coast

dear friends,  thank you so very much for bearing with me as this travelogue continues. i promise to try to keep these posts short and share what may be of interest, as well as to keep documenting our trip here in this space.

would you like to see something that came home with me? this hand stitched giraffe and ellie fairly jumped in my bag. the elephant tusk is made with a porcupine quill. LOVE.   :)

here is a well worn old friend, our trusty map. i was the navigator and know this paper very well now. we started our trip at the two dots in the middle right (windhoek), the dunes were at the lowest dot (sossusvlei) and now we are headed to the coast, walvis bay, swakopmund, cape cross and the skeleton coast . we're hoping to see white pelicans, migrating flamingos, shipwrecks and cape fur seals. but to see anything is a treat.

we noticed first the huge amount of sand, and then random signs here and there, this one says fog.

and this one ! sand

on the coast the temps dropped by 20 + degrees. we found white pelicans at walvis bay, and looked for migrating flamingos. it is a little too early for them and the pelicans were far away to photograph, but what a fabulous place for birding. here is our room at swakopmund, we needed the down covers in the evening.

the town of swakopmund is charming, with colorful storefronts and old german architecture. after checking in we went for a walkabout, admiring buildings, shop windows and the ocean.

we ate kingklip, a delicious fish caught here in the atlantic.

on the outskirts of swakopmund, where much of the population lives. the constant encroachment of sand is only one problem here.

we passed henties bay and lonely settlements along the coast.

and we saw a shipwreck. this is an old fishing boat out of angola. beached four years ago. her name is sela. now seabirds use her to nest on.

we were alone on an endless stretch of beach, or so we thought

out of the dunes two gentlemen suddenly appeared. selling their wares. here i was given a demonstration of how a makalani nut is carved.

i was asked my name, the artist wanted to carve it on the nut. i asked him to please carve his own name since he created it. he seemed confused and then pleased. he carved his name tsudi, and then asked me to take his photograph.

after henties bay it was just us and the road

for many kilometers

passing through vast landscapes, we scanned for signs of life. its really spectacular to be in such wide open places. suddenly these unusual tables began popping up by the side of the road.

i took a few drive by photos until curiosity got the better of us and we stopped.

namibia is a geologist dream, fantastic minerals and crystals are found everywhere and right near the surface. on the tables were beautiful crystals for sale. using the honor system, you could choose whichever one you liked and put the appropriate namibian dollars in the small jars.

we've arrived, cape cross

and the cape cross seal reserve. here is a cape fur seal

the sights, sounds and smells are staggering, cape cross is a breeding colony and there are hundreds of seals here, thousands. we watched for hours. the sounds they make have been compared to barnyard animals, there is barking and baaing, mooing and clucking. so entertaining! i liked watching the pups wrestle, so cute and funny.

arriving at cape cross lodge, felt a bit like being in a spooky movie, it's very isolated, but also wonderfully peaceful and the reserve is fascinating.

 the accommodations and food were excellent

 early for dinner, we sat in the bar and caught up on reading and

knitting, hee hee

morning view at cape cross

cape cross seal reserve, i like the stone seal gate!

heading away from the coast and back into the interior, damaraland is next and mowani mountain camp. temps on the coast were 14c and an hour later inland, 35c.

traffic

sharing the road. driving in namibia is mostly a solitary experience, you might be alone for miles. every so often passing another vehicle, or a home, small round huts. and a few times we saw something that looked like this:

craft market

this damara mother and son were running what seemed to be a craft shop. we stopped to say hello and buy something to help support their endeavor. communication was limited. well the little boy jumped up and down, to demonstrate his joy!    :)

i remembered the gifts and ran back to the truck for them. the little boy jumped up and down again at the surprise. his mother smiled, and we grasped hands in friendship. first pockets delivered!

thank you for coming along,  lori xxx