Sandboarding and USA v England, World Cup Fever

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June 12th

What a day we had in store for us! Everyone in the group apart from Wendy had signed up to go sandboarding and we all looked forward to it in high anticipation. After having a huge breakfast we piled into the van that would take us to the sand dunes about 15 minutes outside Swakopmund.

We met the owner and creator of sandboarding in Swakopmund, a woman named Beth who was originally from San Francisco. She is a really nice lady and very knowledgeable about the area, having been there for 17 years.

Before we knew it we were at the sand dunes and mesmerized by the size and quantity of them. We all got our gear situated, basically regular snowboards and boots. We were also very lucky, the weather was on our side for the majority of the activity, lots of sun and not a lot of strong wind. After making sure our helmets, boots and snowboard bindings were all functioning correctly, we started the half hour hike to the top of the sand dune. It was a stunning uphill adventure, especially with the views of Swakopmund and the Atlantic Ocean, but I was knackered by the time I got to the top.

Once everyone had made it we separated into two groups, one for the people that had never snowboarded and one for the contrary. While the beginners got their instructions, Dafydd, an outsider from our group named Bindy (from Australia) and I got the basic rules of the sand dune. After wards we got wax setup on our boards and started our first run sandboarding. I was nervous at first since I hadn’t snowboarded since 2007 but it came back to me like riding a bike. So much so that I decided to try and hit the jump after I hiked back up the dune. Of course I let Bindy go before me (she appeared to be much more experienced than me) and she did a good job. I on the other hand, wiped out real hard on my first jump attempt (you’ll eventually be able to see the DVD some day). I didn’t get hurt seriously but my knee did get a bit of a twist and shout! I did hit the jump another few times after that but a lot more cautiously. The second attempt I landed but I wouldn’t even say I jumped, more like floated. My third attempt I tried doing a 180 degree spin but it turned out to be about a 150 degrees.

After we had got our fill of sandboarding it was time to try the lay down board down a dune called Dizzy. We all looked forward to this because the DVD we were shown the day before made it look like a lot of fun. I volunteered to go first after Eldon and Kim, two of the employees had gone down on the same board together. Kim was waiting at the bottom with the video camera recording and Eldon with the radar gun. On my first run down I got a top speed of 66 kilometers an hour, on my second I went as fast as 68kmh. Both Dafydd and I had the same speeds each time but Bridget and Hayley were the fastest of our group, they each got 70 on their first run and 71 on their second. Only to be out done by Nadine, a Swiss girl who reached 73 and the highest of the day. Paul and Luke both got pretty high speeds but never went over 65 if I remember correctly.

After each of us went down two times we made our way back up to the top of the dune and had one more run of sandboarding. I opted to go first and I hit the jump one last time but it all ended the same way it began, with me wiping out! Oh well it was a good time and I had a blast. After we all reached the vans at the bottom we got off all our gear and had some lunch the tour had provided. We talked about what fun we had and that we would do it again if given half the chance. Covered in sand from head to toe we jumped in the vans and headed back to the hotel to get showered up

So fresh and clean we made our way out on the town, first getting online for a bit before finding ourselves back at the lounge to watch the Argentina versus Nigeria match. To say that the town had World Cup fever would be an understatement! Each time one of the matches kicked off the town went into a hibernation type of state, noone was on the streets, everyone had found a bar stool and bartender to keep them company while they watched the worlds best football teams compete for glory.

That evening the eleven of us met up around 6pm to watch the DVD that Kim of the Sandboarding company had prepared for us. We had a couple beers while watching ourselves on the big screen and everyone had a good laugh. By the time we were finished watching it we were in good spirits and ready for USA versus England. We made our way down to Kucki’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar to watch the match. Not many American supporters were there and after 4 minutes of the match had gone by I wasn’t a happy camper (USA conceded a goal to Steven Gerrard of England. But by the time the first half had ended USA were back in the game after a goal keeping mistake was made by Robert Green, after good work and a good shot from Clint Dempsey. I was ecstatic and everyone in the bar knew it! The second half was pretty good, both teams were in it to win it and the USA had the best chance of the half when the English keeper had to push an Altidore shot on to the post. (Earlier in the week Luke had declared that if Jozy Altidore scored the winning goal against England he would stop watching the England national football team forever, so his heart skipped a few beats in the moment that USA almost won it!).

After the match we all made our way back to the dance club at the hotel we were staying at, the Gruner Kranz. Many drinks were had and lots of dance moves were busted out on the dance floor while we enjoyed one of our last nights in Swakopmund.

June 13th

After sleeping off our hangovers the next day, (Nicio and I didn’t have one thanks to his special Brazilian method, an aspirin, a stomach cure all, and a sandwich each that I had procured from saving breakfast meats and cheeses that morning). I was feeling fine and after getting out of bed made my way down to the lounge to watch the match between Serbia and Ghana. Of course I was supporting Ghana because one of my good friends back in South Dakota is from the African nation. I met a couple local Swakopmundians and we had a good laugh together while we talked about football and their desire to visit the USA and also travel the world like I have been doing since the start of May.

Ghana ended up winning narrowly in the dieing minutes of the match and afterwards Nicio and I took a stroll around Swakopmund. We headed down to the coast and watched the sunset, I was able to get some good pictures which made me happy since I hadn’t really ventured out in the city much with my camera. We met up with Wendy after the sun went down and we all headed to the grocery store to buy our lunches for the next couple days, the next day we were to leave Swakopmund and head to the Sesriem National Park.

After picking up our supplies we met back up with the rest of the gang to have one last dinner together in the Namibian coastal city. Again we ate at Napolitano’s and this time I ordered spaghetti meatballs, only with a twist, the meat was made from an Oryx antelope! Post dinner we headed back to the hotel to pack our things up because the next day was an early start, we were to wake up and be on the road by 6am!

Hope you enjoy the post and photos, although I am starting to question the writing quality in the last couple posts! I promise it will get better though!

Until next time, take care and Pura Vida!

-Brendan

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Comments

[wendy]

yea what was wrong with the shotsof the jump?
Hi there luvin your work I think you are doing a fabulous job, stay with it wx.