Namibia

Namibia has got to be one of our favourite countries so far – we spent only about one week there which was not even close to enough. 

We arrived in Windoek and met up with some PCVs there who were doing their midservice conference.  They took us to a place that served cocktails out of jam jars & teapots and then all you can eat pizza!  They were staying at a fancy hotel suites situation where all the rooms had little kitchenettes & sitting areas, we were very impressed – definitely not the Maroua case. 

We went out to Swakopmund which is on the beach – about 5 hours away from the capital.  Travelling in Namibia is pretty frustrating because it is HUGE and there’s hardly any people in it.  Most PCVs have to hitchhike just to get to and from post.  There were virtually no share taxis.  We were really regretting that we both have expired drivers licenses and renting a car was pretty much off the table. 

From Swakop we went sandboarding; this was awesome.  We opted for the lie-down version which was essentially like sledding but down a giant sand dune.  You felt sort of like you were engaged in an extreme sport – but the worst that could happen if you fell off was a mouthful of sand.  Sandboarding instructor might be my future occupation.  We also went quadbiking around the dunes.  Our guide’s bike got a dead battery so Claire and I ended up doubling up about halfway through.  This was actually more comforting cause it felt more like a Cameroonian moto ride.  It also confirmed that it’s probably a good thing we had not rented a car to drive around the country.    

We joined a tour group to visit Sandwich Harbor, one of the places of the giant sand dunes because there was basically no other way for us to get there.  We were the youngest people in the group by at least 50 years.  Everybody was really sweet and referred to us as “the girls.”  They got super excited about all kinds of little things, like spotting a seal, it was enjoyable. 

We continued on to Walvis Bay .  There we went out kayaking & we saw hundreds, thousands of seals.  The old ladies from our Sandwich Harbor trip literally would have lost it. 

Back in Windoek we went to dinner at the famous Joe’s Beer Bar where we tried zebra, crocodile, ostrich, kudu &  springbok!  Zebra was perhaps the favourite.  But eating that crocodile was definitely satisfying.