Namibia

2.14.09

It's Valentine's Day! Yippee! Hope everyone had a good day!

Woke up in Namibia! Took a trip off the boat into Walvis Bay, where we docked. Got some cash, caught a cab, and found ourselves 35 km away in Swakopmund, a nice little town on the beach.

Stopped for lunch, had some delicious quiche and coffee with ice cream in it, and went on our way through the town. We basically just walked around, enjoying the beach view, the locals, and the little shops we found along the way.

Eventually we made it to a market square of sorts where vendors roll out blankets and display their wares. Everyone was calling for us to come to their shops, some even coming over and guiding us over. We talked to a bunch of them, most simply wanted to selling goods, but a few, like our friend Stan, simply wanted to talk to us about where we were from, what we thought of Obama, and so on. It was nice to have a simple conversation.

We stopped for a snack, which turned out to be a pizza, and then headed back to Walvis Bay for the night.

Back in Walvis Bay we met up with a few people and went out to dinner at Bon Aroma. As it was Valentine's Day, the hostess brought the girls at our table roses. And they brought one for Keith, mistaking him for a girl from behind. Keith was crushed when they denied him the rose.

Dinner was exquisite. Had kudu, a game meat, sort of like an antelope, tried some of Keith's Oryx, another horned animal. It was an interesting feast.

Then after leaving my point-and-shoot camera at the restaurant, realizing I had after making the 30 min or so trek back to the ship, catching a cab to and from the restaurant, and retrieving my camera, we went to bed.

2.15.09

Woke up in the late morning, went out to a grocery store, grabbed some staple foods for the ship, and got ready for our trip later that day.

Left around two for star-gazing in the desert. Slept for the two hour drive. Arrived in the middle of nowhere.



Having a bunch of free time, we went hiking through the mountains/hills of the area. All stone/sand. So it was fun climbing up the sides, sliding down the sides, and standing on top, peering over the land. The area was simply beautiful. It stretched for miles in every direction.






Explored the area as well. Saw where a river from rain the day before had already dried up.



Right before dinner, a marimba band played for us. They were awesome. It makes me want to play the mallets again. And buy a marimba.



Dinner was good, at the time, but it eventually led to most of the people getting sick. Possibly including me. I'm not sure if I was simply still sick from before, or the food make me sick again. It was a weird several days. Halfway through dinner it rained. So far, we were three for three countries where it had rained while there. It was quite uncommon for rain. Our star guide was surprised it had rained.

After dinner, we had a star guide take us out, away from the camp, to star-gaze. Unfortunately, the rain from before had left clouds, which made gazing difficult. We were fortunate enough for parts of the sky to clear up once in awhile, so we were able to make out the Southern Cross, Orion's belt, and a few other constellations.

2.16.09

Woke up early (after not being able to sleep at all) for the sunrise. Climbed up one of the mountains and watched at the sun struggled to shine through the ever present clouds.



After breakfast, we left for Walvis Bay. Upon returning, I stayed on ship as we left only a few hours later.