Krysta went to the capital city of Mozambique, Maputo, for a CDC Training. While there, she also fell in love with a man named George. The country is treasured for its beaches, people, seafood, among other things. Because she spent all day in a Maputo hotel conference room, she opted to indulge in the people and seafood, saving the beaches for a time when she could enjoy her husband’s doughy physique at her side (Disclaimer, Luke wrote the last sentence).
The seafood of the country is found displayed on wooden benches in street markets off the imperfect sidewalks. It is a candy store of fist sized prawns, succulent calamari, buckets of spitting clams, and fish of all shapes and sizes.
Shapes and Sizes
“Give me some of these, some of that, a couple of those, some naked lady tees, oh and lots of that.”
Mozambique is wonderful.
Krysta's New Love George (Orange)
En route he experienced his first bribe in a foreign country. At the police checkpoint on the outskirts of the city, the uniformed official asked the smiling tourist, “Where’s mine cold drink?”
The tourist replied, “I have beer . . . is that o.k. sir?” And thus, the first two ice cold beers of the weekend were handed over to the officer and “mine friend” who was standing in the empty guard shed. It was 10:00 a.m.
Desert Turtle
The Hakos Guest Farm is situated in the Badlands just before the pass. It is a working farm where Luke arrived as the sole guest, giving him choice of campsites he was directed to by one of the farm hands. Trails wind throughout the folded hills and mountains, and Luke wandered for a few hours, finding wild zebra, then settling back at the site to watch the sunset alongside a lightning storm. With a fire at his feet with sizzling meat, it sure beat TV. As the storm arrived in earnest, Luke sat in the POS watching the lightning strikes on the hill just before him, beer in the cup holder, laughing like a crazy person.
Stormy Sunset and A Crazy Person
The next day was a full hike to a shadowy notch in the spine of the pass. The provided map was hand drawn and indicated 4x4 tracks, some of which were obvious, most of which were not. Two of the eight hours were filled with trail seeking, backtracking, and trailblazing. It turned out that the playful family that was bellowing at him to come around the riverbed corners was really a family of baboons screaming at him to turn around.
The Notch
Needless to say, Luke fell short of the spine that seemed to rise throughout the day. He ate lunch in its shadows two-thirds of the way up, all the while imagining the baboons staring at him through binoculars laughing like chimpanzees.
During the wood fire, hot water shower, an ancient looking Afrikaans speaking man peaked around the corner to see if Luke knew what he was doing in there. After assuring the man that he had indeed taken showers throughout his life, Luke quickly dried off and had a proper conversation with the charming old feller, both now fully clothed.
The weekend wound down with another meal over the fire at sunset followed by lingering cocktails, and a deep sleep in the cool night.
Sunrise View From Camp
Outapi Immunizations
The CDC welcomed Luke to join Krysta on the monitoring campaign of H1N1 and Polio immunizations in the northern populated Omusati Region of the country. Tethered flags of the prominent political party flutter from the tops of trees here, expressing the strong support from the homes of 40% of the voters in the country. While not as modern as Windhoek, the central cores of the urban centers are fully developed, though the livelihood of the people here is farming.
During our assignment, we had the opportunity to visit the rural villages that hid in the flat palm tree horizons. We were joined by a young professional from the health center who served as our translator. The language here is a slow and considerate tongue in which greetings extend for many minutes. As one of the nurses explained to us, one will ask the wellness of the person, children, relatives, chickens, goats, etc.
We wandered rural dirt roads to the grass hut villages, seeking children requiring immunization, finding curious, weary, happy, relaxed, and peaceful villagers who pointed us in the right direction. We ate half a dozen eggs a day each with fried chicken and fish. We worked alongside a passionate and determined nursing staff who took the news of any missed vaccination to heart with frustration followed by the immediate action of re-routing immunization teams to attend to those missed.
In the evenings, as we compiled data on our laptop while cockroaches scurried across a large shared desk, the staff had engaging conversations in an Oshiwambo dialect, full of laughter, concern, and passion.
Kunene River Sunset (On Different Assignment)
Dan Viljoen
We’ve befriended a likeminded couple here that loves hiking and camping so we’ve found ourselves trying to maximize our time together as they will be leaving the country before the end of the year. We chose a spot just outside of town one weekend, a once nice lodge now shut down and manned by three workers to point people onto the trails.
The four of us strolled the simple hilly countryside just outside of Windhoek where vistas occasionally provided views of the city. The reason for disputes of recent city population estimates was visible from these vantage points. The informal settlements that blanket out north and west is evident by the increased density of shacks cut by narrow wandering gravel drives.
Our Likeminded Friends William and Sonia
We hiked along a riverbed for the latter half of the day, got a bit lost, but arrived safe and sound for some homemade hummus prepared by Sonia, who has a passion for preparing natural foods with Indian flair. On the way out, we drove a small game loop, not expecting to see any wildlife so close to the city, then were visually bombarded by Wildebeest, Oryx, Impala, Warthogs, Giraffe and Zebra.
A nice weekend close to town.
Wildebeest
Life
It was therapeutic to have a trip home to see our family and friends. Skype is a technological marvel but is no substitute for the embrace of family, rolling around on the floor with nieces and nephews, or sharing dinner or a pint across the table with friends. Congrats again Justin and Leslie - you sure know how to throw a party. A beautiful new niece was also born during the time we were home; great timing all around.
Weekly life moves swiftly. Krysta’s prison project is beginning to gain momentum and the work in general maintains its challenging and enlightening character. Luke now has a gig in the morning as a volunteer project manager for a new building at an orphanage. It is not uncommon to have an orphaned two year old clinging to his leg while walking the site. In the afternoons he teaches math to 5th and 6th graders and tutors on Fridays.
Namibia used to be part of South Africa so let’s just say the energy of the World Cup is like a constant vuvuzela blast in the face. Store owners close shop to perform choreographed dances; every car adorns a flag of support, primarily for South Africa, but certainly Germany, England and Portugal as well; during Bafana Bafana matches, work is cancelled; the Children at the school constantly sing “Woka Woka Eh Eh!”; every game is played on South African Cable, Namibian Public Access, and the Armed Forces Network; the sounds of vuvuzelas echo throughout the neighborhood hills.
We couldn’t wait for Cape Town.
Geography at School
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