Blogs from Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa - page 8

Hey allemaal, Inmiddels aangekomen in het plaatsje Swakopmund in Namibie en voor mijn gevoel weer helemaal in de westerse wereld, dus ook weer tijd voor internet! Ik zag dat ik m'n vorige blog geeindigd was in Lusaka en vanaf daar zijn we dus naar de Victoria Falls gereden. Heel spectaculair om daar te staan, zeg! Niet normaal hoe mooi, wat een watergeweld komt daar naar beneden zetten! En een hoop regenbogen in het water en in het park eromheen veel brutale bavianen. Verder is het de duurste plek op aarde waar ik tot nu toe ben geweest en dan heb ik het vooral over het doen van excursies. Ik heb met twee anderen van de groep bijvoorbeeld een kanotocht over de Zambezi gedaan voor de prijs van vier keer kanoen in de Ardennen. :-) Maar ja, ... read more

I loved loved loved quad biking. I was actually a bit nervous at first, but after a few minutes, I couldn't wait to go faster and didn't want it to end. I am learning more each day that I am a speed junkie. The second part of the journey was full throttle, full speed. So much fun! I wish I could do this at home. When we first pulled out of the quad biking center, we drove very slowly on a paved road which was smooth flat and straight. Brigitte, our 63 year old travel mate, somehow swerved a hard right into bushes! The guides had to fish her out. Later we saw that she was sitting on the back of the tour guide's bike! She was okay and laughing at herself. I was writing in ... read more

I signed up for a Township Tour. I am so glad I decided to do this. We were fortunate to spend 4 hours touring a local Namibian Township. We got to meet locals, learn about the culture and try the local food. We met Thalia, a local lady who let us try on her handmade traditional dresses. This dress is to symbolize the cow. The hat is to symbolize the horns of the cow. When you were this dress, you are not allowed to speak to any man, except your uncle. He then may translate what you're saying to other men. Also, when you were this, you are to move slowly like a cow as well. Next, we met a medicine woman. She showed us natural medicines. We saw some interesting stuff. To cure colic in ... read more

Day 11 (Friday 01-May-09, JRJ) All up at 6am, we felt very weak and still a bit rough. Alex could hardly talk. He looked like we was going to die. Left camp at 7am after a difficult tent dismantling session. Stopped off at a town called Solitaire were the rest of the group went to a cafe to have their world famous (also from Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's 'Long Way Down') apple crumble. Sadly, we both were not feeling up for any sort of food (no matter how world famous it was) so we just had a few bottles of Powerade. Natalie however had the genius idea of getting 'takeaway' cheesecake (as they had run out of apple crumble) so we could have it when we were feeling better. Crosse the Tropic of Capricorn. Stopped ... read more

Finally, a place to blog--Swakopmund. This blog entry will have to be short, for reasons which will become clear later. South Africa We left Cape Town Friday morning, first heading south to see the Cape. On the way, we visited a penguin colony. Then, at the Cape, did some hiking, watched the clear line where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, then got a group photo at the Cape of Good Hope marker. Our group consists of 20 clients--nine guys, 11 gals, ranging in age from 18 to 57. Yup, I'm the oldest. But there are a few others in their 50's and, overall, a good blend. We all get along fantastically well, sharing this Dragoman truck that is essentially our home for 20 days. That same day we headed north towards Namibia, stopping part way ... read more