the fog and the table...

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Vic Falls was amazing. Words cannot describe the beauty and power of that wonder of the world.
The locals call it the Smoke that Thunders. I understand why. You can hear the falls roaring long before you arrive.


once you are there, you see this rushing mix of whites and blues, larger than you can imagine- swirling over rocks and down into the abyss of the large lake below, creating the fog, the smoke that thunders. this smoke reaches over the bridge that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe and showers us, sometimes harshly, sometimes gently- with its' mists that have done so for so long. Victoria Falls was an experience that no photos can do justice to.

Back to Botswana- was good to see Hannes again. we hung around for a bit and enjoyed the views from his place as usual, watched many sunsets and had a funny day of nothing but mistakes. we were going to do a braai at this game park and watch the Springboks game.
we forgot a lighter and had no matches- finally after an hour of trying to light grass and paper with his car's cig lighter we got spark and started a fire... but he had forgotten his meat and didn't want our eggplants we were going to braai... it was defeat... and then the final blow was- the game was the following Saturday. we went back to his house, heads held in shame...

Off to the Kalahari.
We spent a night Ghanzi, which was a strange frontier town that was small and quiet beyond belief.
we then set off, hitching our way through the Kalahari Desert. our surrounds were rolling hills of arid soil, few plants...
and thorns, plenty of thorns.

We finally got a lift all the way to Windhoek, Namibia.
This was a lovely place. clean. great architecture. college town vibe.
the backpackers was ok, quite dirty and the kitchen was a joke...
but we enjoyed our stay in Windhoek. The highlite was meeting the Himba
people. these are the ladies that cover their bodies with red ocre and clay
instead of bathing... their hair is covered in the same mixture and seriously
looks like plastic when you get close. They were so friendly and we bought some
hand made bracelets from them. great time.

Onto Swakopmund... this city, squished between the rolling dunes of the Namib Desert
and the icy, unforgiving Atlantic Ocean- is something of a curiousity. The German style houses
are so nice and photogenic. We had a great time, visited the beach which was cold but lovely...
made for good photos and watched a beautiful sunset. The dunes were the highlite for me.
The red and orange sands were something from a movie. . . Star Wars perhaps...
it truly does not look real until you are right upon it. it still feels surreal, you are surrounded by nothing
but rolling dunes and... that's it. no plants, no one else around... it was magic and I seriously did not
want to leave.

Luderitz- was quiet. and small. and like a poorer, more neglected Swakopmund. the architecture had it's
own charm and I can say I did enjoy our visit there. The backpackers was strange but nice... just very quiet
and empty compared to most...
we visited the Kolmanskop ghost town which was beyond words. I will not bore you with the history of
it, but please look it up for a second. The dunes had invaded the abandoned buildings and some were seriously full to the top of doorways with sand... again, beyond description. Nature always wins.

Made our way back into South Africa... Now in Cape Town. I was so excited to upload photos but the computer here
is giving me trouble... so I will try elsewhere.
until then,
Take care...

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