All good things must come to an end, and that was true again today as I had to say goodbye to Valereis today. She is on her way to Greece for a few days. After a couple of days at her farm, she invited me to her home in Swakopmund and it was a whole new experience. I did my favorite thing being in a new place, and that's go for a walk (and collect geocaches, wherever they may be). I've always perceived Africa as a place where you don't go for cities and towns but with Dutch and German influences in Namibia, they tend to be colourful here.
After signing a geocache in here in Swakopmund I've now found caches in 42 countries. Yesterday was a really full day but I first went to the Crystal Gallery, where the world's largest quartz crystal cluster is on display.
With so many interesting rocks and minerals, the Crystal Gallery is right up my alley. It's rare that I buy souvenirs whilst travelling but I needed to take a piece of Namibia with me, so I got a blue geode to put on my shelf. Swakopmund is most certainly an interesting place. Perhaps most fascinating here are the Himba people. Himba women traditionally go bare-chested and cover their hair in ochre paste.
The architecture alone makes Swakopmund worth a wander. Just as interesting I found are a series of sand dunes that make me feeling like I'm walking far into the unknown. One friend even said "don't get lost" but my GPS kept me on track.
So many interesting souvenirs are sold by the Himba at the market. I was content with photos of what's on display but Jo asked me to bring her back a wooden hippo.
Valereis had a friend over last night, and we had steaks and wine whilst we chatted the night away whilst figuring out where else I'll be going in Namibia. It gets very chilly at night as we're next to the cold Benguela current.
This morning, Valereis would drop me at Dune 7, which is one the way to the airport in Walvis Bay.
At 383 metres, it is the highest dune in Namibia, and it's a rather tough climb. Eventually I reached the top, and when you look the other direction I feel like I'm the only human around. Well worth the climb it was!
Namibia has such a wealth of colourful photo opportunities and I don't have to worry my camera getting wet. After a glass of wine and some steak and onions for lunch (which I brought from last night), I contemplated my next move. Walvis Bay, which was part of South Africa until 1994, is where I'm on my way to.
