Entering Mossel Bay South Africa at sunrise, pinching ourselves for yet another glorious day, we could feel the air getting cooler the farther down the eastern seaboard we traveled. Cool enough that we had to wear warmer clothes before meeting at the excursion point getting ready to head out.

As the Serenity dropped its anchors in the bay (tendering), we were serenaded by pods of fur seals (actually sea lions) that were porpoising near the ship’s side thrusters, which stirred up the waters making it easier for the fur seals to slice through the bait fish balled up near the surface.

Somewhere between coffee and getting ready to board the tender, the swell picked up to the point we could not safely get into the tenders. But our Captain came down to inspect, got on the radio to the bridge to turn the ship to minimize the swell, and we were back in business. Oddly, the wind was still next to nothing so this was a deep swell coming from a distant storm.

Our excursion was a weird one. We thought we were heading to a charming coastal town called Knysna, through the garden district, east of Mossel Bay, where we would stop at various locations, take in the beautiful scenery, while our guide would point out various facts and the history of the area.

Our guide was a woman from Knysna, but she would say things like: ” Over the mountain to the right–– which you can’t see from here–– is a hotel with beautiful views of the Indian Ocean.” Or, “To our left, you will see a white wall, and behind that are fields.” Or, “On the right is a building that makes furniture (and there is a sign that says, building for sale.). As for the garden district, the South Africans mean, ‘natural area’ where the land is filled with pine trees.

Meredith and I have now referred to this type of tour as the 2-2-2 excursion. Two hours to get there, Two hours to shop, Two hours to return.

Now, there are a couple of good things which came out of this excursion: First, we passed an estuary of Phragmites–– Yes my November Seed Fans–– Phragmites…. The Antagonist of my Sci-Fi Novella, November Seed. So now you know why I chose Phragmites… because they are everywhere in the world and the perfect carrier for releasing a global pandemic (before COVID was a thing).

Secondly: In the town of Knysna, we picked up some darling lawn ornaments and an Owl made of crushed Nespresso pods. Very clever these South African artists are.

I will do my best with imagery to make our excursion seem so much more enriching than it was. But make no mistake— the land is beautiful here. We just wish we could have seen it from outside of our tour bus, getting there and back.

Yes… Yes… Yes… I know you never read these posts and just scroll down to the dress…..