Namibia Love!

Friday, September 19th:We arrive in Walvis Bay, Namibia at 8am in the morning and finally we get to see Africa! Unfortunately, because of problems with customs, we could not get off the boat until around noon. I (Amber) had an FDP (faculty directed practica) at 1:30 and we went to the Salt Mine. One of Namibia’s main exports is salt. I saw huge, heaping piles of salt and the ponds where they harvest the salt. Because of the chemicals they use to treat the salt and remove unwanted elements, the salt ponds are pink! It was really interested to see the process that was involved in harvesting salt. Immediately after that, Maggie and I met up at the boat and all of our friends loaded into taxis and went about 30km up the road to Swakopmund, this quaint little beach town that was really, really fun! When we got there, we checked into Hotel Europa Hof, which fit perfectly in with the German feel of the town (Lonely Planet guide books says Swakopmund is more German that Germany!). After checking in, we had to taste the German beir we were hearing so much about. And wow it was good! After a short game of pool and a beir or two, we went back to the hotel to change for dinner because it was our friend, Allison’s, birthday. Our hotel had an amazing restaurant in it, so we went there. We told our waitress, Jacky, that it was Allison’s birthday and she came back with a bowl full of rose petals and sprinkled them all around Allison’s chair and placemat. It was so pretty and thoughtful! Allison also got a free birthday dessert! Dinner, like I said, was fabulous! Maggie and I shared a spinach and cheese crepe, calamari, and chicken cordon blue. Others had oysters, escargot, crab, and steak. It was all so delicious.Of course, after dinner, we had to go out on the town. We found this cool bar called “Rafters” and hung out there for the rest of the night. It was infested with other SAS-ers and we danced the night away.Saturday morning Maggie and I had to get up, go to the bank, and eat before returning to Walvis Bay for our camping trip. We ate at this nice café called “The Mad Cow” and the hot chocolate was to die for. We barely made it back to Walvis Bay in time for our trip. We had to sprint from where the taxi dropped us off, back to the boat, and up the gangway. Luckily, we made it though. After an hour and a half drive through the Namib desert, we fell upon our campsite. On the way, we say Dune 07, the steepest dune in the world, and springbocks, a type of gazelle that live in the desert. The place where we camped was called “Moonland” because of the way that the rock formations looked. When we got settled into our campsite, which is an understatement because although we had tents, we also had luxurious 5-star beds and accommodations, partnered with a 3-course meal under the stars. We played on the rocks for a few hours, which gave us breath-taking views of the Moonland and the surrounding dunes. Lazily, we lounged by the campfires, talking, laughing, having a good time, worn out by the rock climbing from earlier in the day, when suddenly in the distance we hear drum beats. We think that it’s the other campers in the area, but as soon as we make that assumption, we hear singing. From the darkness comes a group of 30 or so people all dressed in traditional tribal garb. Their singing was beautiful, peaceful, moving, and all together wonderful. They stayed for three hours, singing and dancing with us. About half-way through their performance, they invited all of us to dance with them and for hours we shared songs and dance. It was the best experience thus far in my travels. Sadly, they had to leave us, but the thirty or so of us still around the campfire, told stories and talked late into the night enjoying each other’s company and the spectacular starry sky- I even say a shooting star.Sunday morning arrives, and after a great nights sleep and a yummy breakfast, we said goodbye to the Namib desert and headed back to Walvis Bay. On the drive back, we say a herd of ostrich. It was awesome! And finally felt like we were in Africa!Maggie and I returned to Swakopmund on Sunday evening to again rejoin our friends who were waiting for us at the hotel. We went to dinner at “The Tug Restaurant” which is the hull of a ship converted into a restaurant. The food, again, was amazing. We have yet to be disappointed with a meal in Namibia, or before when we were in Brazil. Sunday night is pretty lazy in Swakopmund, but we went bar-hopping again and saw all of our friends at the Swakop Lodge. Because everything closes early, some of us headed down to the beach to enjoy our last night in Swakopmund.Monday was a good day! We got a lot of shopping in and took advantage of the exchange rate of American dollars to Namibian rands. We decided to do something fun and daring, and went on 4x4s in the desert. The ATVs were soooooo much fun! We went off jumps, down steep dunes, and all around in the desert. It was honestly one of the best days of my life. I wish I could share the experiences with you more than just the words. I can’t wait to get home and share my pictures with all of you!Tonight we are staying in Walvis Bay and tomorrow we leave at 8pm for South Africa. I can’t wait! The adventures keep on comin’!