Swakopmund, Namibia

I had a good sleep last night. It was the first night I have had a decent bed to sleep in for four nights. Although I shouldn’t complain as the supplied mattresses are quite comfortable.

I got up at around 7:30 and walked downtown to a wireless internet place I found yesterday. I had a cup of coffee and a piece of apple cake while I finished off Friday's blog. I then headed over to the cell place where I had purchased a Namibia SIM card with 10 MB of data. I wasn’t able to hook up to the internet so needed help with profile settings. They set it up for me, but still had to go to MTC to have the internet activated. All went well and I should now be able to keep the blog more up to date, at least while in Namibia.

Swakopmund, Namibia is a neat place. You may not know, but Namibia is a former German colony so the German language is used by many. Most streets and buildings in town have German names. The city/town is loaded up with many small shops and boutiques. It is sort of a small-time tourist destination, particularly for Europeans. The place is sandwiched between the desert on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The climate is cool and damp in the morning, but the dampness gives way to warm sun in the afternoon. It is still very comfortable during the afternoon as the cold Atlantic water moderates the heat of the sun.

I just walked and walked all over town for most of the day. Many of the others partook in other activities offered in the area - sand boarding, dune bashing with ATVs and skydiving to name a few - all of which I can do later in the trip or at home.

Many private homes here are walled in with the rear yards having 6’ plus walls and sometimes barbed wire on top and the front yards with low enough fences so that I can peer over. Many yards are landscaped with a huge array of flowers and shrubs. I took a few pictures. On one occasion I was looking over the fence admiring the court yard of a guest house when the owner came running out and invited me in. I told him how much Juanita loved gardening and he told me that his wife does all the gardening as it is a hobby with her as well.

The town quiets down after 1:00 p.m. as many of the locally owned shops shut down for the balance of the weekend. So things are quiet now. I’ll be heading out for supper in a couple of hours and will complete the blog when I return.

Back. A few of us had supper at Kucki’s Bar and Grill. I ordered Kingklip fish and chips with a draught beer. Very good, the fish is like white fish and similar to eating cod. Headed back to the “A” Frame about 9:30 to finish off this blog and respond to some emails. Later.
Twyfelfontein
Dune 45