Namibia

I think it’s safe to say that most Americans consider Namibia a sort of random country in terms of international travel. When I recited the list of ports to my friends and family before I left for Semester at Sea, the port of Walvis Bay, Namibia often elicited the response, “Namibia? What is that?” Namibia is often overlooked due to its much more famous neighbor, South Africa. But to be honest, it is by far the most amazing place I have ever been. And I know that exaggerate a lot, but Namibia is hands down my favorite country in the world so far. And here’s why: the people are SO NICE! I have never met a local population that was so laid back, accommodating, generous, and just overall pleasant.

When we got into port on Friday, we walked into the town of Walvis Bay to explore before heading to our final destination, the town of Swakopmund. Upon entering the gates of Walvis Bay, we noticed a giant sign for KFC, interestingly enough the only American fast food restaurant chain in Namibia. McDonald’s does not exist, which I thought was weird. After taking a walking tour of Walvis Bay, which probably took 20 minutes (the town is tiny), we grabbed some lunch, went back to the ship, grabbed our backpacks and headed up to Swakopmund – essentially, heaven.

Swakopmund is about 30km up the coast from Walvis Bay, and still retains a distinct German flavor. It is nestled in between the ocean to the west and the Namib Desert to the east. Upon arriving with Apis (a-piece), our cab driver, we proceeded to try to get into every hostel known to mankind in the town, but since Semester at Sea had somewhat invaded, there was nothing available. Finally we found a small bed and breakfast, called Brigadoon, and the four of us settled into a very cozy two-person room with our own small balcony, complete with table and chairs. What are the chances?

First things first – we headed to the nearest pub for a pint of the locally brewed Hansa beer, one of the things Swakop, as the locals say, is famous for. For those of you wondering, it tasted kind of fruity, but was really good. After getting back to the hotel, we decided it would be a good idea to book our activities for the next few days; so we went into the reception, where Margaret, maybe one of the nicest women I’ve ever met, booked everything for us. She said not to worry about transportation, she would arrange for our activity guides to come pick us up right at our room.
So after a night out to Rafter’s, another pub in town, we got up bright and early Saturday morning to going sand boarding in the desert.

We arrived, strapped into our boots, and hiked with our sand boards up a GIANT dune. We had to stop midway to catch our breath, and take pictures, obviously. We got to the stop and literally the site before my eyes took my breath away. Just desert and rolling sand dunes as far as the eye could see. It was astonishing and from behind me, as more people trudged up the mountain, the only words I could hear were “oh my God, oh my God”. After learning how to properly wax my board and keep my balance, I hopped in and sailed down the dune just like anyone would snowboard down a mountain – what an adrenaline rush!!

Luckily the first time I didn’t fall, so I had to guts to do it again and again – until my butt was actually numb from falling (haha, ouch). I then switched from the stand up sand board to the lie-down, essentially a giant piece of sand paper that was smooth on one side. One of our guides, John, laid down on the mat and Laura Flynn and I rode down a seemingly almost vertical dune sitting on his back…ahhhh it was AWESOME!!!

The walking back up was not exactly fun though. However, that was one of the most interesting walks of my life. We talked to John about the lasting effects of the apartheid system in Namibia, and how there is really not much racial conflict – as opposed to South Africa. He said that he grew up playing with white children, speaking their language (Afrikaans), and was their equal. There are generally equal opportunities for men and women, whites and blacks alike. We spoke to a woman, Leah, who was from Windhoek, and had moved to Swakop to take up a position in Namibian Wildlife Resorts, a company that runs the country’s national parks. What was interesting however, was what John told us about Angolan-Namibian controversy. His father is from Angola and his mother is Namibian, and since he lives in Namibia, he must used his mother’s surname instead of his father’s, because if he was to use an Angolan name in Namibia, he would have no opportunity at all to get a job. When we asked him why, he explained that it had to do with problems concerning the forced flight of Namibian indigenous groups, such as the Herero and the Ovahimba, into Angolan territory. I couldn’t quite understand through his thick Afrikaner accent, but apparently there is a lot of animosity that remains between the Namibian government, and the native groups that were forced out. He talked to us about the use of Afrikaans as the predominant language in Namibia, a direct result of South African rule post-WWI. Another woman that we met, Jenny, described herself as a Baster, someone of mixed indigenous heritage – meaning that her parents were from two different indigenous tribes. They speak different native languages, and so use Afrikaans to communicate with one another.
Anyway, that was the start of many interesting conversations I was to have during this trip. When we got back from sand boarding, we left almost immediately to go land sailing, which is exactly what it sounds like. You fly super fast across the desert in these small, one-person carts complete with boom, sail, and rigging to tighten and loosen the sail in order to harness the wind.
Now that was fun! You could get up to 60km/hr, and our guide told us even faster when the wind was strong. I think I was laughing almost the entire time – we had quite the ridiculous outfits on. That night we went to yet another local establishment called the Gruner Kranz – another strong piece of evidence to this town’s German heritage!
Debbie, a woman who works at the bed and breakfast, kept asking us day after day if we could come eat at her little café in town, called the Mad Cow. She was so helpful with accommodating our needs, helping us organize our activities, and making sure we didn’t sleep in past our wake-up calls! She became our Namibian mom, and so we eat most of meals at her restaurant, and ended up spending our entire last afternoon/evening with her and her son, Luke. Sunday morning we headed to Mad Cow to grab some lunch before going quad biking, hands down the most fun we had on the trip!

I was the only one to take a manual ATV, which was fun because it went really, really fast, but ending up being a mistake because I stalled out in the middle of the dunes more times than I would like to admit! Spyker, our guide, had to manually pull me out a couple times of a particularly powdery dune…
After our final adrenaline rush, we decided to spend our last day a little more calmly, playing what the guidebook likes to call “Lawrence of Arabia” in the desert. That would be code for camel riding. And yes, it was hysterical!

My camel, Olga, seemed to be particularly flatulent, something that Laura Flynn, who was behind me in line, did not seem to like to much…but I’m telling you, this was the funniest experience. First off – camels are loud, and make really strange noises. Second – it is a pretty big distance from kneeling camel to standing camel and that was a little bit scary being halfway in between! The best part of the whole thing though was that I had to wear a turban. I think the picture speaks for itself.

After camel riding, we spent the rest of our last full day, 8 hours to be exact, at Mad Cow with our “Namibian family”. Debbie and Luke – I hope you are checking our blogs!! And if so, we miss you! You all made our trip that much more amazing!
Basically, if I could convince my family to go somewhere on vacation, it would be Namibia. I do not exaggerate when I say I have never met a nicer local population – even when I lost my credit card, it was returned to me! I had some of the most interesting, hilarious, crazy, incredible experiences of my life in this country and I can honestly say, with no hint of exaggeration or sarcasm, that I cannot wait until I find myself in Namibia again.

2 days until Cape Town…much more to come from there!