Days 31 and 32

(Rhia’s comments are italicized)

On the drive back to Windhoek, there were a couple of things that really hit home for me. Perhaps the most impactful was how important infrastructure is (I’ve never really given infrastructure much thought prior to this). For example, there’s a large port (that’s being expanded) at Walvis Bay…yet the road that connects the port to the capital city is a regular 2 lane highway.

You can’t help but wonder how long this road will last with all the heavy vehicles that will be passing this way in the future!

Speaking of vehicles, I also pondered how rules differ here in Africa (where so many of our Western complaints are seen as nothing worth mentioning). For example, here things CAN be classified as ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’…even vehicles!

Seatbelt/safety rules are different too. There were five or six kids in the bed of this truck with one adult! In contrast, in many US states, I’m not even allowed to travel in our 5th wheel (caravan) while it’s being towed!

It was another pleasant drive, climbing a mile to return to Windhoek.

When I was in college earning my teaching degree, I was taught a writing technique whereby you sit in front of a bush and write for three minutes about everything you see. You then rip that page out and spend another three minutes again writing about everything you see but it cannot be the same as the first three minutes. You then rip that page out and begin the process again, not repeating anything, and that product will be awesome! That is what I feel revisiting Windhoek has been like. Same place, but we noticed different things which gave us a totally new experience.

We stayed at the same guest house as our last visit, so walked the same streets into town. I think that the locals are very proud that they can walk safely around the city. On two separate occasions, older people (😂 they were MY age!!!!!) commented to us, with smiles, that walking around was great exercise, and safe! And our journey out led to a cool discovery. In the last post, we posted a picture of two statues of Two bushmen outside of a shop called The Bushman Art Gallery. We decided to walk in this time and found ourselves in a sort-of museum (that sold the artifacts!)

I’m beginning to think that the translation of Windhoek is “closed” as, once more, things just weren’t open! We wanted to visit the National Museum of Namibia last week, but it was closed on the weekend. So we made sure that we returned on a weekday this time. But, again, it was closed! This time it was to clean the parking lot!?! I felt sorry for a tour group that arrived; at least we hadn’t paid for the experience of not getting into the museum! We also tried to visit a church landmark that was located in the middle of a round about, but it, too, was closed.

The guard at the museum was chatty and knowledgeable. He (Donovan) also happened to be responsible for the fort right next door (which was also closed) so walked us over and told us its history.

Alte Feste, “Old Fort”, was built by the Germans in the late 1800’s. The fort also served as a concentration camp of the local Herero and Nama people from 1904-08. A monument was erected out front in remembrance of the resulting genocide that occurred there. After the Germans lost in WWI, the fort was turned over to the South African government.

Donovan let us into the front entryway of the fort where some old infantry vehicles had been stored. We had the pleasure of speaking with Donovan for well over an hour about his experiences and thoughts about Namibia’s history, about Colonialism, and about prejudice. At 23 years old, he was an extremely knowledgeable young man with a very humble and well thought-out concept of life. His English vocabulary was extremely robust, but he also spoke his native tongue (sadly I cannot remember what it was), Afrikaans, and German. Just those skills alone would be a recipe for success in the US. Unfortunately, circumstances have left him struggling to make a living in the capital city, but he is managing. He is a thinker, and I feel that he will make future decisions that will impact a lot of people.

Unfortunately, this is our last full day in Namibia (so no more chances of getting into the museum for us!) My impression is a positive one. The people I have met and spoken with have been wonderful. The land, though currently suffering from drought, is beautiful. I certainly would love to visit again, and experience more.