Day 25
After I got back from the stargazing overnight, Josie and I drove out to Swakopmund to walk around for a few hours. The taxi ride was quite the event. The diplomats had told us the drive should cost about N$20, but, when we got out of the gate to the port, the taxi driver waiting there said he wanted N$200 per person. I thought, “um, no, I don't think so.” When we started to walk away, another cab driver said he would take us to Swakopmund for N$40.
Where he actually took us was some parking lot in the middle of Walvis Bay. There were no other tourists there, only Namibians, some street vendors and other taxis. We were terrified. Our driver told us to get into another taxi; they would take us to Swakopmund. Well, we didn't know what else to do, so we got into the other taxi. The new driver gave the original driver N$20, and he drove off.
The new driver asked us if we wanted to go to Swakopmund. We told him that the other driver had said he would take us for N$40. And this driver and his friend laughed. (They drive with friends in the front seat to keep them company, I guess.) He said he wanted N$50 per person. I argued, “no, we made a deal with the other guy. It's not our fault he didn't tell you.” He tried to explain how he was losing money if he did that and yada yada yada. We were so scared, not sure if we should just get out of the car in the middle of a city we didn't know.
We kept telling him we made a deal with the other guy; it wasn't our fault he wasn't told; we didn't know we would be switching cars. He was saying that's too cheap; he had to pay the other guy already; the first guy didn't even have a permit to drive out of Walvis Bay. Eventually, we decided it was all a misunderstanding and negotiated to pay N$30 per person. Unfortunately, he wanted to pick up another person to fill the car and make more money. Josie and I were relieved, thinking we were leaving, but he only turned the car around and parked.
That started a whole new argument. We're not taking anyone else; just the two of us, we were saying. But in that case N$60 was not enough. By this time, we were just too nervous to take any more, so we asked how much he wanted to take just us two. We settled on N$80, total. He was still upset about losing money, though. I started talking to him about Namibia to try to change his mood. It worked. We told him how much we loved Namibia so far, and he asked us about America. We talked about music and taxis there. We told him about our trip around the world on a boat and how expensive it is.
He turned out to be a good guy. We made him like us. They even told us to call them when we were ready to go back.
In Swakopmund, we walked around what seemed to be a seasonal town in the wrong season. There were no people in the streets. There should have been SAS kids at least, we thought. We didn't see very much because there wasn't much to see. Everything was closed because it was Saturday. The buildings were cool looking, though. Very western or German. We saw the school too. Not what we expected the school to look like.
After a couple hours of seeing pretty much nothing, we looked for a cab to take us back. They were scarce and wouldn't accept our offer of N$20 per person when we did find them. Finally, we get one to agree to N$80, and at the same time, luckily, Julia and Alyssa walk up. Thankfully, we convinced them to share the ride back with us.
Back on the boat, there was a note on my door from Kelly saying she and Kelsey wanted to meet me for dinner. We went to a place called the Raft at 2000. It was a really cool building, situated on stilts out in the water. If it had been light out there would have been a spectacular view.
We decided to order exotic foods, starting with ostrich. They brought it out in thin slices on a plate. It was raw. That freaked us out a little, but it was delicious! For dinner we ordered crocodile, kudu, a fish called kadaljah and a fish platter. The fish was great; the kudu tasted like steak; the crocodile was my favorite. A bite of crocodile with kudu was superb. We also split two bottles of a merlot called Flur du cap. All that food cost us N$689, which equals $85.00!
After I got back from the stargazing overnight, Josie and I drove out to Swakopmund to walk around for a few hours. The taxi ride was quite the event. The diplomats had told us the drive should cost about N$20, but, when we got out of the gate to the port, the taxi driver waiting there said he wanted N$200 per person. I thought, “um, no, I don't think so.” When we started to walk away, another cab driver said he would take us to Swakopmund for N$40.
Where he actually took us was some parking lot in the middle of Walvis Bay. There were no other tourists there, only Namibians, some street vendors and other taxis. We were terrified. Our driver told us to get into another taxi; they would take us to Swakopmund. Well, we didn't know what else to do, so we got into the other taxi. The new driver gave the original driver N$20, and he drove off.
The new driver asked us if we wanted to go to Swakopmund. We told him that the other driver had said he would take us for N$40. And this driver and his friend laughed. (They drive with friends in the front seat to keep them company, I guess.) He said he wanted N$50 per person. I argued, “no, we made a deal with the other guy. It's not our fault he didn't tell you.” He tried to explain how he was losing money if he did that and yada yada yada. We were so scared, not sure if we should just get out of the car in the middle of a city we didn't know.
We kept telling him we made a deal with the other guy; it wasn't our fault he wasn't told; we didn't know we would be switching cars. He was saying that's too cheap; he had to pay the other guy already; the first guy didn't even have a permit to drive out of Walvis Bay. Eventually, we decided it was all a misunderstanding and negotiated to pay N$30 per person. Unfortunately, he wanted to pick up another person to fill the car and make more money. Josie and I were relieved, thinking we were leaving, but he only turned the car around and parked.
That started a whole new argument. We're not taking anyone else; just the two of us, we were saying. But in that case N$60 was not enough. By this time, we were just too nervous to take any more, so we asked how much he wanted to take just us two. We settled on N$80, total. He was still upset about losing money, though. I started talking to him about Namibia to try to change his mood. It worked. We told him how much we loved Namibia so far, and he asked us about America. We talked about music and taxis there. We told him about our trip around the world on a boat and how expensive it is.
He turned out to be a good guy. We made him like us. They even told us to call them when we were ready to go back.
In Swakopmund, we walked around what seemed to be a seasonal town in the wrong season. There were no people in the streets. There should have been SAS kids at least, we thought. We didn't see very much because there wasn't much to see. Everything was closed because it was Saturday. The buildings were cool looking, though. Very western or German. We saw the school too. Not what we expected the school to look like.
After a couple hours of seeing pretty much nothing, we looked for a cab to take us back. They were scarce and wouldn't accept our offer of N$20 per person when we did find them. Finally, we get one to agree to N$80, and at the same time, luckily, Julia and Alyssa walk up. Thankfully, we convinced them to share the ride back with us.
Back on the boat, there was a note on my door from Kelly saying she and Kelsey wanted to meet me for dinner. We went to a place called the Raft at 2000. It was a really cool building, situated on stilts out in the water. If it had been light out there would have been a spectacular view.
We decided to order exotic foods, starting with ostrich. They brought it out in thin slices on a plate. It was raw. That freaked us out a little, but it was delicious! For dinner we ordered crocodile, kudu, a fish called kadaljah and a fish platter. The fish was great; the kudu tasted like steak; the crocodile was my favorite. A bite of crocodile with kudu was superb. We also split two bottles of a merlot called Flur du cap. All that food cost us N$689, which equals $85.00!
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