3 April 2008 Under Arrest, Funchal, Madeira

3rd April 2008, Under Arrest, Funchal, Madeira

Well, day two under arrest was a bit of a waste of time. Essentially, we were given one extension after another, typically of a couple of hours which did not give us long enough to do anything until the evening when we went out again to the same place, Camara de Lobos. However, this time we went to the fish restaurant (there was meat for M) two doors down and owned by the same guy. We had an excellent meal and finished the night off in a bar in the harbour dedicated to football in general and the local superstar in particular. If I remember correctly, he plays for Manchester United as well as Portugal and is likely to be footballer of the year. I think you know who we mean. Well anyway, with so many signed pictures, I'm sure the bar could get more for the photos on the wall than selling the local wine. M can be seen in the bar reading the local paper where the headline read 'Paquete Impedido de Deixar O Funchal - Van Gough com 650 pessoas a bordo, foi ontem arrestado'. A good end to the day yet again and we took the cab back to MSVG. D went to bed, M went to the bar.

Well day 3 of our arrest was handled significantly better than day 2. Instead of feeding us 2 hour extensions we were told at 9.00am to be back for 12.45pm and that a court hearing was fixed for 10.00am when they would be seeking to overturn the arrest. D went out to the botanical gardens (which M had painted on the first tour from a photo) and walked back the 5 kms via the market. M slept it off but sufficient photos were taken by D for M to have a virtual trip around Jardim Botanico.

We took lunch on the ship and were told at 1.00pm that the hearing continued but they were optimistic of a 'positive outcome' today. This was followed by the offer of a free trip around Madeira by anyone who wanted to go and a new time of 6.30pm was set. We took the free trip which was, arguably, one of the best trips on either voyage, despite there being 8 coachloads of us. First, we went to Pico do Areeiro in the centre of the island from where we could see both the north and south coasts as well as the wild internal scenery and remote footpaths. We then went to Camacha on the east side of the island which is, apparently, the wicker basket capital and went around a factory and a commercial outlet. This, like most settlements on Madeira, was a pleasant little place with a nice town square and church. Madeira really is a smart, upmarket resort island and is perhaps the choice location if you have to be arrested (not personally of course). We travelled back the 40 minutes or so to MSVG to learn that a deal had been done in court and that the ship was leaving as soon as the last coach had returned. This was delayed for unspecified reasons, but we finally left Funchal at about 7.30pm with an expected time of arrival in Falmouth of 8.30pm on Sunday 6 April. However, this was too late for the coaches so most were to stay on board until the Monday. For us it was a bit of a disaster as Julie who had travelled to pick us up had to be back in Bristol for Monday morning and our back-up, Bernard, could not be with us until late lunchtime Monday. Accordingly, we planned to be and in fact were the last passengers off MSVG before it went into dry dock in Bremerhaven.

2 April 2008 Under Arrest! Funchal, Madeira

2nd April 2008 - Under Arrest! Funchal, Madeira

It's 11.30am and we're still under arrest. We have a non-update update saying that the captain has advised that we won't be sailing before 1.00pm and we are allowed on shore. We still have no further information but understand the story is now in the public domain (see headlines from both Portugese and English newspapers). Why a ship with a cargo of mainly British passengers should be arrested the stop before we come home has to remain a mystery; there's no sense to it. But, we understand the issue is a dispute between the Administrators of Travelscope, the company that folded in December and Club Cruise, the owners of the ship. Who knows when it will be sorted.

It is now 3pm and we have been instructed to be on board by 3.30pm. We will keep you posted! (forgive the pun).

1 April 2008 Funchal, Madeira

1st April 2008 - Funchal, Madeira

What a day! We had been promised that we would arrive earlier than scheduled - at 11.00am rather than 2.00pm - but this was not to be. We at first put this down to rough seas we encountered between Cape Verde and Madeira, but the reality was that our switch of port in Cape Verde actually put us about 5 or 6 hours nearer Madeira. The actual reason was more prosaic; there was already a ship in our berth at the harbour - we saw it sail out immediately before we arrived. So, 2.00pm it was.

We were well organised, or thought we were, and had a programme of activity we wished to carry out. First, post the blog and maybe do a little shopping; next, go up the cable car, then ride down the hill in the famous Funchal baskets. We then planned to go to the botanical gardens then mince around town for an hour before meeting friends for a meal.

We went straight around to the cyber cafe we used in the New Year to find it had closed. Although it directed us to one near City Hall, M went to the Tourist Office and they sent us to a different one we could not find. So, to the internet by City Hall but they refused to let us use the flash drive where we pre-prepare all of our text and photos. We tried to find another - unsuccessfully - but had wasted an hour before we got round to going to the cable cars. However, this had the merit that all the organised tours had already been through, so we rode the gondola on our own. The views from the top were stupendous and we tried to take a second cable car to the botanical gardens but were advised there was insufficient time to do that and see the gardens before the last one up which would also mean we'd miss the baskets. We therefore contented ourselves with a beer before walking round to the basket ride.

We didn't know at the time, but have since learned that 'Health and Safety' have shortened the ride to half its length and it is no longer so exciting. We only descended about half the hill, if that, and walked down the rest, largely because the cabbies wanted 15 Euro for a ride they said was 5 kms, but in fact was only a mile or so. We had a look round town and then sought an internet cafe yet again. This time, after tripping to an hotel, we were directed to a cafe which allowed us to use the flash drive, so posted the blogs since Cape Town. We then sat down for a beer to wait 20 minutes for our friends to be approached by another passenger who told us the MSVG had 'been arrested'. No-one in town knew anything about this as the announcement was made on board at 7.30pm. When they arrived by cab, we told our friends the news but decided to go to a quiet fishing village for an excellent Brazilian meal of assorted meats on skewers washed down by excellent Portuguese wine. We returned to the ship at 10.30pm to find none of the cruise staff on board. So, we cracked open a couple of bottles of wine and went to bed, none the wiser, with no time of sailing.

29 March 2008 Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands

29th March, Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands

Due to go to Sao Tiago rather than Sao Vicente our destination was changed for unspecified reasons, but it probably made little difference. Advised that Cape Verde was the 'up and coming' holiday destination, we have serious doubts about this; at least for the next ten years. The upside is the island has a feel of Brazil about it. This is mainly manifest in the Portuguese culture and the local citizenry which is essentially black African, but folk more from the Sahel than west Africa who are tall and thin and very good looking. The women are similar to David Bowie's Somali model wife. We hardly saw a fatty and folk seemed friendly enough.

Mindelo had far more infrastructure than we expected, but is not up to the standards of Madeira, let alone metropolitan Portugal. There were no tourist facilities and residential holiday developments are only just getting off the ground. Most everything needs to be imported and essentially, these islands are yet more volcanic rocks, mainly lunar in appearance. The limiting factor for development will be water availability. Yet, we quite liked the town. It was comfortable with itself and hardly tuned to tourism at all. There were some Senegalese street salesman and one or two shops selling African artefacts, but none of the timeshare salesmen we were told to beware.

In truth, there was little to do except post the blog and wander around, which we did. We found a pleasant development with an internal courtyard where we sat down and took a drink. We were only in Cape Verde for a few hours, but there was no reason to stay much longer.

24 March 2008 Ascension Island

24th March 2008, Ascension Island

Nothing to say really as this was our third or fourth tender stop that was abandoned because the sea was too rough. We stayed long enough to throw over the mail bags from St Helena and couldn't even disembark a government official who was to fly home from the airport base.

We did, though, get an hours nature trip by an outer island where we saw thousands of sea birds and a pod of dolphins before heading off to Cape Verde.

22 March 2008 Jamestown, St Helena

22nd March 2008, Jamestown, St Helena

This was, perhaps, the first of the islands described to us as unexceptional volcanic rocks in the ocean - as in 'the east to west itinerary is more interesting because the west to east comprises a series of......'. However, we had also been told by others who had been here that it was a very interesting stop and M was looking forward to it and we had booked the tour as the most appropriate way to get around the island.

In the event all things were true. We didn't get off to a very auspicious start as the harbour road from the quay to Jamestown had suffered a rock fall (or three) and the street was strewn with boulders and works traffic as iron netting was being suspended to capture any future such activity. The capital was, on first site, a tiny village squeezed into a narrow incised valley about 150m wide and a kilometre or so long. The streets too were mainly single lane so a posse of six or so coaches and minivans (we had purloined the entire public vehicular capacity of the island) had quite an impact on the transport network. After driving through town we went up one of the roads that climbs onto the high ground from the valley and stopped near the top for a photo shoot of Jamestown, the island's fort and an impressive waterfall; impressive because it had poured down immediately before our arrival and the stream was fairly energetic. We next moved on to Napoleon's grave - which of course isn't as he was exhumed and reburied in Les Invalides in Paris. The walk down the hill was very pleasant and his first resting place was a very attractive glade purchased and managed by the French government. Following this we continued our tour to Longwood House where he lived out his remaining days. It would be inappropriate to call it a prison; it was a fine residential property. It had a range of assorted artefacts - and a gift shop - and a very interesting garden with many strange trees and shrubs, not all of them indigenous. This, too, was maintained by the French government and a tricoleur was again in evidence. This was situated adjacent to a nice triangular green on the Longwood estate but it was clear what the residents actually did to earn their livings - particularly as the island only attracts three cruise ships a year and doesn't have an airport.

We next tripped around the islands country lanes at a fairly high elevation. The landscape was quite lunar and barren in parts but also, higher up, there were areas of green pasture and also a forested national park. We stopped for a photo shoot in Sandy Bay - an oxymoron as there are no beaches on the island - but couldn't get down to the sea as the streets were too narrow. We continued our way past a couple of rural churchyards, one called St Paul's Cathedral (ha ha!) to the Governor's residence known as Plantation House. This was a fine building, again on elevated ground, with public access to the grounds within which there were a number of giant tortoises - probably from the Seychelles - one of which, Jonathan, is reputed to be over 175 years old and the oldest residence on the island. We had a wander round and took a number of beast pics as well as one of the main man's car. No, it wasn't a Roller; given the nature of the roads he satisfied himself with a very modest white Ford Escort - with the royal pennant and no number plate of course.

We moved on to the largest settlement on the island, a dispersed rural community called Halftree Hollow overlooking Jamestown on the high ground to the east. This, too, had a small fort, overlooking the main harbour. However, the main attraction was Jacob's ladder. This comprised a set of steps down to Jamestown, built originally as an inclined plane for a railway track. There were 699 steps down to the town and we decided to descend them. (Climbing up was never an option). This was about a 20 minute descent which told heavily on M's calf muscles. It was very steep and no place to fall. We eventually got down (see pic) to arrive in Jamestown. It was a little like a set on an American movie. The general stores sold everything and there was even an internet at Ann's place - which doubled as a restaurant and bar as well as an internet cafe. However, with only two machines there was no chance of a posting. So we wandered up the main street via the tourist centre, specially opened for us like other enterprises, to the only major hotel - a bit like a wild west saloon - where we had a beer. Having been given change in St Helena pounds M had to dash out and spend it on a T shirt. We were, though, told about the island distillery whilst supping our lager and decided to spend the last hour there. Established six or so years ago by Paul from Haverford West, Pembrokeshire who arrived in St Helena via the Falkland's, he bought a set of gear from a German company and set up an enterprise distilling prickly pears into a drink called Tungi. Along with his local wife whom he also met in the Falklands he has made a successful business of this activity. Unfortunately, there aren't enough raw materials to service the UK market and he supplies all his output - about 5,000 bottles per annum - to a sole distributor in Cornwall. He also made a coffee liqueur and a white vanilla flavoured rum, also in limited quantities. We bought a couple of bottles.

We retired back to MSVG and agreed this was a much more interesting stop than expected, but not really a place for a long visit; maybe a stopover to South Africa if the long-promised airport ever materialises.

17 March 2008 Robben Island, Kirstenbosch & Cape Town, South Africa

17th March 2008, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch & Cape Town, South Africa

We arose fairly early in preparation for our visit to Robben island which was the incarceration centre for some 20 years of all the ANC and PAC freedom fighters including Nelson Mandela. First though, D took a pic from our cabin window across the bow of a French warship which gave us a direct view of Tafelberg. Had we been in a hotel, this view would probably have cost serious money.
We went off for our Robben island trip at 9.30 and we were walked round to the Nelson Mandela Centre and given tickets for the 1.00 sailing. These showed that the actual price, had we gone under our own steam, was less than a third what we charged for doing the tour and given there was little by way of value added - we were walked 10 mins to the terminal, the location of which we knew anyway - and M was incensed by this rip-off.
However, we had a reasonably pleasant 50 minutes sailing to the island which had served in a variety of isolationist guises before its usage as a high security prison, including being a leper colony. We were given a tour for just over an hour round the island and shown various historical buildings and the quarry where the prisoners were sent to do daily hard labour before being dropped off to do the actual prison tour with a second guide. Both of these guides were former political prisoners. The prison regime was harsh, but this may have been expected and we were assured that the current decor was as it was in the 70s and 80s. In fact the surroundings and the outside of the buildings were harsher than the insides. All the cells were painted in gloss paint and boredom must have been a major issue. Those held in the communal cells - there were four we recall, each held 40 inmates. However they were subjected to discrimination. First, no white prisoners were ever sent to Robben island - even when their convictions were for the same offence. Secondly, the extremely meagre rations were better for the coloureds than the blacks. But they were fed in their large communal cells and had internal toilet and washing facilities. Those assessed as needing to be held in individual cells including Mandela were not so lucky. Their accommodation comprised a single unit, about 8ft x 6ft sparingly furnished with no facilities. By all accounts the climate conditions also rendered all this worse. After out tour we went back to the boat, but as usual with tours from the ship were 25 mins late whilst fellow guests minced around the gift shop. The upshot of this late start and the 50 min trip back was that despite our dashing back quickly to MSVG we had missed lunch!
We were scheduled to leave at 3.00pm but at about 3.30pm there was a tannoy that we were not leaving until 8.00pm (it was actually 9.45pm) which was good news for M. One of the few sites we had missed in Cape Town that she had wanted to see was the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch - around the back of Tafelberg - which has an international reputation. We raced back round towards the Mandela Centre and took a cab there straightaway. We spent two hours wandering, with very few other folk, around the large and idealic centre, located on the lower foothill of the mountain. We saw plenty of flora but there was also a goodly array of birds - including lots of guinea fowl - and a sculpture garden as well as a concert venue rather like Kenwood in North London. We took the cab back at about 5.45pm and spent a further hour looking for presents before re-embarking MSVG.