Namibia

February 10, 11, 12, & 13 At sea off Africa

Weather is warming, and we have about 12 hours of daylight now. Since the pool is filled with sea water, it is now warm at 82 degrees. The sea is flat calm, so the pool has been full. I exercise in there mornings, and Barrett and I get in with all the other kids about four in the afternoon.
Our entertainment has been watching for flying fishes. Our Dean’s Memo says, “The ship’s passage startles these fish that live near the surface, and they take to the air to escape this big ‘predator’, the MV Explorer. Flying fishes are fish with very large pectoral fins. These fins allow flying fish to glide for long distances (up to several hundred yards), using their outstretched pectoral fins as wings. They become airborne through rapid vibrations of their tail, and they can remain airborne for up to 30 seconds and achieve speeds up to about 40 mph, skimming just above the waves. As they glide, their pectoral fins are kept rigid, without any flapping motions. When flying fish are swimming in the water, these pectoral fins are held flat against the body. Flying fishes primarily live in the open ocean, feeding on plankton. There are about 65 species of flying fish, and they are found in all warm seas. The ones around here are rather small, less than 10 inches long.”

February 14, 15, & 16 Namibia!

Our ship is docked at the Walvis Bay Port (pronounced more like Valfish) with an oil rig off our stern. No, they do not drill for oil here. The rig has been transported here from Northern Africa for repairs and cleaning. Men go up and down in a little cage attached to a crane! Meanwhile, lazy catamarans cruse by, pelicans fly, and little seals roll into doughnut shapes in the water. In front of our ship is a big cruise ship called the Mona Lisa. As we walk through the port area to town, we pass a huge pile of salt, railroad cars, containers, and men waiting for work by the port gate. Outside the gate are vendors selling African goods.
Namibia rates second after Mongolia for lowest population density. Their young independent government has set aside 14% of the land for parks, and eco-tourism is growing. Since 1990, the official language is English, but Afrikaans and German are still widely spoken by the white population. About half of Namibians speak Oshiwambo. Among other native languages are two click languages in which three different clicks precede other words. Barrett can name one prickly plant in click language. HIV/AIDS is a serious problem, and the population is young. Namibia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world yet literacy level is high. Many rural people farm for subsistence. Main exports are diamonds and minerals.
When we arrived, a group of young Namibian girls were on the dock singing and dancing to welcome us. They enjoyed a ship tour and lunch with some of the students, and they kept on singing for four hours. Beautiful children. I’m sending a little movie clip.
We took Barrett on a two-day camping trip in the Namib-Naukluft Park. We were pretty much just plopped down in a slot canyon in the desert with a long row of army-type tents. Highlights were the rock formations, a group of young Namibian men who came for singing and drumming, and watching Barrett climb rocks and play for hours in the hyper-arid gravel soil. The heat kept us drinking from our water bottles. Our “hosts” (Afrikaans speakers who also knew English) did not greet us nor give us any information – they were not happy campers! However, the students were wonderful, climbing around, playing and laughing together. At dark some birds trilled loudly from the high cliffs, and a young astronomer arrived with a telescope, but unusual clouds covered the southern sky. A couple of times a star peeked through, and I could tell that they would be brilliant under the right conditions. No southern cross yet!
Today we walked to town and spent over an hour trying to change dollars into South African rand. (The Namibian dollar is pegged to the rand, and both can be used here.) Right after we changed our money, the computer system went down. We went to the grocery store for crackers, South African wine, biltong, and little gifts for our shipboard family. Then we went out to the gigantic sand dunes (pictures). Earlier, while we were camping, Matthew’s class had a concert on a dune. They had microphones buried in the sand, and when the audience joined to dance, their feet added music. Matthew also got to play rocks in the Namib desert – they were iron rocks and rang like bells!
We went to “The Raft,” a restaurant out on a pier. There were white flamingos with black trim and terns feeding on little crabs. Matthew, Les, and I ordered kudu, ostrich, and oryx and traded around. We also ate banana/white asparagus/bacon pizza here. I tried a succulent used for survival while out on the desert– dollar plant – sour and bitter but moist. I got an ostrich eggshell necklace for Zoey.
Les has a cold, and I’ve learned to say Eseekee’sha (phonetic spelling) in Oshiwambo. That’s what they say when someone sneezes.
In the dark tonight, heading south, Matthew, Les and I went out on deck, and, voila!, we saw the Southern Cross and the False Cross.
“When you see the Southern Cross
For the first time
You understand now
Why you came this way…” (Crosby Stills, & Nash)
Tomorrow is South Africa study day, and then we’ll be there for five days.