If I had to describe Namibia in one word it would be sand,
or sidewalks. Ok so I guess I had to describe it in two
words. But let’s back up a bit and start from the beginning.
Over this past Easter/Passover Vacation myself and 5 of my
closest friends decided to venture out of Zambia to our neighbors to the South,
Namibia! However first we had to get there. We started from Luapula and did our
normal day of hitch hiking down to the capital Lusaka. From Lusaka we rested
for a day (hitch hiking is surprisingly tiring) and then got on a bus to
Livingstone where the famous Victoria Falls can be found. However we weren’t
even able to get in the falls this time because we arrived in Livingstone
around 3 pm and we were suppose to get on a bus to the border down at 1
am. So we stayed up or tried to
keep each other up and headed to the bus in the middle of the night. We waited.
And waited. And waited. Then we were told the bus is going to be 3 hours late
and we weren’t having any of that. We had to get our vacation started! So we
convinced a man with a nice large van to take us to the border (sounds much
sketchier in America thinking. Think Zambia. Totally normal to get in a
strangers truck and let them drive you through the night to the border). We
arrived at the border and slept in this nice mans van until the border opened
at sunrise. Then we got stuck behind THREE bus loads of teachers coming from
Zambia at immigration and lets just say it got hectic. However after some
interesting discussions we made it to the other side! Immediately it was clean.
The road was paved, the building was clean, people formed LINES, it was like
going into another universe. It was officially vacation. But we were still
quite a bit away. So then we found a mini bus, which also was the nicest mini
bus I have ever been on, and were on our way again, only took another 17 hours
on that mini bus to arrive in Windhoek. So it ended up taking us 4 days to get
to Windhoek but let me tell you, it was worth EVERY MINUTE!
Windhoek, as the majority of Namibia that I saw was
something straight out of a European postcard. Namibia was a german colony and
so there are still a LOT of germans and german influence everywhere you look. My
friend Katie and I went on the run the first day and just couldn’t believe what
we saw. Number one we hadn’t seen sidewalks in two years and number two where
were all the people? It seemed shockingly quiet and serene for a capital city.
Then we realized that’s because there are only 2.1 million people living in a
pretty massive country. However even though we all knew this fact we still
couldn’t seem to get over it the entire trip. But then our vacation had
officially started and it was off to do what we do best and rarely get the
chance to do, eat, drink and shop! We immediately gorged ourselves on delicious
seafood and draft beer while shopping for some goodies for the trip. Windhoek
was beautiful but we really were itching to see the Ocean. I hadn’t seen it in
two years and I was nearly about to burst. So the next day we headed to
Swakopmund, the coast!!
Swakopmund was the cleanest, nicest beach town I have ever
been to and I have been to my fair amount of beaches. It had a beautiful
boardwalk that went down miles along the beach, the streets were swept
(sidewalks again of course) and there seemed to be no trash anywhere!
Swakopmund is not only known for its beautiful beach but also it’s the extreme
sporting. The first day we arrived we decided to go and check out the dunes.
Namibia is known for its incredible sand dunes and it didn’t disappoint. They
were absolutely beautiful dunes that we just sat on all day taking up the view
of the ocean. The desert backs straight up to the Ocean and its one of the most
spectacular views I have ever seen. It honestly felt like you were in Arabian
nights. You took it in and it was one of those moments where I really thought
life couldn’t get any better. The
next day we decided to do it up and go ATVing. Most of us had never been so we were all looking forward to
it and we were not disappointed. We ATV’d all throughout the dunes for an hour
and a half and I can honestly say it was some of the most fun I have ever had.
It was the mixture of a roller coaster and bumper cars. It rocked. The next day
was just as amazing as it was time for Sand boarding or should I say sand
sledding? My friend Natalie was the only one among us brave enough and
experienced enough to actually sand board. The rest of us got to basically ride
down these huge dunes on a made up sled that was a waxed down. It was so much
fun and we got up to 60 km/hr on some of the fastest dunes! It was also a
pretty ridiculous workout because as fun as it was to sled down the huge dunes,
once at the bottom there was only one way back up and that was you walking in
the deep heavy sand! Again we were
able to spend the day on the beautiful dunes and what more could we have asked
for. Swakopmund was everything I could have asked for. It was serene, majestic
and just a lot of fun. Sadly, our time was running out and it was time to go
back to Windhoek for one more good beer and better meal.
Luckily
this time our journey back would only take three days rather than four, but one
included 24 hours on a bus. However at this point, we can basically travel on
anything so the bus was a pleasure! How do I sum up my time in Namibia? Well I
guess I just attempted to but there isn’t enough time in the day to really go
through it all. Although I must say with all of the great activities, food,
beer, sidewalks, etc, what really made this trip incredible were the people I
was traveling with. It was an amazing group of 5 girls that came to Zambia at
different times but all have this connection that is undeniable. For me and two
of my friends it was our last vacation as PCV’s for my friends Mollie and Nia it
was her first. However the time we spent there traveling, exploring and
enjoying was some of the best time I have had in my service. I love Zambia and
even more so I love the work that I do here and everything I have gained from
it. However every once in a while it is nice to get out and treat yourself to a
sidewalk and some sand.
