Purros, Namibia

November 16 & 17

Purros, Namibia

Located in the least populated, northwest corner of Namibia, Kakaoland is home to desert tribes and special breeds of desert elephants, rhino and lions. Five hours of rough roads had us pretty wiped by the time we reached the campground run by the Purros Conservancy. We had hailed one of the few cars down on the trip in and the couple and given us a tip to get site 3 if possible as it’s located under a gigantic Camel Thorn Tree. The site is larger than most suburban yards, totally private with showers, toilets and a sink for dishes, what more could a woman ask for. Other than the sign nailed to the tree warning us not to leave food where elephants can see or smell it, it could not have been more perfect. We ended our evening with sundowners on the deck of the neighboring lodge, the air was perfect, a light warm breeze, no bugs and quiet with the exception of the chicadas and occasional howl of coyotes.

Dan carefully strung the nylon line positioned so I would catch the mid day sun to dry our laundry. We’ve been moving daily with no time to do wash, now on my last pair of clean underwear and a free morning I began to boil water on the gas cooker.

Thank goodness for a proper sink, in his effort to kill a spider crawling across my dishpan, Dan stabbed a hole in it rendering the plastic pan less than adequate to do wash. I took great care to shut the spigot off quickly and to only use minimal water which is so scarce in the desert. I heard a faint rustling in the bushes just across the clearing. A very large family of Baboons were attempting to be stealth as they moved in closer. I felt like Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark when he said “Does it have to be snakes”, “Does it have to be Baboons”? Chacma Baboons are omnivorous, meaning they hunt prey, they have large canines and travel in groups of up to 100, think furry LA street gang up to no good. The camp caretaker Max arrived to chase them off, they returned of course lurking from the surrounding bush as I guarded my precious laundry drying on the line, no way I want to see my underwear on the head of a Baboon.

Mid day we had a visit from two very naughty, young bull elephants. We stood helpless and paralyzed as they ripped the water hose to our showers out to quench their thirst. It saved us a trip to see the desert elephants having had this very close, personal interaction.

Marangu, Caprivi Strip, Namibia

November 20,21,22 &23


Marangu, Namibia

I had a fantasy that I expressed to Dan and it came true, no not that. I wanted to find a beautiful campground on a river, with a pool, restaurant and unlimited wireless internet, voila Marangu Lodge on the banks of a hippo laden river bordering Botswana.

The air is pleasant, just cool enough for a sweatshirt. The birds are announcing the sun which is slowly rising above the trees here on the Kavango River. Ripples on the water from the family of hippos in for their morning ablutions reflect the bright pink glow of the horizon. Tall reeds of papyrus edge the banks, home to hundreds of birds, frogs and insects creating a chorus of less visible worlds that make themselves known through song. One of the helpers here at the camp, 29 year old Kay shares with us his joy at becoming a new father last night and his prayers for a long life and bright future for his son. He also expresses resignation that he cannot see his wife and new baby until he gets paid at the end of the month and can travel the 200 km to he village. He shares with sadness that their first child, a daughter named Jennifer died at 10 months old. She woke up one morning not able to eat and began to vomit, the clinic could do nothing for her. In the US this child would have received expert medical care and be alive today most likely. Both of Kay’s parents have already passed away, the average life expectancy in Namibia is 42 years. There is a sharp contrast between the natural beauty and the sad reality for those living in Africa.

Robbery in broad daylight, Grootfontein, Namibia

November 19, 2010


Grootfontein, Namibia

I’m sitting in front of the local police station of this small town in Namibia as Dan files a report regarding our vandalized jeep. Broad daylight at about noon while we briefly used the internet, parked one street off the main drag a thief busted out our rear window. Seeing my toiletry bag behind the passenger seat on top of the water they must have thought it was a purse with money. Sadly $500 with of anti malarial medication not available here was in the bag. Lesson learned as so much else could have been stolen that would have been much worse. We spent the rest of the day having a piece of plexi glass installed before we could move on. We would later take landscape fabric and cover all of the jeep windows to keep it cooler and to eliminate visibility into the vehicle. We will not ever park the car where it is not guarded or one of us stays with it.