August 27, 2024
Today was not as early – we had to be ready at 8am to leave and head to the dunes area. I slept so well in a real bed for the first time in like 10 nights. But tonight we are in camp for two days and then back to a hotel for our last night of the tour.
In true Namibian form, the roads are not all paved. The landscape is so dramatic but it can be hard to enjoy when you are bouncing all around on the bus. Our first stop is at an overlook where you can see the tectonic shifts that have happened over time. It’s pretty crazy to see how the earth has moved and evolved into what it is today. It was only 45 minutes before that we were in a sandy, relatively flat area and now we are on winding roads up small mountain ranges.
We then stopped at the Tropic of Capricorn. It’s basically the lower quarter mark of the world. After our picture opportunity it was back on the road. For lunch we stopped at this place that had “the best” apple pie. I don’t like apple pie, but what they had was not pie. It was more of a crumble, but even that was being kind. It was an overly dry “crumble” that was about an inch thick that had apple filling on the bottom. Some liked it, others thought it was over rated. We then joked that it was “the best” because it’s the only place around.
Our next stop is camp in Sesriem. This is dune country. Even though yesterday we were on the dunes, these are different. Namibia lies in such a place that the wind has brought sand from the ocean, inland about 60km to create the most beautiful orange dunes. Tomorrow we will go into the park to check them out and we have an opportunity to climb “Big Daddy” – the tallest of them all in the park.
We went from being so cold in Swakopmund to being SO HOT here in Sesriem again. I finally gave in and got in the pool. I do believe this was the least clean of all the pools and it was barely over freezing level – but it was refreshing. I just kept getting out and jumping back in because it was warmer every time I jumped back in.
After the pool it was time for a shower and then dinner. These showers are open to the elements in the sense that when a gust of wind whips through the water out of the shower head may not reach your head because it’s been blown out of the shower. But they are nice, and after the freezing pool I enjoyed a warm shower.
Before dinner Giacomo, Marghe and I had a serious question for our guides. Are we their favorite? Giacomo had given us some money to buy them some beers, because Noel had said earlier in the trip that we were in the top and I had joked they needed beer to be enticed to move us to the top. They got so excited and agreed we were their favorite group. And we are a pretty fun group of people.
The guides had gone fishing (or so they said, I cannot figure out if I trust them) and caught two fish for us for dinner. They have big bones, about three inches long – so at least you aren’t surprised by these bones. The temperature has started to drop after dinner and it was so windy that the Italians and I couldn’t play any games. So they went to wifi and I sat under the stars 6 while everyone else went to bed.
I cannot describe how small I feel looking up and the most clear view of the milky way I have ever seen. It is calming, it is overwhelming, it is magical. I could stare forever. I saw two shooting stars!
I climbed into bed and it was so windy and starting to get extra cold so I got my jacket ready just in case it’s needed. We are so far from the bathroom we all joked that we would just walk off the trail and use nature’s facilities overnight. And good thing we decided that because there are packs of jackals that you can hear playing and calling to each other.
We have another early morning tomorrow and it includes PHYSICAL exertion so I need good sleep. I found calm in the beautiful sky tonight – so hopefully I will sleep well.
Normal Travel Girl 
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