Squeekie and Moss with their special guests in the Pinnacle Grill on April 1st.
Suzie and Roy posed for their picture in the Pinnacle
It looks like Chicken Pot Pie but in fact it was a sweet dessert; just one of the menu surprises in our Pinnacle dinner on April Fools Day
Roy really liked the “Chicken Not Pie” dessert!
Suzie liked the chocolate candies at the end of the meal.
Suzie and Roy were happy to be introduced to Kim de Klerck, the Pinnacle Grill Manager
Squeekie and Suzie off to the Crow’s Nest for the Pajama Party
Moss and Roy on their way to the Pajama Party
Henk Mensing the Hotel Manager was resting near the Pajama Party on Deck Nine.
Squeekie and Suzie danced the night away in the Crow’s Nest
Squeekie sat next to Captain Olav at the Captain’s Dinner
Arriving in the Seychelles; this is the port for the capital city of Victoria on Mahe Island
Squeekie and I begin our exploration of Victoria, the world’s smallest capital city.
Squeekie at the Natural History Museum
The morning market in Victoria
Squeekie studies the produce at the morning market
One of the fish vendors at the morning market; he was selling tuna.
Crafts were being sold on the upper level of the market.
Statue of Pierre Poivre, who settled the first community in the Seychelles islands
L’horloge, the Big Ben clock tower which marked the local celebration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee.
Moss in front of Victoria’s Hindu Temple, built to serve the sizeable minority population of Hindu Indians on Mahe.
A little boy inside the Hindu temple.
The majority of Seychellois are Catholic, and this is the cathedral for the islands.
Squeekie with the now-extinct Seychelles crocodile at the Natural History Museum/
It was Palm Sunday and many Seychellois were on their way to or from church.
Our tour bus climbed up into the mountain area behind Victoria, giving us a great view of the harbour.
High in the mountains our tour guide Tina showed us the bark of a cinnamon tree.
Moss and Squeekie near the top of the mountain peak which forms the backbone of Mahe Island.
The beaches and reefs on the west side of Mahe, seen from the top of the mountains.
Squeekie gets to know a land tortoise
Moss gets to know a land tortoise
The land tortoises undertake sex education
Victoria and the port on the east side of Mahe
Squeekie works on her suntan
Time to cool off in the ocean
Squeekie takes a dip in the Indian Ocean
Moss takes a dip in the Indian Ocean
Squeekie says farewell to Victoria in the Seychelles.
Adios Seychelles!
Seventy-second Day (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)-- This is April Fools Day and the ship is taking this day in full stride! The customary events of the day were parodied or lampooned in some way; for example, the watercolour class (which is enjoyed by our Canadian friend Iris) was turned into Finger Painting. Squeekie came back from her sporting events in full humour, so these satires were successful. It is really nice to see mature adults acting like children. . . . On a more serious side, the Internet connection was down today, so Squeekie was unable to do Edison work and I could not send some completed blog entries out to whomever is still reading them. (I do appreciate the seven family members who have read my commentary, patiently waiting often weeks for updates to be sent. Thanks for your patience, dear ones.) I continued to write and sort pictures today. I especially had fun working in Photoshop to stitch together some panorama photographs. I LOVE digital photography! Late in the afternoon Squeekie came back ecstatic from her first participation in Bingo; she had won nearly sixty dollars along with a tee-shirt and a keychain.
To celebrate the spirit of the day the Pinnacle Grill had another of its special dinners this evening, called “Menu Surprise.” We joined in the festivities by inviting two special guests to our “regular” table at the Pinnacle, none other than Suzie (Squeekie’s teddy bear) and Roy (my tyrannosaurus). Warned in advance of our attempts to be silly, Kim (the Pinnacle Manager) set two extra places at “our” table, complete with fine china, silverware and folded napkins. Our little guests even had their pictures taken by Henry, one of the staff photographers on this voyage. Between the staff’s joking at Suzie and Roy (and some of the guests doing so too), and the funny items on the menu (such as “Meatloaf Cupcakes” and “Faux Berry Pie,” both of which were ground beef parodies of other food items), we had a great time—the best April Fools Day ever!
But this was not the end of the days joking spirit. At 10 o’clock this evening a Pajama Party started up in the Crow’s Nest. All four of us (Squeek and Suzie, myself and Roy) quickly changed into our ‘jammies and went upstairs to the party. This was a “coming out” event for the animals, and they were lionized by the other guests at the party. (These stuffed animals have since become rather well known on the Rotterdam.) People really got into the event; some showed up with curlers and face cream, others with toothbrushes, and even a few other stuffed animals. One brave guy (or was this HIS coming out party?) even came in curlers and a woman’s nightie! Squeekie and I (and Suzie and Roy) danced the night away. It was a lot of fun!!!
Seventy-third Day (Thursday, April 2, 2009)-- The increased “pirate” activity in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia caused the Rotterdam to change her course across the Arabian Sea from the Persian Gulf to the East African coast, giving a wider skirt to the area of potential danger. When we left Muscat-Oman, we sailed essentially due south into the heart of this western lobe of the Indian Ocean, far away from the traditional shipping lanes. This course has taken us past the very remote island of Socotra, which is one of the most isolated non-volcanic landforms in the world. This remote place has some interesting flora and fauna because of its seclusion, but we passed too far away to see any of it. At a certain point in this journey into remoteness we turned west to head toward the Seychelles Islands, our next port of call. This unusual route added many miles to our journey, and made for an extra couple of days at sea, but it reduced the danger of collision with the pirates. These pirates had made news just now with their capture of an America-flagged container ship (I didn’t know we had any American-flagged ships left in international trade) and the kidnapping of its captain. We avoided all of that. Oh yes, we also had our “anti-pirate” security out—spotters on deck three at all times day and night, each spotter wearing protective vests and standing by the railing-mounted high-pressure fire hose “guns.” Unless the pirates bring into use RPGs (rifle-propelled grenades) which have the power to blow a hole in the metal plating on the sides of our ship, we seem to be reasonably well protected against this danger. I did not go to breakfast this morning, but Captain Olav joined Squeekie on the back deck as she enjoyed her morning tea, and they discussed this issue. The remainder of the day was a typical at sea time, but this evening held a special event.
Tonight was our turn to be guests at the Captain’s Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. Every full voyage guest will receive an invitation to one of these events which are held several times over the course of the voyage, and tonight was our turn. Squeekie was ecstatic to be seated not just at the captain’s own table (rather than at one of the other tables where junior officers were in attendance), but to be seated immediately to his right! The evening began at 6:30pm with cocktails in the Ambassador’s Lounge and a formal introduction to the Captain and to Henk Mensink, the Hotel Manager. In fact both of these officers know Squeekie and I quite well already, but etiquette must be followed. However, Squeekie got a hug from the Captain, not just a polite handshake. (The formal photograph of this greeting has been posted in a place of honour in our stateroom.) After a champagne toast and some introductory remarks from Captain Olav we walked down one deck to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. The meal was wonderful as would be expected, but the real pleasure of the evening was the opportunity to chat with Olav. Even though he did his best to spread his time and attention among all of the guests seated at our table, Squeek was the beneficiary of the majority of his awareness—she was elated. Each of us was presented with a gift of a sterling silver keychain with the Holland-America logo on it, but I think Squeekie was a bit disappointed that the keys to the ship were not on it.
All too soon this special event came to an end, but we did not wish the evening to end. Sowe went to the Ocean Bar for a nightcap and met the Environmental Officer and his wife, Derek and Carol Williams. We had a nice chat with them for some time until Squeek left to go to the show. I retired to the stateroom.
Seventy-fourth Day (Friday, April 3, 2009)-- Today was yet another day at sea on our voyage through the Indian Ocean along the “anti-piracy” route. I spent a lot of time writing (and cataloguing and preparing pictures) on the computer; Squeekie attended a meeting to prepare her for the safari she was scheduled to take when we arrive in Kenya a few days from now. There really was nothing else of interest to write about today.
Seventy-fifth Day (Saturday, April 4, 2009)-- We awoke as Rotterdam was approaching the Seychelles, or rather, I should say as she was approaching the island of Mahe, the main island in the Seychelles group. The port harbour was at Victoria, the capital city of the islands. The locals are proud to say that Victoria is the smallest capital city in the world, and I can believe it. In fact, we arrived at Victoria one day earlier than our original itinerary had said, because of the continuing need to skirt the areas of possible pirate trouble. We had already traveled a “skirting” route down from the Persian Gulf at the brisk pace of 22 knots. Now, when we left the Seychelles, we would have to continue our skirting journey, swinging way south of the islands as we headed to Mombassa on the coast of Kenya, our next stop. This change was good in one way, for Victoria rolled up its sidewalks fairly early, and all day on Sundays, so arriving on Saturday allowed us to see more of life in these islands tan we otherwise would have seen.
Squeekis and I took the shuttle bus into the heart of town, which only took about ten minutes because it is so small and compact. We were headed for the morning market which we knew would close at noon, and we wanted to get a feel of this place while it still bustled with the activities of the Seychellois themselves. We arrived in time to see the marketing going on. There were vendors selling the fruits and vegetables grown upon the island itself, and other vendors selling freshly caught fish—tuna seemed to be predominant. On the upper floor of the market complex were vendors selling arts and crafts, and fabric items; Squeekie made a few purchases. Altogether it was a very interesting slice of life.
After our fill of the market we resumed our walking tour. We passed by two interesting statues which hint at the islands’ history. Inside a mini-park sits a modern statue commemorating Peter Poivre, a French administrator from the eighteenth century. Nearby, at one road intersection in Victoria (there was only one street traffic light in this town, supporting the claim of being the world’s smallest capital city) we came across a very different statue on the island in the middle of the intersection. Known by locals as L’Horloge, it is a miniature replica of the famous Big Ben clock tower on the British House of Parliament in London. Painted a silvery colour, this metal replica tells the time and otherwise gleams in the sunlight. These statues tell of the modern history of the Seychelles islands. French is the preferred language of the islands, but English is also official; this dichotomy indicates how the islands changed ownership between the British and French as a by-product of the various wars between these European powers in the eighteenth century. Peter Poivre (“Peter Pepper”) was the first French administrator of these islands in the eighteenth century, and oversaw the planting of spices which were to become the islands’ major export. The islands fell into British hands as one outcome of the Napoleonic wars, but the French cultural trend of the Seychelles was already well established. In 1896 the island decided to erect a monument to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, but she died before the Big Ben testimonial was completed in 1903. The islands received their independence in 1974 (?) and in recent years have become a popular beach resort for European vacationers.
A bit of history and fact-- The Seychelles are a group of just over 100 islands which lie 990 miles east off the coast of east Africa. The main island is Mahe, where the capital city of Victoria lies. The islands are not volcanic, but rather granitic with some coral build up; geologists believe these islands to be a tiny remnant of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana which fell off of India as it was crashing into Asia to form the Himalayas some 65 million years ago. The Seychelles were uninhabited until 1609, when ships of the British East India Company made landfall to obtain fresh water and food. Over the next several decades shiploads of pirates moved their operations from the Caribbean into the Indian Ocean and used the Seychelles as their base. In 1742 the French governor of Mauritius Island sent a ship to check on the islands. The ship’s captain named the main island after his governor (Mahe) and the island group after a noble French administrator (Marquis de Sechelle), thereby establishing French claim to the islands. In 1770 the first load of French settlers and slaves arrived in the Seychelles and b egan growing spices, cassava, sugar cane, coffee, sweet potatoes, and corn (Maize); they also began harvesting the giant tortoise for meat, although, fortunately, not to the point of extinction.. By the end of the eighteenth century the British had taken an interest in the islands and, due to the inability of the French navy to protect French interests overseas, the Seychelles (and much else) had transferred into British ownership as a result of the several wars between Britain and France. Transfer became official in 1814, but the French language and culture were well enough established that they remain to this day. To this day English and French remain the dual official languages of the Seychelles, although most natives also speak a Creole dialect of French among themselves.
Back to our adventure-- Next in our walk through Victoria was a stop at a Hindu temple, which serves the religious needs of the island’s Hindu minority. I took pictures outside, while Squeekie went inside and got some nice views of a little boy playing among the statues. Up on a hillside at the northern end of town was the Catholic Cathedral which served the large Christian population. It was somewhat plain by Catholic standards, but the coloured windows were nice in the tropical sunlight. By this time it was after twelve noon and the town was beginning to roll up its sidewalks, so we were unable to visit the two museums I would have liked to have seen. We took the shuttle bus back to the Rotterdam and spent the remainder of the afternoon resting, writing, and decompressing.
Seventy-sixth Day (Sunday, April 5, 2009)-- Although I was slow to realize it, today was Palm Sunday. As we drove around on our tour today we saw many Seychellois on their way to or from church carrying palm branches. We had an interesting tour this morning. In the care of our guide Tina, we drove up into and over the mountain which forms the backbone of the island of Mahe. Our first stop was at a place called the “Mission Lodge,” where there were ruins of what once had been a school for the children of freed slaves. The school apparently was popular in its day (1860s), but had not lasted too long because of its very long distance from Victoria up on top of the mountain. In the area of the former school Tina pointed out some of the vegetation of the island. Much of this flora had been brought into the island by the French who were anxious to use the Seychelles as their own “spice island” without having to sail all the way to Indonesia. In such fashion Plumerias, papayas, avocados, cinnamon and other plants and trees were brought into the island, in many cases crowding out the native flora. At one point Tina came to a tree and peeled off a piece of the bark and passed it around. It was cinnamon! I was very pleased to see these spices in their native environment. . . .
A bit later on in our drive we came upon tea bushes growing on the hillside. Tea is a bush, not a tree, and it likes higher altitudes. Originally native to Nepal in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains, tea was introduced in ancient times into China, and from there was exported to other places by Europeans. The small plantations we saw manage to support a small local tea industry. We stopped at a tea tavern and were treated to the product; the tea flavoured with a hint of vanilla was delicious!
By this time we were facing the western side of the island of Mahe, and there were beautiful views of the turquoise seas and sugar-white beaches on this side. Our tour bus came down to the waters’ edge but almost immediately ascended by another road back into the mountain backbone. At one point on this new road we passed by a repeating station owned by BBC, one of the special facilities they use to transmit their signals around the world. At the summit of this road we stopped at another look out point to see the east side of the island, and there, in miniature, was Rotterdam anchored. What a view!
As we came down back into the outskirts of Victoria one more time we stopped at the Botanical Gardens, which struck me as a tropical version of the gardens at the Huntington Library. Predominant there were the Coco-de-Mer palms which are rare and native to the Seychelles. You don’t want to stand or sit beneath one of these trees as the nuts which drop to the ground weight as much as 40 pounds. At one point on our walk through the gardens Tina pointed out some fruit bats sleeping high in a tree, I did my best to photograph these animals (which some native Seychellois catch and eat) but I had not brought my long telephoto, so the pictures are marginal at best. Also resident in the gardens are a large colony of land tortoises. They were not afraid of humans and allowed us to come up to them and touch their heads. Both Squeekie and I did this. One of the male turtles was feeling his oats this day and set out on a sex education class for the young Seychellois boys who were nearby. I must confess that watching tortoises “going at it” was worthy of pictures but otherwise of little interest, although the boys thought it to be newsworthy. The male tortoise’s cries of pleasure (?) could be heard throughout the botanical gardens.
After the tour we returned to the ship and changed our clothes. I had decided that this afternoon Squeekie and I would hire a taxi and go over to the western side of the island to enjoy the beaches. We had a good driver (we paid him to stay nearby all afternoon), and we selected a good beach. Squeekie had a wonderful time alternating between tanning and splashing in the surf, and I had an equally wonderful time watching her in her bathing suit. (Maybe that tortoise had had more influence on me than I thought?) While I am not ready to forego my love of the beach at the Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the Beau Vallon beach on Mahe was very nice, with powdery coral-derived sand, and water that was warm to the touch, although there was a lot of vegetation floating in the waves as they came ashore. It was Sunday, but the tropical natives mostly remained indoors away from the direct sun in the midday hours, but as the sun westerned in the afternoon more and more natives came out to enjoy their beach. Not all of them thought it necessary to cover their bodies from the rays of the sun, either. Finally, after nearly three and a half hours learning why Europeans travel through three time zones and endure twelve hours of flight to get to the beaches of the Seychelles, we hailed our standing-by taxi man and were carried back to the Rotterdam.
Our mighty floating home sailed away from Port Victoria just as the sun set over the mountains of Mahe at 5:30 pm. I was able to get some nice pictures of my beautiful Squeekie on forward Deck Six with the clouds and setting sun behind her. The Seychelles were an interesting experience, and while I feel no great need to return here very soon, I will happily remember these islands as a good place whose natives warmly welcomed visitors.
