Leaving Windhoek

We will driving to Sossusvlei today but before we strike out we will have a driving tour of Windhoek.  The capital of Namibia and a city of 400,000 built within a ring of hills, it is architecturally a modern town.

However the early German influence still remains somewhat.  The indigenous people have much animosity toward the German “occupiers” of the past and have actively worked to remove every statue and plaque possible, de-Germanizing their native land.

What remains, however, are the houses and buildings they left behind.  Plucked out of the German countryside with their steeply pitched roofs ready for any unlikely snow in Namibia, they look so out of place, but likely well constructed enough to stay undisturbed.

We stop and enter the German Lutheran Church of Christuskirche.  Spare and lovely, it was quite small inside.  It is Windhoek’s favorite wedding site.

There is some Communist influence in the street signs.  We are currently rolling down Fidel Castro Avenue and turning onto the main drag past the Presidential Palace.  Spanning at least three city blocks, it is a huge modern complex built by the North Koreans. 

Next we pass a huge national monument built by the Chinese. Additionally, fifteen hundred Chinese laborers were imported to re-work a harbor in Walvis Bay.  One-fifth of the 2.1 million population in Namibia is Chinese.  The Chinese are also receiving all the government contract business.

Consequently, the unemployment rate for those ages of 18 – 35 is 54%, even higher if you add those older. 

So there is much unrest.  During the recent State of the Union address to Parliament, the President stood in front of a riot where everyone but his political party walked out.

The landscape is very much U.S. desert southwest with oleander, acacia, plumbago, bougainvillea, and lantana.  A mesquite -like tree and palm trees also dot the scene.

As we head out of town to Rehoboth there are numerous beware of animal signs much like our deer signs.  But in this case it is for the kudu, the pole-vaulter of the desert.  They tend to graze near the road and attempt to jump over approaching car lights.  So it is not unusual to see headlights gerry- rigged on top of a car’s roof.

It is better for the kudu to sail over your car, and they can, than for it to get stuck on your hood and through your windshield.

At the Berlin Conference, the British out-foxed Bismarck by dividing up their colony in Namibia  ceding to the Germans a finger-like projection that was supposed to link their costal ports with the great African rivers.  The Germans agreed only to find later that a short distance in from the coast the river became non-navigable due to falls and rapids.

Namibia is a country of contradictions.  Windhoek had many Jewish mayors in its history but most places continued to celebrate Hitler’s birthday.

Rehoboth, the Place of Peace, will be out first toilet stop and the end of paved roads for the day.  Our bus is a big Mercedes with back wheel drive on eight back wheels.  The engine is in front and accessed through a domed cover next to the driver.  Wimpy says the only design flaw is that the front end is a little too low for some water crossings.

Rehoboth is populated by Cape Coloreds, known for their conservative views and respect for authority.  The language is Afrikaans and the religion is Lutheran.  Our stop is at a filling station and I love to look at groceries in other countries.  I particularly like the EET-SUM-.MOR

Biscuits.

We spot some college-age girls from Philadelphia, met on the bus to the terminal, who are headed into the desert to camp. Ah youth, the time when everything is possible and you are bulletproof to boot!

We turn now on what Tony would call “washboard roads”.  They are hard red sand and graded often.  The same big storm raging for our landing in Windhoek hit this area hard.  Everyone is overjoyed but there are some areas where the water runs swiftly over the road.

We haven’t gone too far when we see our girls’ Toyota stopped in front of some water surging over the road.  Wimpy gets out to take an assessment and, of course, we all follow to gawk. Wimpy thinks it is no big deal and I think the girls do too, because they fire up the engine and sail through safely.  I’m glad their parents don’t’ know about this.  We follow with ease.

Tony meets an old friend who drives produce trucks up each week to Namibia, filled with potatoes, onions and citrus.  A ten-pound sack of potatoes valued at 4 Rand in South Africa sells for 12 Rand here. This high cost of living contributes to the unrest.

The road is very rough and when we go though a large puddle at cruising speed, tall plumes of muddy water splash up higher than the windows.  It is much like being in a boat.

It is best to sit in the middle of the bus.  The front is warmer, the back too chilly.  Every bump, and they are constant, is doubled for rear passengers.  A colleague and I we comparing FitBit numbers.  Hours later I discover all the jarring has added 2500 steps while we were seated.

This is cattle country whose main predators are the Cheetah, jackal and leopard that are in abundance here.  The canny farmers have found that rather than try trapping them they send out specially trained dogs, the Turkish Anatolian Mountain Dog, a large breed adaptable to heat and cold that frightens the cats. Very ecological!  

There is a toilet stop at an inn called  Büllspot.  Owned by a German and his Dressage champion wife they operate a small inn where many Germans come to ride their stable of horses on trails into the mountains. It is a very serene place but we were only here for a short time.

Next we have lunch at another charming inn that is in full  swing with tourists hanging out at the pool with oryx in the backyard.

It is time to turn to cross through the Naukluft Mountains.  You might wonder how cattle survive here.  Well, these are hybrid cattle, the Bonswara, end product of collaboration between Namibia and The University of Texas, (go Horns) where embryos were genetically engineered for this area.  A mixture of Longhorn, Shorthorn, Hereford and several other breeds, they fill he bill for the local climate.  They adore this recent rain!

The mountains around us are full of Tufa, a dolomite, rose quartz and granite stone, stained with a waterfall-like pattern from limestone leaching with the rains. 

Next we drive past the lodge where we were originally booked.  They are renovating and do not have enough usable rooms for our group…..so we make a left turn and head to Le Mirage, our headquarters for the next two days.

She arises from the shifting sand against a backdrop of dunes and mountains, a romantic Moroccan outpost with lovely grounds. Cactus sprout from neat beds with borders of large stones.  There is a green by the restaurant and lanterns full of fairy lights.

Le Mirage has aspirations of being a five star luxury resort in a niche market.  But what we observe on arrival is only a veneer that cannot disguise the lack of management at the top.  The help are unfailingly polite and hard workers.  I especially like the maintenance man who must surely have been canonized by now given the myriad problems he has to address.

We have all been inconvenienced during our stay by a litany of bizarre deficiencies including faucets not connected to water, no electricity, no phone service, no toilet paper holder, electric outlets that will accept few plugs or converters and problems with the in-room safe that comes with no directions.  Gary, our prankster from New York, says he has never before thought that his valuables would be safer out of a safe.  I don’t want to talk about air conditioning.

Our particular safe is bolted to a removable shelf in a cupboard so any thief just walks it out.  We had no hangers in our armoire, and no plug for the sink making laundry challenging.  Just now when doing laundry, sink plugged with a rolled up washcloth, only hot water came out of both taps giving me a good scald.  Should be a fun shower later!

It has now become somewhat comical and Tony’s patience is stretched a bit thin.  He is an affable man and has been a tour director for years.  Everywhere we go he is greeted with genuine affection and esteem.  He seems to know everybody.  There are not many places to lodge here, especially for a group.  So it is neither his fault nor that of the hardworking staff.  This is a hotel management problem.  Perhaps they think since there is no Motel Six down the block and that we are likely never to return, solving these problems can be kicked down the road.

Can’t wait to read those Trip Advisor reviews…but that would require wifi…weakly available in the lobby only.

We gathered before sunset on the green to watch the changing hues as the sun makes its final descent behind the mountains.  It is a beautiful sunset and very beautiful moonrise.  The huge cantaloupe colored moon shot up in the night sky.

The dining room is very lovely, long tables set banquet style. We are amused by the antics of the staff trying to keep the candelabra lit against our demand for open doors.

We had a pleasant meal, but there was no lingering.  Everyone made a quick exit to sort out their room problems and get to bed.  Wake up call: 5AM