From Here To There

So we are back in Windhoek, got rid of the car, sent a package back to Boston, said goodbye to Namibia and in a few hours we will be on our way to Zambia - light as a feather once more. I have tried to upload some pictures to this blog but technology is evil, especially with the (very) slow connection here, but you can find  a small sample on Facebook. If you don't have facebook... Then I guess you'll have to wait 3 more months for the full version  :)

As I mentioned before, in a few hours we will be taking the bus to Victoria falls, this time only 19 hours - no  biggy. We will probably spend a few days in Livingstone, Zambia (the small city adjacent to the falls) before we will take another bus to where we will be taking the 3 days train to Dar As Salaam, Tanzania. Does it sound like a long journey? I imagine it will be.

So how was the trip so far?It was amazing and difficult and giving and demanding and many more things all at the same time. There were difficult moments, when we were all alone in a deserted campsite, it's 6pm and already dark, very cold and still many hours to sunrise. Times when we encountered unpleasant people or felt ill. And many moments when we found ourselves missing the people close to us, yearning to share and communicate. Longing to spent a night with our families over a Friday dinner. And there were amazing moments, when we encounter something magnificent, when we met amazing people and got small but beautiful glimpses into cultures so different and so unique. And there are simply moments of happiness - for having a world of unknown surprises at our doorstep and for not having a doorstep at all.

People, Animals and Amazing Places

After the last post we drove to Tsumkwe, which is a small city in the middle of the Kalahari where many of the Ju/'Hoansi (a tribe of the San, also sometimes known as Bushmen) live today. It was a deep and very interesting experience, and it will be hard to describe it in a short text like this. We visited a traditional village, where we saw the way they used to live, we sat down with one family to learn and experience their way of doing craft, and we also joined a traditional, short hunting trip (in which we didn't encounter any animals). Communication was not easy, reflecting the significant cultural differences. The 3 days we spent there were challenging in many ways, and yet a day after we left we already felt ready to go back. It is interesting since it was not easy, but somehow those people in the desert left a significant impression on us.

After we left Tsumkwe we went to the Caprivi in the far northern tip of Namibia - we went to visit the Mafwe tribe. There is something called the living museum for some tribes in Namibia. The idea is that you can go there to see the traditional way of life of the tribe (and also the modern village if you wish) and so generate a source of income for the community that also help them preserve their traditional life style. As you can see in the website for the Mafwe, it is open all year round and you can just come. So we did. We arrived towards dark to a beautiful strange place, where there was a traditional village - completely empty - in the heart of a Baobab trees forest. We decided to go look for the people in the near by villages the next morning, and for now camped in this isolated magical spot. In the morning, after some more misunderstanding, we met an old lady that signaled us that she will go call the others...

We came to see their traditional craft, but as they arrived they immediately changed to their traditional cloths and assumed we came to see the signing and dancing, while we were failing to explain what we came for. So we did (in addition to the craft), and it was an amazing experience! They seemed to have as much fun as we did, and they saw us off singing druming and clapping at the sides of the road.

We then started to make our way towards Botswana. We slept in a place near the Okavango river - just before it turns into the Okavango delta in Botswana. During the night we could hear the hippos near by. What does a hippo sounds like? LOUD. A little like a motor boat trying to start. In the morning we drove through the Mahango national park in which we saw (among other animals) a lion and a lioness, sitting at the side of the road, and just 30 meters behind, a family of warthogs peacefully grazing. Once the lioness saw them though, she chased them away - though it seemed mostly to scare them off than to hunt them...

We passed the border to Botswana and reached Maun, from which we took a 2 days Mokoro ride in the delta - it was an interesting experience, slowly sailing through the high reeds, seeing elephants, zebras, babboons and many other animals on the small islands, though it did not match the delta's magnificent reputation. At night, near the fire a tiny frog (as long as my little finger) decided to come sit on my nee and enjoy the fire.

We will start our way back to Windhoek Namibia, where we will return the car and start making our way to Victoria falls and beyond...

Africa after all

After the last post we realized we are in a bit of a crisis. As I mentioned, I didn't really know what to say, and that is in part because the trip did not turn into a complete experience, but rather remained a scattered collection of experiences. We realized that up to that point, we mostly encountered an experience of tourism, western style and expensive. Yes, the landscapes were beautiful at times, but the drives were very long, and we realized that to really enjoy Namibia from that aspect, you need to focus more and spend more money - eating at good restaurants and sleeping in super classy lodges. Once we realized this however, we shifted our trip a little - we remembered that what we mainly came to Africa for is the cultural experience, and Amit's research seemed almost out of place. But then things started to change...

So we gave up on a few touristy sites and headed north west - to the land of the Himba. They are an ancient tribe of cattle growers, and they have kept most of their traditional life style. The women cover their skin and hair in red ochre, and they have many beautiful jewelry they make and ware. We feared it will be mostly for tourists, not authentic, but we found the contrary - they live their life the way they want to, they do not speak English at all (we had a translator) and it is difficult for them since they take out the front teeth for their own language. They are warm, happy people and we had a wonderful time meeting them. We got all the way up to Opuwo, and there we finally found something else. It is a small colorful town, we came on a Friday afternoon and the streets were crowded - the markets were full of people, buying and selling on the dirt roads between the small unordered buildings. There were people dressed in a western style, red, semi-naked Himba and the Herero, which their cultural dress is this! Crazy no? It was "brought" to them by the European who were horrified by their nakedness, and is now their cultural dress...

We then went to Etosha, and saw some amazing animals including elephants (huge!), giraffes, rhinos, hyenas and many others.

Finally, last night we stopped at a village of Bushman people who used to live in Etosha. They were hunters-gatherers, but now they can no longer hunt. They are forced into settled life, and unlike the Himba, who were able to keep their ways due to the fact that cattle growers can more easily fit into modern life style, they have lost their way. There is little place in our world for nomads who have no concept of possession. We visited a village, and met some people. They are very gentle, quite people. It was sad and moving - they miss their old life style, they do not fit in the new world and their amazing culture is vanishing. Despite their gentle smiles, you see sadness and despair. It is a sad thing for us, I believe, that in our grand concept of progress, we are loosing so much - languages, cultures, diversity. We found ourselves "missing a culture we never knew" (see the motorcycle diaries).

To hear more on Amit's research you should ask him  :)