Durban, South Africa

Hi All,

Today we are at sea heading for Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Yesterday we were in Durban, South Africa.  We docked in a very large industrial port, lots of container ships around us.  This was the view from the ship of Durban.

We took a shuttle to the port gate where a cab was waiting for us.  

Peter was our driver.  He is the fourth generation of his family from India living in Durban.  We told him we wanted to go to the Victoria Street Market in the center of town.  We said after shopping at the market we were going to walk through the city center to the beach front area.  He said it would be very dangerous for us to do that, as crime in Durban is a big problem.  He suggested that we do a city tour with him, then go to the market where he would wait for us, and then return to the ship.  This sounded like a great idea and after a few moments of negotiation we settled on a three hour tour.  We came to realize that Peter had done us a huge favor, and that our original plan really was unsafe.  So off we went through the city.  

City Hall

Post Office

Courthouse

Old customs house

This association was founded by Mahatma Ganhdi when he was a lawyer in South Africa before he returned to India to fight for the country’s independence.

This is the Moses Mabhida Stadium.  It was built for the 2010 Football (soccer) World Cup.   A feature of the stadium is a funicular that carries people to a viewing platform at the top of the arch.   We couldn’t ride it as it was down for some maintenance.  

Peter said this is the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere.

Lots of these condo buildings on the beach front.

Peter took us to the botanic garden.

We have been to several botanic gardens on this trip, and we think this one is the best.

Bamboo

Kids on a school trip inside the orchid house.

Orchids

Don’t know what kind of pretty bird this is.

Next we stopped at the Victoria Street Market.  We thought that is would be much larger, it was mostly shops selling local crafts and souvenirs.  There were lots of shops selling spices including this one.  Anyone need some of this?

Tobacco

Colorfull shop

After our stop at the market, Peter drove us through the city center on the way back to the ship.  It looked a bit edgy and we knew it wasn’t a place we should be walking. Too bad, but true.

We did see our next RV.

On the way back to the ship we had a conversation with Peter about apartheid..  Since Peter is Indian, he was considered colored.  I said to him that his life must have changed quite a bit when apartheid ended (20 years ago).  His answer surprised us.  He said some changes were good and some were bad.  He said the worst change was the increase in crime.  During apartheid the white government kept crime under control.  Now he said the police are overwhelmed by the crime.  

So that was our day in Durban.  It is a city of contrasts.  We went though some beautiful up scale neighborhoods and also areas where the people are struggling to get by.  Peter was a wonderful guide and a very nice guy, we liked him a lot.  Tomorrow we are touring the Addo Elephant Park in Port Elizabeth.  Standby for elephant pictures!

Jer and Helen