2/14 - 2/16 Namibia

We arrived in Walvis Bay, Namibia on time at 8am but had to wait for them to process all of our passports and we went to our first diplomatic briefing. During the briefing we were told a little about Namibia and some useful tips on how to stay safe. After the briefing we still hadn’t been cleared so most people went out to listen to the girls’choir that had come out to welcome us. They were down off the gangway but they had amazing voices that carried up to the decks. The girls were from a primary school in the area and they sang beautifully. After about an hour they cleared us to leave if we didn’t need our passports; D, Rhina and I decided that we would take the chance traveling without them because we weren’t going too far.

So I got in line to leave while Rhina went back to get her other passport so she’d have an ID with her. Well while I was waiting in line Tanmoy saw me and asked where Rhina was; I was ready because Rhina had told me that he wanted to come with us, but we didn’t want him with us. So I told him that she had gone to her room to get something but that we were peacing out right after. He insisted that he was coming with us; I told him that it was just Rhina D and I because we didn’t want to be bogged down by people and he still kept saying that he was coming with us, so I gave up arguing and I figured I would let Rhina and D handle him. They got in line behind me and I whispered to Rhina what had happened; she got irritated but she thought she could leave him behind once we got off the ship. No such luck. At that point if he didn’t get that he wasn’t welcome in our group, he would deal with the repercussions; Rhina doesn’t front with anyone so she let him know non-verbally that he wasn’t welcome during the entire 2 days he was with us. Sucks for him; I have no sympathy because he's an arrogant, chauvinistic male who likes to argue. 

Anyways, so we walked to town to catch a taxi. Thankfully this time it was only about a 10 minute walk in wonderful warmth; it was sunny and about 80 degrees the entire time we were in Namibia. First impressions of Walvis Bay were good; no one looked at us with contempt and the city itself is clean and welcoming. We very quickly hailed a taxi and negotiated for the man to bring all 4 of us to Swakopmund for 100 Namibian dollars ($10 USD). We got in and took off. The drive was amazing; I’ve never been in a desert so it really struck me. I’m in southern Africa, thousands of miles from home; I’m really doing this. You’re probably thinking it’s weird that it took me until now to actually get my head around that but it was just the enormity of driving 110 km through a landscape that borders the ocean to the left and mountainous sand dunes for as far as the eye can see on the right. It was dazzling. No one really talked during the 20 minute drive, we just soaked it all in. We got to Swakopmund and were dropped off on the main road.

Rhina had brought a map and a copy of the guidebook that told us of hotels and hostels. We went to an ATM first and then went in search of a hotel or hostel to drop off our bags before we went frolicking. We found one right off the main street that had a bar and restaurant attached with dorm-style beds for $110 Namibian. Coincidentally, there was an adventure company also attached to the hotel. Side note: one of Namibia’s largest industries is tourisms so they offer a variety of desert adventures and sports. So we went in and met Angelique, the receptionist, and talked to her for a while. We told her what we wanted to do, found out prices and times and were able to book camel riding for that afternoon and dune boarding for the next morning. After that we walked around a little, looking at shops and eventually decided to get lunch at a German pub/restaurant. Side note: for those of you that don’t know, Namibia used to be a German colony so the German culture is very much still a big part of Namibian culture; the country’s only been independent since 1990. So we sat down and all ordered something we’d never had before; Rhina and I ordered beer, snails, bratwurst and steak madame all to share. Soooo good. All of it. I can’t wait to upload my food pictures once I get home; I’ve had some amazing food in every country.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to catch our cab to the camel farm; it was about 10 minutes outside of town. As we pulled in, we saw 4 camels getting ready to go for a walk; I got sooooo excited cause I can’t remember being that close to camels ever. While we waited for the 2 people to come back from their little walk, the woman who owned the farm put scarves on our heads and told us a little about her and the farm; she showed us her tortoises and let me hold the baby one. When the camels came back, she introduced us to them and we mounted them just like you would a horse. I named mine Consuello cause I couldn’t remember what his actual name was; he kept nibbling on D’s pants. It was a lot of fun; really similar to riding a giant horse. Its fur was rough; it felt like straw more than fur. It was only a 15 minute trek but it was still fun; the entire thing, including taxi, cost us $200 Namibian.

When we got back, we decided to go up to the bar above the hotel to play pool and have a drink. We got bore so we decided to walk around for a while before dinner; everything was closed except the supermarket so we walked down to the beach. I picked shell pieces and pretty rocks and played in the sand. We came back and decided to go to the restaurant a few buildings down from our hotel. It was a pizzeria but they had lots of other food. I tried baked muscles and fresh oysters, ordered Swakup pizza (which had ham, salami, mushrooms and cheese) because it was the cheapest thing but I got to try Rhina’s Oryx burger; we were told that Namibians love wild game and Oryx is one of the most popular. Everything was delicious as usual. After dinner we went up to the bar to dance off dinner. Or so we thought. People here don’t really dance; it might’ve been because the DJ was kind of crappy and kept playing American music but we eventually decided to start the dancing with a bunch of other SaS students that had made their way to the bar. People were getting drunk quick; the big thing here are shooters and they were all $10 Namibian ($1!!) and there were tons of them. Yummm. Me, Rhina and D were exhausted though so we didn’t drink that much; we had like 5 or 6 shooters in a couple hours and finally decided that we wanted to crash so we’d be rested for our sand boarding the next morning. We were all really thirsty but we were too lazy to go down the street to buy bottled water so I bought soda to quench my thirst and Rhina and D drank the nasty tap water; we were told not to but when you’re thirsty you don’t care. So we finally pass out around midnight or so.

Day Two: We woke up around 8:30 and lazied a bit before getting dressed. I ate cold pizza for breakfast and put on sunscreen before leaving; I knew the sun was going to be as hard and hot as the day before. So we get down to the adventure office and meet two other guys that are going with us; they’re on vacation from South Africa. Talk them up a bit while we go out to the dunes.

We get there and there are 4 other vehicles, almost all full with SaS students; typical. So we get snowboard boots, helmets and boards; for those sledding, they get a helmet, gloves and elbow pads. The first thing we do is just strap in to make sure the boards and boots are a good fit. Then we start walking. Pure hell. The dune is huge and we have to walk to the top. The sand is soft so it’s always slipping and moving. The guides had warned us that the first trek is the worst. I ended up at the end of the line and was ok with it; it took about 20 minutes to reach the top. Finally get to the top as the instructor is explaining how things are going to work. First thing we do is wax our boards; they have to be waxed each time you go down. They throw on a glob of wax, you rub it in with your hands, throw sand on it and rub the sand off; wax on, wax off. Then we line up at the top of the ridge and strap on our boards, waiting and watching as our instructor shows us how to go down the dune slowly. It’s similar to snowboarding but so much easier and less painful. We start by going down facing the dune and not away from it; it’s safer that way. I made it down relatively quick AND without injury. It was so much fun! I couldn’t wait to do it again.

However, I started climbing back up and saw D and Rhina; both of them were super nauseous and faint. Side note: those shooters the night before were deadly…there were 36 mixed shooters, all with different types of hard alcohol and Rhina and D had 6 different ones. Mixing liqueurs is never a good plan, and drinking unfiltered Namibian water after that is probably also not the best thing. So I sat with them for a while until they felt a little better, had some water and we went back up. We got to the top and they told us we could try dune sledding before our last run –almost everyone else had already gone down the dune twice so we were behind a run. For the sledding you lie face down on a thin, waxed, wooden board and pull the front up and slide down. It was crazy! They measured our speed and I hit 63 km! It’s like sledding but without the ice flying at your face and the cold lungs. So we walk back up and they tell us to get ready for our last run; we re-wax our boards, get in place and go down. I actually slid half the dune going straight down instead of side to side. Yay! Once we reach the bottom we head back to the trucks. I took off my boots because they were full of sand and made walking a pain in the bum. Get to the trucks, hand in our gear; there’s stuff for sandwiches and coolers full of soda and beer which everyone digs into. Load back up after lunch and head back to the hotel.

We knew we would have to wait until 6 for the dvd to be done so we decide to get changed and head to the beach. We stopped at the supermarket –the only store open –and bought water. Got to the beach and Rhina and I immediately jumped in; we had sand everywhere still from the morning. The water felt great; it’s about 70 degrees. I got out pretty quick though because the bottom is all little pebbles and I realized –as the waves carried those pebbles to the shore –that I had burnt the back of my legs at the dunes. I slathered myself in another coat of sunscreen once I got out of the water and laid out to dry. We kept watches because a local had already tried to walk off with Rhina’s sneakers and men had approached us, asking for money. We’re a very cautious group. We stayed about an hour and then decided to head back to shower before the dvd showing. We stopped to get ice cream. Yummy. Got back and we all showered; I was the last one and when I came out Rhina said the receptionist had asked us to leave. It was around 5:30 so I wasn’t surprised; they hadn’t given us a check out time but we knew we had been pushing our luck. Anyways, we head up to the dvd showing and ask the video guy if we can just get a copy of the dvd before the viewing and head out. He says yes so we grab our copies and find a taxi to bring us back; we wanted to get back to the ship before dinner ended at 7:30 and it was already 6:15 by the time we left. Anyways, we make it back to the ship and go straight to dinner. We ate, then napped, played dominoes (which I now rock at!) and crashed; Rhina, D and I had SaS trips the next morning.

Day 3: We woke up and had breakfast at 7:45. I went to the gangway, met the Seal and Dolphin Encounter group and boarded the shuttles. We got to the Mola Mola boat tour site and at the gate there was a group of Himba women selling bracelets; I bought one for a gift because they were beautifully made and asked the woman that I bought it from if I could take a picture of her and her son. Side note: we’ve learned about the people of the Himba tribe in class and the reason I asked to take a picture is because they cover their skin in red ochre; it turns their skin red and is interesting to see. There were also pelicans walking around the parking lot. Once we met our guide, we broke off into groups of 10 and boarded our ship. Our skipper’s name was Nico; a man originally from South Africa with a sweet accent. Even before we took off from the dock, a seal jumped onto the ship! Nico introduced us to him and said his name was Humphrey. He just wobbled right onto the bench where everyone had been sitting and made himself at home. Nico fed him fish that he kept in a bucket near the front; he told us we could pet him and of course we all did and took plenty of pictures. It took a few minutes to get him off; Nico had to keep throwing fish into the water for him to go ‘fetch’. We finally took off and Nico told us a little about the harbor and the seal colonies. We saw gulls, more pelicans and as soon as he slowed down –plop! –another seal jumped on. He was much bigger than Humphrey; Nico told us his name was Robbie and was one of the older seals around. We played with him a little and eventually kicked him off to go a little further into the bay. Nico showed us where one of the oyster farms were and explained how one of the ships has been jailed there for 3 years for dumping fish guts in the bay; fish guts deteriorate, create ocean pollution and don’t allow for other fish to grow.

Nico took us closer to the big seal colonies on the point and we went chasing after a bottlenose dolphin that we had seen from a distance. We also saw a mola mola –or sunfish –and were able to get relatively close to it. At one point, Nico also made the pelicans start flying after us right next to and above the ship; so cool. It seemed that every time we slowed down a seal would jump on the ship; the last one that came on –and the cutest –was Google. He was Nico’s favorite; he immediately butted Nico with his head, looking for fish. He also liked to hop up and hug him whenever Nico waved a fish. It turns out that Google is one of Robbie’s sons. After we got him off the ship –it took 3 tries –Nico sped off and we headed back towards the pier. Halfway there, Nico stopped the ship and took out drinks and snacks; there was Coke, beer and water as well as champagne and he had fresh oysters and a tray of snacks. Everything was yummy as usual. We went back and were greeted by Humphrey once again when we got close to the pier and once we debarked from the boat we boarded the shuttles and went back to the ship.

Rhina, D and I had made plans to meet and walk into town to find a post office. So after a quick lunch we made for town, found the post office and probably spent the better part of an hour between the post office and phone center, trying to get things done. Rhina bought a phone card from the post office that wouldn’t work even though the women in the post office kept telling her it did and I couldn’t send something because the post office didn’t carry envelopes. Next we went to the supermarket and bought a few snacks to hold us over until South Africa because we all hate paying $1 or more for a chocolate bar or what is usually a $ .50 bag of chips. By this point –and actually even before we left –we were exhausted from the past two days so we decided to walk back to the ship and just stop real quickly at the street vendors right outside the port. I bought a pretty necklace and earrings made out of wood and another bracelet from the Himba women for myself. Then back to the ship to nurse all my sunburns. I’m probably going to look absolutely ridiculous by the time I get back because as of right now I have burns on the back of my calves, my forehead (it’s swollen), one ear, my neck and two layers of burn on my shoulders and chest; I’m burning in patches. And no one chastise me because I’ve been putting sunscreen on religiously since we got to warm weather; apparently it’s just not strong enough this close to the equator. So the minute I step foot off the ship tomorrow in Cape Town, I’m going to find sunscreen with an SPF of at least 60. We’re in South Africa for 5 days and the only thing I have planned thus far is to go see a play, get to the top of Table Mountain, see a rugby game (the sport is huge here) and spend a day on the beach slathered in sunscreen. The rest is up to the spirit of adventure.