Week 7 started out quietly; we were occupied with planning our mini-camp for week 8. We were blessed by an encouraging, humbling blog post by our dear friend Mrs. Lovewell (click here to see it). I spent part of Wednesday trying to upload upload photos and videos to the blog, but the internet was obstinate. I got kicked off repeatedly. T.I.A. (This is Africa).
On Thursday (5/1/09), we made an early morning departure for Swakopmund, a tourist town on the coast (not tourist like London, more like Duluth). We went with Steve, Britt, and Heidi, which was a big blessing because Heidi had been there before.
Although Swakop (don’t I sound like a local?) is maybe only 100 km away from Rehoboth as the crow flies, it took us 5 hours to get there. Two of us traveled in the back of the Bakkie (pronounced like “bucky“); let’s just say it wasn’t made with a smooth ride in mind. Nonetheless, it sure beat walking. They say that Namibia has some of the best roads in Africa, but it’s important to remember that many things in life are relative. Our guidebook states, “The number of road graders per capita must be the highest in the world…” However, Namibia’s population density is one of the lowest in the world, around 2 people/ km. You do the math.
Although we are approaching “winter” (don’t cry for us, Minnesota), weather in Rehoboth is still hot, dry, and sunny. Swakop, in contrast, was cool, wet, and overcast. A nice change for the first day, but we were grateful when the sun came out on Saturday.
We stayed in a delightful place called the Finnish Schoolhouse, which was actually a school. They offer special rates for missionaries (YAY!), and are located just one block from the beach, so it was pretty much amazing. They even had hot showers!
On Friday we wandered downtown, and there happened to be some sort of national youth festival down by the market, which meant it was swarming with people. We saw Himba people in traditional dress, which was an interesting contrast to the Germanic tourist town around them.
On Saturday we went quad-biking, which is 4-wheeling on giant sand dunes. It was quite possibly the most fun I’ve had since coming to Africa, and I’m pretty sure Josh didn’t hate it, either. Quad-biking is really more akin to snowmobiling, because you are completely unencumbered by bumps, ditches, and the like.
I always wondered why people would visit places like Egypt to see giant piles of sand. Now I know.
Sunday was a day filled with baking, pancakes, and quiet time on the beach. Josh and I were blessed to spend some quality time one the beach watching an amazing sunset.
Tender-heart in Swakopmund.
Sunday night we watched one of our favorite movies, Fireproof, which was exciting because we don’t have DVDs here. If you haven’t seen it yet, run to your favorite video store NOW!
Monday consisted mainly of packing up and traveling home, but we witnessed another gorgeous sunset during our journey.
We are blessed.
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