Durban, S. Africa

As of today, Feb 4, 2011, we are still in port at Durban, S. Africa. A LOT has been going on preparing for our departure which is planned for next Tuesday. This place is definately bustling! I was able to go into town again the other day and see a different side of the city, closer to the water. Durban is just less than 900 square miles and has approx 3.5 million people of various ethnic backgrounds. I've heard the beaches are beautiful but I did not get to visit any of them while I was here. There are also safaris occasionally offered for a weekend buy I missed those - bummed about that. May have to come back this way again for that experience...

Durban is the busiest port in South Africa which includes a lot of natural and man-made port features. Because of the location and moderate (sub-tropical) climate and beaches, is it also a big tourist location. There have been a few warm days, but mostly the weather has been lovely.

Durban was also one of the locations for the World Soccer Games. This arena was built just for that and now sits with nothing to do but be used by bungee jumbers.

I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to try more things while I was here. Crew personnel have to balance their days off and the days that trips are offered. The vehicles can only be driven by certain people and are limited in space, so you get what you can get. Since we are preparing to leave, the vehicles are being placed on top of the ship this weekend, by cranes.

I'll have more on the preparations to leave soon....

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