Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

Today we were in Walvis Bay, Namibia. The city is named for the whales that lured fishing vessels to its plankton-rich waters. Walvis Bay or “Whale Bay” in English, enjoys a deep harbor and the protection of the Pelican Point sand spit. The Port was long valued by explorers making their way around the Cape of good Hope, but it was the British who occupied it by the late 1800’s and eventually incorporated it into their Cape Colony. Today, Walvis Bay is the gateway to the rich culture of Swakopmund, where German architecture recalls the settlers supported by the Kaiser. Natural beauty can be admired here where the Namib Desert meets the coast with its golden dunes spilling over to the ocean shores.

We had a late arrival, 3:00 PM, so the only excursion offered by Viking was a bus ride out to a national park for panoramic desert views and then back to the ship.

The weather was cool and foggy, so we decided to stay on the ship with friends and have a quiet dinner at the Chef’s Table. We have Guest Chef Jean Bentio Estazar on board for the next week with a special menu we wanted to try. The Chef’s Table is a specialty restaurant that features fixed themed menus with wine pairings that change every five days and generally have a regional theme. The menu that started tonight was called South Africa: Cuisine from the Rainbow Nation. It was a five-course dinner of South African dishes paired with South African wines. Here’s the Menu:

We thoroughly enjoyed our special dinner in a very quiet restaurant.

We will be at sea for the next seven days, so our next port of call will be in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday, 21 April.