Now as most people know, I’m not a traditional early riser, but I got up early for once to watch as the ship pulled into Cape Town.  Simply beautiful!  We pulled in as the world famous table mountain loomed directly over the city.  Cape Town has grown up quite a bit since I last visited 16 years ago.  It is very westernized.  We docked right at a waterfront mall with all of the latest shops and restaurants.  The students were very excited about that.  The first evening, we went out and saw a small theatre production.  On the very next day, we headed to the airport to fly to Johannesburg (Jo-Berg) for a safari about 2 hours north of Jo-Berg and Pretoria.  After arriving at our swank hotel and settling in, we went on our first of 4 game drives.  Although I was not at all interested in going on a game drive to see animals (many people who know me understand that seeing animals is not at the top of my list of things to do), I must admit that seeing many of these animals roaming free in their natural habitat  was breathtaking.  We were in an open-air jeep and encountered zebra, lions, hippos, crocs, rhinos, giraffes, elephants, baboons and many different types of hoofed creatures.  We even had a very aged and rather gargantuan sized elephant approach our jeep and brush up against our vehicle.  I couldn’t believe that I was looking eye to eye with the largest land creature in the world.  During meals back at the lodge, there was a watering hole, and elephants and other animals came right up to it to drink as we ate our meals.  Just splendid!  The last couple of days in Cape Town I spent shopping and visiting with a couple of my very old dear friends in South Africa.  Frank toured Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for over 30 years and he went to the top of Table Mountain.  If I could move any place outside of the USA, it would be to Cape Town.  I love this place…signing off for now.

This was the maiden Semester at Sea voyage to Ghana and the western region of the sub-saharan African continent.  Excellent choice!  We actually arrived to the port city of Tema, approximately 45 minutes from Accra which is Ghana’s capital and major city.  Almost immediately upon stepping off the ship, the sights, sounds, and smells of Ghana bombarded all your senses.  I think the Ghananian people were equally as curious about we Americans as we were about them.  Traffic in the city is just a mad scramble of each person for herself, but it all somehow seems to work.  I visited the grave sight of Ghana’s first President and founding father, as well as the grave site and private library of W.E.B. Du bois.  As a Black man, that was a really touching and humbling experience.  We took an overnight trip to the neighboring west African countries of Togo and Benin.  Well actually, we just passed through Togo as it only took 1 hour to traverse that tiny country.  While in Benin, we visited Granvie.  Granvie is a village built entirely on stilts just outside of the Benin capital of Coutou.  Locals call Granvie the Venice of Africa.  It was extremely amazing to see how the people of this village lived their daily lives completely over water…signing off for now.

“We’ll always have Paris” or so the famous movie line goes.  Morocco, nothing like I imagined it to be.  The city was grimey and dirty, and the people did not seem as welcoming.  Casablanca is really just a big industrial city.  I did get a chance to go to the 3rd largest Mosque in the world and bisit a bazaar.  It was nothing to write home about though.  I took a side trip to Rabat, Morocco’s capital, about 1.5 hours north of Casablanca.  Rabat appeared much more modern and cleaner than Casablanca.  We saw some ancient ruins there, as well as the tombs of some of Morocco’s former Kings.  All very iteresting…signing off for now.

Ah Espana!  Just as I recalled it.  The people were warm, inviting, and friendly and the country simply gorgeous.  It is still warm enough in Cadiz to go to the beach. I took a side trip to Gibraltar.  A very fascinating place.  You actually have to cross by foot an active airport runway in order to from the Spanish border to the British side in Gibraltar.  Frank and I took a cable car to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar and encountered Barbary Apes face to face.  Of course I kept my distance  We attended a Flamenco Dance performance our first night in Spain, saw a bloodless bullfight, and watched an Andalucian Horse Show.  All really good stuff…signing off for now.

Byron Howlett

Wow!  Halifax is such a pretty and quaint seasidetown.  I didn’t see much of it though since I spent most of my time preparing for the students to board the ship.  518 students and 30 older Senior Adult passengers (Life Long Learners) joined us on the ship in Canada.  There is pure excitement in the air.  The crossing of the North Atlantic has been fun.  About 3 days into the crossing, my staff planned the first major event which was a BBQ at sea on the outside deck and evening mix-matched clothes dance.  Both events were well attended and everyone seemed to have fun!  My days, unbelievably, have been filled with meeting after meeting and endless work.  As soon as I get caught up on one project, it seems another pops up.  Very similar to work back at home in La Verne.  But I’m loving every minute of it…signing off for now.

I have no photos yet for these first two entries, but will try to send some later.

First Blog Entry:  “Norfolk, Virginia to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada”

I’ve finally arrive…so my journey begins.  I met my entire staff in person, along with other staff, faculty and some of their families.  Everyone seems so warm, nice, and delightful.  I feel it will be an incredible experience for us all.  We’ve spent the entire crossing training and getting oriented to the ship.  So much to do before the students arrive in Canada…signing off for now.