Day 26
I woke up the next morning to go on the Sea, Salt and Sand tour of Walvis Bay. We were supposed to see flamingos and pelicans at the lagoon, tour the salt mine, taste Namibian oysters and see Dune 7. Unfortunately it was a cold day, and I decided to wear shorts thinking it would warm up. We all piled into vans and drove to the lagoon, but we didn't see many birds. Our guide said it was too early in the year, and the flamingos hadn't migrated yet. But we saw a few pelicans and a group of young flamingos way off in the distance.
Next we drove to the salt mine. We wouldn't get to tour it because the tours were a distraction to the workers, and they had stopped giving them. So, we stood in the cold outside the gate of the mine listening to our guide tell us the process of harvesting salt.
We also weren't going to taste oysters because apparently that part of the trip was never booked. Plus, it was a Sunday, and everything would be closed.
We did get to go to Dune 7, which is the tallest sand dune in the world. I climbed it. It only took me about 20 minutes. Climbing up sand is like running up a down escalator. And this escalator was about four-stories tall. I almost gave up, I won't lie. But the view from the top was amazing: miles and miles of sand in every direction.
After lunch back on the boat, I ran into Kelly and Kelsey again, and the three of us drove back to Swakopmund. All the driving back and forth was really annoying because we had to haggle with the cab drivers each time and it was too dangerous to go by yourself. Ironically, as soon as we arrived at our hotel, Kelsey noticed that she had left her wallet on the boat. She was determined to go back and get it. There was a misunderstanding, and she didn't think we would spot her the money. We just thought she really wanted to make sure it wasn't lost. So, I gave her money to take a cab back and she went.
We had planned to go camel riding, so that's what Kelly and I set out to do. We ran into some girls named Brittany and Sarah along the way and invited them to join us. It was really, really cool. We drove a few km out of town to a farm-esque place. The camels were heading out just as we pulled into the driveway. We got in line, and when it was our turn the lady running the farm put turbans on our heads.
The camels looked different than I expected; they had much smaller back legs than I thought they would have. They didn't spit, but they did make weird gurgling noises. The camels had to lay down for you to get on and off, and it was weird to be sitting on them when the got up or lay down. You had to hold on the front and back of your saddle. They stood up from the back, then front, then back again because they have three joints on their back legs. Riding the camel was just like riding a horse. We were led across the street in a circle and back for about a 15-minute ride. And then we had to hold on again while the camel laid down–back, then front, then back again.
For dinner we ate at a place called the Lighthouse. We got calamari for an appetizer, and I ordered a shishkabob sampler platter, which was enormous. Kelly got the lighthouse burger, which was also enormous. It was tall and thin, like a lighthouse, with two patties, condiments and an onion ring. Kelsey got a greek salad. For dessert, we had a few bites of a caramel-chocolate cake that Sarah had ordered. We sat around laughing and talking at the table for a long time. We were so consumed in our conversation that we looked up and saw that the we were the only ones there and they were putting chairs up! So we quickly got our check and gave our waitress a big tip.
Comments