So Tuesday was the start to our big adventure up north. We got up early in the morning and got breakfast complete with our malaria pills and were out by the van and ready to go by 6:30 am. Our amazing driver Uanee and his trusty 14 passenger van were our guides for this excursion. We knew we had a lot of driving to do this day (10 hours) so we armed ourselves with iPods to listen to and pillows to rest our heads on. We drove for many hours without stopping and we saw many things along the way including fun road signs, cows and goats crossing the roads, giraffes off in the distance, and people selling things.
Our first stop was in Ocho where we found some delicious pastries at the local bakery and shopped in a fun little African shop. Paula spent our time there finding a local carver to order some gifts from for us to pick up on our way back through the little town the following Saturday. Once we were done with our business in Ocho, we were on the road again.
We had Casa Blanca pack us some lunches so we stopped around noon on the side of the road for a nice break from the car and little chow. Down the main traveling roads here in Namibia, there are picnic table areas periodically that are equipped with a tree for shade and garbage cans for rubbish disposal. During our stop for lunch, we decided it would be fun to take some pictures on the road since we were the only car we had seen traveling on it for a good hour. We got some really cool group shots that I hope to get from the owners of the cameras we used so that I can post them later. Once we finished our lunch and learned some cool new facts from Uanee about more Namibian bugs, we loaded back up into the van and took off down the long narrow road once again.
We drove for what seemed like FOREVER and finally pulled into the little town of Opuwo. It was hustling and bustling for such a little town and many people were walking up and down the dirt lined streets. First stop was our hotel that we were to stay in for two nights. We stayed at the beautiful little spot called Ohakane Lodge. When we arrived at just about 5pm we had a few hours to kill before our dinner would be served. So, we decided we would go out to the grocery market just across the road from our hotel. We have our little market down the street from Casa Blanca that we always walk to, so we thought it would be no big deal to jaunt over to the store. We were a little taken aback when our experience was quite different than that of Windhoek. The people had many things they wanted to sell us and were far more aggressive than others we had previously encountered. We were followed for a while when we stumbled upon Uanee filling up the van at the gas station. We were glad to see a familiar face and he gladly drove us down to the other grocery store across town. He told us he knew over 50 percent of the people in the town and that we were totally safe. It took a little adjusting for us to become more comfortable with the cultural differences in Opuwo, but by the end of the day we were feeling more at home.
We made our way back to our hotel and at about 7pm we were served an amazing buffet dinner of great Namibian food complete with cake and custard for dessert (one of our favorite Namibian treats). We sat around the table chatting by the dim light and watching the land around us become darker as the sun set and the day ended.
And so it begins...many hours together in the van
They have fun road signs here to warn of animal crossings...caution, you may run into an elephant with your car on this road :)
Giraffes and cows chillin' together on the side of the road, pretty awesome
The long narrow road
Yummy lunch, creese juice brand is my favorite here, so delicious
A man selling mushrooms on the side of the road that grow out of termite hills
Uanee said they were delicious, so we bought some to try, he was right, not to shabby for a fungus (don't worry, we had them cleaned and cooked first)
Crazy busy Opuwo street
Woman dressed in traditional Himba attire, they rub ground up red rock mixed with butter fat on their skin everyday and redo their hair every 3 months which takes 3 days to do
Outside our hotel
The pool and dining area
Inside the dining area, note how close the pool edge is to the table, you have to be careful walking around in there or you can easily fall in the pool
View from dining area towards rooms, mine was the door you see on the left
Inside the room
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