Sailing from Mossel Bay past Port Elizabeth to Durban on the National Geographic Orion the past two days prompts a lot of thinking about history -- global, regional and personal. Empires and individuals have sailed these waters since the indigenous people of southern Africa boarded rafts for coastline fishing. Vasco de Gama and other European explorers combed these waters, as evidenced by the wonderful exhibits at the Maritime Museum we visited in Mossel Bay two days ago. Later, spice traders, Arab commercial dhows, American and British whalers, passenger liners and warships, all passed through these channels. On one of those vessels in 1896, the British Union Castle mail steamer HMS Saxon, my grandfather Bernhard immigrated to Port Elizabeth as part of the great Russian Jewish diaspora to the Cape Colony from the pogrom-ridden Czarist Empire. Building a new life in this extraordinary country, he became the leader of the Port Elizabeth Police Band and a concert master in this coastal city. Sailing through the foggy morning waters here and looking at the misty green hills, I feel like I am joining his voyage, and all the other eons of maritime travels, with ours.
At sea today, we had a fine breakfast on the outer deck, and were treated to a superb talk on the spice trade by naturalist Tom Ritchie. Using great visuals and a fine command of the subject, Tom walked us through the romance and intricacies of the trade in spices from Asia and Africa – again, through these very waters – to European markets. Later, I tried to explain some of the complexities of the struggle against apartheid and the creating of post-apartheid South Africa in a discussion on that country’s past and vibrant future. Our guests asked insightful questions which helped highlight many of the developments which have led to today’s challenges for South Africans and for their government.
A Mexican-themed lunch, heavily attended, was followed in the afternoon by a very timely talk by National Geographic photographer and Fellow Chris Rainier and naturalist and photo instructor David Cothran on the art of using photos to tell stories with images. Their suggestions on software and organizational tips for producing photo books and visual presentations will be a great boon to all of us amateur photographers on board. Later in the evening, Global Perspectives guest speaker Carl Safina gave a thoughtful and moving presentation on animal behavior and human-animal relations, focusing on the historical and current relationships between humans and elephants, and the increasingly threatened status of this intelligent and social species.
Everyone onboard has enjoyed the time to relax and engage with speakers during these two days at sea, as well as the marine life that we enjoyed yesterday (like this dolphin shown below). We’re all looking forward to our port call in Durban, South Africa, tomorrow and the historical and nature-themed excursions in the surrounding areas of KwaZulu Natal.
