Day 39: The Big Reroute - Africa Here We Come!

 

A few days ago, we learnt, to no one's surprise, that the section of our trip that took us through the Red Sea and Suez Canal would be canceled. We "lost" the Israel part of the itinerary a few months ago -  so we were fully expecting that the Mediterranean section would be the next to fall.

Our new itinerary takes us to Abu Dhabi, UAE, on April 8th, after visiting Oman and Dubai for the preceding two days. Then, we head south for five days and get an overnight stay in the Seychelles Islands. It's then brand new territory for the next month as we go around the Cape Of Good Hope. We're excited to swap Africa for the Med. 

Once we leave Seychelles, we hit Madagascar, Mayotte Comoros (a small French island off Madagascar), Mozambique, followed by Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town in South Africa. We then head up the West Coast of Africa and visit Namibia, Angola, Sao Tome, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. That's followed by an island hopping to Cape Verde, Santa Cruz de la Palma, and Funchal. We hit Europe at Portimao and Lisbon, Portugal. 

There is an option to depart in Lisbon and fly home, or else stay on the boat for an additional 12 days and reach New York. We're currently thinking of that as an added bonus holiday (as if it's needed). We also island hop a bit more and revisit Funchal, the Azores, Bermuda, and finally home. 

It's an exciting change to the trip and takes us to a part of the world we've never ever visited. A mini-safari may be on the books. Stay tuned.

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