It took pretty much all day to reach the Atlantic Ocean from Etosha but at least the scenery that way was more interesting as we reached the edge of the Namib Desert.
We got the opportunity to stop a few places to buy local crafts and as much as I like to give back to the community by doing so, I felt the whole thing a little too staged…the way they were trying to ‘sell’ photos of themselves in their traditional outfits did not really appeal to me. And it made me think about how little we actually see of the ‘real’ Africa when travelling ‘just’ a tourist…and I felt really lucky to have been able to get closer to the communities, understand the people better and their challenges and cultures and knew then I’d made the right decision to return to Uganda for more volunteering during February.
After arriving in Swakopmund – which apparently means ‘diarrhoea mouth’ because of the smell from the ocean 😳 I started looking at the rest of my time in Namibia… I of course had to book that hot air balloon ride! And imagine my surprise and panic level when I found out that there was only two more days to do the balloon ride before they were closed for a month! I was lucky to get a space for Saturday, quickly booked a hotel close to the ballon place and then had to work out how to get to the desert at such short notice… the only way was private transfer…the most expensive taxi ride of my life! Yikes! But I had no choice…it’s on the bucket list!!!
The ride was pretty nice though – the landscape in the desert is extremely beautiful and when I arrived at the Le Mirage hotel I knew it would be special here… and I wm looking forward to a weekend of luxury in the most fantastic setting.
BETINA IN AFRICA 