and are trying to limit our luggage so it fits in the fan. It has been really busy until this afternoon. Strangely enough, the washer/dryer units are exactly the same ones Viking Ocean ships have. And since there is one laundry room on every deck on Viking Ocean ships with 950 guests and just one room on this ship with fewer than 200 guests, it’s really not that bad.
