South Africa, Namibia and days at sea

Dear people,
it has been quite a few days since my last entry. I spent many days at sea and have now explored the southern part of Africa a little bit.

First of all, I am really surprised by how little the seas west of Africa are sailed. Outside of our ship, there was nothing but water for several days. There were no birds, ships, or objects to be seen, unlike the North Sea or the English Channel, which almost resemble floating highways.

The islands on the sea route to Africa were the two extremely remote British Overseas Territories Ascension Island (just passed by) and St. Helena (yes, the island where Napoleon was exiled and died; it took him 10 weeks to get there from Europe, take a look at the map to see how far away it is).
Unfortunately, I could only spend a short time on St. Helena (like almost every place). However, I climbed a 699 step staircase, the end of which was hardly visible from below. The islanders seemed very friendly, they greeted everyone and were very kind. The British influence was unmistakable: they spoke very British English and logos of English football clubs could be seen on many cars. But it was too hot and sunny for England.

After this long period at sea (almost 9 days), I was able to visit the African mainland for the first time, namely Namibia - Walvis Bay. I accompanied a tour there. I was able to go on a catamaran tour for free, I just had to accompany the guests and make sure the tour ran as planned. At first glance, the city seemed quite prosperous for Africa. There were new properties to be acquired at every corner, and the cars all looked quite modern. Of course, there were also many street vendors and beggars. When we arrived at the catamaran, we were greeted by several seals and pelicans on the boat, who apparently had no fear of humans at all. Then we took a boat to a beach where about 80,000 seals spent their day. We could smell them from afar. They make very interesting roaring sounds. I also tried oysters for the first time, after being convinced by the ship's guests. They were interesting in taste, but definitely not for everyone.
Unfortunately, the next stop in Namibia was canceled due to bad weather.
So we went directly to Cape Town in South Africa, which we reached one day earlier than planned. I stayed there for a total of 5 days.

Cape Town is very western and slightly smaller than Berlin. The skyline is truly unique. There are many mountains in the background, some of which are covered by clouds, and in front of them, you can see huge houses that are clearly recognizable as monopolies directly from the harbor. It feels like there are more fast food chains per square meter than in Germany or Berlin.
During the day, you can walk relatively safely through Cape Town and the city center, although you are regularly asked for money or food.
My first destination in the city was the record store from the Oscar movie 'Searching for Sugar Man' (Mabu Vinyl). Definitely a very cool vintage record store. After that, I was in a very nice park/garden nearby, which seems to be used a lot by the locals. Many people simply relax there under the palm trees and sleep.
In the evening, I had a South African folklore band or dance group on the microphones, which is not an everyday occurrence. It was very interesting.

The next day, I visited a penguin colony, went to the Cape of Good Hope, and saw breathtaking beaches (unfortunately, swimming was not allowed).
Then I went to an Irish pub where some Filipinos from the crew spent their evening.
It is really important not to walk on the streets at night in such cities. A trumpeter from the ship was outside smoking for only a few minutes and was immediately threatened and robbed.
As a precautionary measure, we also had the taxi driver buy drinks for us on the way.

Due to wind conditions, we stayed in Cape Town for a longer period of time, but then I had quite a lot to do, so I only went outside briefly to see some street art.
After that, I went to Durban, also in South Africa. The city has a relatively large Indian population, and Gandhi also lived there for several years. Otherwise, the city seemed very dirty, much dirtier than Cape Town and even dirtier than Berlin. There was rubbish lying next to the road everywhere, and it was teeming with fast food chains.
Luckily, I accompanied a trip to the Valley of a Thousand Hills, where it was much nicer than in Durban itself. I saw traditional African Zulu dances and many reptiles.

Well, it's very difficult to describe all of this briefly, so feel free to ask me. My upcoming destinations are Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, etc. By the way, I'm officially a crew member now and I also have to participate in safety measures and drills. Next time I'll tell you a bit more about the crew life and what has changed.
Best regards
Your Willi