Sunday, November 22: Still in Cape Town

On the appropriate form, I’ve offered to accompany any shore excursion where I might be needed. After all, why visit a port if you can’t see the place? But the schedule we pick up every night in the cruise office didn’t indicate that I had been selected. I was disappointed. One of the most important sights here is Table Mountain and the ship had an excursion going there. Heinz suggested I ask at the Destinations Desk anyway, just to see if they had room for me on the bus. As it turned out, they did. So I was able to go on Bus #7, just like a “revenue” (read paying) guest.
We wound our way through the city before arriving at the mountain, our guide telling us about the Dutch, the British, the Dutch again, then the British again as she pointed out the post office, the Art Deco buildings and the parks and statues. It was interesting enough, but not enough for this expensive computer time. The mountain, however, was another story. We took a round cable car to the top. It’s round for two reasons: better dynamics in wind and so that the floor can rotate, giving everyone in the car an equal view of all the surroundings. Nice. In windy weather, they fill a reservoir in the bottom of the car with water, to give the car more weight. The views form the top are spectacular. I’ll just leave it at that until I can figure out how to add photographs to my blog. (Which, by the way, is still days behind. I’ve been typing this diary by first composing on Word. That avoids the costly internet time. Then I print out the composed entries and keep the papers so that when I eventually do get on line, I can simply type what I’ve already written. But I haven’t yet caught up with Elsa, my boss, who has to sell me the permit. So, bear with me. When I eventually do get on line, there will be/have been a lot of entries in succession.)
(I’m entering this on Wednesday, November 25, so you can see how far behind I am. Chrissy, the IT specialist, has just shown me how to compose on Word and save. Then I can go on line and copy what I’ve already written into my blog. This will save a lot of time and maybe, just maybe, my permits will last for most of the cruise.)
We sail at five, right after lifeboat drill. Then it’s a rush to get ready for Solo cocktails when I’m expected to work the room, rounding up ladies for dinner. Then another opening, another show: more dancing. Stay tuned.