I’m not entirely sure where the story left off – and I don’t want to waste the Tango to go online and check – but if I recall correctly, my last post was about Reconnect. With that said, I have a jam-packed month of events to recount in this post. Hmmm, where to start…
After Reconnect I returned to my site in Ohalushu for some simplicity on the homestead. That lasted a whole two days! Before long, friends began collaborating and devising a plan to best utilise (British English, that’s right!) our time off. The overwhelming majority of people had an acute desire to explore coastal Namibia, namely Swakopmund (where I’ve heard Brangelina and Sharon Osbourne frequent), the Skeleton Coast, and Walvis Bay. So to the coast we went.
What’s the best way to get to the coast? Pay several hundred nollars (how we PCVs differentiate between Namibian and American dollars) and ride in a fairly safe, but overloaded and stinky combi or free ride south out of Owamboland in the back of a bakkie and then get on an overnight train headed straight for the holiday party capital of Namibia? That’s right, option 2. The train was awesome! Our small group of eight definitely had the best pre-coast journey, celebrating the night away and arriving at sunrise a day before everyone else showed up.
By December 24th, all ~30 of us were in Swakopmund, camping roughly 100 yards from both the beach and Tiger Reef (the tiki bar where many of us spent entirely too much time at during of our stay).
Swakop is a really cool place. There’s plenty of high quality non-oshifimic nourishment available, the sights are awesome with beautiful sunsets and views of the dunes and ocean, a vast and interesting assortment of people pack the small town for the holiday, and there are many extreme sports for those who want to push life to the limit.
I was one of the aforementioned people who spent way too much time laying around and chilling at the bar. Other than time, I managed to spend a remarkable amount of money on good food and N$15 ($2 USD)/bottle wine. Additionally, I played some beach football with friends, attempted and failed to sandboard down the nearby dunes, and did a bit of reading.
On Christmas, we had a Secret Springbok (Secret Santa) which was pretty hilarious. There are some really creative people in our group, so it was funny to see what they did with the N$40 limit. Other than that, the day was very non-Christmasy. At least it wasn’t 110°F along the coast like it is up north.
It even rained moderately for about 10 minutes on one of the days. A complete shock seeing as Swakopmund receives like 1cm of rain per year.
By the 28th, around 20 of the campers expressed desire to travel along the coast so we rented two trucks and hit the road. Highlights include:
- Dune 7
- Cape Cross
- Camping along the beach near a sunken ship
- Walvis Bay
Dune 7 is one of the tallest dunes in the world. Its enormity is pretty startling and climbing it was quite the experience. The dune’s height pales in comparison to many mountains even within the country but the baking sun and the quicksand-esque nature of the sand makes the climb all the more difficult. Doing it barefoot is nearly impossible due to the heat of the sand. Needless to say, I left all of my socks in the village and attempted the climb with flip-flops and bare feet. About halfway up I realized that the flip-flops were causing more harm than good and I converted to straight-up barefoot. As I approached the top, I could feel my feet boiling and I was beginning to wonder if I would incur long-term damage from this afternoon jaunt up a hill of sand. Luckily, Ryan, who had reached the top long ago, tossed his socks down, allowing me to reach the summit alive. The experience was overall a positive, but the second degree burns on my feet kinda sucked.
Cape Cross is a little peninsula not far north of Dune 7. The Cape’s stake to famous is the remarkable collection of 200,000+ seals which call it home. The sight got mixed reviews from fellow PCVs. Certainly it’s cool to see a region so densely populated with seals especially with the large collection of young’ns that were born in early December. But with that many animals in a one place, some of them have to die. Dead ones riddled the cape and really gave the place a weird feel. There were no mixed feelings about the smell of the Cape… It was grotesque! Since returning to the village, I have read that Cape Cross has been rated one of the worst smelling places in the world.
The Skeleton Coast is an intense place. Not many animals are able to subsist along there, hence the name. Apparently not even ships can stay afloat in this spooky desert/ocean mishmash world and many litter the coast. We were lucky enough to spot one and spend an evening camping out and partying nearby it. Definitely a good time!
Walvis Bay was the last stop on our journey along the coast. Home to a huge port, Walvis is the second largest town in Namibia, behind just Windhoek. I would have never guessed it had I not known beforehand. Some of the best and cheapest seafood in the world is available here and we enjoyed our fair share of it. But mollusks run the place… There is very little to do here outside of the seafood industry and our visit was short-lived for this very reason.
We returned to Swakopmund on the 30th just in time for the big New Year’s celebration. There was a huge bonfire at Tiger Reef and hundreds of people attended. The event was, for me, the best part of our trip. Everyone had a great time until the tides came in around midnight and numerous cell phones, cameras, and shoes were lost. Luckily I left all of my valuable stuff at the campsite and only lost my flip-flops which a trip to a China Shop in Ondangwa quickly rectified.
Ten days was all we had scheduled for our campground in Swakopmund and by January 2 everyone had dispersed from the site. On my way back home, I stayed two days with my host family from Okahandja. It was really nice to see everyone at my old home in Veddersdal for the first time since swearing-in in October and it made the journey back to Owamboland a bit easier. Plus, Ouma (grandma) did my laundry which saved me a day of hand-washing back in the village. Baie dankie, Ouma!
The finale was the trek back up to my village in the north. I was really lucky to get a free ride out of Okahandja all the way to Ondangwa. When I got to Ondangwa it was clear that rainy season was in full effect. Torrential downpours basically flash flooded the town, making walking, biking, or driving very difficult. I managed to get to the Peace Corps Office in town to chill for a bit while the town dried out. By 6:00pm it was time to leave. I hopped in a cab with a few of my friends that happened to also be in the PC Office when I showed up and we headed north. I guess the storm had moved north because now it was pouring in the village. I had no power for two days, but I was home and I spent a total of about $2 USD to get from Swakopmund back to my village. Vacation was finally over.
That’s all that I can recall – or that I’m will to share in this public forum – from the past month. I know I said I’d have pictures but truthfully I didn’t take many and it is such a time- and energy-consuming process to upload photos with this 2G internet connection. With that said, maybe I’ll upload some once school re-opens and I have access to a faster internet connection, but until then maybe take a look at some of the pictures posted by my friends on Facebook (not many) or better yet check out other PCVs’ blogs here.
Now it’s time for school. Teachers start this Thursday so I have to revamp my mindset and prepare to work again. I feel like it has been so long since I did anything of value and it will definitely be nice to get back in the classroom and start teaching.
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