Walvis Bay Namibia

Walvis Bay is a coastal port used to transport coal and other materials…so think lots of cranes , ships, dust and containers. Just beyond the town is the Namib desert.

I hope you think all of those hours I put in sorting out the e-Visa for you is worth it. They were a nightmare with pictures needing to be compressed and passport being converted to pdfs. It was $150 but now it is just $25 for the day.

The main road is asphalt but other roads are just dirt. Houses are concrete or plastered brick in the town.

The fog is really heavy but the road has sea on one side and desert on the other.

We are going to Swakopmund. It is a town originally settled by the Germans as this area was part of a German colony until 1915.The buildings still have this appearance.

There is a famous restaurant at the jetty. No we are not going … you just had breakfast.. we are going to look at the carvings.

Swakopmund certainly has retained its quaint appearance.Housing in the town here and in Walvis Bay is expensive so they are mainly owned by professional or business people. Middle class families also live in estates in solid houses. The township is the name given to the homes of the lower income earners. These can be made of any type of materials and appear to be in the outer area of the town.

Everywhere you look , the desert is just beyond the settlements. It is beautiful and vast.

I can see I am not convincing you. Would you consider the craft market.

Some women adopt traditional dress in the markets. There is bead, woven and carved souvenirs to tempt you.

Young women here who are unmarried may go bare chested. Warisha posed for me and even put on her headdress to show she is unmarried. Her hair and around her neck is coated in a mud type material she makes by grinding a rock. Mum looks on with some bead work.

Back to the ship. The sun is shining now. Just a bit different to this morning….we can see the port.

Six sea days ahead….mmmm books to read…finish that cardigan ……paint….sleep and of course eat. Enjoy.