Saturday, April 25, 2009









A frigate bird flying next to the ship hinted at the presence of land.


This was our first view of the coast of East Africa—we were south of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania.

Amir watches closely for pirates as we cruise northward along the coast of East Africa; fire hoses stand ready to push off unwanted boarders.


Seventy-seventh Day (Monday, April 6, 2009)-- We are at sea today, circling south of the Seychelles in our roundabout route into Mombassa to skirt the area of pirate activity. Captain Olav had breakfast with Squeekie this morning and informed her that our scheduled stop in Nosy Be, Madagascar, has been cancelled due to the political turmoil in that country, and instead we will spend one extra day in Mombassa, Kenya. I am joyful over this because the extra time in Kenya allows me the opportunity to take the train up to Nairobi and back.

We are sailing southwesterly through the Somali Basin, passing south of an island group known as Les Amirantes (originally so named in 1502 by Vasco da Gama on his second voyage), which are a part of the Seychelles “Outer Islands.” West of these islands the ocean floor is rather deep, in some cases over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). There are three important ocean currents in this area: the Equatorial Current flowing eastward, the South Equatorial Current flowing westerly, and, as we near the coast, the East African Current.

This morning was spent in the Crow’s Nest trying to catch up on my blog which is so far behind—but it seems that I never do catch up. Oh, well. . . . In the afternoon we called Leslee on the cell phone and had a nice chat catching up on events. Then we tried to call Nairobi to obtain a reservation in the sleeper on the train in Kenya. The electronic world of the cell is very nice at times!


Seventy-eighth Day (Tuesday, April 7, 2009)-- Another day at sea as Rotterdam circles toward Mombassa and the coast of East Africa. Early today we passed Aldabra Island, a raised coral atoll which is a part of the Seychelles even though it is more than 700 miles (as the sea cormorant flies) west of Mahe and Victoria. This island is home to the world’s largest population of giant tortoises; over 100,000 live on this protected site. I spent the day writing and working on pictures.

Just after lunch we had our first sighting of the coast of East Africa—a low land with palm trees. This was the malarial coast of Tanzania south of Zanzibar; we turned north to follow the coast up to Mombasa. I noted that our security staff had manned numerous posts around the ship, mainly on Deck Three. I went down and spoke with Amir, one of the guys I have gotten to know on this voyage, and learned from him some of what they are trained to do in the event of contact with the Somali “pirates.” Fire hoses are mounted at various places along the railing, ready to be used to wash off (with their powerful spray) attempts at boarding. Amir also wore a special vest; it was not bullet proof, he said, but it would protect against knife thrusts. He scanned the horizon with special binoculars—I think that they were designed to pick up human body heat. All in all, short of carrying major weapons, I think our security forces are prepared to deal with the pirates—at least those pirates who do not use heavy weapons themselves. Since the capture of the American container vessel and the kidnapping of its captain a few days ago, concern about pirate activity in this area has increased. I am pleased that Holland-America has responded in this way, rather than just flat out stopping all sailings into areas threatened by these evil persons.

Tonight was a formal night and Suzie joined us as our guest. She and Roy have become news items on the Rotterdam since the Pajama Party, and people wish to meet them. Tonight was Suzie’s turn.


Seventy-ninth Day (Wednesday, April 8, 2009)-- For the first time on this grand voyage, Squeekie has become bored on at sea days. Yesterday and today she seemed uninterested and could not focus on doing anything. This caused problems for me as I continue to struggle to catch up on my writing and getting our downloaded pictures organized and sorted.

I am excited (and a bit nervous) about the forthcoming train trip. I had great difficulty getting through to agents in Mombassa and Nairobi, so at last I turned to our Front Office staff and they were WONDERFUL. They worked through their shipping agent in Nairobi and all is taken care of—reservations, sleeper, entry to the museum. I do confess, however, at a little fear if I should have an attack while traveling alone, but Chantal solved that one for me. We wrote out an instruction sheet of what to do and I will carry one copy of it in my Passport and another in the pills I am taking with me.

This evening was another special dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, the Italian Dinner. We were joined at “our” table by a couple from North Carolina. They had taken the overnight excursion to Delhi and the Taj Mahal (differing from the daytime trip Squeekie had taken) and Squeek was eager to trade observations with them. I just sat there and listened, while going over in my mind my thoughts on my upcoming train trip.


Eightieth Day (Thursday, April 9, 2009)-- We awoke this morning to find Rotterdam already docked in Mombasa. Both Squeekie and I were VERY excited because this day marked the beginning of adventures! She was thrilled because just after breakfast she would be leaving to go on her overnight safari to see the animals of Africa. I was keyed up because this afternoon I would catch the train to Nairobi. Yes, it was an energized morning! I joined Squeekie for breakfast on the back deck, and then saw her off on her expedition. She was sooooooo happy—it was a good sight to see. I then spent the rest of the day preparing for my train trip.

In the two blogs which follow, you can read Squeekie’s account of her safari to Masai Mara, and my account of the train trip to Nairobi and my visit to the National Railway Museum.

Before we go away (to the two next blogs) to tell of our adventures, however, just a short account seems to be in order of the local history of Mombasa. Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, and that county’s primary port. It is also the centre of the coastal tourism industry, with close access to some nice beaches and high-quality hotels. The city is built upon an island, which today is connected to the mainland by a causeway which carries the railway and a road. In the local Swahili dialect the city is called “Kisiwa ya Mvita,” which means “Island of War,” referring to its many changes in ownership over time. Arab traders recorded the existence of a port at this site as early as the twelfth century AD; it may have been an important embarkation point for the Arabic slave trade which predated the European slave trade by over five hundred years. The city also was referred to in written Arabic accounts as the “seat of the Zenj (black African) kingdom.” Vasco da Gama charted the East Coast of Africa at the end of the fifteenth century, and in 1505 a Portuguese convoy arrived at Mombasa to set up a military base allegedly to protect the local people, but in fact to form a safe re-provisioning base for Portuguese ships making the long voyage to and from India. Fort Jesus, which still stands over the entrance to the old harbour in Mombasa, is a remnant of this time. Designed by Portuguese-Italian architect Joao Batista Cairato, it was erected by Portuguese troops near the end of the sixteenth century. The fort was occupied in turn by Portuguese, local, Omani, and British troops, indicating changes in ownership over time. The Sultan of Oman controlled Mombasa for much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, apparently to control the slave trade into the Islamic world. This control came to an abrupt end in 1886 when the British navy moved in and took control of Mombasa (and other points on Africa’s east coast) specifically to end the slave trade. Mombasa then became a focal point of British efforts to control access into the interior of East Africa and the headwaters of the Nile River. For additional history of this area, please go to my later blog about my railway trip into the interior of Kenya. But before I go to that one, I am including a blog written by Squeekie describing her safari to the Masai Mara National Park.













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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.































































































































































































































































Land’s end on the south side of the Straits of Hormuz.

A typical ship in the Straits of Hormuz.

Rotterdam entering Muscat Harbour.

Squeekie watches as the Rotterdam docks at Muscat.

Sultan Qaboos’ Grand Mosque; it was raining hard in Muscat this morning—it was their one day of rain in the year, or so they said.

Armed guards check each visitor to the mosque to make sure they are properly dressed.

Our tour guide showed us how to clean ourselves to enter the prayer hall—mouth, nose, ears, face, hands, and feet.

Squeekie properly covered to come into the mosque.

The main prayer hall in the Grand Mosque; the Persian rug on the floor is the largest one in the world, we were told.

The inside of the dome and the main chandelier in the prayer hall.

Looking straight up into the dome.

One of the gardens outside the mosque.

The Womens’ Hall

The Rotterdam docked in Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat

A Maria Theresa silver dollar from Austria in the 1780s on a piece of woman’s jewelry in the Muscat museum.

A street in the older part of Muscat; our tour bus is on the way to the Sultan’s palace.

Sultan Qaboos’ Palace in Muscat.

Sultan Qaboos did not invite us in for tea!

The old houses in Muscat have wind towers similar to those in Dubai.

Squeekie in the Old Souk in Muscat

Squeekie trying on her new gold necklace in the store in the Old Souk.

As Rotterdam left Muscat, the Sultan’s Palace was our last view of the city.



Seventieth Day (Monday, March 30, 2009)-- This was a very interesting at sea day because at about 11 am Rotterdam entered the Straits of Hormuz, the very traffic-laden mouth of the Persian Gulf. We were surrounded by ships of many types, but of course the greatest number were tankers; some were bouncing along headed into the Gulf for a fill-up, others were heavily laden, header to consumers at various places around the globe. At its narrowest point the Straits of Hormuz are just 33 miles wide, so it was possible—from our vantage point high up in the Crow’s Nest—to see land on both sides of our ship. The northern land was Iran, and the southern land was Musandam, an enclave of the Sultanate of Oman that is surrounded by the United Arab Emirates. I took many pictures of the shipping traffic with my “whomper” 500mm telephoto lens, but aside from that this was a typical at sea day. I worked on sorting pictures and writing entries in my blog. Today at tea time Kim (the Pinnacle Grill Manager) came by and looked at Squeekie’s collection of pictures of Leslee and Fabian’s wedding, which are stored on her laptop. Later in the afternoon we went down to the Pinnacle where Kim shared with us her pictures of her on-board Muslim wedding with Indra, one of the Indonesian stewards. Squeekie and I have both come to the conclusion that these “at sea” days are very beneficial for helping us to catch up on work and to improve our acquaintances with the on-board staff. . . .


Seventy-first Day (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)-- We awoke as Rotterdam was preparing to enter the harbour of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. After the busy, Westernised modernity of Dubai the day before yesterday, Muscat and Oman feel much more typical of the old days on the Arabian Peninsula. Our giant boat quietly moved into the harbour and tied up at a container ship dock in what the locals refer to as “Port Sultan Qaboos.” (Before too long we learned that Sultan Qaboos, pronounced ‘caboose,’ is the reigning sultan of this absolute monarchy.)

The port and harbour here is small and surrounded by barren rocky hills and cliffs which gave the place a feeling similar to Cabo San Lucas at the bottom tip of the Baja California peninsula in its earlier, less developed days. All around the harbour were small buildings—no skyscrapers—which carried the stereotypical feeling of the Arabia of yore. After the frenzied pace of Dubai this port town seemed refreshingly calm.

Squeekie had booked for us a “sights of Oman” tour, and we came down off the ship and boarded a bus to undertake that activity. After a bit of a drive out of the harbour enclave over the hill into the newer part of town we came to our first stop, the Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos. This vast structure, capable of holding up to 14,000 people at the same time with reasonable comfort, was only built in the 1990s and, during times when prayer is not called for, it is open to non-Muslim visitors in an attempt to facilitate understanding between religions. All visitors are, however, required to dress conservatively (no shorts, for example) and to remove shoes; in addition, women must also cover their heads with scarves. I was horrified to note that there were gun-carrying military guards posted at the entry places to ensure compliance with the dress requirements.

After these requirement had been met our tour group was able to enter the mosque and look at the beautiful architecture of the great hall for prayer. Some of you readers (if there still are any of you out there) may not know that there are strict rules for architecture in Muslim countries. No images of people or animals may be shown in any painting, mosaic, or sculpture displayed in a mosque (or anywhere else for that matter, with some minor exceptions). As a result, Muslim decorative arts tend to focus on geometric shapes and some floral items such as leaves and vines. As may be seen from the attached pictures, the Grand Mosque is a wonderful example of traditional Muslim architecture and decorative arts. The dome in the centre of the main prayer hall and the fine chandelier hung in its middle were especially dramatic entities. On the floor of the great hall was what was advertised as the largest Persian carpet ever made; I don’t really know if this is true or not, but it certainly was beautiful. One thing I did notice, however, was that the meeting hall for women was distinctly secondary, smaller and less beautifully decorated. When I asked our guide about this apparent disparity he emphatically denied that Muslim women receive secondary treatment in Islamic society, but this is so obviously not true. . . .

Back into the old part of town we came to the Bait Al Zubair Museum, but we were not allowed to take pictures here (although I did sneak one of woman’s jewelry fashioned from Maria Theresa trade dollars). A short drive from the museum brought us to the current Sultan’s palatial home, known as the Qasr Al Alam Palace. We could only view and photograph the palace from outside some big steel gates, but the facility was quite elaborate, actually looking more like a movie set than a functioning palace. Two forts, Jalah and Mirani, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, are located on each side of the palace complex and are still used for military purposes; they stand guard over the sultan’s home.

Our last stop on this tour was at the Old Souk (also spelled Suq and pronounced “sook”) in the Mutrah district of Muscat. Here Squeek and I found a rabbits warren of narrow alleys filled with mostly tiny shops which sold a wide range of Middle East-affiliated items, including spices, teas, fabric, clothing, silver, antiques, and gold. Quite by accident we came upon a store selling gold jewelry, and Squeekie desired to go inside. To both of our surprises, this was no tiny alley way mini-store, it was a quite large and modern-looking store, and everywhere one looked there were gold pieces awaiting buyers. After a bit of searching by the dealer, Squeekie came across a choker fashioned from spun gold (that is, fine gold wires) woven together to form a seeming cloud of gold colour around the wearer’s neck. It was fabulous and worthy of the price which we bargained to get it.

We returned to the ship and did some of the necessary chores which cannot be avoided even on this world cruise, such as doing laundry. The sail away party was scheduled for six o’clock and I got some nice panorama shots of the harbour and the palace of Sultan Qaboos as we bid farewell to Muscat, Oman, and, indeed, Asia. After several days at sea crossing the western lobe of the Indian Ocean known as the Gulf of Aden, we will arrive in the Seychelles Islands off the coast of Africa. Our world cruise continues!