“Greetings from the Jungle” was a program of a television station in the Netherlands. It was a rather simple format in which Dutch people had to live for a while in Namibia, with the Himba’s a nomadic tribe living in the far north-west of the country. Well, we are there now!
On Wednesday we left from Ondangwa towards the west over an excellent road which, for at least 40 km, went through a reasonably densely populated part of Namibia. Everywhere there were shops and companies and it was really just crowded with people and cars, which were almost all new. This part of Namibia is not poor.
The remaining 200 km went through a deserted landscape consisting of small trees and sand plains with occasional palm trees and dry lakes (end of the dry season now). We saw a lot of cattle and very few cars though the road was excellent. It is very hot here, between 35 and 40 degrees usually and at 17 degrees Latitude there is no shade.
We took the exit to Opuwo which lies at the far eastern edge of Kaokaland, the land of the Himba’s. This city is seen as the capital of this part of Namibia and the last stop to store food and drinks. The Himba’s are nomads who follow their cattle between drinking places. The women rub themselves in with red clay, locally found, against the sun and walk topless. Something to get used to, especially early in the morning…… In addition, there are 6 other tribes of which the Herero’s are the most famous. Below a photo of Lisa with 2 Himba women and a woman of the Herero tribe.
We are now on a campsite in Opuwo on top of a hill with beautiful views. Lisa made chicken ready yesterday (Portuguese) with mushrooms and chili peppers. All that in a wrap with feta cheese tasted delicious, especially while enjoying a beer (or two!). This morning we got up early and descended to the village because I had to buy some ‘ airtime ‘ for my, local, telephone. In every country I buy a local SIM card, put it in a phone, and charge it with airtime. I then buy a data bundle (15 GB for 60 euros here) and use this for all other phones and laptops. We call through Factetime, WhatsApp or Skype. Saves a huge amount of money!
Although the walk this morning was a pleasure we took a taxi back because the temperature has already been above 30 degrees (just 10 hours). The taxi driver (a Himba) arranged that we could take a few pictures of some women. Tonight we will eat in the restaurant and tomorrow we go south. Where we go exactly, we decide today!
Het ziet er weer prachtig uit, Peet ?