Well Hello There Fellow Travelers And Hivers!
Yes the holidays are drawing to a close or well they have been over for three months now but this was the last adventure filled day we had at the ocean side.
Even though it was a very amazing day it was still somewhat filled with sadness knowing that we would be heading home soon, we still had a day left but we kept it open to pack up and get everything ready for the road back home.
None the less it's not yet over!
Now since it was a very cloudy day going to the beach wasn't really an option since it kept pouring a light drizzle of rain every now and then. But that doesn't necessarily mean we have to sit at home, I jumped on google and went on the search for fun things to do around town, I came down on three things that got my attention but not all three were possible at the time. First it was the wine tasting at a close by farm (But since we would be tasting wine and it was holidays season with a lot more road blocks and such it wasn't an option really) second option was going to Glentana Beach in search of the shipwreck there (Again not really an option since the weather wasn't working together and it meant going on a hour perhaps two hour walk in the rain) the third and best option was to visit the Bartolomeas Dias Museum in Mossel Bay.
Needless to say we chose the museum and funnily enough it was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be and well worth the time spent.
Now starting the adventure I didn't know what to expect really, some sort of museum stacked with a lot of ornaments that would seem cool but nothing that really attracts attention, I do like my history but this wasn't really history I cared much for... Until I arrived.
We got our tickets and we now had to do the tour.
At first we got lost because the museum wasn't in the place that it used to be, so we thought meh this was for sure going to be a failed adventure.
It was anything but that!
Now me being a fnatic about anything remotely related to old military style (Yeah I know this was an explorer's vessel and not a war ship I know but it dragged me back to the era of old style warfare) Well let me put it this way, the moment I saw that big gigantic ship (Which is actually small compared to the real warships of those days) I was immediately interested in getting aboard it!
Heck when I boarded it I even wanted to shout "ALL ABOARD!"
But we had all the time in the world to board the ship as it wasn't really going anywhere, we decided to take our time to walk through the museum at our own pace and well hopefully the crowds have died down by that time.
To be honest it only picked up the longer we stayed! By the time we wanted to board there was actually a que... Where as to when we got there it didn't have a que at all.
Okay but as I said the exploration of the museum first!
I have to mention, even though the ship was huge it would still be nothing when caught up in a storm... Imagine having to hoist the sails on this little critter when the sea is raging below you and over the deck of the ship. It would have not been an easy task at all, I suppose that's why they say they don't build em like they used to, them meaning humans. We've grown soft in our way of life to be honest, there ain't a lot of people who would willingly go through what these men must have gone through.
Just my random 2 cents on the subject.
Anything And Everything Map Related
What do we have here. Half a museum full of maps! Now don't get me wrong it's really cool seeing these old maps displayed but for the Betty I think she almost jumped up and down with joy, she absolutely adores anything map or geography related. I do get why though.. it's because she actually understands 100% how to read them properly, so if I ever happened to get lost with the Betty I am more than confident that she would be able to pull us out of trouble!
Before you scroll down any further, firstly I know most of the photos taken of the maps looks like utter crap. I KNOW. But they are still nice to look at even though they have reflection marks and are taken somewhat scew, do me a favour and try to look past the enormous errors I made. 🤣
The first few are extremely well done and can you just take a moment to think for yourself at how damn difficult it must have been to layout and draw these maps without any aerial machines at the time.
Complete madness I tell you, I do believe that people in those times had a lot more brain power than we think we have today.
Okay so I decided not to add all the pictures of the map in a continuous order, I will rather add a bonus section at the end of the post with all of the extra photos included, that way I don't leave anything out but also don't make the post absurdly long.
The Rest Of Everything Cool!
Now that the maps are out of the way we can proceed to the next phase of the displayed items, but sheesh there was ALOT of maps I didn't even share all of them!
The museum was filled with a lot of noteable cool things, such as bones of mammals and clothing they wore back in the golden says!
The jaws of various dolphins, the cool thing about this is that there teeth looks like rice grains. who would have thought.
Two coins dated from 1488-1988 now I have no idea what they were used for but they are fairly big, I should have held my hand next to them for comparison but they are wider than a foot for sure.
I wonder what they were used for, I doubt for any currency related things or perhaps just coins created for remembrance.
Some of the clothing the crew members wore, now wearing this in today's age, I don't know you must be mad doing that. The world must have been a lot cooler back then.
The remains of whale skulls, some big some small but the biggest is definitely big. Although I would have expected them to be a lot bigger than this, but okay given it's not covered with flesh so add a few hundred pounds of flesh and they might grow considerably in size!
Don't be fooled though I have large feet, I wear a size 11 shoe. Not the biggest but fairly BIG feet ey!
Forget about what you know as big because what I am about to show you next is beyond fathomable!
Infact it is totally insane for that matter!
Now we've all watched The Little Mermaid and how she slept in a clam and so on, well I for starters thought that was just for show...
No No...
Apparently clams do get big and when I say big I mean giganticly big! Yeah we've all seen bigger things in our life times but for a clam I mean DAYUM!!!
I'm sure mostly everyone has heard of the famous British ship the H.M.S Victory.
Well to my surprise I found out that day that the ship actually had five levels including the deck above, 6 if you count the bottom most part which I don't think they actually used, but I can be very wrong saying that perhaps it was used and if so it had six levels can you imagine how big that ship was compared to the Bartolomeu Dias.
Now I have a better grasp of how these men must have felt sailing them across the oceans, almost godlike in nature!
Bartolomeu Dias
Okay Okay let's get into why you actually clicked on this post... This ship that got your attention on the cover photo. 🤣
What can I say other than the fact that it was super cool witnessing it in life! Oh wait haven't I said that already?
The thing was HUGE you should have seen the building it was placed in. The first thing that came to mind was how the hell did they get it inside... well that's obvious isn't it? First they created a channel all the way up from the seafront and pulled it inland of course and then the only logical explanation is that they build the building around it... They must have or they must have flatten one wall of the building for it to be brought in.
Either or it's never getting out again or tasting the salt in the ocean.
Now Before we venture any further we absolutely had to get a kiki of ourselves on the sailing ship... otherwise how can we ever prove that we were actually there?
Don't be fooled, the only reason the smile in so genuine is because I caught her off guard with the photo otherwise she'd be blushing like a tomato.
😂 😋
Now the first thing that came to mind my here was "Oh damn if I fall here I'd be a half dead man" Laughs laughs! The fear of heights are real and trust me it was high!
Again something that I never really took to mind when thinking or watching documentaries based around sailing ships and such is the steering of the ships. By the looks of it, it appears to be completely manual. When I say manual I mean that there are no gears involved to add leverage to the steering, the leverage is actual leverage by length on the steering. Refer to the second image below this paragraph.
Now the sailor of this ship must have had to be one strong fella since he had to push against the mass of the ocean to turn it left or right and it would be especially hard to steer if you had to make fast turns.
I haven't yet mentioned the fact that this isn't the real Bartolomeu Dias ship, this is just a replica but it did actually sail the same route as the original ship so it's almost the real deal and it is built exactly the same... Every rope every bunk bed down to the last plank so I would say it's a pretty good build.
Imagine having to sail through and over oceans during storms all the while having to control the sails with and handle these ropes always having to know which one to give slag and which one to pull up tighter.
One wrong move and you might end up breaking a mast or tearing a sail leaving the ship utterly un-steerable.
Now let me tell you I told the Betty that we had to stay on for as long as we possibly could until we really got over it 😂 because once you get on they punch your ticket and then if you get off before you are satisfied well you'd then have to go buy another ticket so we stayed until we got absolutely exhausted.
It didn't take us very long since the parents who boarded the ship with their kiddos left them unattended and they kept running around onboard and through the crowds of people and later on it got so damn crowded aboard it we just got over it! But it was a very fun adventure none the less!
Since the museum wasn't really finished while we visited, they were in the process of moving to the current building they were in so we had a whole floor that was left un-visited.
There for come the end of the year me and the Betty would for sure have to re-visit this spectacle of a museum!
The Little Bonus Section I Was Mentioning Earlier
The Journey Down And Through The Outeniqua Pass
The Merchant, Beach Adventures And A Pinch Of Madness
Going Down The Road Of Old, Visiting Antique Shops In Bland Street Mossel Bay
The Blue Shed Coffee Roastery Near The Point
The Day Before Christmas Made For Donuts And Beach Vibes
The Failed Light House Adventure With A Beautifull Twisting End
The Adventures Of Christmas Day, Searching For The Missing Caves
Conquering The Hedge Maze And Our Adventures On The Redberry Farm
Drinking Fratella's Between The Mountains! A Brothers Coffee Roastery Adventure!
Trying Our Luck With The Lighthouse Again
The Cape St. Blaze Trail: Going Further Than Ever Before
The Adventures In The Fisherman's Village
Unplanned Adventures: From A Sunny Day To A Colourful Night
Enjoying The Hartenbos Market And A Visit To Harmony Distillery
The Long Road Home To The Flatlands
Dated 01/04/2023
Connecting the people of #HIVE across South Africa. #hive