Why Did the Cow Cross the Road?

It’s our first morning in Swakopmund, Namibia. We rented a car in Gabs and started driving on Thursday morning at 11. Our goal was to make it to the border before dark, and then we would stay all night somewhere after that, but before Windhoek. We got to the border when it was dark, which we didn’t want, but driving at night across the border in Namibia was way safer than in Bots. There were a lot of cattle, donkeys, and goats that would occasionally be standing in the middle of the road or would look like they were going to cross the road in front of us. We just took it at a slower pace and made use of our brights to look out for animals. We saw only one warthog on the side of the road—nothing else—so we knew driving on that side of the border was much safer. It was still a little difficult, though, because it was so dark and I had to turn the brights off when an oncoming car was approaching. Visibility was pretty poor then. At the border we had picked up a brochure for a guesthouse at the town, Gobabis, we were planning on staying in. It is just east of the capital, Windhoek, which we did not want to stay in because of safety issues, and we particularly did want to arrive there at night. As we left the border, we called the guesthouse to make a reservation…fortunately they had vacancy! After about a 45-minuted drive from the border, we arrived at the house around 8. It was surprisingly a lovely little place!!! (We lucked out, big time.) We had a really big room—two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living area—beds for 6 people. We hadn’t dinner (I’m not counting the endless Easter candy we had on the way), so we drove to the only place that was open…Whimpy’s…southern Africa’s fast food…which was not fast at all, and not as good, or cheap, as I expected. Haven’t tried the other fast food chain, Bimbo’s (great names, huh?), but I’m guessing it’s not any better. We were all so tired, so conversation was pretty dull, if it existed at all. After eating, we drove back to the guesthouse. We talked for a while, planning some of our activities once in Swakopmund. I read a bit, attempting to get done with my Chronicles of Thomas Covenant book (which I’m about to give up on), while listening to my new obsession--the Mama Mia soundtrack…wish I would have seen the play when my mom interpreted it!

Our Toyota Yaris...a.k.a. 'Pod'

The sand dunes came right up to the ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean...much colder than the Indian

So today we’re planning on booking our activities—sandboarding for sure and also a boat cruise to see the seals! Possible a camel ride, too…and Emma and Sophie may go skydiving—I would but I’m saving it for my sis, Megan. We’ll probably walk around the town a bit before our sandboarding today.

The town is pretty nice…also very touristy and very German-influenced. NO Americans anywhere (not that I’ve seen, anyway), but many more white people than I’m used to. I think the majority are native to Namibia and others are from South Africa. Looking forward to seeing the town more and doing our activities—MOST excited about the boat cruise!