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Published: February 25th 2009
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Spitzkoppe
This photo hasn't been enhanced or edited in any way. No lie....
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Feb. 24, 2009, Spitzkoppe, Namibia
I sliced my knife through the crispy exterior. It cracked and then crackled back at me. I dug my fork in, lifted it to my mouth and tasted a small bit. It was the best tasting Eisbein I’ve ever had. In fact, it was the only Eisbein I’ve ever had. Eisbein, as you might imagine by the sound of it, is not traditional Nambian food. It’s grilled pork knuckle, a German dish. My meal, Sarah’s schneitzel and the restaurant we were eating at were a testament to the colonization of this part of Namibia by the Germans more than a century ago.
We nibbled on the sauerkraut side dish and then took a slug of weisbier, a German wheat beer. We barely finished our dishes, but had just enough room for some more beer. How could we resist?
After the Sossusvlei dunes -- and four flat tires and two leaky fuel tanks -- we headed north to Swakupmond, on the Skeleton Coast, to get a breath of cool Atlantic air, and a taste of some of this German influence. We spent a few days exploring the area and stuffing ourselves with German food:
Climbing Competition on Spitzkoppe's Slabs
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meats including wiener wurstchen, kasegriller with emmentaler cheese and schmeckt, spicy mustards, German donuts and pastries including schweineohren, also known as pig’s ears. Northern European influence was everywhere: colonial architecture, blacks and whites both spoke German, ie. “danke” rather than the Afrikaans “dankie” for thank you. To me, it was completely shocking, but to the locals, an American and a Canadian traveling in their country was probably more so.
There is good reason that we opted for the German food, rather than some of the local Damaraland options. Monitor Lizard, we were told, tastes great stuffed with onions and potatoes and then slow cooked in campfire coals. “Tastes like chicken,” one local told us with a completely straight face. Iguana meat is also a local delicacy. And, some traditional Damaraland people use Iguana fat, strategically smeared around the corners of a home, to ward off cobras and puff adders. If there is no lizard meat available, donkey meat is the preferred staple. We decided to stick with our weisbier and wiener wurstchens.
But it was clear that after a few days of this it was time to visit Spitzkoppe, an outcrop of granite that rises thousands of feet
Sarah Racing a Lizard to the top ...
of one of Spitzkoppe's slabs.
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straight out of the desert. The rock attracts climbers from all over the world. Photographers are also keen to see the colors and shades that come alive in the early morning and late afternoon light. Spitzkoppe, which reminded me a bit of Enchanted Rock in Texas and Stone Mountain in Georgia, is also a paradise for rock hopping aficionados. We explored the mountain for a few days and tried our luck with some climbing. The slab climbing was extremely tough on the fingers and toes, but well worth a visit, especially to sharpen our skills. Most of the climbs involved being precariously balanced on just a small imperfection in the rock or a protruding pebble. Our fingertips and toes were sore for days afterwards.
In our travels in Namibia, we have become quite adept at helping other cars and trucks stuck in mud and sand. The Namibian summer is relentlessly hot, but every afternoon, like clockwork, torrential storms come. Rain storms like I have never seen before roar across valleys and dump millions of gallons of water. Before now, I never heeded the “Flood Warning” signs in deserts or dry riverbeds. We watched a wall of water fill a
Tastes Like Chicken...
...I'll take your word for it. I'll stick with pork knuckles and weisbier....
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dry canyon river bed in a matter of minutes. We also watched numerous cars and trucks get stuck in muddy riverbeds. Our tow strap and four-wheel drive truck has come in quite handy.
After Spitzkoppe, we made a visit to some bush people rock engravings and paintings, some that were more than 5,000 years old. African animals were frequently depicted as were handprints or footprints, a sort of signature by the artist. Many of the handprints, footprints or engravings of animal tracks were crafted next to tunnels, cracks, fissures or inaccessible features, indicating a pathway to the spirit world. Shamans were believed to be able to move through solid rock, possibly using these entrances. The rock was their canvas that helped them access a parallel spirit world.
It’s curious how this part of Namiba can offer such an eclectic mix of activities -- from schneitzel-eating to rock climbing to an education on a shaman’s spiritual practices more than 5,000 years ago.
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