Namibia

Namibia is an incredibly beautiful country with incredibly beautiful people. I was completely infatuated with the small portion that I was lucky enough to see. Namibia is the size of Texas and Oklahoma put together, but only has the population of Houston. So people are a little spread out. Looking over Walvis Bay from the ship, it's easy to see the edges of the small town. It looks like a little oasis-- the blue of the ocean on one side, and the white of the Namib desert on every other. When we arrived, there was a group of school girls singing and dancing to welcome us. It was pretty cute. Namibia is trying hard to promote tourism, and it has a lot to offer-- beaches, dunes, German beer, safaris, typical tourist things. It is on the rise, but in a country so small, our ship had a tremendous impact. Everyone new we were coming. In fact, it's estimated that our ship of people alone contributed 10% of the tourist economy for the entire year. People were lined up for a block outside the entrance to the port eager to sell their wares. Some had traveled quite far for the opportunity to tap into the American cash flow. There were even people who obviously came straight from the traditional tribal setting. I can't think of the name of the group off the top of my head right now, but any research on Namibia will bring them up. They're distinguished by the striking red color of their skin, and the intricate hair styles of the women. They use some sort of pigment in the ground to color their bodies, and its actually possible to tell what stage of life a woman is by her hair-- prepubescent, puberty, pregnant, married, etc. There's a different style for each. It's sort of a strange thing to say, but they seemed almost unreal in the urban setting. Though, I think they were beautiful, and I can absolutely see the appeal of their choice in aesthetics.
I spent the first day exploring Walvis Bay. There's really not too much going on. It's just a small town, but there was a fabulous restaurant/bar called The Raft that extended into the water. There were 360 degree views, and we were treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen-- complete with flocks of pelicans flying into it. Our meal was interesting, too. They had all sorts of unique meat. I had kudu. Others in the group had orix, ostrich, warthog, and, I think, springbok. We sort of traded. It was all pretty tasty. Pretty gamey. I think ostrich was actually my favorite. It didn't really taste like bird at all, but was quite delicious.
The next afternoon was spent in the sand dunes. They're just there, right outside city limits. If the Appalachian Mountains suddenly turned orange and yellow and shifting that's sort of what the dune scape is like. The number one past time in the dunes is dune boarding. Think sledding/snowboarding except on sand. We had planned on spending the whole day doing this, and we did in a sense, but the dune we chose-- dune 7 the locals call it-- was so massive and steep that, by the time we got to the top, we couldn't bear the thought of going back to the bottom. Instead, we just chilled at the top. Actually, we most certainly did not chill. The sun was at its highest point, and the sand was something like 77 degrees Celsius. I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, but, if you do the math, I think it equals hot as shit. Sticking your fingers in it was like sticking them in a boiling pot of coffee. So we cooked at the top for quite some time knowing that another hike up was inconceivable. Finally, the prospect of water and a cold beer got to be too much, so we slid/rolled/swore our way to the bottom. Sand boarding is harder than it looks. You go faaast.
One benefit of being colonized by Germans is the fact that they bring their taste for beer. They've managed to come up with several light drinks that seem to have been brewed specifically for the purpose of beating the heat. There's Windoek (pronounced win-dook) Lager, named after and brewed in the capital, and then there's Savannah Dry. It's not beer. It's an absolutely delightful hard cider, and it's 100% refreshing. It's not the same as any cider I've ever had in the States though. That stuff always just tastes like candy in a bottle. This has a bit of a bite to it, and, after being slowly broiled for an afternoon, it's perfect. Then, yet again, there was food. It's hard for me to pass up an open grill, and, in this case I was very well rewarded. It was ox tail-- scrumptious-- served on top of this stuff that I, unfortunately, forget the real name of. Though, I'm pretty sure it's something of a staple in Namibia. I think, basically, it's a sort of corn porridge. Very clumpy, something like a mix between couscous and cream of wheat in appearance. It was very delicious whatever it was.
The next day, I went up to Swakopmund, a very German town a bit north of Walvis Bay. It's significantly more touristy, but I thought I should check it out. Everything you read about Namibia mentions it. It had lots of interesting shops and stores-- mostly local. However, I ended up spending my afternoon swimming in the ocean with several locals I kind of randomly met, and then sharing a beer with them. Namibians are fun, and totally easy going. Very quick to smile. After several laughs I had to make my way back to the ship.