This page covers the two days at sea after Africa, then our days at the Republic of Madagascar, the French island of Réunion and the island country of Mauritius.
The stop at Madagascar has been cancelled by the government as a precaution for the Covid-19 virus.
Relax and reflect on your journey thus far with a few days of fun at sea. Want to really unwind? Watch the world go by and sip a complimentary drink poolside, or say “ahh” with a visit to Sanctum Spa.
2/26 We slept in. Sea state 1 with tiny ripples and long, gentle swells. Had light breakfasts with a huge mob who also slept in. Then O did the laundry, again fighting a mob with the same thought.
D's looking at Twitter while I do this web page and some other computer stuff.
Then we went to the Living Room and read while we had the view forward from above the bridge.
There was a lecture about the Great Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater caused by a comet or meteor hitting earth about 30 million years ago. The 56-mile wide impact crater is buried under the current earth and bay. The "splatter" from the impact covered the area from Boston to the southern Caribbean. Interesting lecture by Greg Redfern.
There was a cocktail party for Azamara's repeat passengers. Seventy percent of those aboard now have sailed Azamara previously. One lady aboard has sailed 101 Azamara cruises, so she got the prize.
Then off to dinner, a look around the ship, back to the cabin, rest & relax.
The Captain has this ship at near-maximum speed to make Reunion on time - 18 knots. Sea state 3 whitecaps over heavier swells causing a slightly bumpy ride. No clouds at noon.
A few at-sea photos here.
Light breakfast, nothing going on in the morning so we returned to the cabin to read our books O laid in the sun on the pool deck with many others until his skin told him to come inside.
A little more reading, then the lecture of the day, which was on NASA efforts to again have crewed space flight, first to the moon.
Redfern is a good lecturer and has acquired lots of material to put on the screen before us. So it was a nice bit on current NASA plans.
We attended trivia on General Subjects and did poorly but we are a group of two against groups of six.
The following trivia session was on "Music". A part of the song would be played and we were to identify the title. The volume of the player was very high and we were next to it. I took out my hearing aids. All the titles were from recent years, and were Broadway type songs. We scored 4 of 20, and other groups had similar problems, but one group scored 19. They must be musicians.
Dinner followed, chatted with the folks at the next table. Then O went on deck 11 with a gaggle of people to listen to Greg Redfern give a laser-pointer tour of the stars. There was more light pollution than the last time we'd done one (Ayer's Rock, NT, Aus.) but it was a good presentation.
We could not stop at Taolagnaro, Madagascar, but we saw the island (Right) from a distance of 10 or 15 miles as we steamed past it yesterday.
At 1000, we are 350 miles from Réunion and have changed clocks to Réunion time.
O attended a lecture at 1000 by Dr Martin Klein on the development and history of Reunion and Mauritius.
A container ship passed by on a reciprocal course.
The afternoon lecture was on the Hale telescope at Mount Palomar CA. Interesting.
Did rather well for just the two of us at General Trivia - 15 of 20. The following one was identifying pictures of people - 15 again.
Dinner at the Patio was nice. Then took it easy.
2/29 Réunion, an administrative unit of France. We dock in Le Port, in the northwest part of the island.
Forged in the fire of two impressive volcanoes, Réunion is located 500 miles off the coast of Madagascar. The quintessential island paradise, Réunion satisfies the curiosities of even the most well-traveled explorers with its towering peaks, lush rolling hills, and thrilling new adventures and possibilities at every turn.
Link to Wiki
Photos-O
Photos-D
0730 at 20*53'S, 55*13.4É, Sea State 1 again - almost flat.
0830 tied up starboard side to dock. Hot, No wind at all. Going to be a sticky day.
But it turned out to be fun and interesting. We took a leisurely tour to Maison du Coco, a place that teaches you all about coconuts. We learned how to skin them, and what the husks are used for. We learned what coconut water tastes like and how to make coconut milk. We learned how to split the nut, and then how to grate it into little slivers, or to slice it into wedges for coconut meat. We had coconut oil applied to our hands. We tasted coconut sugar, much like brown sugar. We tasted coconut syrup. Milk cake was done with liquor and condensed milk. Possibly the best was mixed with sugar and rum.
The scenery going and coming was tropical plus the housing. It's not poverty stricken, it has a reasonably high GDP. The houses are small, but you don't need much if you live outside.
We returned to the ship and hoisted a beer at the Pool Bar. A little later a shower came along and drove us inside. That was good because we wanted to shower and dress for the rest of the day.
We attended trivia, did miserably at General Knowledge but fairly decent at Food & Drink. Then back to the cabin to read and wait for dinner.
Dinner in the dining room tonight sharing a table for four with Al and Sharon from Ottawa, ON. Great conversation - they've done much more travel than we, so we learned a bit. Lots of story-swapping. Nice people.
Then back to the cabin to R&R.
A turquoise gem set in the Indian Ocean, there is so much more to discover in Mauritius beyond beautiful beaches. In Port Louis, the imprint of colonial power can still be seen, but it’s blended with a diverse array of cultures to create an atmosphere, that’s unique, warm, & welcoming.
Link to Wiki
Photos-O
Photos-D
3/1 Mauritius. Hot & humid. Overcast with showers expected.
Tied up port-side to the industrial dock. All crew and passengers had to be screened for the Covid-19 virus. The screening took quite some time, starting at sea at 0600 and ending dockside about 0845. We were cleared to enter at 0900.
We did breakfast seated next to Dr Martin Klein & Suzanne, so that led into conversation, this time on education, especially math education.
We have nothing on the agenda today, here where we weren't supposed to be. So we'll do little things. Laundry first (no competition).
We're at the #2 (less preferred) cruise dock. The #1 cruise dock is closer to the town and shopping center. I suppose the reason we're here is that Sun Princess with three times the number of passengers is due in tomorrow morning. There is a Semester At Sea ship there now. (Ed. The Sun Princess never arrived - its itinerary was changed. Instead, an AIDA ship docked there.)
Our shuttle takes us to the Caudan Waterfront Shopping Center, a high-scale place of shops, delis, theaters, and museums. Our driver did the trip in 15 minutes as opposed to the scheduled 30 minutes. We entered the Craft World part, which is Island native goods (some imported from China) sold by Indian salesladies. D bought a hat, haggling the price down from $20 to $13 to $!0. We found things in the book store we needed. And I bought a pair of shorts; I hadn't brought enough.
The F1 formula driver brought us back in under 15 minutes on the return. I sat in the front seat and took pictures of the area. Then we ate lunch in the Patio and rested a bit.
Later it was the General Knowledge trivia followed by by one on Colors. We did poorly on GK and dismally on Colors, which was songs with a color in the title.
Dinner in the Patio, quite nice. A beautiful vivid sunset came along so we took several pictures of it.
The evening show was a native one, in French Creole, with several young ladies dancing in front of the musicians - three drummers, a triangle and a board that made a sound like maracas. It was lively and had everyone clapping hands.
Nightcap in The Den, where we met a lady from Ottawa and had a great comparison of airlines with her. Then to bed.
Our shuttle takes us to the Caudan Waterfront Shopping Center, a high-scale place of shops, delis, theaters, and museums. Our driver did the trip in 15 minutes as opposed to the scheduled 30 minutes. We entered the Craft World part, which is Island native goods (some imported from China) sold by Indian salesladies. D bought a hat, haggling the price down from $20 to $13 to $!0. We found things in the book store we needed. And I bought a pair of shorts; I hadn't brought enough.
The F1 formula driver brought us back in under 15 minutes on the return. I sat in the front seat and took pictures of the area. Then we ate lunch in the Patio and rested a bit.
Later it was the General Knowledge trivia followed by by one on Colors. We did poorly on GK and dismally on Colors, which was songs with a color in the title.
Dinner in the Patio, quite nice. A beautiful vivid sunset came along so we took several pictures of it.
The evening show was a native one, in French Creole, with several young ladies dancing in front of the musicians - three drummers, a triangle and a board that made a sound like maracas. It was lively and had everyone clapping hands.
Nightcap in The Den, where we met a lady from Ottawa and had a great comparison of airlines with her. Then to bed.
Photos-O
Photos-D (many)
We went to the pier to find our Viator tour guide. Krish was there with a name board. We went to his nice sedan where he asked us what we wanted to see. We wanted the Botanical Garden and North up the coast.
We got to the BG, he paid our admission as part of the tour but we needed mosquito repellant and had no Mauritian rupees. A man traded rupees for dollars, probably at an advantage to him, but. Armed with the repellant, we sallied forth into the Garden. A man volunteered to be our guide (for $$) and took us away.
We walked all over that park, which he knew intimately. Many times he picked a leaf or a twig from the ground and had us smell it. There was allspice, cinnamon, different mints and some I don't remember. Cute little frogs all over the place. Trees from everywhere, pineapples, and flowering pond lilies and much more.
We were joined by Germans from the AIDA ship in port; the guide just beckoned them along. The lady from Berlin spoke English, French and German so she was sort of a translator as questions and answers flew around.
Finally we reached a sugar mill model and the exit where we found our driver/guide.
We headed north out of town and saw the southbound lane absolutely jammed with traffic. Our guide said it is the same every workday, with people trying to get to work downtown.
Our guide stopped at a small restaurant that looked as though it could keep a handyman busy for a month. We were offered specials of prawns or snapper. We both took the snapper without looking at the rest of the menu. I had a Phoenix beer, the Mauritian lager, very good. The three eight-inch snappers (heads on) were very good, but a little boney. There was also rice, french fries, salad, and a mystery dressing. All in all very good. Won't mention the price.
We stopped at a place for clothing and bought small shirts. We stopped at a rum outlet and bought small bottle to sample at home.
Then it was time to get back to the ship, so the guide scurried back to Azamara Quest.
We boarded, had a drink, and went to the cabin. I took the purchases down to get the VAT refund. After waiting for the VAT people and then the customs person, we got back $21.
The ship was to get underway at 1700. At 1658 a couple returned and the gangway was hauled in. No line-handlers until a few strolled out of a warehouse and threw our lines in the water. The captain used the thrusters to push off the dock, then spin in place until pointed out the channel. The pilot left the ship and away we went to the NNE. Next stop in five days is Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A nice dinner in the dining room, and back to the cabin to R&R.