Today was not a good day!
I had more than 1 hour of sleep. Instead of my alarm going off at 5.30am, we were awoken at 6.30am by Victor from our tour group banging on the tent & yelling that the truck will leave in 30 minutes.
I'm not sure what happened to my alarm, I later look & I set it to go off at 5.30pm.
It's a mad scramble to get the tent down in time & get in the bus. We have totally missed breakfast, thankfully Noria has grabbed some bananas from breakfast to give to us. It's going to be a very rough day.
I had more than 1 hour of sleep. Instead of my alarm going off at 5.30am, we were awoken at 6.30am by Victor from our tour group banging on the tent & yelling that the truck will leave in 30 minutes.
I'm not sure what happened to my alarm, I later look & I set it to go off at 5.30pm.
It's a mad scramble to get the tent down in time & get in the bus. We have totally missed breakfast, thankfully Noria has grabbed some bananas from breakfast to give to us. It's going to be a very rough day.
Once in the bus it's a relief that it's our turn to sit on the chairs with the smaller table. That means 2 chairs each! We both instantly are asleep, as is Julian & Jill.
The bus stops for a Bushmans experience after a few hours , Tom who has had more sleep than me is keen to participate. I've seen it already, 5 years ago & decide sleep is more important.
We finally arrive at Swakopmund around 2pm & are given a briefing about the activities available. We are then given keys to our accommodation which is in renovated, self contained shipping containers. It's basic yet comfortable, innovative & feels like luxury after non stop camping from Zanzibar. We have been camping 24 nights without a break.
After putting our bags in the room, it's time for lunch back at the bus.
Lunch is a very quick affair, half the group is keen to explore the town while the other half is keen for a shower & bed, even though they are not hungover.
Tom & I of course want to feel clean & get a couple hours of good sleep. The weather in Swakopmund is gloomy & a cold 7-13 degrees. Bed sounds really good!
Lunch is a very quick affair, half the group is keen to explore the town while the other half is keen for a shower & bed, even though they are not hungover.
Tom & I of course want to feel clean & get a couple hours of good sleep. The weather in Swakopmund is gloomy & a cold 7-13 degrees. Bed sounds really good!
Last night one of the empty wine bottles got knocked off the table & smashed. We did our best to clean it but a few hours after I stepped on a large piece of glass that went through my thong & into the arch of my foot. I'm so drunk I don't immediately notice, until there's blood on the ground.
I removed the glass & go to the bathroom straight away to clean it before bandaging it, but I want to check it again and clean it again now, with the use of a private bathroom & hot water, I go about soaking my foot, cleaning all the dirt out & exploring it for more glass.
I don't find any, despite the pain & bandage it with some antibacterial cream before going to bed.
The sleep we had in those beds was absolute bliss! We've missed linen, beds off the ground, blankets & proper pillows. It is with some reluctance that we get ready to go out for dinner with the group at a restaurant called Napolitano, 15 minutes walking distance. The walk to & from the restaurant was near agony, I can't weight bear at all on my heel & there's a lot of swelling over the arch of my foot. If it's still like this or any worse tomorrow, I'll ask Simon & Leah, the doctors from Germany to look at it. The food was okay, no one in the group of 30 was thrilled with their meals, the price or the slow service.
Tom & I shared some oysters for an entree, Tom had a giant seafood calzone & I had a seafood pasta.
After dinner Tom, Jill, Julian & myself went to KFC for ice cream & waited 30 minutes!
It was worth it when we were lying in bed, with the heater on, eating ice cream & knowing we had 9 hours of amazing sleep ahead of us.
- Alli
I don't find any, despite the pain & bandage it with some antibacterial cream before going to bed.
The sleep we had in those beds was absolute bliss! We've missed linen, beds off the ground, blankets & proper pillows. It is with some reluctance that we get ready to go out for dinner with the group at a restaurant called Napolitano, 15 minutes walking distance. The walk to & from the restaurant was near agony, I can't weight bear at all on my heel & there's a lot of swelling over the arch of my foot. If it's still like this or any worse tomorrow, I'll ask Simon & Leah, the doctors from Germany to look at it. The food was okay, no one in the group of 30 was thrilled with their meals, the price or the slow service.
Tom & I shared some oysters for an entree, Tom had a giant seafood calzone & I had a seafood pasta.
After dinner Tom, Jill, Julian & myself went to KFC for ice cream & waited 30 minutes!
It was worth it when we were lying in bed, with the heater on, eating ice cream & knowing we had 9 hours of amazing sleep ahead of us.
- Alli
The Cave Painting Experience
We arrived at the place where the cave paintings were and awoke in awkward hungover sleeping positions in the truck. All our belongings that had been on the table had vibrated off with the badly corrugated roads we had been travelling on all morning.
We arrived at the place where the cave paintings were and awoke in awkward hungover sleeping positions in the truck. All our belongings that had been on the table had vibrated off with the badly corrugated roads we had been travelling on all morning.
My sunglasses that are still hanging on for dear life that I bought in Mongolia, only my second set so far the whole trip, lay with an arm broken off and scratches all over them on the floor (hence why I never pay a more than a few dollars).
After quickly collecting all our stuff, some of which had managed to get half way down the truck travelling on the vibrations, and making some speedy repairs to my sunnies, we were off to meet our eccentric guide who would show us the cave paintings. We set off on a short walk, along the way our guide showed us a few plant species, one of which was highly poisonous, a few drops ingested would ensure death in a few hours, or if it was to get in your eyes would cause painful and permanent blindness.
Once again I found myself thinking of the many poor souls who were the first to experience the detrimental effects of the dangerous flora of Africa. We continued on and were shown some boulders submerged in the earth that had a peculiar trick wherein they would expand and contract with the heat of the sun, causing fishers between parts of the rock, which would make an interesting sound when you knocked your knuckles on them.
A bit more walking and looking at more woven birds nests and we arrives at a rocky overhang. At first there were very few viable signed of any paintings. But as we gathered and our guide got to explaining, we noticed that he had to cast shade on the rock for the paintings to be visable. He explained that they would paint with the blood of animals mixes with the white of an ostrich egg, as well as some other materials to make a paste that could be applied and would last the exposure to the elements.
They placed them under the over hanging rock so as to protect them from the rain and were used to communicate to other Bushman telling them where certain animals or water sources could be found near by. Some even depicted octopus, as they people would travel as far as the sea from this location! However most of the paintings depicted zebra and antelope (The usual suspects). There were some depictions of groups of people travelling also.
They would send a party of 4 to a new location. If they did not return in a reasonable time to make the return journey the rest of the tribe would know there was water and food and would follow soon after. If one of the Bushman were to die on the journey they would leave a depiction on just 3 travellers so the others knew they had lost someone along the way.
Perhaps the most curios however was the depiction of a human animal hybrid. Our guide also explained to us how the Bushman would keep water in Ostrich eggs that had a hole strategically placed, and the liquids drained out. These natural water containers would be buried in the sand with a stick poking up (also acting to plug the hole) to mark the spot where they were buried. They would hold a whopping 800ml to 1000ml each!
After our informitave session we walked back to meet the truck and were able to run up to one of the rock pools indicated in the paintings, once used as a water source, but now only for swimming in when it has been replenished with fresh water. I however was not in the mood for climbing and retreated back to the bus for some more sleep!
After our informitave session we walked back to meet the truck and were able to run up to one of the rock pools indicated in the paintings, once used as a water source, but now only for swimming in when it has been replenished with fresh water. I however was not in the mood for climbing and retreated back to the bus for some more sleep!
- Tom
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