Walvis Bay was founded in 1793 by the Cape Dutch thanks to its excellent deep water harbor. We were grateful for that as well since it meant we could dock instead of tender. The day before we had lost our stop at Luderitz, Namibia due to extremely foggy conditions that wouldn't allow for tender operations. One thing this area is also known for is its flamingos.
It may surprise you to know that the gray birds in the rear are actually young flamingos who haven't gotten their pink feathers yet. They'll need to increase their shrimp intake!
There were hundreds of the birds standing in the shallow waters of the South Atlantic the day we were there. I don't know that I've seen that many of them all at once before, or seen the black under their wings before.
I also don't know that I've ever seen as many flamingos flying anywhere else as I did here. They are beautiful in flight.
The flamingo is the national bird of Namibia and you will find two kinds here. The Lesser Flamingo is on the left and the Greater Flamingo on the right. The biggest difference in the two is the color of their beaks, the Lesser Flamingo has a black beak while the Greater Flamingo's is more pink than black.
After our flamingo photo stop we were on to Dune 7, the tallest dune in Namibia at 1,256 ft.
Karl and I were both determined to climb to the top. We took the way up the side with less slope rather than trying to climb straight up the front. I took my sandals off to make it easier but Karl kept his shoes on. It was nice soft sand.
The Namib Desert is the only coastal desert in the world, with dunes that come right to the sea.
The view down from almost the top. It wasn't a tough climb except for the steep part where I'd sink into the sand halfway up my calf with each step.
Just when you think you're at the top there's still a little more to go!
It was wide enough up there that it wasn't too freaky, and I kept reminding myself it was just sand if I did fall. Thanks to Jane for taking this photo.
Finally at the top with my climbing buddies, Karl, Mark, Brian (the over achiever who had climbed up the hard way!), and Steve. Jane had climbed Dune 7 the day before so she didn't come up again, and everyone else declined, although Cathy did come partway up.
Yep, here we are atop Dune 7 to prove we had done it!
You probably can't see it but off in the distance here is the ocean and the port.
Okay, I'll be honest here, this one is a vanity picture. After my hair being blown every which way in so many pictures I thought it looked pretty good here so I put the photo in. 🤣
Jane got these photos of us coming down the front slope.
You can see how my feet...what feet?..sunk in coming down and how full of sand Karl's shoes got on his climb and descent. Loved the stark beauty of these dunes!
We made a really quick stop at the museum of the little engine that couldn't in Swakopmund. This town was founded as a seaport for German West Africa in 1892, Walvis Bay was under control of the British at that time. More on the German influence later.
There were some pretty flowers here if nothing else.
So this tractor is called a Martin Luther. It was imported to Namibia by a man named Troost who thought a steam powered tractor would be great for moving things inland from the coast.
Problem was it continually got bogged down in sand. Troost even brought in an engineer from Germany to figure out the best way to make it work. That fellow took one look at the desert dunes and got back on the ship to Germany!
Following the third attempt to get the Martin Luther doing something useful, Troost finally gave up and left it where it was. The tractor above is a re-creation while the rusty parts here are all that's left of the original Little Engine That Couldn't.
There are three very different parts to Swakopmund and we were able to visit in all three.
First we stopped in Mondesa Township, which seemed like a pretty humble part of town until we later saw the DRC.
These small homes are made of concrete blocks. Our guide, Herman, explained that originally they were made of whatever the people could find to live in as they came here to work in the uranium mine that's about 30 miles away. Later on the mining company decided it was in their best interests to build these small houses for their employees, who then pay rent on them. Small but better than a cardboard box.. Later on the government started building homes like these that they subsidize for people with low incomes.
bags of dried worms (caterpillars),
dried cooked spinach and dried fish, along with various and sundry spices.
Here's Herman, our excellent guide for the day, explaining what the various foods are for us. I still think the spinach looked a lot like cow pies.
Across the street from the food, and anything else you could ever want second hand market, was the street food.
The lady that owned this food station her Kapana business, was proud of her little establishment. She told us she worked here every day, often putting a 12 hour day. She would cook up the cuts of beef, along with some kidneys, and who knew what else, on this wood fired grill. Once the food was cooked she'd cut it up in pieces and sell it. (Photo credits here to Jane & Mark)
She put ours on a plate she cleaned with a well used rag rinsed in well used water. We could pick up a bite and then dip it in one of the spices she had in this round tray. No way of knowing how many other people had done the same but we decided to live dangerously and give it a try. The beef was a little chewy but flavorful. We didn't try the kidneys, have have to draw a line somewhere! You just needed to keep your eyes away from the severed cow's head that was on a table not far away.
She also had what looked liked fried scones to eat. They were pretty tasty, just a soft dough of flour, yeast, water, sugar and salt that was scooped out of the mixing bowl with the hand and dropped into the hot oil, fried until the ball is golden brown.
A few more scenes from Mondesa as we headed to the orphanage which was located there.
There are many small businesses within the township offering services or selling goods, as well as small places to get a bite to eat.
Following our orphanage visit, which will be its own post after this one, we stopped for a view of the DRC, which is a shanty town next to Mondesa and another suburb, if you can call it that, of Swakopmund. Right in the center of this photo you can see the Women's Center, which was donated by an American woman doctor. It benefits the women and children of the DRC. They can get medical services there as well as learn skills, such as how to run a sewing machine.
The DRC, which stands for Democratic Resettlement Community, was founded in 2001 as a temporary housing community for people who were waiting for government subsidized housing. It was built mostly from materials reclaimed from the city landfill. There are still 20,000 people living here. Just as in South Africa there is a lot of government corruption in Namibia.
One thing about the DRC was that it was clean, despite the fact that they have no running water, no electricity, no sewers. They do have porta-potties in different locations throughout, as well as places to buy water, which is expensive. These places were incredibly small shacks but each one was well cared for on the outside.
We stopped outside this building made of plastic bottles and cement
and were greeted by these sweet ladies and their adorable children singing "If You're Happy and You Know It", in one of the northern dialects.
My heart melted again!
One of the dialects these ladies speak uses clicks made with the tongue. She tried to teach us how to do them but none of us were very good at it. Through the door behind her the ladies had a small shop where they would sell handmade goods that they had created.
I bought these two dolls, among a few other things, to remember the day and because they touched my heart. (I took the photo on the balcony of the ship, I should have taken it at the shop!). They still have some of the dust of the DRC on them, no way to keep them perfectly clean with those dirt floors. I love these treasures!
Her two daughters were making things with beads, they help create items for the shop. She was so proud of her work, plus theirs, and I heartily agreed with her.
Another wall of the building. A pretty creative way to recycle plastic bottles!
It was time then for a snack at Tandakie's Kitchen, a small restaurant in the DRC.
The chalkboard outside had great reviews.
The cooking area was open to all to see
and the ladies working there were happy to let me take a couple of photos.
Before we ate we were serenaded by this local acapella group of young men who were really good.
They had a cd they had produced that we could purchase, so of course we did.
Now it was time to sample some of the things we had seen in the market earlier. In the foreground is dried beef that has been cooked to help soften it, behind that is what they called a porridge "bread" loaf (Karl called it overcooked Cream of Wheat), mashed white beans are behind on the right, and fried caterpillars on the left.
There was also the dried spinach, rehydrated, that still looked a bit like a cow pie but it tasted good, a bit spicy but nice. We were also served a sorghum based drink in the tin cups but after taking a sip of mine and then seeing a fly floating in it I didn't have any more. It had a vinegary taste.
LeaAnn took this photo of the caterpillars, they look pretty gross here,
and here, but Herman told us to just wrap a little of the "bread" around them, close our eyes and pop them in our mouths.
Posing and ready to give the caterpillars a try...at least most of us! I will make a disclaimer here, after a little research Jane found that these creatures are called mopane worms because they live in mopane trees to eat their leaves. They are the caterpillars for Emperor moths, have three times the protein of beef, and if you eat 15 of them it will give you your daily allowance of iron and calcium, as well as being a good source of fiber. Not bad for a worm!
Despite all that you can see here that Karl was not impressed with his caterpillar/worm! He said,, "I can't do that again!"
I'm sporting my new ostrich egg bead necklace here as I am about to eat my first caterpillar. It really didn't taste like much of anything to me, chewy, and a bit gritty. I ate another with the bread and then one that I dipped in the bean paste. The last one was the best because those beans were really good. The beef had a good flavor but it was pretty chewy. I enjoyed being able to try some new things, some of which I doubt I'll ever eat again. But I've learned to never say never!
These four were hanging outside the restaurant and Mr. Soft Touch gave them each a dollar as we left and told them to go buy some candy. The restaurant owner wasn't happy with him, she didn't want them coming around pestering her customers.
We then went into Swakopmund itself and it was like driving into a completely different world than the one we'd spent the last few hours in, even though we only traveled about five minutes. I'll be honest, it was pretty hard to wrap my head around.
There is a lot of German Colonial architecture in the town, including the 5 star Swakopmund Hotel in the photo above, and the this Catholic church built in 1902.
1902 was a big year for building in this town, and included this building that was originally a hospital but is now a hotel.
If you compare these homes with the ones we'd just been in and driven past you'll see why my head was spinning. There is a lot of mining wealth in this town for some people.
I just had to put this photo in of the door of Herman's van that we drove around in all day. He had to come around and jiggle the door handle until it would work to get the door open, then let us out each time we stopped. Not exactly safe but we managed okay.
Here was a nice little pedestrian street in Swakopmund that we walked down to go to a much more upscale souvenir shop. While they had lovely things here that were made in Namibia, and we spent some money there, it didn't do my heart nearly as much good as spending money in the DRC.
Hibiscus that were growing near the shop. The photo on the right was one that LeaAnn took.
Thought this carving of "The Big Five" along the sidewalk was pretty cool.
One more structure built in 1902 was the Swakopmund Lighthouse, which had another 33 feet added to it in 1910. It is still in use today and also houses a restaurant. So while Swakopmund was lovely, I have to say I felt like our sojourn in Mondesa Township and the DRC was more a taste of Namibia. It's a country I would be happy to come back to and explore some more.
Loved this post! Can't believe all you experienced in one day. The food Is something I don't think I would ever try, so good for you! Loved the little dolls and they are something I would have bought as well.
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