May Holiday 2009

Here's a vacation update for the May holiday!

First week: Swakopmund and Windhoek

Megan, Ashley, Danielle and I chilled in Swakopmund and Windhoek. Since it is Namibia, not much happened. We had arranged a tour for Sossusvlei and they cancelled last minute because the car broke down (TIA). So we stayed in Windhoek a few extra days and did some souveniur shopping.

Second week: Sossusvlei

We took a three day tour to Sossusvlei. It is the #1 tourist place in Namibia, although honestly I thought Etosha Park was cooler. Basically it is big red sand dunes in the heart of the Namib desert. Dead vlei is the most picturesque place where very old trees sit in a salt pan at the foot of quite possibly the highest dunes in the world. We climbed only halfway up one dune and I was scared because the sides are very steep. Like Etosha Park, Sossusvlei is something I think that I would really regret not seeing after living 2 years in Namibia, so I'm glad that I went.

Third week: Fish River Canyon

After Sossusvlei we stayed at Megan's one night and then went onto Keets. We did our shopping and packed our bags for the 90km backpacking trip. There are very few places you can hike in Namibia because most of the parks are for wildlife (think lions). Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world, by some estimates, and one of two or three places in Namibia where you can backpack. It is in the far South on the border with South Africa. Doing the hike wasn't exactly the highest thing on my list, but I knew I wouldn't get there if I didn't do the hike.

The first two days kicked my ass, in spite of my meager workouts in my house for the last two months. The first day is a descent into the canyon. Imagine lowering yourself by chains down fairly large drop offs and over boulders while carrying a full backpack which continually puts you off your balance. Not fun. I promptly projectile vomited at the bottom.

The second day was climbing on, under, around boulders with your huge bag putting you off your balance the whole day and having every muscle in your body sore at the same time. I thought backpacking would only take a toll on my feet and legs, but actually it worked every muscle in my body. Ankle muscles, who knew?

The third day, the trail evened off a bit and my body recovered somewhat. I took really good care of my feet because of the cautionary tales of other volunteers and that helped a lot. The last three days consisted of long walks through sand, hopping over small river boulders, crossing the river, and shortcuts on packed down sand. We thought we wouldn't take the shortcuts at all because so many groups got lost trying to find them. Instead, we ended up taking them all because there was no way to finish on time if you don't, and the terrain is so easy so you do it just to get out of the sand and rocks. We didn't get lost at all although there was a bit of confusion on one river crossing. Finding our way was easy because we followed the path, stuck to higher ground, and found the "easy" way to the shortcuts each time. By the last day, I had found my stride, and felt pretty good.

The last three days make me think that I could definitely enjoy a backpacking trip again if it was:
A. shorter (less food to carry, less strain on my body).
B. less intense of a hike (i.e. no f-ing sand, boulders, river stones please).
I'd say 80% of the day was a chore, the other 20% was very enjoyable.

We saw baboons, kudus, and wild horses in the canyon, but only one group of other hikers. In a way, it felt like some parallel universe that was only us, no longer even in Africa. We also saw a lot of big kitty prints (probably leopards) which affected my sleep at night since we often slept in the open without building a fire. By the way, sleeping in the open under a Namibian sky is not conducive to sleep anyways. The stars and moon were so bright I had to fashion a sleep mask for myself.

After our brief reprieve from Africa, we then return right to it as we walked out of the canyon. Our ride didn't want to come get us, so we arranged a hike with a worker at the lodge after much debate. Overall, I'm proud of myself that I did the hike. It was both harder and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Fourth week: Cape Town!

Ashley hadn't been to South Africa yet, so I said I would go with her to Cape Town if she went out dancing with me. It was an excellent and well-deserved treat after a week of slugging through sand and eating nut mix.
We got back to Keets late on Saturday, and on Sunday morning we headed out to the petrol station to look for a ride to Cape Town. We'd heard horror stories and wonderful stories from other volunteers who hiked to Cape Town, so we wondered how it would go. Turns out both Ashley and I are lucky. The first guy we asked gave us a ride to Paarl about 50km from Cape Town in the wine country.
Turns out it is hunting season, so a ton of South Africans come up to Namibia to stock up on their meat on their farms and take it back to SA. It was a long ride, but definitely one of the best hikes ever. He paid for our lunch and coffee, and gave us a free ride to Paarl. We didn't get in till late so he arranged a room for us for 250R per person, and it turns out the rooms are BEAUTIFUL. It is exactly the kind of recovery I'd wanted from Fish River; I just didn't think I would ever get it because my salary really is not that much.

The next day we walked around Paarl (not much to see in city center) and then took the train to Cape Town. Our activities in Cape Town: Shopping and good food.
Cape Town was really drizzly and ugly when we got there, so we ate at a good restaurant and headed in for the night.
The next day was really nice weather, so we took a (expensive) taxi to Kirstenbosch gardens. I didn't go there the last time I was in Cape Town, and they were really nice. Then we headed back to Long Street and walked down to Victoria Wharf to eat some good seafood.
The next day was also nice, so we were glad we had planned the wine tour for that day. We went to three different wineries than the last wine tour I went on. As usual, I tend to not like white wines or sweet wines. Merlot is my favourite, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Pinotage is pretty good also. We also went to Fairview where the cheeses are to die for, and I am not even a real cheese fan. On our tour were a bunch of Europeans and another American working for the embassy in Sudan. Talking to him has confirmed for me that I do not want to join the State Dept.

We came back and slept a while and then went out for some food.

The next day we took the taxi to the BIG mall, a big old slice of America. Turns out walking on hard tile aggravated my knees so we were walking around like old ladies most of the time. Also turns out that we were afraid to walk into most shops as the far exceeded our price range. Funnily enough, when we converted prices into American dollars the clothes are SO cheap and really good quality. It's a shame we can't stop by Cape Town to do our new wardrobes for Post-PC life. We ate McDonalds and subway cookies for lunch.
That night we went out for tapas and cocktails at a nearby restaurant. How lovely it was to have another dirty martini and cosmo.

The next day, we continued our shopping spree. I bought two Africa t-shirts since I don't like any of the t-shirts in Namibia. We also ate more good seafood!
Then that night we went salsa dancing. Of course, this was the capstone to my whole vacation, and it was a less-than-interesting night for Ashley. Thanks to crazy haired Cameroonian guy whose name I don't know and to Eldred, salsa dance teacher, my night was made (and actually the next 6 months!). Also, let me just say that I am RUSTY. I'm pretty sure I hurt in some way each dancing partner that night--elbow to the face usually. Sorry about that boys.

The first time around I really liked Cape Town. The second time around I freaking loved it. Had I gone there on a vacation from America I would be disappointed. The thing is, I still don't really know if I like Cape Town for what it is more than I would like any other city that can offer me the same things (including most cities in America). What I love about it now: anonymity, really good restaurants, cute shops and boutiques, being able to look cute again, being able to go out at night again, big C culture, good-looking, educated, well-dressed men, high speed internet, and salsa dance. Is there anything Capetonian about all that? I don't think so.

I seem to have entered a new phase in Peace Corps service. This phase is called: I'm really missing America again. It took me 6 months to let my American-me go (looking cute, salsa, Spanish, etc) at the beginning of service and then it was ok. Even in December it wasn't a problem being in Africa. But now that I only have 6 months left, I'm starting to miss all that more and more again.

The most difficult times in Peace Corps are the transitions. The first transition from American life to training and then from training to village life is of course the hardest. Then, each transition from vacation back to village life is also difficult. But when I've been in the village a few weeks, I am truly happy. I think it's only when I see this whole other world out there and whole other life I could easily be living, do I realize that I miss American living and village life does actually suck. The thing is, you can pretty much get used to anything after a while. I'm starting to think it might be a good thing for my kids to not leave the village.

I'm in Windhoek now, on my way back to the village today. Here goes another transition. Only 6 months left! (Eek and yay).