While Mariner Appreciation Day continues today , the highlight will be tonight at the Safari Tent Camp dinner. More in a minute about that.
Since our main African speakers are getting off in Cape Town, this morning was a question and answer session with the ambassador and professor. It was very interesting and informative. The passengers are, for the most part, informed and intelligent, so the questions were quite good.
We skipped the special presentation from the CEO of Holland America. Knew it would be mainly a big sales pitch. We later heard that it was, and that there were big complaints from the passengers about skipping the Seychelles Islands. Glad me skipped it!
Enjoyed my final book club discussion about Cry, the Beloved Country. There is so much to talk about – more than just the book – mainly the whole apartheid issues and what is now happening. Some of the passengers have shared lots of good info about S. Africa because they have lived there.
Tonight the ship really threw a huge party. They spent the day preparing the Lido deck for this event. Everything was decorated as a safari tent camp – with big tents with tables for eating underneath, lots of skins and woodcarvings of animals, and even an old Land Rover they hauled up on the ship. Lanterns hung everywhere. The buffet included lots of African style dishes, but there was a special table with actual game meat of all kinds including sprinkbok, kudu, and wild boar. They had pigs and lambs on fire spits as well. AND, they provided all the free drinks you wanted. Throughout the evening, there were African musicians singing and dancing, as well as a “medicine man” in costume going around dancing and “healing” with all his magic words! It was quite the party. Everyone had a wonderful time. We will hate to see the big CEO get off the ship!!! 
The ship’s evening entertainment after dinner was the Soweto String Quartet – four Africans playing and portraying the timeless spirit of Africa. [Soweto is an infamously poor township in S. Africa.]
They were so good, we bought their CD. A great way to end a very African evening!
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