Month: May 2020

Namibia Local Markets and Hospitality

We spent three days in Namibia, two in Walvis Bay/Windhoek and one in Luderitz. Near Windhoek we visited some of the world’s highest sand dunes where some intrepid folks wind-surf. On the way to nearby beaches a good time was had by all, including the seals and pelicans who jumped into our launch looking for a handout. We paddled sea kayaks to visit seal colonies.  A lone coyote prowled the beach while another sought daytime shelter. There were massive salt flats and evaporation ponds, one of Namibia’s prosperous industries. 

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Namibia was fun and refreshing. Though it clearly has elements of poverty, it seems to be a relatively open and prosperous society. Windhoek has a mid-level mall. Luderitz was relaxing. I wandered around the small community. People looked like me and at least at first glance people paid me no mind. If I hid my camera and tried not to speak, I could pass for a local. Some people spoke English but they had difficulty understanding me, since I have a heavy American accent. I visited a supermarket, and a small department store where I tried on shoes and ended up buying a hat. There were goods typical of what I would find at home and the prices were reasonable.

Linda

Namibia Local Markets and Hospitality

Local open markets everywhere have a vibrancy and energy that stores and supermarkets can’t match.  We visited a local market outside Windhoek.

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After a busy morning of touring we went to a local restaurant for lunch.

Warm water was poured over our fingers before we sat down.

There was the “spinach”. It still looked like grass. It smelled like grass and it tasted like what I imagine grass tastes like. There was a dish that I think was made out of a millet that we saw in the market. It had a texture resembling thick grits but it did not taste like grits. There were pieces of chicken. And of course the main dish….deep fried caterpillars! I cannot tell you what they tasted like. I did not try them.

Live entertainment after lunch was a wonderful acapella group who sang traditional regional songs, some contemporary songs and some hymns for us. I bought their CD.

Linda

We spent 3 days in Namibia. two in Walvis Bay/Windhoek and one in Luderitz.

The total population is about 2.6 million.  It has a somewhat different colonial history from other places we visited in West Africa. The vast Namib desert is one of the driest places on earth and as such did not support large populations of indigenous people.  So apparently the Portuguese and Spanish traders were not much interested.  European settlement came largely from the direction of the interior.  In the late 19^th century, typical of the times, there were disputes among European powers over which would claim this area with large natural harbors. In 1878 it became a German colony and in early 20^th century the German colonialist enforced brutal genocide policies in order to counter resistance from the indigenous populations.  During WWI and afterwards, South Africa dominated. Their dominance was sanctioned by the League of Nations as the trustee of this country, with the stated intention of its eventually becoming independent. South Africa’s racial policies including apartheid held sway.  By the late 1960’s world sentiments the were beginning to oppose colonialism and apartheid.  There were armed revolutions in much of Africa and this country, then known as South West Africa, was not excluded.  In 1990 it was finally recognized as an independent country.  That is also the year Nelson Mandela was released from prison.

Multi ethnicities :

The history of people of this region goes back much farther than the colonial period.  The Saan people of this region are an ethnic minority living in Namibia and other countries which encompass the Kalahari Desert.  They do not appreciate the term “bushmen” when applied to them.  DNA analysis, as well as archaeological evidence, show that they may be the most ancient homo sapiens people still in existence.  Some Namibians speak English. Others spoke what I presume to be Afrikaans or one of the several tribal languages. Including English and Afrikaans, there are about a dozen recognized languages spoken in this country. This includes several “click” languages.

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Neighborhoods:

Under South African rule housing areas followed apartheid practices. Different ethnic/tribal groups were restricted to certain areas. Some ethnic groups were favored and were offered somewhat better accommodations. There are still different levels of housing but they are open to everyone based on ability to pay. Mining is one of Namibia’s major industries. Uranium miners earn good wages for their hazardous occupation.

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Children:

We visited a day care center and a pre-school/ kindergarten. We were told there was no charge for them. The kindergarten children sang songs, counted, and recited days and months in English. We were told that usually their ethnic languages are spoken at home.

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Street Scenes:

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Linda

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We spent a brief day in Luanda, the capital of Angola.  Angola’s history is in many ways similar to other west African countries we visited.  It was heavily involved in selling people into slavery, particularly into Brazil.  It was colonized by several different European powers but finally and predominantly by Portugal. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975 after more than a decade of guerilla war against the Portuguese.  This was soon followed by bloody and brutal internal conflicts with various participation by the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba.  These armed conflicts seemed to have calmed since about 2010, but corruption and political conflicts are still rampant.  Angola has great oil and diamond resources and is a relatively wealthy economy, but corruption, booms, and busts leave most people poor.  Still Luanda, a city of approximately 8 million people, about one third of the national population, is considered one of the most expensive cities in Africa.  I am not sure I understand this but it seems that there are 2 economies:  one for very wealthy people in oil and other types of industry and one for everyone else.  It also seems to be a bit of a “Potemkin” village.  It presents a façade of prosperity and modernity.  But I am told many of the high rises and much of the great shopping mall are vacant.  Some high rises are stopped mid-construction as the price of oil and corruption make them less profitable investments.  At the time of our visit BBC and financial news outlets, prominently featured stories about the beautiful billionaire, Isabel dos Santos, who is said to be Africa’s wealthiest woman.  She is the daughter of Angola’s recent past president and she personally owns many of Angola’s industrial and business assets. The current government has charged her with embezzlement of billions of dollars of the country’s wealth. She has been living in another country which has no extradition agreement with Angola.

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We arrived on a national holiday. Most businesses were closed and most people were in their homes.  However, we were treated to an escorted tour of official museums and sites.  Escorted is the key word.  This was the first country where we not only had police escorts, but ambulances with EMT’s and a fire truck were on the pier when we got off the ship.  Our temperatures were taken, we were squirted with hand sanitizer and sprayed with mosquito repellant as we stepped off the gang way.

Government Buildings and Monuments

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Augustinho Neto fought against Portuguese for independence. When he became Angola’s first president, he aligned with the Soviet Union and Cuba. His rocket shaped mausoleum was built by the North Koreans.

It is not surprising that a country that spent more than 5 decades in conflict would have a military museum. The Sao Miguel Fortress is an aesthetically beautiful one. There are prop airplanes, cannons, guns, military vehicles, weapons of all sorts and statues of military heroes. There are pieces of wrecked enemy planes. Most impressive to me, however, were the large display halls done completely in the Portuguese style ceramic tile called azulejo. The walls of the display rooms illustrate the history of Angola from its “discovery” by the Portuguese, through its history in the west African slave trade to more modern times. It is exquisite.

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Street scenes

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Trying to understand better Luanda’s reputation as one of the most expensive cities in Africa, I asked our tour guide how much would it cost to rent an apartment in one of the nearby buildings. He never gave a figure, but explained it depended on whether or not the apartment had “utilities”. He somewhat reluctantly explained that some of the buildings did not have running water. Residents have to buy water and carry it up to their apartment.

Because of the national holiday, the city of Luanda was quiet and many of the streets were deserted. I am not sure I saw a good representation of daily life, but what I saw was a clean, quiet, pleasant city with a noticible degree of contrasts in life styles. Our escorted tour did not go outside the city.

Linda

Greetings Gentle Readers

Sadly, my world adventure has come to an end, a bit prematurely.  Had things proceeded as planned, I would have yet another 2 weeks on board and would have visited dozens more wonder filled places in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. But even the half-world cruise I did experience, was wonderful.

I am now home in a world much different than the one I left and I am probably a somewhat different person than the one who left.  With self-quarantines and lock downs and social distancing and so on, it seems that nearly every day calls for some type of new adjustment.  However, I think I am generally settled in.  I am accepting that adjustment will be the norm for some time to come. I have decided to continue and conclude this blog by adding posts about the rest of the places I had the privilege of visiting.  This is important because it allows me to bring this adventure to its conclusion by completing documentation of the trip. As it turns out, it may also become documentation of these places in the halcyon pre-pandemic days.   I suspect important changes are coming to these places as well.

I will post in groups, as I am able to get them done.  I expect about seven more.  You are invited to “tune in” if you like.

Linda