The next morning, Sandy and Ellen left for the airport, and I was on my own for the first time during this trip. I spent the morning just running errands, checking email, and doing all the little things you can’t do in the desert. I was glad to go back to downtown Windhoek before 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday. When we had first arrived, we came downtown in the afternoon and the city was absolutely dead: shops were closed and the streets were empty. Before 1:00 p.m., however, it was a different place, lively, crowded, and bustling with energy. Still, I wanted to just relax for a few days, and this was not the place to do it, so I headed back to Swakopmund on the coast.
Rolf arranged for me to stay at The Secret Garden, a lovely little guesthouse run by a very friendly retired couple and their three funny little dogs. While the owners kept trying to get me to organize activities, after four and a half months of traveling, I was very happy to do not much of anything for a few days. The highlight of my first day was doing my own laundry (for the first time on this trip) at the Swakopmund Laundrette and Amusement Centre, a bit of a strange place that in addition to having washers, driers, and coin-operated irons, had small amusement park rides, a bar, and slot machines. The bulk of the rest of my time in Swakopmund was spent walking on the beach, reading, getting treatments, and eating very fresh seafood.
I only made one culinary mistake. One day for lunch, I ate at the local brewpub. Under “Light Lunches,” was something called “brawn.” I asked the waitress what it was and she said (actually, I heard) a chili stuffed with vegetables and meat. Sounded good, kind of like a German chili relleno. What arrived was a big glob of cold aspic with chunks of meat and veggie in it. All I can figure is that she was saying that it was "chilled." Luckily it came with good homemade tartar sauce and a large side order of potatoes fried with bacon and onions. To make up for it, later in the day, I went back to the Lighthouse Bar and Restaurant, sat on the deck overlooking the ocean, and had one of our favorite Namibian specialties, the Don Pedro, a thick milkshake blended with your choice of liqueur, particularly tasty when made with Kahlua.
My last day, I rented a bike for a short ride in the morning. As I headed out of the rental shop, I was surprised that so many of the roads were one-way, until I realized I was riding on the wrong side of the street. (I’m glad I decided against renting a car on my own.) But once I realized it, I managed pretty well. The bike had seen better days, with no brakes in the back and barely functional ones in the front. Luckily the area is pretty flat and there are few cars on the roads. I road north out of town and was amazed (and a bit horrified) at how much development is going on: condos, townhouses, and McMansions popping up everywhere.
Yesterday, I returned to Windhoek by bus and along the way, during the four hour journey, I saw warthogs, guinea fowl, glossy starlings and other birds, and even one large male kudu. And this afternoon, I head off for the beaches of Mozambique. While winter is starting here, and the nights are getting chilly, Namibians are extremely warm and hospitable people. Just two examples: First, as the bus rolled out of Swakopmund yesterday, people on the street – and not just kids – waved goodbye and the same thing happened as we arrived in Windhoek. Second, instead of saying “you’re welcome,” Namibians say “pleasure” (as in, “it’s my . . .”), and they say it in a way that makes you believe that it really is.
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