Our first landfall in Africa: Walvis Bay, Namibia (old Deutsch Sued West Afrika) a busy industrial port of 50,000 inhabitants, at the edge of the oldest desert in the world, surrounded by the largest shifting sand dunes in the world. There are large salt pans south of the city, and an immense shallow lagoon surrounded by flat sand banks. Thousands of Flamingos (Lesser Flamingo - pink, and Greater Flamingo - faint rose colored) wade in the shallows and use their curved beaks upside down to feed on tiny creatures they scoop out of the mud.
Walvis Bay itself does not tempt the visitor to linger, apart from the stacks of containers and mountains of chemicals ready to be loaded onto waiting ships, a few stores, and indifferent architecture, and a somewhat 'uncomfortable' atmosphere in terms of petty crime, there is nothing inviting.
We took a taxi to Swakopmund, a town 20 miles north of Walvis Bay. Negotiations with a couple of taxi drivers resulted in a reasonably untouristy fare. The first taxi driver refused to drive the distance (his taxi had seen better days) the second one wanted an exhorbitant amount of money judging us to be the ususal dumb tourists, but the third was open for business, despite the fact that his taxi looked worse than the first one. There were no door handles, no window handles, no shocks, and no instruments, except a speedometer, and definitely no taxi meter. We drove off along the two lane road along huge sand dunes on one side, and the mist covered ocean on the other, and soon followed a shiny new Audi almost bumper to bumper at 140 km per hour - decrepit looks are deceiving. Wisely the driver had removed, prior to departure, his yellow taxi sign from the roof of the cab. He unsrewed the sole nut and bolt holding the thing in place and stuck it into his glove box.
'It reduces drag, and would fly off anyway', he said. To top it off, Namibia still drives on the left side of the road.
Swakopmund is a popular Namib coastal town, with a checkered colonial history. The German influence is obvious in well preserved German Colonial architecture. Street names, signs on shops and businesses (Apotheken, Drogerien, Zahnaerzte, Reparatur Anstalten usw usw) are still mostly in German. German, Afrikaans, English and Native languages are spoken by most inhabitants. Gasthaeuser und Kafes with German fare (and German beer) are located in boutiquy little shopping areas, at streetcorners and numerous hotels (Adler Hotel, Schweizer Hof, Hansa Hotel etc).
Swakopmund is reinventing itself as the 'extreme' sport centre for the Namib desert: sand boarding, sand skiing, quad riding, soaring, trecking, safari-ing, horse riding, soaring, ballooning, even golfing. Ocean swimming looks inviting, given the white sandy beaches, however cold currents keep the water at freezing temperatures the entire year, and only the very hardy venture into the water.
After the taxi driver dropped us off at the 'centre' of town, going a one way street the wrong way and doing a u-turn to at least stop facing the correct way, we explored the quaint - and VERY clean - streets lined with shops opening their doors for business. Exquisite clothing stores, especially the ones specializing in Safari wear. I checked out one shop, run by a German speaking woman from Windhoek (capital of Namibia) who would not ever think of moving away from Swakopmund, she likes it that much. (She is widowed, feels utterly safe there, does not need a car as taxis are cheap, and she has her favourite trusted preferred taxi driver, has the most modern and up to date merchandise for food, drink etc, and enjoys a diverse cultural and social life from classical music to gourmet restaurants)
Almost all of the clothing is manufactured either in Namibia or South Africa and is of high quality AND very good taste, and most surprisingly, reasonably priced. Native crafts range from the touristy mass production offered by arrays of street vendors to most outstanding native art galleries.
Amongst the tribal mask, woven, embroidered, batic imprinted and carved goods, reed baskets and beadwork, one genre stands out as uniquely Namibian: baskets woven from coloured telephone wire. The artisans strip the coating off telephone wires, and weave the multihued strands inside the coating into the most ingeniously designed baskets, mixing vivid colours with traditional designs. Some craftsmen have created true works of art out of this strange material, and many museums and galleries around the world proudly show these little gems. I barely resisted temptation reminding myself of baggage restrictions and 'do I need another souvenir', but fell for a pretty beaded necklace, which is more useful and somewhat less expensive.
The visit would have been incomplete without the obligatory visit to one of the many German Gasthauses for a little taste of (long past) home: a Pfannekuchen with Berries and Whipped cream (something like a Crepe Suzette) and a taste of the local German - type beer. Lousy combination, but delicious individually.
Indeed an inviting town. Strolling amongst the beautiful old buildings, through green parks, along jetties and around light houses could become a pleasant habit.
Another negotiation with a taxi driver (this one spoke English) and another less hair rising drive later brought us back to Walvis Bay - via the famous flamingo lagoon. Truly an impressive sight, observing thousands of the birds (without a single plastic lawn ornament in sight) feeding serenely in the mud flats. Flamingos as far as the eye could see to the horizon of sandbanks which were exposed by low tide.
Swakopmund is another one of those places one feel loath to leave behind, and hopes to return for an extended period - maybe later, or in another life.
