Struisbaai; another pearl on South Africa's crown.

It was the choice of Atlantis to stay in Struisbaai, despite some hesitation from my part; I must admit that good things happened to us since we landed in this beautiful place.

So many people offered to help. During the first night moored at the little harbour wall I was searching for a restaurant to have my first decent meal since a week.....unfortunately the harbour restaurant was closed, but a nice lady offered me lasagne on the boat ( the best I ever had !). The trust in people, lost during my executive career, is slowly coming back. Is this world getting better after all?

Esna and Ryana guided me to Maureen, who is responsible for the tourism office in Cape Aghulas. All wonderful people that I never would have met without Atlantis. I learned that out of every negative event in life something positive grows.

Visiting the most Southern point of Africa is a must...and don't forget to visit the towns of Bredasdorp and Napier. The tourism office of Maureen is just next to the old lighthouse and she has both a passion and extended knowledge of the region.

Another interesting place to visit is Arniston where the British transport and hospital vessel "Arniston" foundered near the coast in 1815, with a loss of 372 lives. Only six passengers survived, and a monument was erected in 1817. It was the second most horrible maritime tragedy in history after the Titanic. The coastline is full of wrecks...we escaped! Is there a God protecting us, or were we just lucky?

The coast of "needles" (Aghulas) has a notorious reputation and I believe Atlantis made the right choice to beach on a sandy beach near Struisbaai Harbour rather than a few miles further. Have a look at the pictures of the coastline...no ship can survive a contact with the notorious "needles".

Atlantis is still waiting to be taken out of the water for repairs. Probably she will get out on Sunday when we have a spring tide. Skipper and boat need some rest.

To follow......

Marc