To the Desert We Go!

 Just FYI, there might be more errors in these posts. I am posting this in the dark, at a hotel that I'm using to steal internet. I'm posting without proofing this.  

1/12/2011 

After spending the night without power because apparently 20 college girls overwhelm the system far too easily, we woke up to one of the first glorious cool days in Windhoek…On the day that we leave for Swakopmund.  After loading everything and everyone into two vans we left for the coast. We think that the drive was only supposed to be about 3-4 hours, unfortunately it took us about five hours due to tire malfunctions in one of the vans.

The drive itself was gorgeous. We saw a lot of different types of scenery. From dry, craggily mountains around Windhoek, to medium leafy, wide trees, to grass lands full of cattle and boer goats, and finally to the windswept sands of the desert. We had to pause twice to let warthogs and then baboons cross the road. We saw desolate villages, goat herd boys and their herding dogs, bustling towns, and trains snaking their way across the sand.  Finally Africa looks like the Africa I imagined. As much as I enjoyed Windhoek, I will always be a country girl through and through. Take me out to see nature in all of its finery and I will be happy forever.

We got to Swakopmund only after having our passports checked twice by roadside police officers. I’m not sure what their intentions were, or what they were looking for.  I have heard rumors of drug smuggling and illegal immigrants, but I think these are just speculation. I’m going to have to find someone to ask.

We are staying in adorable little condo/houses. Each sleeps seven, but we only have four to a two bedroom w/ loft kitchen and living room. I’m staying with Alyssa (from my home stay) Kristi and Jennifer.  After a quick lunch we drove out to Dune 7. Dune 7 is the tallest dune in this chain of sand dunes.  Now, my only previous experience with sand dunes is from the Great Sand Dunes in the U.S., these dunes make The Great Sand Dunes look like babies….and we were going to climb to the top.  We all started with great intentions- going full tilt for about five steps up. But we quickly realized how physically challenging it is to climb a massive sand dune on steroids. We all slowed to a crawl, literally. On our hands and knees, or two steps at a time we slowly conquered that dune.  We were well rewarded at the top with a gorgeous view, lots of pictures, and a rush of adrenalin. Victory was ours!  Getting down turned out to be a lot easier- most of us simply barrel rolled all the way down the hill!

The first sprint up

Back in Swakopmund we all showered in a futile attempt to rid ourselves of the sand before hitting up the town in search for supper. It was recommended that we had to try a restaurant called The Jetty.  Way out on a Jetty in the ocean, with glass floors and large glass windows sat our restaurant. As we walked up to it we got to watch the sunset over the ocean. Mmm, simply gorgeous!  While the staff was a little overwhelmed having to serve 20 American college girls, they handled us graciously. I had extremely delicious sushi.