I love the sea and have been able to visit the North Pole, the Arctic and Antarctic region a dozen times. One of the voyages I have longed to take is the sailing along the west African coast following the footsteps of early Portuguese explorers. I therefore signed up for a 40-day expedition on Silver Wind from Cape Town to Lisbon when I learned about this voyage almost two years ago. I was glad a good friend Elaine joined as my cabin mate. In planning this journey, I added three short stops including a week in Spain, a retreat at the Plum Village in Bordeaux, and a whirlwind visit to London to visit friends.
March 31-April 2 Cape Town
Elaine and I departed from Hong Kong on March 30 and reached Cape Town via Doha around midday on May 31. We booked a hotel in the canal area close to the port/cruise terminal. I felt at home in Cape Town, the oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa, which I have already visited half a dozen times. We spent three leisure days in this beautiful vibrant city with a population of about 5 million.
March 31- We explored the Waterfront area on foot after check-in the hotel. We were hungry and had a 1-5kg rib and prawn for dinner (1090 rand for two). We bought a 2-day sightseeing bus tickets (399 rand pp) online to see Cape Town as tourists. With this ticket, we could take the Blue Line, Red Line and Sunset Line, and a Harbour Cruise. We watched a gorgeous sunset with golden orange colours after dinner.
April 1 – The Blue Line takes visitors on a big loop all over Cape Town. We spent over two hours on the bus enjoying the landscape, street scene and seascape with views of the Table Mountain, National Botanical Garden, Hout Bay, Camps Bay and Sea Point etc. It was about 1 pm when we arrived at the Waterfront. We hopped on the Blue Line again in order to get to the iconic Mount Nelson Hotel for tea at 2 pm (about 620 rand pp). The hotel is elegant and most comfortable. The service and food including a free glass of champagne surpassed our expectations. It is the most value-for-money high tea of hotels of the same category. After teatime, we took a taxi back to the Waterfront in order to join the sunset bus to Signal Hill at 5pm. It was an excellent drive through the Camps Bay. The panoramic views are unrivaled. But the sunset that evening was so-so.
April 2. We planned to go to Table Mountain. Unfortunately, the Cable Car service was stopped owing to strong wind. We took the Blue Line again to go to the National Botanical Garden (Kirstenbosch) (entry fee 250 rand pp). Though I visited it thirteen months ago at the end of the Chile-Namibia expedition on Silver Cloud, I enjoyed the two-hour guided tour. Last time, we spent over two hours strolling on our own. This time, the enthusiastic guide gave excellent interpretations that enabled me better understand the history of this World Heritage Site and the vast varieties of plants in this small corner of the world. We planned to take the harbour cruise at 4 pm. Unfortunately when we got back to the Waterfront, we were told the service was canceled due to strong wind! C’est la vie! We ended up having a lovely seafood dinner by the harbour before walking back to the hotel.
40-Day Journey on Silver Wind 3 April – 13 May 2025
My first trip to West Africa was in 2012 when I took a 69-day overland truck journey starting 5 January from Doula, Cameroon to Dakar, Senegal. I love Africa and hope to sail the whole stretch of the West African coast. This epic 40-day sea journey comprises two legs: Cape Town, South Africa to Accra, Ghana (April 3 – 22) and Accra – Lisbon, Portugal (April 22- May 13). This itinerary was scheduled to make over 20 stops in 13 countries. I am familiar with Silver Wind as I sailed on the same ship from Costa Rica to Valparaiso, Chile with my brother Lawrence and his wife Sally for 18 days last October.
Day 1 April 3 Boarding Silver Wind at Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town to Lisbon Itinerary 
Elaine and I had a short ride from our hotel to the cruise terminal and got onboard with ease. The only hiccup was whether Hong Kong SAR passport holders would require a visa for Namibia. The ship would apply visa on arrival to make things easy life easy for passengers. But according to information available then, HKSAR passport holders would not require a visa for Namibia. But the staff said the regulation had changed and I asked the ship to handle for me (Eventually, I entered Namibia without an e-visa). I felt at home once I stepped onto the ship and was delighted to see many familiar faces including Captain Sasha Kolosov, Tiffany at the reception and Medhi at the restaurant. We settled down, met the Expedition team and watched the ship sailing at a gorgeous sunset.
Day 2 April 4 Saldanha, South Africa
The first stop of this expedition was Saldanha close to the West Coast National Park which has been designated an important Bird Area. It is also a hub for iron ore exports and a naval port. Guests were offered as many as eight shore activities including kayaking, hiking and cycling. Elaine and I opted for a leisure 5-hour Khwa Thu San cultural experience with lunch. The San people, also known as Bushmen or Saan, are indigenous hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa and one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures.They now live in Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. We set off after 8 am and took almost an hour to reach the cultural centre. On the way, we saw antelope, eland and ostrich etc. The cultural experience comprised four parts: herbal tradition, art and story telling, contact with the West and the colonization period and the traditional life. The lunch with local and fresh ingredients was very good. All guests were onboard before 5pm. At 5:45 pm, all guests gathered at the theatre to meet the expedition team led by Expedition Leader Lea who gave a quick overview of the journey and plans for the following day.
Day 3 April 5 At Sea Lecture Day
Whenever we were at sea, the expedition team would arrange 3-4 lectures on nature and culture, and the countries to be visited in addition to regular house entertainment activities including trivia, music performance, art class, golf putting, mahjong games etc. Today, I attended lecture on “The Unique Story of South Africa” by Roddy, an anthropologist, “My Journey with Nelson Mandela” by Zelda, who worked for Mandela in various capacities for 19 years, and “Diamonds & the Desert:A Tale of South Africa and Namibia” by Manu, a geologist whom I met on Silver Wind last October. For the first time in my life I took up water colour painting with Yvonne whenever we had a sea day.
Day 4 April 6 Luderitz, Namibia
This was my first visit to Luderitz, a charming historic town established in the late 19th century, with a most interesting collection of colonial brightly coloured and preserved German architecture and heavily weathered rocks. We took a 2.5-hour guided walk. A tidy row of colourful houses greeted us as soon as we left the port area. Each house has its own history, colour and design. Apart from a few main paved roads and the railroad track, all side roads are sandy and unpaved. Our first stop was a tiny local museum located next to a large modern maritime museum. We did not have time to visit it. Then we walked uphill to an iconic church on a hill top. We crossed the rail line visiting another church. The town is quiet without much going on. Yet I enjoy the tranquility and atmosphere. We set sail for Walvis Bay at 3pm.
(On reflection, I should have joined the group to visit the Kolmanskop Ghost Town which was once a bustling diamond mining town abandoned in the 1950s. The shifting sands that have taken over the buildings, have created a surreal eerie and captivating landscape. The group had a surprise treat of fresh oysters and champagne in the desert after the tour. Amazing!)
Day 5 -6 April 7-8 Walvis Bay
April 7. Two lectures (on Cape Fur Seals and introduction to the culture and history of Namibia) were held before the boat docked at Walvis Bay after 11 am. This was my second visit and I joined three activities over two days.
After lunch, I took the Petit Seal Cruise. Two great pelicans and a dolphin joined us onboard. We also watched seals and dolphins before stopping near an oyster farm to learn about the fantastic conditions for oyster cultivation. While oysters may usually take a couple of years to grow, they can be harvested in a year in this area. We headed to the Pelican Point which was crowded with many cruise boats. It was nice to watch the Cape Fur Seals surfing happily around us. We had fresh oysters and champagne as snacks on the way back to the pier. This trip was similar to the one I took last year. (Again, I should have taken a tour to the Sandwich Harbour which is a historic site where the dunes meet the sea.)
At 5:30pm Elaine and I joined a tour for a Marquee Dinner in the Dunes. We drove past Dune 7 (382m), one of the tallest dunes in the Namib Desert, one of the oldest deserts in the world. We had champagne by a small dune before proceeding to a grand marquee for dinner. Before entering the marquee, we watched three dancers performing with rings of fire. After dinner, a group of 13 local musicians performed for over half an hour. The setting, the dinner and performances were amazing. An atmospheric evening!
April 8. We had a full morning for activities before sailing to Angola. At 7 am, Elaine and I joined a Birding at Walvis Bay Lagoon Tour (We had originally signed up for a Living Desert 4×4 tour). Each 4WD took three passengers and we met Lee from the US. We saw a fair number of birds including Cape Cormorant, Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Sanderling, African Black Oystercatcher, many types of gulls and terns (large Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Damara Tern, White-winged Tern, Black Tern etc.) We were told there are some two million of seals in this area. The smell and sight of thousand and thousand of Cape Fur Seals were unforgettable. All guests were onboard by 1:30pm and we set sail at 2pm.
I attended two lectures in the afternoon: one on the Benguela Current by Tristan and another on “The Great War in Africa” by Clifford. These two lectures provided useful background information on history and the forces of nature that shapes the development of the continent.
Day 7 April 9 At Sea Lecture day
I attended three lectures on “Expansion of the Portuguese Empire”, “Seabirds of the Benguela Current” and “The Namib Desert”. I totally enjoyed the painting class and learning some basic skills and terms such as painting wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, colour mixing etc.
Day 8 – 10 Angola
Angola In Brief. With an area of 1,246,700 sq km and a coastline of 1,600km, Angola is rich in minerals and oil deposits. After fighting its colonizer Portugal for 14 years, Angola gained independence in November 1975 but sadly immediately plunged into a civil war between the MPLA (People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola) and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola). During the 27-year war, both sides had employed child soldiers (as many as 9,000 in total). By the time the MPLA achieved victory in 2002, between 500,000 and 800,000 people had died and some four millions were displaced. The war had devastated the country – infrastructure, public administration and the economy. Hence, despite its rich natural resources, its GDP(PPP) was US$7,077 (2023 estimate – 129th in in world ranking).
Angola has a diverse population of over 35 million. The main ethnic groups include Bantu-speaking Ovimbundu, Ambundu, and Bakongo; Mesticos (mixed European and African heritage) and indigenous people including the San, Himba etc and other groups and European. It is also known for its stunning landscapes, diverse wildlife and rich cultural heritage.
April 10 Mocamedes & Namibe desert. Mocamedes is capital of the Namibe Province which has a population of about 5 million. The Namibe desert is sparsely inhabited by Herero groups and small Khoisan groups. The ship was docked around 8 am at the port of Mocamedes, which was officially founded by the Portuguese in 1840. Elaine and I joined a 5-hour tour to see Welwitschia and visit the Lost Oasis.
Welwitschia mirabilis commonly refer to as a “living fossil” is endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. (I saw this awesome plant on my first visit to Namibia about 20 years ago). The plant only produces a single pair of foliage leaves. It has separate male and female plants. It is impressive to see this amazing plant spreading all over the desert and some of which are over 1,000 years old and some specimens may be up to 5,000 years old. We stopped for over half an hour looking at this amazing plant, lizards and insects in the desert.
After an hour’s drive, we arrived at Lake Arco, a fresh water oasis. It is named after its two huge and impressive sandstone arches. We were greeted by African music and dance on arrival before walking in this wonder land which was once under the sea. I could see layers of sand, mud, pebbles, salt, fossils etc. Then suddenly we found green fields dotted with donkeys and plenty of leafy plants in the middle of a desert.
On the way back to the ship, we had a brief stop in Mocamedes to visit the cathedral and an old fort which is now a military base. The colonial buildings have added colours and charm to this small coastal town. Soon after getting onboard I attended a lecture on “The Great Bantu Migration” by Roddy that enabled me to understand the history of the Bantu people that is a main ethnic group in Africa. We set sail after 6 pm.
April 11 At Sea lecture Day
I thoroughly enjoyed three lectures: “A Map of Plants” by Tristan, “Angola’s Offshore Riches” by Manu and “Arts of the Kongo Kingdom” by Clifford.
April 12 Luanda, the capital of Angola. Founded in 1575, Luanda became an important seaport and export base for minerals and foodstuffs and for slaves sent to Portuguese colonies in Brazil. We joined a 7-hour tour to Luanda Market and Miradoura Le Tua. We began at the Fortaleza de Sao Miguel close to the port. Dating from 1576, this well-defended citadel, home to the Portuguese garrison and its merchants, is now a museum with commanding views and rich exhibits. Then we proceeded to an artifact market next to the National Museum of Slavery. Founded in 1977, the museum adjoins the Capela da Casa Grande, a 17th century structure where slaves were baptized before being put on the slave ships for transportation to the Americas. After an hour’s drive, we arrived at the Miradoura le Tua, geological sandstone formation as a result of erosion, similar to those in Bryce Canyon, USA. We had a nice buffet lunch in a resort by a river before returning to the ship.
It was still early when we got back to the ship. As there was free shuttle to a mall by the beach, I ventured out on my own. I spent an hour and a half window shopping and people-watching at this modern and up-market shopping mall, comparing prices, watching sunset and people. The difference between the haves and have-nots was visible. At 9 pm, a group of artists came onboard to perform samba dance in the show lounge. The dance by the four pairs of dancers was lively and sensual with sexual appeal! According to them, samba of Brazil came from Angola.