This weekend’s trip was to Swakopmund, a coastal area. It is an area that was a large part in the Herero-Nama genocide committed by the Germans. There is a controversial statue that honors the German soldiers who died committing the extermination orders. The German government also donated a memorial to mark the unmarked graves of the indigenous people. It refers to the “mysterious circumstances” of their deaths, despite the fact that there is photographic evidence and documentation of a call for the extermination of the Herero and Nama people. You honestly cannot tell where the different graves are. There are beautiful houses around the area, some of which were built on the old graves, so a wall had to be put up.
The next day, we headed to Walvis Bay to visit a local fishing company. They told us about the government rule of no fishing in October to let the population replenish. This was nice to hear, especially given all the environmental problems in Namibia. They also give their employees a month long break which is still paid and includes transportation to their homes. People will often move into the city but have larger homes with their families back on a farm. It seemed like a good place to work and the guide clearly loved his job. It was interesting to hear about all their issues with international companies trying to fish in Namibian waters. There is another government rule that if a company has a plant on land then at least 51% of the employees have to be Namibian. Overall, it was interesting to hear about the various ways the environment and Namibian employees were considered.
Later that day we headed to the Namibia Dolphin project, which is a small research-based organization. They are working with dolphins, whales, and seals. They track and study them for research purposes since currently not enough information is known about the ones in Namibia. Additionally, they work to deal with problems like pollution and climate change that affect these animals.
To end the day, we hiked Dune 7, which is the tallest dune in Walvis Bay. It was a struggle to get up there, lots of starting and stopping as well as the “bear crawl.” When I finally made it to the top, I was able to see the view. Over the side, there was nothing but open land and more dunes. The sand was whipping against us and you could really feel its power. We stayed up on the dune walking around, taking pictures, and messing around. When it was time to go down, it was much easier to run and then roll down the dune than it was getting up. A busy but wonderful day.
On Saturday, we had our free day in Swakopmund. The whole group decided to try quad biking. First, we had to put on a hairnet and then we got these massive helmets. They took us over to the bikes and explained how they worked. Then we were off. You had to follow the group and stay with the guide. Thankfully, we had two guides with us, since we were such a big group. As we went out on to the sand, it was surreal to be surrounded by it. The first time we rode up on a curve I was nervous that I would mess up and hurt myself. But I made it around the curve and down the hill. It was such a cool experience, although my thumb did get tired from holding down the accelerator. At one point the group had gone around a corner and I could no longer see them. I could tell I wasn’t in the right tracks and that the people still behind me were also far away. I went up on the hill to have a better vantage point and found everyone else who made fun of me for getting “lost.” We took a break, after biking down a giant, straight downhill where you had to keep on the breaks the whole time. After this, we got to try sandboarding. It is similar to sledding except face-first with your elbows holding up the edge of the board while your feet are kept up and together. It was kind of insane and I got lots of sand in my face. For my second, round we made a “train.” We had six of us on a few boards with our feet draped over the person in front of us. The tallest kid on the trip was behind me and his legs passed me and also went into the lap of the person in front of me. This one was my favorite since you could actually see when going down. After sandboarding, we headed back and explored the town some.
Sunday morning before we left, my friend Michele and I woke up early to go the beach. We watched the waves aggressively crash against the shore as we said good-bye to the ocean. After eating breakfast, it was time to head back to Windhoek.