Swakopmunt, Namibia

Clara and I made a spontaneous decision to visit her friend Jena in Swakopmunt, Nambia this week where she is teaching in a local school as part of World Teach. We drove out on Saturday and arrived in time for a late dinner with Jena’s friends at Swakop’s new Chinese restaurant, Chez Wu.
On Sunday we had breakfast at Pane Fresco, a cozy Italian bakery run by Paola, a real Italian woman complete with a red dune buggy she keeps parked outside the shop. I had the yummiest croissant sandwich with salami, mozzarella, and sundried tomato spread, all of which she makes herself. Everyone else had Nutella croissants.
After breakfast we drove north along the Atlantic coast to Cape Cross to see one of the largest cape fur seal colonies in the world. The seals looked completely in their element in the rough, high waves. Along the way we passed by salt works and on the road there were low, unmanned tables with pink salt laid out and a little jar for money.
That night we ate dinner at Kuki’s Pub and it was only then that I realized we were actually in Germany. Germany colonized Namibia and their presence lives on today in such a strong way that it is difficult to describe. The architecture is German. There are no little huts in southern Namibia. Villages and cities are planned and laid out in an orderly fashion with wide sidewalks and a city center comprised of ‘blocks’. There are stop signs, traffic lights, and many signs for places of interest. Walking around Swakop, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d suddenly landed in a small town in Europe.
On Monday we visited Paola again for more croissants and coffee. We spent a lazy morning wandering around town browsing books, visiting a stamp collecting shop, and other shopping. In the afternoon, after lunch, we drove south down the coast to Walvis Bay, a small harbor town, to book a boat cruise for Tuesday. Along the way we passed through Long Beach, where the famed Brangelina gave birth to Shiloh. We booked our cruise and then walked along the beach at low tide watching greater flamingos and gulls pecking for food. Around sunset we drove to Dune 7, a popular sand dune outside of Walvis Bay. It is very high, and very steep. We huffed and puffed, and crawled, and gasped out way to the top. By the time we got there it was dark and the first stars were coming out over the city lights. Alone at the top the three of us shared a bottle of wine (and a bottle of water) and chatted about the wonders of living in Africa.
On Tuesday we got up early and drove to Walvis Bay to get on our boat cruise. Our captain, Skipper Joe, started the morning off with “Namibian coffee” for everyone. I was less than impressed when I discovered he was just pouring shots of cheap sherry for everyone on the boat including himself. About ten minutes later though I found myself under a seal named Spotty with Skipper Joe wrapping my arms around his neck. Clara has photos. Clara was very worried about the ethics of feeding seals but decided it wasn’t that bad as the boat company has made friends with only five seals who were in trouble one way or another. Their tameness comes from natural curiosity and a friendly nature plus some fish. After we saw more than 50,000 seals it was time to find heavysides dolphins. Clara, Jena, and I lay belly down on the front of the boat reaching our hands down to touch the dolphins racing underneath us with the boat. The morning ended anchored in the milky green water of the harbor eating Namibian oysters and drinking sparkling wine and listening to Skipper Joe’s off color (yes, even to me!) jokes about Africans, Chinese, and women. That evening we had dinner at Driftwood with Hagan, Jena’s German friend teaching at her school. They had fresh tuna salad but I couldn’t resist a good pork schnitzel with parsley potatoes and draught beer. We were in Germany after all.
Clara and I said good-bye to Jena early on Wednesday and then had a long day of driving back to Maun. We loved the friendliness of all the Namibians we met. At the Botswana border our passports and resident permits were double checked and then checked again just to make sure. The customs officer grilled us. “You say you were visiting friends in Namibia?” Yes, just visiting friends. “You say you are Finnish?” No, we are Americans. “You say you are Americans?” Yes. “What do you have in your car?” Just clothes. He cupped his hands around his eyes and peered into the back of my car. I got a glare from him and his fellow officer furiously writing down all the information about my car and from our passports. Again. Another glare and a thrust of the chin and a surprising polite “tsamaya sentle” (“travel well”) and we were off, back in Botswana once again.

I'll post photos tomorrow. My internet connection is too slow right now to upload them all. I'm off to Paris on Saturday to meet up with Katy in Paris for a week.