March 18th, 2023 Day 74 of 128

Walvis Bay, Namibia

This morning we awoke as we were pulling into Walvis Bay. It is cloudy and overcast so we will have to make sure we dress warmly for our excursion today. I woke up about 6:30 am and went to the gym. Megan met me at the Pinnacle Grill and we had a lovely breakfast together. After breakfast we decided to see if we could switch our excursion from an afternoon to the morning one and we were. So we had a quick change and bundled up so we could head off the ship in time to meet our group. We walked up the pier to meet our transport that took us right around the way to the Walvis Bay Yacht Club. We hopped onto a boat for a scenic cruise around the Walvis Bay. We started our day on the speed boat, but they decided that the two boats weren’t balanced enough in the numbers so Megan and I volunteered for and got to do a mid trip transfer to the catamaran. Good to be young and healthy. We got to see many Cape Brown Seals, Molamola fish, Pelicans and Heaviside Dolphin. The seal colony was absolutely humongous. This time of year the younger seals are learning to swim and getting ready to venture off on their own. And there was a lot of them. We also got to see an oyster farm floating off the shores. They use floating barrels to mark the oyster nets below. We experienced a wonderful level of hospitality on the ship. They brought a seal onto the ship and we had the opportunity to feed it. They also brought a pelican on board and we had the opportunity to take many photos with it. Megan even had the chance to feed the pelican and received a bit of a nip as a souvenir. They provided us with an early morning drink called Old Brown, a sort of sweet wine. They served us beer, water and sodas later on. Lastly, they served us food and champagne. We got to eat freshly shucked oysters, empanadas, and meatballs. Once we got back to the pier we contemplated taking the shuttle into town to go to the mall but we decided not to. Instead we enjoyed an early all aboard and got a chance to be on the ship when there was still many passengers on their excursions. We got to go to the Lido deck and spend some time with the children that came on board from the Bernhard Nordkamp Centre. This is after school program run by volunteers for unprivileged children. In 2013, when the world cruise was here, the children came on board and performed for the passengers as they did again this afternoon. Many of those children who are now grown up returned for the opportunity to perform again as well as new younger students who are currently enrolled in the school. They were like little kids in the candy store this afternoon. They were allowed to use the pool and eat at the buffet. We saw many a large bowl of ice cream in front of many smiling faces. The silent auction the ship had yesterday was to make a donation to this group. They also had a collection box for passengers to make cash donations. At the conclusion of their performance that Captain presented to them a check of close to $10,000 from the funds raised. They also sent the group off with 41 bags filled with necessities and school supplies also donated by passengers. It was a wonderful service opportunity and an amazing opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of so many children so far from home. After the performance we had to go through immigration inspection a second time so we could get “stamped out” of Namibia. Tonight we had dinner with Gail and Marty in the Pinnacle Grill. Another wonder meal, fabulous conversation and even better company. I always enjoy our dinners with them so much. After dinner we headed up to the lido deck as they had a Biergarten Festival this evening. They had German-Styled beer, music and food. They were super creative in making large beer steins we think were filled with jello and topped with meringue to represent foaming beers. We had fun taking those photos. We stayed out till about 10:00pm when the music ended. Then we were home and into bed right after. We have two sea days ahead of now to rest and relax and catch up with all our friends.