Botswana – Sepopa & Seronga

Like an airboat in the everglades, so easily gliding through the water, at such a rapid speed -- making quick and fun s-turns from one tall delta grass channel to another... this was our 1 1/2 hour trip, basking in the sunshine... to get us and our gear from Seronga to Sepopa in Botswana... plus a few stops to check out some crocs and fish eagles we spotted at various points along the way and a fun bench-backed truck ride through the sand streets in the heart of the village to our campsite at the Okavango Delta's edge.

Upon tossing our things into our tents a handful of us walked into the main part of the village to check out the composition of daily life here. We handed out lollies (lollipops) to kids we encountered along the way, creating an extra level of excitment as we wandered past their homes and market stands. Women walk with large tubs of all sorts of things on their heads, and kids carry chairs, bags, and other items in their trail... on a simple journey into the village center. Colorful birds fill the telephone wires above -- quite a change from the typical brown dove we often see in the U.S. The sand roads are quiet -- more filled with foot traffic, than vehicular traffic.

A few of the kids walked the long road 'home' with us (dodging a herd of cows on their way back from getting water, along the way)... they took quite an interest in us, and a lot of the items we were wearing -- as I shared my sunglasses with one of the girls, she took on a very stylin' look... and a big smile.

Ovambo Village & Mayana School

A school yard filled with camera-happy kids... as they run around chasing each other, and doing their best to consume miele or corn with their hands before having to return to class. The water spicket outside the principal's office -- the school's latest (and much needed) addition, is also very popular, as the kids huddle around it to rehydrate themselves.

As the bell was rung -- by one young boy running around with it -- the kids went scurrying in multiple directions to line up in front of their respective classrooms. It wasn't until they were in a single file line and calmed down that the teacher would allow them to enter into the room and resume class.

Our group had the opportunity to enter two of the classrooms (1st and 3rd grades,) where we proceeded to read with the kids, sing each other songs in groups, and look through their classwork and get to know them a bit.

The principal met with us in her office afterwards and shared more info about the school and some of the struggles they face... Kids make necklaces out of the local plant in seeds in an effort to sell them to make the funds they need to attend school... it was a joy to purchase & wear some of these precious creations.

The Ovambo village is filled with smiles, song and dance. Local people invite you into their home. They invite you to sing and dance with them in their church. They invite you to wander freely (for many kilometers I might add!) - you are a part of their village. Kids cross paths with you in the vast corn fields, interspersed between village homes and linked with sandy trails, as they walk to and from school -- some in uniform, some not. Some skipping school, some not. Either way -- you are greeted with a friendly smile and a curiosity to know you that matches your own.

Kavango River – high waters & sinking boats

Where the sun and moon reflect equidistantly off the water... the Kavango River is side-lined by tall, golden grass fields swaying in the wind and filled with crocodiles who surface their appearance on occasion. Angola lines one side of this river, and Namibia lines the side we're on... the Angolan border/guard station can be seen far off in a diagonal direction, and the curiosity to set foot into this Portuguese-speaking region stretches far beyond setting foot on the river islands.

The area was currently flooded, which forced our group to be boated in & out from our campsite, vs. being able to drive across a small bridge to get there. One was a power boat, and the other was the slow wooden platform, atop two canoes boat... the latter became our sunset cruise later on our first evening in the area... which sprung a hole upon 'docking' in Angola, and then took in so much water that we all had to shift to one side to balance the weight as we attmepted to make it back to the lodge before sinking... the real problem here didn't seem to be the non-existence of life jackets on board, so much as the crocodiles that would be happy to have a little extra dinner this particular evening -- ahhhhhhhh, the beauty of adventure! :)

Etosha National Park

En route to Etosha National Park - we had a wild giraffe nearly run out in front of our truck 20 mins before we ever reached the park -- that alone sparked the start of our exciting 'safari'! Our self-made game drives over a 3-day period allowed us to see so many animals: black-backed jackyl; guinea fowl; impala; springbok; oryx (gemsbok); bushnell's zebra; african lions; rhinos; red hardebeest; lilac-breasted rollers (iradescent blue, green & purple birds;) steenbok; black wildebeest; blue wildebeest; kudu; secretary birds; wart hogs; common ostrich; kori bastards, cape glossy starlings, sparrowhawks, goshawks, marabous storks, barn swallows, european rollers, burchell's starlings, pied crows, cape crows and monteiro's hornbill!

Waterholes tend to attract the wildlife in most African parks, allowing visitors to catch a glimpse of these amazing creatures... the challenge during our visit was that they had recent rains that allowed animals to have water tucked back in the bush -- so they were a bit of a challenge to find... and so the adventure began! We managed to find 11 lions over 3 days -- which was a trip! No leopards though -- despite my efforts to 'spot' (no pun intended) one in a tree or just below. The servet we found one night in a tree above the kitchen near our campsite along the Kavango River would have to serve as a 'mini-leopard' sighting for me!

A visit with the Himba Tribe

A nomadic tribe, constantly on the move.... spending an afternoon with the Himba Tribe was an enlightening experience. Learning about their life... men in work in the field all day with their farm animals; women have a daily 3-hr ritual from 4-7am each morning that includes a steaming (sweat), application of Ocre (the red clay, butter mix) to moisturize, followed by perfuming themself by smoking their face, body (all of it!) and clothing (or lack thereof); wooden pillows (headrests) are used for sleeping to keep their head off the ground, so bugs & mice stay away from their face; girls get their animal skin for their head-dress after their 2nd period and are officially deemed a "woman"... and for 5 cows, they can be married off as early as 13 yrs old; the women in this tribe also walk 5k daily to the cows for milk, followed by 5k the other direction for water afterwards -- following their morning ritual; ankles must be covered at all times with metal bands, due to this being the most sensitive part of the body, in their eyes; and this particular Himba Tribe has a white chief... who has a few wives... we didn't have the chance to meet him, but we did get to spend time in the main hut learning more about their life & rituals -- with the help of Matthias (who is now a Herero, as he left the Himba Tribe to go into the modern side of society)... and he served as our translator, as the members of this Himba Tribe do not speak any English. And because of this, we had a chance to learn their local greeting... which left all of us giggling as we stumbled our way through our hellos & goodbyes!

Spitzkoppe

For those of you who have been to Joshua Tree in California, or have at least seen pictures – Spitzkoppe is very similar… just a bit smaller in overall size. The rock formations look, and feel the same, and you car camp at the base… just like J-Tree!
We took off for a hike up to a back bowl of one of the formations to see some bushmen paintings (mostly of the various African animals, but there were some of trance dances – which were very eye-catching for me,) and also then hiked to a few more found at the base of Spitzkoppe (the main peak) itself. Rock dassies (like little prairie dogs) scrambled around rather quickly as we made our final little uphill ascent to a natural rock bridge (very similar to Arches Nat’l Park in Moab, UT) to enjoy sunset. I discovered that we had a perfect opportunity to photo our group shadows, and that turned into a fun & spontaneous ‘dance’ event. We grabbed our headlamps upon returning to camp – and a cold beer (we’re still in the desert, and it’s still very hot!)… and then worked our way back into a cave to eat dinner and chill around the campfire.

Swakopmund – Sandboarding, Coffee & more!

After days of camping, it felt like paradise to put our heads onto bunk bed pillows and have a bathroom in our room! The joys of the small things in life!

The town of Swakopmund is quite a bustling village where the desert sand meets the ocean! Homes line the beach front, but not in any massive size, as most would expect. The town certainly takes care of their roads and buildings, as everything was very clean and inviting – even the grocery stores are ‘spic n’ span’.

Being that we were still technically in the desert, a few of us took off to go sandboarding in the dunes about 15 minutes away from Swakopmund. The old-school VW busses parked at the base, a bunch of us crazy snowboarders and others giving their first go at strappin’ a slide ride to their feet gathered around a mass pile of gear, strapped it on for a size check, and then up the dune we went… climbing, and climbing, and climbing some more. Water bottles were left along the way so we’d have some spots to rehydrate as we climbed the dunes over and over again! At the top we got the briefing on waxing our board (EVERY TIME YOU TAKE A RUN!) and then sanding in the wax… strap and go! Main difference… you have to keep your weight back – not forward, like in snowboarding – it was pretty sweet to take to some turns down the dunes. They even built a jump at the top for the adrenaline junkies – I took one attempt at it, but it was a tad too much for me! I did, however, take to some sweet lie-down, face-first glides down the dunes at 59 & 70km’s/hr!!!!!! You just lie on a slick-side science fair style board and off you go… with a radar gun below and a crowd waiting to cheer your wipe out from above… what better way could you spend a morning?! After de-sanding and chillin’ at our favorite (from yesterday) coffee shop, we took off for the after party video of our sand-board adventure at Cape to Cairo’s bar… that was probably the highlight of our day!

Along the dirt roads of Namibia...

Her smile touched my heart... this lil' angel was with her mom at her gem stand along the dirtroad turn-off in Namibia. The locals here have collected gems - tiger's eye, rose quartz, tourmaline, etc.. - from the area and they sell their well-polished creations from their homemade stands as their livelihood. I enjoyed seeing their goods, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with this little girl during our visit... she was so full of LIFE!

Solitaire

Cecelia’s B-day Celebration! 29 Forever! “Yo soy veinte-nueve”
Being in the absolute middle of nowhere – in this case, Solitaire – is the perfect reason to party! In fact, parties just seem even more fun in special places like this (I know Aron & Elizabeth can attest to this from our wine & dance parties while trekking in Patagonia years ago!) Since it was Cecelia’s b-day, the lovely staff at our desert retreat surprised her with a cake! Watching sunset from the side of the sandy-gravel air strip (yep, this is a mini airport too!) in pure African vibrance; chillin’ under any piece of shade you can find during a normal desert afternoon; enjoying dinner via camp chairs and plates on laps; and falling asleep under a blanket of stars in our tents that rest on the desert ground (aka, hard dirt!) Solitaire offered a lot of serenity in a little place… and truly (as their well-known for,) the best apple strudel too!

Sesriem Canyon

Although this canyon was pale in comparison to Fish River Canyon, it still held its own for a smaller canyon. There is one very easy access point that gradually works it’s way down from one part of the upper lip, into the basin… where you’ll find yourself trudging through some pretty deep sand – which is the floor of the riverbed, when water is (or MIGHT) be there! Birds are having a field day singing to each other and flying from all sorts of little holes in the rocks and around. I was diggin’ some rock climbing action while I was here – and there was none to be had!