DAY 126---AT SEA IN THE GULF OF GUINEA

 

        Our noon position still is in the Gulf of Guinea enroute to the very small country of Togo.  At noon it is cloudy with passing rain showers, 80 degrees, and 80 % humidity.  Getting a smooth ride.  

YESTERDAY'S PHOTOS

      On the tender now.  This is photo of the old fortress which is now the National Museum.

        Shuttle dropped me at the Independence Square.  Not very big but there were some local singing and dancing.  Of course they wanted tips.  I game them a $5.  Figured they needed it more than me.

                                                              A couple interesting trees.

                                                 Architecture from the Portuguese period.

                                                                 Fruits and veggies.

        This is the Presidential Palace.  We were told not to take photos of it or you could get in trouble.  There was a guard out front so I had to be careful taking this.

                                                                 Cathedral of Sao Tome

                                      Probably their sewage system as was a yucky brown.

          I had to really watch where I was walking as the sidewalks were in terrible condition.

                                                                        Portable shop

                                                                Shots of market area

                                                              Back at the square again.

        It was hotter than hell especially walking down the streets and I was sweat wet.  But there was a bit of a breeze along the water so I decided to walk back to the tender pier.  I needed the exercise and it was only a mile walk.

                                                 This is the National Museum, old fortress. 

                                                     Got our ship between two cannons

                                     Not much of a tender pier that was in a commercial port.

        My impression of my first time to visit Sao Tome:  I just saw part of the town but it is a poor country in bad need of massive infrastructure improvements.  There is not much on the island to attract tourism which is probably why this is Regent's first visit here.  It lacks beaches and the few small ones there is are black volcanic sand.  The people seemed to be clean and colorfully dressed in cool outfits because of the heat & humidity climate they live in year round since they are basically living on the Equator.  They did not bother me or try to hawk their handicrafts.  I said hi to a group of older school girls standing on a street corner and they seemed very happy that I spoke to them and they chatted back.  Adults here rarely said hi.  Maybe due to the fact they only spoke Portuguese.  I went into a small pharmacy (if that is what you call it) to buy a Z-pack.  He had some but would not take dollars or credit card so I thanked him and left.  They had electricity but air conditioning was basically non-existent.  Markets were outside in the streets as it was too hot inside buildings. 

LAST EVENING

                                       Savio served some wine.  He is new and from Goa.

                                                              Shrimp cocktail was good.

Due to the high humidity the floor was damp.  We saw a lady slip and fall.  She was not injured thankfully.

        This is the entree we asked for special for tonight.  Baked hake with crab hollandaise sauce.  Ok, but not as good as the first time we had it.

                   Apple buckle but I asked for chocolate ice cream.  Not much apples in it.

TODAY

        When we opened the curtains a 7am the gulf was looking pretty rough with winds over 30 knots.  The ship was still getting a nice ride however.  Passing rain showers and a thunderstorm this morning and probably all day.  I went out on deck 6 promenade for my hour of fast walking while Rebecca went to the fitness center.

        After returning from lunch in CR we packed our safari and some other things we won't be needing the next 2 1/2 weeks.  So now we have one bag packed which will be shipped home via Luggage Forward.  We can ship 4 bags with total weight of 200 pounds home free with Luggage Forward.  Well, not free as was included in our cruise fare.

        This afternoon Rebecca is also streaming "Young & Restless".  I went down to the internet place and printed our recently booked flight itinerary from DFW airport to Barcelona for November 22nd.  We will be boarding the new Regent ship, Grandeur, for a transatlantic cruise to Miami on November 25th.

        We then watched this morning's taped lecture on Gambia by Terry Bishop.

        Usual cocktail hour in Mariner Lounge followed by dinner in Compass Rose.

        The headliner entertainer tonight features Lisa-Marie Holmes' second show.  We loved her first show so plan on attending this one.

        During Captain Abhi's noon PA he said we should be docked before 8am tomorrow in Tome, Togo.  My scheduled tour was an hour drive to a school to start with.  Well, tomorrow is Sunday so I canceled my tour.  Will probably again take the shuttle to town.