East London is situated on the southeast coast of South Africa and has a population of about 250,000 with about 700,000 in the outlaying area. It’s well known for surfing with some of the best beaches in the country.
We had been told there wasn’t much to do in East London, and the Princess tours were only offering excursions outside the city and for biggie bucks. So we decided to get a cab with Rich and Kersti and see if we could get a tour of the city. They really warned us not to walk about alone, so we decided to go with that advice.
Once again, we were met by a group of dancers. These ladies were so sweet. They were like the geriatric version of all the other dancers that we’ve seen. There was a very small craft market on the dock.
How adorable are they!
They sang their hearts out for hours!
We waited patiently for a cab, and then asked the security guard to call for one, but there were just not enough cabs to accommodate a cruise ship. Walking any distance was not an option for Kersti as she had fallen at Table Mountain and had a hairline fracture in her foot.
After waiting and waiting, we finally gave it up and did the only thing left to do. Got on the shuttle bus to go to the mall. Not what we had planned! The drive to the mall...
The mall was quite nice, but like any mall. Christmas decorations!
And we ended up with a pair of shorts from Woolworths and a People magazine! Yippee…
Getting back on the bus…
There were lots of people hanging around in groups. One lady from the cruise ship was picked up by the port authority and returned to the ship. She was told it wasn't safe to be walking where she was. To be honest, I'm not sure why the ship stops here...
Very British!
Looks like a jail, but who knows. All of the nicer houses had barbed wire around them.
We whizzed by City Hall, which looked very nice. The driver didn’t even slow down so we could take a picture. He was a man on a mission! It was built in 1887 to celebrate the 60th year of Queen Victoria’s reign. The bell tower is meant to resemble Big Ben’s...
And here we are…home again! I am sure years from now, I’ll think “I was in East London, but I can’t remember a thing about it!”
And on to Durban…we have a private tour booked there, so it should be a more exciting day!
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