The traveling part of our journey is finished now but we are still a long way off from coming home. Earlier this week, we embarked on a most unexpected journey...to the hospital. On Wednesday morning, Russ had some localized pain in the center of his chest. What we thought was a really bad case of heartburn turned out to be a heart attack. Actually it may have been both, an esophagus spasm and a confirmed myocardial infarction on the left anterior descending artery.
You can imagine our shock. That this happened to my healthy, young, (good looking) husband seemed impossible to believe. Right now, he feels fine. He is at Medi-clinic, the best hospital in Namibia, and has a good doctor attending him. While he has been in the ICU for the past few days, he was moved to a private room in another ward which has been great! He is not tied down to monitors and the doctor encouraged him to sit in a chair, go for short walks and shower.
We’ve cancelled our flights. Good news is that Russ’ heart rate has become more regular, and the echo cardiogram showed positive signs. We are waiting for the ECG to settle down and also his blood tests. We are in contact with a cardiologist in the States and my Uncle Jim, who confirmed that the treatment is on the right path. Before we can fly home though, we will most likely need to go to South Africa to see a cardiologist, of which there is none here in Namibia. There they will determine if he needs a stint. It is also cheaper than we could ever expect in the States, where we might even have to wait a long time to see a specialist.
We are thankful that this happened here in Windhoek, where the medical care is some of the best in Southern Africa. It is also the closest thing to home outside of the US. There have been several people who have helped us out. Initially, I was staying at a guesthouse where the owner made Russ food (the hospital initially was giving him bacon and eggs!), did our laundry, and then there was the constant internet access. At the beginning of all of this, there was also a doctor here and he was instrumental in getting Russ admitted. Now I am at our friend Libet's place. She is just up the street from the hospital, a good listener and a great resource. The sisters (nurses) have been really nice, and the doctor is also one of the best in town, we're told. Even though there is not a cardiologist at the hospital, Russ was able to get the echocardiogram which was really helpful in determining the future course of action.
With the initial shock over, I am doing better emotionally. I am sleeping quite well at night, mostly because I am exhausted. Not eating under stress has never been a problem for me, and I can usually get something at the hospital or the market next door. Russ continues to go between being very scared and anxious to being quite calm about everything. He enjoys hearing from people back home and that always raises his spirits.
Stay tuned! More to come.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Down to the wire
After a full day of shopping in Windhoek yesterday, we crashed quickly last night at the Chameleon Guesthouse. Our friends left early this morning for Botswana, and it was the last time I think we will all be together. We will certainly see Zane and Helen back in Gaborone early next week, but Rosemary, Rafa, and Jose Ramon will be in the Delta, only returning after we leave the country. Our last supper was at La Marmite, a Cameroonian restaurant that Russ and I fondly recall from years ago. The groundnut, chicken, and spinach stew was just as good as I remember.
We talked about the highlights of the past ten days – Zane liked Deadvlei and the kudu steak at Joe’s, Helen talked about how we followed the porpoises on the boat, Jose Ramon was amazed with the light and the night sky, Rafa and Rosemary both loved the desert sunsets and climbing Dune 38. Russ joked about Zane finally getting a new pair of veldskoene (field shoes). For me, it was so many of these things and more. My first thoughts always go to the excellent food we have eaten, particularly the fish and oysters in Luderitz. Russ and I also gave out awards - "Most Enthusiastic" to Zane, "Braaimeister" to Jose Ramon, "Best Prepared" to Helen, "Best Team Player" to Rosemary, and "Most laid-back, best translator, coolest sunglasses, earliest 5 oclock shadow" to Rafa. We all had a good laugh.
We will only be in Windhoek for a few more days before heading back to Botswana. After being in Namibia for five weeks, it is a strange feeling. It’s been an incredible homecoming, more than we could have expected.
We talked about the highlights of the past ten days – Zane liked Deadvlei and the kudu steak at Joe’s, Helen talked about how we followed the porpoises on the boat, Jose Ramon was amazed with the light and the night sky, Rafa and Rosemary both loved the desert sunsets and climbing Dune 38. Russ joked about Zane finally getting a new pair of veldskoene (field shoes). For me, it was so many of these things and more. My first thoughts always go to the excellent food we have eaten, particularly the fish and oysters in Luderitz. Russ and I also gave out awards - "Most Enthusiastic" to Zane, "Braaimeister" to Jose Ramon, "Best Prepared" to Helen, "Best Team Player" to Rosemary, and "Most laid-back, best translator, coolest sunglasses, earliest 5 oclock shadow" to Rafa. We all had a good laugh.
We will only be in Windhoek for a few more days before heading back to Botswana. After being in Namibia for five weeks, it is a strange feeling. It’s been an incredible homecoming, more than we could have expected.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
My kind of camping
We left Luderitz last week much as when we had arrived, calm with little wind. Amazing. We stopped at Kolmanskop, the abandoned diamond mining town ten kilometers down the road that we have been to several times before. It was incredibly fun walking through the sand dunes inside the buildings to take photos. Further down the B-4 highway, we stopped when Russ spotted several wild horses in the distance. In fact it turned out to be almost fifty animals of different family groups, older stallions and week-old foals. Spectacular. We finally arrived in Aus, the shortest drive of this ten-day adventure which paradoxically took more than six hours from when we left the coast.
Klein Aus Vista is one of our favorite places in all of Namibia. We stayed two nights in the Geister Schlucht (Ghost House), a wonderful rustic cabin with full kitchen, bunk rooms, composting toilets and hot showers. Rosemary and I both agreed that this is our kind of camping. The towering red rocky kopjies cast shadows over the fields of blond grass stretching as far as the eye can see. The silence of the desert was positively deafening. Our friends fell in love with it too and our days were filled with hikes, bonfires, good conversations, photography, and painting (notably Zane who has been sketching the entire trip). Not since the Drakensberg in February have Russ and I done so much hiking, so it was about time to get the lead out. One morning, he got up in the middle of the night to hike the mountain behind us for the morning sun to rise up from the horizon. Then we climbed the neighboring hill to watch it set. We were sad when we had to leave two days later, as we all agreed we could spend at least a week more here.
We drove further north into the Namib desert where we were back to sleeping on the ground thirty kilometers outside of Sesriem, which is the gateway to Soussesvlei, perhaps the most recognizable landmark in Namibia with its imposing shifting red dunes. Our campsite was a bit of a disappointment after all the fantastic places we have stayed. Billing itself as “luxury camping”, it was nothing more than a concrete shelter that we crammed our tents under. Nevertheless, the view was spectacular and on a holiday weekend, we were lucky to have even this.
Easter morning found us on top of one of the oldest and highest dunes in the world just after the sun came up. A mist rose from the coast, and left an eerily beautiful cover over the dunes for much of the early morning. It also allowed us to climb without being exhausted. We spent the day in the park. It’s hard to describe Soussesvlei; the dunes are immense, deep red with extraordinary contrast, and larger than they first appear. One must experience it to fully appreciate it. They are like nothing else in the world.
Now in the last leg of our trip, we are finally discovering the finer points of our cameras, realizing they can do much more than we thought. Too bad that did not happen earlier, but better than not learning at all. We still have more to learn, but taking hundreds of photos to try it all out.
The dynamics of the group are going well. In some ways, it is like a big family where everyone has their particular routines and nuances. There are of course minor irritations, but we are getting along pretty well, given that we have been with each other 24/7 for the past eight days. We are now in Windhoek for the eating, drinking, and shopping tour, which kicked off with dinner at Joe’s Bierhouse last night.
Klein Aus Vista is one of our favorite places in all of Namibia. We stayed two nights in the Geister Schlucht (Ghost House), a wonderful rustic cabin with full kitchen, bunk rooms, composting toilets and hot showers. Rosemary and I both agreed that this is our kind of camping. The towering red rocky kopjies cast shadows over the fields of blond grass stretching as far as the eye can see. The silence of the desert was positively deafening. Our friends fell in love with it too and our days were filled with hikes, bonfires, good conversations, photography, and painting (notably Zane who has been sketching the entire trip). Not since the Drakensberg in February have Russ and I done so much hiking, so it was about time to get the lead out. One morning, he got up in the middle of the night to hike the mountain behind us for the morning sun to rise up from the horizon. Then we climbed the neighboring hill to watch it set. We were sad when we had to leave two days later, as we all agreed we could spend at least a week more here.
We drove further north into the Namib desert where we were back to sleeping on the ground thirty kilometers outside of Sesriem, which is the gateway to Soussesvlei, perhaps the most recognizable landmark in Namibia with its imposing shifting red dunes. Our campsite was a bit of a disappointment after all the fantastic places we have stayed. Billing itself as “luxury camping”, it was nothing more than a concrete shelter that we crammed our tents under. Nevertheless, the view was spectacular and on a holiday weekend, we were lucky to have even this.
Easter morning found us on top of one of the oldest and highest dunes in the world just after the sun came up. A mist rose from the coast, and left an eerily beautiful cover over the dunes for much of the early morning. It also allowed us to climb without being exhausted. We spent the day in the park. It’s hard to describe Soussesvlei; the dunes are immense, deep red with extraordinary contrast, and larger than they first appear. One must experience it to fully appreciate it. They are like nothing else in the world.
Now in the last leg of our trip, we are finally discovering the finer points of our cameras, realizing they can do much more than we thought. Too bad that did not happen earlier, but better than not learning at all. We still have more to learn, but taking hundreds of photos to try it all out.
The dynamics of the group are going well. In some ways, it is like a big family where everyone has their particular routines and nuances. There are of course minor irritations, but we are getting along pretty well, given that we have been with each other 24/7 for the past eight days. We are now in Windhoek for the eating, drinking, and shopping tour, which kicked off with dinner at Joe’s Bierhouse last night.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
From travelers to tour guides
Before leaving Luderitz five days ago, we spent some time with Brad, one of two volunteers here. It was one of those connections where the conversation keeps taking new turns and never tires. We talked about volunteer life, living overseas, food, ham radio operation, gifts to oneself on birthdays, African and US politics, and interesting books. We also went to Kevin’s flat for brunch Saturday morning where three other volunteers were visiting, including the two new Luderitz people. All of them were very nice. In talking with them, we learned a lot about the current state of Peace Corps. Like how volunteers have to write monthly reports on a computer and how they receive an allowance for cell phones – two things that we did not have back in the day. Also, volunteers are not allowed to drive or to hitchhike, making transportation more of a challenge. HIV education remains much as it was thirteen years ago which does not elicit much confidence. The volunteers that we met in Windhoek, Mariental and Luderitz seemed quite young, and in talking with our friend Libet who did some training with the newest group, there is a pervasive sense of entitlement and general immaturity which leads to a lot of complaining. Of course these are generalizations, but Russ and I both realized that the generation of high school students that we worked with over the past decade are now of volunteer age. Back in high school some of them (and their helicopter parents) had these same issues, and my sense is that they still haven’t learned. Who knows, maybe we are just becoming righteous old farts. Anyway, Brad did not fall into this category at all, which is probably one reason why we liked him so much.
We decided to overnight at the Seeheim Hotel which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Actually, it was forty-five kilometers east of Keetmanshoop and on the secondary road that would take us to the Fish River Canyon. It was lovely and resembled a castle. We stayed in the highest room, which tested our heart health, but also gave us gorgeous views of the nearly full moon and the spectacular desert.
Our friends Zane, Rafa, Rosemary, and Helen arrived in Namibia on Sunday. Rafa’s cousin Jose Ramon came from Spain too. We met them on the northern rim of the canyon at this funky roadhouse reminiscent of a Route 66 establishment. These are our camping buddies and so we pitched our tents, made a large braai and marveled at the stars. The next day we went to the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. It was nothing short of spectacular. Although we were prohibited from going down, we did walk quite a ways along the rim.
All afternoon we watched the ominous sky change colors and fill with clouds. One never wishes for rain while camping, but if that was all we had, we would have been lucky. A severe hailstorm of nickel-sized pellets reined down on us for a good fifteen minutes, followed by torrential rain. Russ and I had never experienced anything like it. The ground looked as though it was covered with a thin layer of snow. Russ finally got a touch of the winter he had been longing for the past few months.
Because of the warm desert wind however, the tents dried out fairly quickly the next morning and we got an early start on the arduous journey towards Luderitz. The gravel roads took a bit of a beating with the last storm, so it was a longer than usual drive. We also stopped for lunch at the newly renovated Bahnhof Hotel in Aus. Sitting on the veranda with a cool drink was the perfect thing to do before the last 120 kilometer push to the sea.
We arrived to amazingly good weather in Luderitz. Here we had been warning these guys about the notorious wind, and it hasn't been blowing the entire time we have been here. After checking into our 1900's-era guesthouse which had a spectacular view of the bay and town, we walked down for a fish dinner at Ritzi's on the waterfront.
It was a good thing that it stayed so calm, as early this morning we sailed on the boat Sedina, something Russ and I never did when we lived here mostly because it always seemed so rough. I for one have never quite found my sea legs, but the trip today was incredibly pleasant. The boat took us out to the islands where the Cape Fur seals and Jackass penguins make their homes. It was a wonderful trip, as we also saw quite a few dolphins and porpoises.
After showing the group the school where Russ taught and a stroll down Agate Beach, we went to the oyster factory for lunch. Amazing raw and grilled oysters, although we were careful not to eat to many as we will be going back to Ritzi's later tonight.
Tomorrow we head back into the desert for four days. It's great to hang out with everyone again.
We decided to overnight at the Seeheim Hotel which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Actually, it was forty-five kilometers east of Keetmanshoop and on the secondary road that would take us to the Fish River Canyon. It was lovely and resembled a castle. We stayed in the highest room, which tested our heart health, but also gave us gorgeous views of the nearly full moon and the spectacular desert.
Our friends Zane, Rafa, Rosemary, and Helen arrived in Namibia on Sunday. Rafa’s cousin Jose Ramon came from Spain too. We met them on the northern rim of the canyon at this funky roadhouse reminiscent of a Route 66 establishment. These are our camping buddies and so we pitched our tents, made a large braai and marveled at the stars. The next day we went to the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. It was nothing short of spectacular. Although we were prohibited from going down, we did walk quite a ways along the rim.
All afternoon we watched the ominous sky change colors and fill with clouds. One never wishes for rain while camping, but if that was all we had, we would have been lucky. A severe hailstorm of nickel-sized pellets reined down on us for a good fifteen minutes, followed by torrential rain. Russ and I had never experienced anything like it. The ground looked as though it was covered with a thin layer of snow. Russ finally got a touch of the winter he had been longing for the past few months.
Because of the warm desert wind however, the tents dried out fairly quickly the next morning and we got an early start on the arduous journey towards Luderitz. The gravel roads took a bit of a beating with the last storm, so it was a longer than usual drive. We also stopped for lunch at the newly renovated Bahnhof Hotel in Aus. Sitting on the veranda with a cool drink was the perfect thing to do before the last 120 kilometer push to the sea.
We arrived to amazingly good weather in Luderitz. Here we had been warning these guys about the notorious wind, and it hasn't been blowing the entire time we have been here. After checking into our 1900's-era guesthouse which had a spectacular view of the bay and town, we walked down for a fish dinner at Ritzi's on the waterfront.
It was a good thing that it stayed so calm, as early this morning we sailed on the boat Sedina, something Russ and I never did when we lived here mostly because it always seemed so rough. I for one have never quite found my sea legs, but the trip today was incredibly pleasant. The boat took us out to the islands where the Cape Fur seals and Jackass penguins make their homes. It was a wonderful trip, as we also saw quite a few dolphins and porpoises.
After showing the group the school where Russ taught and a stroll down Agate Beach, we went to the oyster factory for lunch. Amazing raw and grilled oysters, although we were careful not to eat to many as we will be going back to Ritzi's later tonight.
Tomorrow we head back into the desert for four days. It's great to hang out with everyone again.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The winds, they are a-changin'
I think everyone is aware of the fact that the world's weather is a little deurmekaar (upside down) this year, from droughts to rains to severe winter temperatures, not to mention the horrible earthquakes and tsunamis. Even Luderitz hasn't escaped but it's been for the better. Everyone here tells us that the winds are not what they used to be, that they have died down significantly. Without doubt, it is still a windy place, but maybe no longer the windiest town on earth and not quite enough to blow us over anymore. Also, last week it rained briefly for an unprecedented three days in a row!
Russ has been busily visiting colleagues and former students, and there is a buzz around town with his return. He is well-remembered as he was much loved by many people. For the eight months I lived in Luderitz, most of the people I knew I met through him. One of them was Beverly, the librarian who has continued to befriend every volunteer who comes through town. We are staying with her and her family for two nights before couch surfing with Brad, a current education volunteer from Texas. We met him in Windhoek and we got along quite well.
As delicious as the Namibian meat is, I think I am off of that for awhile. One can have too much of a good thing. Now that we are in Luderitz for awhile, I hope to eat lots of fresh fish. The oyster industry has grown tremendously and the local complain that the price per oyster on the half shell has risen to 80 cents (US $). I say, bring them on!
The cruise ship pulled into the harbor this morning and a horde of tourists descended upon the town. This only happens two or three times a year, so the shops are hopping. It's a great boon to all who live and work here. The ship actually started it's voyage in Florida on a 107 day cruise through the Panama Canal to Southeast Asia around India and now Africa before heading back across the Atlantic. That's intense!
We are looking forward to meeting our friends from Gaborone on Sunday at the Fish River Canyon. It was always the plan to come to Namibia during the first school break and now it will actually be happening.
While Russ is socializing, I am catching up on the internet at the library which is maybe the fastest connection we have encountered in Namibia. It also keeps me out of the wind, which may have subsided over the past ten years, but still leaves me wondering how we ever lived here.
Russ has been busily visiting colleagues and former students, and there is a buzz around town with his return. He is well-remembered as he was much loved by many people. For the eight months I lived in Luderitz, most of the people I knew I met through him. One of them was Beverly, the librarian who has continued to befriend every volunteer who comes through town. We are staying with her and her family for two nights before couch surfing with Brad, a current education volunteer from Texas. We met him in Windhoek and we got along quite well.
As delicious as the Namibian meat is, I think I am off of that for awhile. One can have too much of a good thing. Now that we are in Luderitz for awhile, I hope to eat lots of fresh fish. The oyster industry has grown tremendously and the local complain that the price per oyster on the half shell has risen to 80 cents (US $). I say, bring them on!
The cruise ship pulled into the harbor this morning and a horde of tourists descended upon the town. This only happens two or three times a year, so the shops are hopping. It's a great boon to all who live and work here. The ship actually started it's voyage in Florida on a 107 day cruise through the Panama Canal to Southeast Asia around India and now Africa before heading back across the Atlantic. That's intense!
We are looking forward to meeting our friends from Gaborone on Sunday at the Fish River Canyon. It was always the plan to come to Namibia during the first school break and now it will actually be happening.
While Russ is socializing, I am catching up on the internet at the library which is maybe the fastest connection we have encountered in Namibia. It also keeps me out of the wind, which may have subsided over the past ten years, but still leaves me wondering how we ever lived here.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
On the road to somewhere
Before leaving Mariental, a couple of things happened that still brings a smile to my face. Unlike Russ who had longterm contact with students during his Peace Corps stint, I was mostly working with adults. Paul was one of them, and it was definitely good to catch up with him. Most of the social workers have either died or moved out of the area. One of them was Elaine in Bloemfontein and that was wonderful to visit with her. In my second year however, Bridgette and I started a girls group and then Jen and I worked together with a group of about a dozen girls. I saw two of the young women yesterday and they knew me immediately, even before I could recognize them. They are married now, with kids of their own and it was lovely to talk. I also visited with our neighbor when we lived in the hostel. Mrs. Shehama and her three kids were like family to us during that first year.
There is a big new youth center in town and I met the Peace Corps volunteer who is there now. Despite not having a job description (which I didn’t have either), she seems to have carved out a niche and her time in Mariental has been good. It’s a good feeling knowing that there are solid, sane people in place coming after you. Peace Corps can get pretty wacky, and more than once Russ and I have thought they should bring back the pre-service psych testing.
Last night we had dinner with my friend Hannalie. I was so happy to see her happily on her own, running her own business. Hannalie was a close confidante; we spent several evenings after work drinking red wine, and playing field hockey during the weekends. I lived with her family for a short period, and she was the one who took me to Pretoria to get the lasik surgery eleven years ago. Like my time has been with Hanlie and Marita over the past couple of weeks, it seems as though no time had elapsed. We just picked up where we left off which is an incredible feeling of friendship.
We headed south for the two hour drive to Keetmanshoop, which turned into four hours because we took our time, stopping for lunch and driving out of the way to see the Quivertree Forest (which are more like aloes than trees). The topography changed from some hills to incredibly flat expanses of scrub brush. There aren’t even any trees, just bushes and the occasional goat.
We stopped over in Bethanie instead of driving a further four hours to Luderitz and were pleasantly surprised. Twelve years ago, Bethanie was a sleepy, dusty little town with not much going on, forty kilometers off the main road. It most definitely still is but now has a comfortable guesthouse. It’s nice having the time to stop at a place like this; we normally would have driven right through.
Here we are in Luderitz for the next several days before we meet up with friends from Gaborone to show them the south. While we still have quite a bit of driving to do over the next three weeks, we have now essentially driven Namibia from end to end, from Katima Mulilo to the southern coast.
There is a big new youth center in town and I met the Peace Corps volunteer who is there now. Despite not having a job description (which I didn’t have either), she seems to have carved out a niche and her time in Mariental has been good. It’s a good feeling knowing that there are solid, sane people in place coming after you. Peace Corps can get pretty wacky, and more than once Russ and I have thought they should bring back the pre-service psych testing.
Last night we had dinner with my friend Hannalie. I was so happy to see her happily on her own, running her own business. Hannalie was a close confidante; we spent several evenings after work drinking red wine, and playing field hockey during the weekends. I lived with her family for a short period, and she was the one who took me to Pretoria to get the lasik surgery eleven years ago. Like my time has been with Hanlie and Marita over the past couple of weeks, it seems as though no time had elapsed. We just picked up where we left off which is an incredible feeling of friendship.
We headed south for the two hour drive to Keetmanshoop, which turned into four hours because we took our time, stopping for lunch and driving out of the way to see the Quivertree Forest (which are more like aloes than trees). The topography changed from some hills to incredibly flat expanses of scrub brush. There aren’t even any trees, just bushes and the occasional goat.
We stopped over in Bethanie instead of driving a further four hours to Luderitz and were pleasantly surprised. Twelve years ago, Bethanie was a sleepy, dusty little town with not much going on, forty kilometers off the main road. It most definitely still is but now has a comfortable guesthouse. It’s nice having the time to stop at a place like this; we normally would have driven right through.
Here we are in Luderitz for the next several days before we meet up with friends from Gaborone to show them the south. While we still have quite a bit of driving to do over the next three weeks, we have now essentially driven Namibia from end to end, from Katima Mulilo to the southern coast.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Memories of meat and dust
We arrived in Mariental on Friday only to find out that the National Braai Competition was going on. That is so perfect for our time here, as Mariental is a center of meat production and consumption. Farmer organizations from around the country descended on the municipal sports field Friday night to set up their stalls. Many of them were quite elaborately decorated in some kind of African theme. Early Saturday morning, each team was given specific ingredients to create a main dish, two sides, and a dessert. This was a real boere dag (white farmer day), and felt much like a country fair in the US Midwest with live country western music, farm machinery demonstrations, and fair type food. We went over in the early morning and then later in the day when the event was just getting its’ second wind, winding up for the steak braai and langarm dance. We skipped the evening event for obvious reasons – Russ doesn’t dance and we have eaten way too much meat in the past two weeks. We walked back to the house, had a salad, and watched satellite television in an air-conditioned room.
We stayed with my friends Marita and Radie and had our own braii of springbok fillets and lamb chops Friday night. They left on Saturday afternoon to go to Cape Town, but left us more meat (cooked and uncooked) to last us a month (we only stayed four days). We were happy to house sit for them and feed their cat, dog, and bird. It also gave us a great opportunity to visit more friends.
We met some people at the braai competition and others at the supermarket. But there are a lot of people that I don’t recognize anymore. We spent time with my former co-worker Paul and his wife Petronella, and met their one-year-old Olivia. Paul is such a good dad, and was always my go-to reference for politics, sports, and news. It was great to catch up.
Before Marita left, we had time to drink copious cups of tea. She is one who introduced me to putting sweetened condensed milk in my tea many years ago, which was aa real treat. She must have a dozen tins in her pantry. She filled me in on a lot of the news about town, but also broke the news that our friends Zack and Elaine’s son died a few weeks ago. Having seen them at the beginning of our trip in Bloemfontein, we were stunned at the news and totally saddened.
A warm wind stirred up the sand over the weekend and we were quickly reminded of why the Nama name for Mariental is “dusty faces”. It was not long before my allergies kicked in (they seem worse then I remember). The air temperature was pleasantly warm, but the sun remained quite intense, a signature feature in southern Namibia. Even in wintertime, the sun can often be too much.
There are new buildings and others falling apart. There must be at least a dozen new guesthouses and restaurants just in town, and many more in the surrounding area. Still not sure what the big attraction is, but it sounds like the Kalahari side of the desert is experiencing a tourism boom.
The Women and Child Protection Unit that I helped start is no longer in the same location, but still operating, so that's good. The Bridge, a long-standing German NGO affiliated with the prison, recently closed. There is a brand new HIV center and human rights office. There are two new funeral parlors and a coffin shop, so that says something. And there are three volunteers here - at one time they had six!
Our time has been low-key in Mariental, not so different from when I lived here. Things seem to move slowly, and that’s ok.
We stayed with my friends Marita and Radie and had our own braii of springbok fillets and lamb chops Friday night. They left on Saturday afternoon to go to Cape Town, but left us more meat (cooked and uncooked) to last us a month (we only stayed four days). We were happy to house sit for them and feed their cat, dog, and bird. It also gave us a great opportunity to visit more friends.
We met some people at the braai competition and others at the supermarket. But there are a lot of people that I don’t recognize anymore. We spent time with my former co-worker Paul and his wife Petronella, and met their one-year-old Olivia. Paul is such a good dad, and was always my go-to reference for politics, sports, and news. It was great to catch up.
Before Marita left, we had time to drink copious cups of tea. She is one who introduced me to putting sweetened condensed milk in my tea many years ago, which was aa real treat. She must have a dozen tins in her pantry. She filled me in on a lot of the news about town, but also broke the news that our friends Zack and Elaine’s son died a few weeks ago. Having seen them at the beginning of our trip in Bloemfontein, we were stunned at the news and totally saddened.
A warm wind stirred up the sand over the weekend and we were quickly reminded of why the Nama name for Mariental is “dusty faces”. It was not long before my allergies kicked in (they seem worse then I remember). The air temperature was pleasantly warm, but the sun remained quite intense, a signature feature in southern Namibia. Even in wintertime, the sun can often be too much.
There are new buildings and others falling apart. There must be at least a dozen new guesthouses and restaurants just in town, and many more in the surrounding area. Still not sure what the big attraction is, but it sounds like the Kalahari side of the desert is experiencing a tourism boom.
The Women and Child Protection Unit that I helped start is no longer in the same location, but still operating, so that's good. The Bridge, a long-standing German NGO affiliated with the prison, recently closed. There is a brand new HIV center and human rights office. There are two new funeral parlors and a coffin shop, so that says something. And there are three volunteers here - at one time they had six!
Our time has been low-key in Mariental, not so different from when I lived here. Things seem to move slowly, and that’s ok.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
A river runs through it
While we are feeling quite at home here in the capitol city, there are things that we are still amazed about this week. Like how the water that has completely washed out many of the paved side streets in many parts of the city. Water is running (not even standing) in places that we did not even realize there were river beds. Everything is so green here, and it keeps raining on and off. And yet Windhoek still has a serious water shortage problem. With all of the growth, I don't know how they can maintain this kind of expansion and still have enough water for everyone.
We are told that this is the high tourist season. That Windhoek has a high season especially starting this early in the year is remarkable. We could not stay a fourth night at the Chameleon Guesthouse because they were already booked. It's been interesting to see such a diverse group of people at this former old-school backpacker's place this week - families, young backpackers, older travelers, locals - that made it a different crowd from years past. For tonight, calls to a dozen other places did not yield anything. We finally found Casa Piccolo, a lovely guesthouse in Klein Windhoek, where we can sit in the shade to read and catch up on some internet business. The school in Kuwait has been sending us much to read and work on. It is odd being here in Africa and thinking so much about our lives there in Kuwait later this year.
As much as we enjoyed staying at the Chameleon and walking through town, we love the Klein Windhoek area, and spent a lot of time here when our friends Irene and John lived in town. It's where twelve years ago, I became addicted to the X-files, and could indulge in what seemed to be incredibly exotic food items such as stuffed grape leaves, hummus, olives, and pesto. What a haven from dusty Mariental that only featured iceberg lettuce and potatoes!
Portuguese might as well be the twelfth official Namibian language now. With the influx of foreign aid into Angola, there are also a lot of people with money in a country with little infrastructure. Windhoek is booming with Portuguese businesses, restaurants, bakeries, and guesthouses. There are brochures in Portuguese and apparently the medical industry is booming with people coming over the border. We are of course pleased with the addition of the eateries as we enjoy Portuguese food quite a bit.
We might be enjoying the food here too much. There is still a lot of meat in our daily diet more than we are used to. Tonight we will meet a friend at Joe's Bierhouse, a Windhoek tradition for it's fine selection of German beers and local game meat. Without doubt, it will be excellent!
We have been walking through much of the downtown area, and spending some time at Peace Corps. It's nice walking through the souvenier shops, sitting at the outdoor cafes, and getting simple errands done. In particular, I enjoy going into the pharmacies too look at the OTC drugs that you would normally need a prescription for. They are much cheaper than in the States too, and I will probably pick up a few small things as well as some homeopathic remedies.
Russ had to get more pages added to his passport and based on past experiences, we were dreading going to the US embassy. But the people there were pleasant, helpful, and seem to have their act together (none of which were the case twelve years ago). What irritates me ever so slightly is that the US government now charges USD 80 (previously free) for additional pages. Que sera sera...
We are told that this is the high tourist season. That Windhoek has a high season especially starting this early in the year is remarkable. We could not stay a fourth night at the Chameleon Guesthouse because they were already booked. It's been interesting to see such a diverse group of people at this former old-school backpacker's place this week - families, young backpackers, older travelers, locals - that made it a different crowd from years past. For tonight, calls to a dozen other places did not yield anything. We finally found Casa Piccolo, a lovely guesthouse in Klein Windhoek, where we can sit in the shade to read and catch up on some internet business. The school in Kuwait has been sending us much to read and work on. It is odd being here in Africa and thinking so much about our lives there in Kuwait later this year.
As much as we enjoyed staying at the Chameleon and walking through town, we love the Klein Windhoek area, and spent a lot of time here when our friends Irene and John lived in town. It's where twelve years ago, I became addicted to the X-files, and could indulge in what seemed to be incredibly exotic food items such as stuffed grape leaves, hummus, olives, and pesto. What a haven from dusty Mariental that only featured iceberg lettuce and potatoes!
Portuguese might as well be the twelfth official Namibian language now. With the influx of foreign aid into Angola, there are also a lot of people with money in a country with little infrastructure. Windhoek is booming with Portuguese businesses, restaurants, bakeries, and guesthouses. There are brochures in Portuguese and apparently the medical industry is booming with people coming over the border. We are of course pleased with the addition of the eateries as we enjoy Portuguese food quite a bit.
We might be enjoying the food here too much. There is still a lot of meat in our daily diet more than we are used to. Tonight we will meet a friend at Joe's Bierhouse, a Windhoek tradition for it's fine selection of German beers and local game meat. Without doubt, it will be excellent!
We have been walking through much of the downtown area, and spending some time at Peace Corps. It's nice walking through the souvenier shops, sitting at the outdoor cafes, and getting simple errands done. In particular, I enjoy going into the pharmacies too look at the OTC drugs that you would normally need a prescription for. They are much cheaper than in the States too, and I will probably pick up a few small things as well as some homeopathic remedies.
Russ had to get more pages added to his passport and based on past experiences, we were dreading going to the US embassy. But the people there were pleasant, helpful, and seem to have their act together (none of which were the case twelve years ago). What irritates me ever so slightly is that the US government now charges USD 80 (previously free) for additional pages. Que sera sera...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
No longer a tourist
The further south we travel, the less we feel like tourists. While there are some things that we are refamiliarizing ourselves with (like unique colloquial phrases and the sheer amount of meat consumed in a day), there are very few surprises. After eight years since our last visit, it all comes back and feels very comfortable. And that is a good thing.
We spent the weekend with my good friends Hanlie and Christo on their potato and onion farm near Hochveld. It is 175 kilometers off the beaten path, southeast of Otjiwarongo. I last saw them twelve years ago when we visited them in South Africa, on our way back from Mozambique. They have two boys now and we enjoyed their company immensely. The boys have not started English instruction in school yet but initiated conversations, having learned everything they know from watching American television. I am quite amazed by that.
Hanlie was the first person outside of my worksite in Mariental to speak English with me, and I had many good times with her, and then also with Christo. They have gotten to know Russ over the years and instantly there was a level of comfortableness. We were completely at home with them for four days.
The meals with them represented a deep passion of many Namibians – love of meat. We had it at every meal – deli meat at breakfast (with egg, toast, and tomato), chicken or wors at lunch, and then braai for dinner. We ate oryx, kudu and beef. We learned about the strict new laws surrounding Namibian cattle: no hormones of any kind, great living conditions, and special slaughtering processes. It’s not a farmer’s choice, it’s the law, and the only country in Africa to hold such high standards. Well, they are higher than in the US in any case, which is why McDonald’s and the like will not be coming here anytime soon. Farmers are finding a premium market in Europe, and so good for them.
The road from the farm to the tarred highway in Okahandja was a challenge. The rains have really chewed up the dirt, leaving a muddy mess and the most difficult driving since the road to Semonkong in Lesotho. What was normally a 2.5 hour drive to Windhoek turned into more than four.
We are in Windhoek now and our bearings were shaken a bit. The skyline has changed dramatically and there is much growth. It has really matured into a wonderful metropolis which is still very easy to walk around. We checked into Chameleon Backpackers, which had not only moved to a much more accessible location, but expanded into an en-suite guesthouse. It took some creative haggeling to even get in as they were so busy (we were in one room, then another). Years ago, it seemed like no one travelled through Windhoek, and now it is a bustling hub with people coming in from all destinations in Southern Africa and then fanning back out into Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
We ran into some Peace Corps volunteers and stopped by the office which is around the corner. It felt like we were volunteers again. We met the current person who is in Luderitz and Russ enjoyed swapping stories. We’ll spend the week here walking through the downtown area, revisiting favorite places, and eating sentimental foods (first stop last night was Sardinia’s for anchovy, garlic and oil pasta, and then gelato – so very tasty). We hope to see a few friends.
We spent the weekend with my good friends Hanlie and Christo on their potato and onion farm near Hochveld. It is 175 kilometers off the beaten path, southeast of Otjiwarongo. I last saw them twelve years ago when we visited them in South Africa, on our way back from Mozambique. They have two boys now and we enjoyed their company immensely. The boys have not started English instruction in school yet but initiated conversations, having learned everything they know from watching American television. I am quite amazed by that.
Hanlie was the first person outside of my worksite in Mariental to speak English with me, and I had many good times with her, and then also with Christo. They have gotten to know Russ over the years and instantly there was a level of comfortableness. We were completely at home with them for four days.
The meals with them represented a deep passion of many Namibians – love of meat. We had it at every meal – deli meat at breakfast (with egg, toast, and tomato), chicken or wors at lunch, and then braai for dinner. We ate oryx, kudu and beef. We learned about the strict new laws surrounding Namibian cattle: no hormones of any kind, great living conditions, and special slaughtering processes. It’s not a farmer’s choice, it’s the law, and the only country in Africa to hold such high standards. Well, they are higher than in the US in any case, which is why McDonald’s and the like will not be coming here anytime soon. Farmers are finding a premium market in Europe, and so good for them.
The road from the farm to the tarred highway in Okahandja was a challenge. The rains have really chewed up the dirt, leaving a muddy mess and the most difficult driving since the road to Semonkong in Lesotho. What was normally a 2.5 hour drive to Windhoek turned into more than four.
We are in Windhoek now and our bearings were shaken a bit. The skyline has changed dramatically and there is much growth. It has really matured into a wonderful metropolis which is still very easy to walk around. We checked into Chameleon Backpackers, which had not only moved to a much more accessible location, but expanded into an en-suite guesthouse. It took some creative haggeling to even get in as they were so busy (we were in one room, then another). Years ago, it seemed like no one travelled through Windhoek, and now it is a bustling hub with people coming in from all destinations in Southern Africa and then fanning back out into Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
We ran into some Peace Corps volunteers and stopped by the office which is around the corner. It felt like we were volunteers again. We met the current person who is in Luderitz and Russ enjoyed swapping stories. We’ll spend the week here walking through the downtown area, revisiting favorite places, and eating sentimental foods (first stop last night was Sardinia’s for anchovy, garlic and oil pasta, and then gelato – so very tasty). We hope to see a few friends.
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