Tips about Namibia from an American living here!

Hey there Blog Readers!

You can read more of my stuff in my weekly column in the Windhoek Observer, www.observer.com.na.  I write under the name:  JW Asheeke.

 

With all the conventions and summits now being held in Namibia, I thought that it makes sense to let folks in on some things I have discovered since coming to live in Namibia.

 

First, check out a neat photo taken by my daughter, Martha:



This is the Independence Museum
 in Windhoek! 
Good-bye to the old style German
Church representing colonialism
 as a 'brand' for Namibia! 
Hello to a 'brand' for a free Namibia!

Actually having conventions, summits, and world level meetings in Namibia is the best thing that ever happened to Namibia tourism!   Tourism here is still largely seasonal.  Bringing in small/medium regional, all-Africa or international (overseas) events with Namibia as the host will even out seasonality and create the all important year-round, permanent jobs in the tourism industry.  It is a GREAT opportunity! 

 

Many folks are here now for the COP 11 (UN Convention on Desertification - Conference of Parties) - more than 2000 delegates are here in WHK for that meeting,  They are taking side trips and spending money all over the place!  Hurray!

 

The Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) is next up in October! Whoopee!  We are smokin' here in Namibia and gettin' good things done! 

 

I will be writing an article about this issue in my monthly travel and tourism piece in the INSIGHT MAGAZINE, www.insight.com.na that should be out by October 11th. 

 

Now, on to the "Jackie-tips"....

 

As an American married to a Namibian for 25 years, here are some of my discoveries.  (These are only my personal observations.)

 

OK... take note:  they call it ROBOTS, but we call it in the USA "traffic lights."  I was shocked when I first heard someone giving me directions to drive somewhere and they said their house was just after 'the robots.'  I got images of Wall-E or an old Star Trek episode.

 

Seasons are opposite.  Winter here is summer in the USA and vice-verse.  'Winter' here is nothing really frosty; no ice storms; no snow.  HOWEVER, on the dunes and in wide open spaces at night or in the early morning, it can be cold in the winter.  So dress accordingly. 

 

Swakopmund is seaside, but the water is ICY!!!  There is no real ocean swimming like in  Hawaii or in the summer at the Maryland shore.  Google the Benguela Current and you will learn why.

 

Watch out for the 'ice-in-drinks' thing.   In Namibia, asking for ice in your drink (particularly in the winter time) is like asking for someone to put salt on your ice cream.  Ice in a drink means ONE cube;  extra ice means TWO cubes.  So, if you want real 'extra ice', just ask for a separate glass full 'to the top' (point to the top while you say this) with ice.  Then you can serve yourself.

 

By the way... some places here put SUGAR on popcorn!  Yuck;  Sacrilege!  So, be sure that you get the salt and butter you are expecting.

 

If you order 'bacon' here, it is really like fried sliced ham.  What you want to say is "Streaky Bacon."  Then, you'll get what we in the USA call 'bacon.'



For no reason except appreciation of beauty, I have added this photo of the Dunes in Namibia... sigh.... 
It doesn't go with my text per se, it's just so nice! It was taken by my friend Paul van Schalkwyk, a great photographer, who has a showing on October 2nd at the FNCC here in Windhoek

Back on point -

 

Don't ask for the bathroom; ask for the toilet.  It is crude for us in the USA to say that 'T-word', but it is clear and all know what you are looking for.

 

SLOW DOWN your English!  Use the English you remember from school.  No TV or Movie references please.  They won't get it; the satellite connection to get some USA television series is expensive; most Namibians will not know any of those more popular shows. 

 

Namibians are smarter than Americans in the language department.  Each person you meet will speak at least 4 languages, sometimes as many as 6 or 7.  If you have little clichés or idioms used in your speech while in the States, don't use them here.  Namibians who can speak English are usually translating what you say literally.  If you say:  "Goodness, I am having a bad hair day!" - a Namibian may start looking at your hair style and wondering what's the problem.

 

People are socially conservative here in general.  Watch the colorful curse words in your language and watch wearing clothes that are too revealing.  They had thing going on here to arrest young ladies wearing mini-skirts! 

 

Sorry to say this but, many Namibians are homophobes.  Openly gay people can be called "moffies" (or worse) and could be victimized; they are definitely scorned.  Same sex couples who are openly affectionate in public will likely offend most Namibians.  Just be aware of the narrow-mindedness in Namibia on this issue.

 

Pancakes and Flapjacks here are really crepes.  The Hilton in Windhoek serves pancakes Ihop style as does a cute little café called "The Joy of Food."  But, their maple syrup here is total 'wannabe.'  No Aunt Jemima's or Log Cabin here; no real 'maple' either unless you buy your own (for as much as USD$12! for a small bottle!) at a specialty store.  

 

Neighbor is Neighbour and litre is liter.  Remember your metric system here.. no pounds; there are kilos!  The center is the centre.  Got it?

 

On cars - don't follow the driver to his/her side of the car to get in.  They drive on the other side here. 

 

Watch out if you are driving yourself.  For the first few seconds you feel like you want to do what you at home.  If you do, you will be on the wrong side of the road.  I did that myself several times when I first came to live in Windhoek. 

 

Photo is from my friends Scott and Judy Hurd

Focus...if you follow the other cars, you should be ok with your driving until you get used to things. 

But, as you walk on the street, you will find yourself looking for oncoming cars the WRONG WAY!!!  You will look left for cars as you try to cross, but the oncoming cars are actually to the right.  Rather, look both ways when crossing the street, no matter what. 

 

Taxis here are outrageous just like everywhere else I've lived in this world; they don't care about road rules; so brace yourself. 

 

OK - The USA is a far more dangerous and rough place for crime than Namibia is. Here, there is opportunistic, petty crime.  The bad boys here are not the crack-heads just walking up to people and shooting them to get money or gang-bangers in a turf war or someone going 'postal' in the workplace.  There are no terrorist  groups, violent religious extremists or civil war in Namibia; Thank God; so, no bombs, no kidnappings, no pirates, just petty theft.

 

There is no consistent or overt anti-American sentiment here, mostly people are fascinated with Americans and our accents when we speak.  When someone is staring at your mouth while you talk and they are smiling, that is what is going on.  Generally speaking, Namibians like Obama and they view Americans positively for that.  There may be a comment about Americans as war-mongers, but that has happened only a few times to me.

 

Pickpockets are active here, but they are clumsy;  you will see them coming. They aren't the smooth slick ones that we have in the States that work in gangs where one distracts you while the other with slim fingers lifts your wallet (or purse) smoothly from behind you.  Here, snatch-and-grab of a handbag can (and does) happen, but again... it's clumsy (but effective!)  You can see them coming, if you are alert!   But, if they see you are alert; they will avoid you! 

Be alert and focused!

If you have your camera hanging around your neck and you are dippy and distracted; you are a target. If you have your fancy smart phone pressed to your ear while in crowds or you are walking and texting, you are a target.  If you leave your wallet bulging in your back pocket, you are a target.  If you leave your handbag open while walking on the street, you are a target.  If you leave your hotel room unlocked; you are a target.  If you get drunk and walk around alone on the streets at night; you are a target. 

 

Don't walk around with headphones or earbuds in.  STAY ALERT to all sights and sounds that are going on around you and you'll be fine. 

 

Don't walk around ALONE in the night.  That's common sense anywhere; you wouldn't do it at home, so, don't do it here either. 

 

Don't use an ATM machine at night.  Plan your money needs so that you get money as infrequently as possible.  There are ATM machine scam artists in the cities here in Namibia - so be forewarned. 

 

If someone crowds you at the ATM machine or starts talking to you (while you are using the machine!) either warn them off with a sharp, hard word (don't take your eyes off the machine or your wallet/handbag while you are speaking) or cancel the transaction and go elsewhere.  Even if Jesus Christ or Denzel Washington is in line behind you, don't get distracted and never take your eyes off your card, the cash coming out or your wallet/bag. 

Never, ever let anyone 'help' you with the ATM machine.  You know how to use an ATM; they are all the same worldwide; you don't need any help.  If anything screwy happens, cancel and go elsewhere.  Best to go in pairs to the machine; one of you is working the machine; the other is back-to-back preventing anyone from getting close and watching everyone who is watching you.

 

Once you get your money from the ATM, put it away immediately!  Move fast; don't linger.  Don't count it out!  Don't stand there and divide it up between you and your friends!  Walk away from the ATM like the devil himself is behind you. As a foreigner, you are being watched the second you go to any ATM.

 

Don't leave any valuables in plain sight in the car.  If you leave your laptop, ipad, smart phone, kindle or whatever on the seat of a car, it will likely be stolen. 

 

Card cloning is a problem here and tourists are the target.  Don't ever, never, ever let your credit card or bank card out of your personal sight.  I don't care how nice and friendly the waiter or waitress is and how much they smile and make you feel special, follow your card like you would follow your infant child if someone else is carrying him/her.  

 

If you are buying souvenirs and trinkets on the street, watch your back. Break your cash notes up and carry them in different places on your person.  For example, put maybe N$100 in small bills in a pocket on the left, maybe N$200 in only N$50 notes in a slot in your handbag and maybe N$200 in a whole note in your front breast pocket.  Mix it up! 

 

The workers don't expect much 'tipping' in restaurants here; sadly, local people don't usually tip or if they do, it's small coins only!  But, I always give 10%; if someone helps me carry things, it is N$10.  If you are a large group (more than 8 people) at a table or bar, think about 15%. 

 

The negative things I have noted above are, thankfully, not usual occurrences, but they do happen. 

 

Seriously, Namibia is a safe place.  Just don't paint a zero on your own back by being unaware, lost, disorganized, silly and dippy. Focus and act with common sense and you will definitely enjoy your time here.  If you don't do things a certain way at  home; then don't do it in Namibia either!  that is the best rule to go by.  Namibia is not Utopia or dream place; it is a wonderful, safe holiday location, full of people just like anywhere else.  People are people - don't forget that and use your common sense and you'll be just fine.

 

Take charge of your holiday and plan to have fun!

This guy is taking charge of his day!
No one is raining
on his parade
THX to Scott and Judy Hurd for the pix!

Holidays in Namibia are a once-in-a-life-time experience. Don't let anyone rain on your parade.

 

If you do come, prepare for the best holiday or meeting or conference that you'll ever have and,

 

Tell'm Jackie Sent Ya'

asheeke@africaonline.com.na

 



Eating out in Windhoek- Yum-yum!

Hi Blog readers!

Apologies are in order for not updating this blog spot since June!  We all know that life sometimes gets busy and you get pulled in different directions.  Well... I plead guilty.


This is a scene from Namibia's dunes!  It is taken by my friend, the truly great Namibian photographer  and visual artist,  Paul van Schalkwyk www.paulvans.com. 

Aside from wonderful landscape visas like this one, Namibia has nice restaurants.  Let me be more precise, Windhoek and Swakopmund have great free-standing restaurants.  What I mean  by 'free standing' is that other towns and smaller places have eating spots but, mainly they are part of a hotel or lodge. 

Being from the States, I love going out to eat and it is more than the food that draws me!  It is the atmosphere, social interaction and 'down-time' with friends and family that keeps me going to restaurants and cafes and wine bars.  I also love the fact that I don't have to clean up afterwards nor worry about cooking anything!

From Scott and Judy Hurd
www.scott-hurd.co.uk

 My favorite eating spot in a café called Fresh n' Wild, here in Windhoek.  They've gotten popular and opened up two additional outlets in various parts of the city.  They are like a café in Adams Morgan in DC or in the Village in New York.  Lots of glass, modern architecture, and a progressive ambiance.  I do a lot of meetings there and I really can write my articles and stories well in there!  I love it.

A new eatery opened up very close to FnW called "The Joy of Food." my friend Joy Sasman opened up this place and her carrot cake cupcakes are to die for.   The cheesecake attempts to be New York Style, but has a long way to go. Still, Joy has a cold buffet of various items you can help yourself and eat.  The butter-braised and herbed zucchini is a winner! They weigh your plate and that is how they charge.  Her pricing is reasonable for Windhoek. I've only been there a few times, so I can't get the full vibe yet, but so far, so good! 

This is NOT the Hilton, but it is a type of lodge restaurant where I have eaten many times!  Now, how relaxing is this?  Wow...

(photo from Scott and Judy Hurd)

The Hilton Hotel here in Windhoek has a good restaurant with a buffet for dinner.  It is pricy, but, it's Hilton, so there it is.  At least you can get a fancy cocktail before your dinner (I like a double Tanqueray and tonic with extra lemon and lime and ICE!) Still, the food is plenty and good... the meat dishes are a bit over-cooked and dry on buffets as the food is not prepared a la carte specifically for you, but there is acceptable food taste in places and the variety of dishes offered makes up for shortcomings. 

In the near future, I will eat at my favorite spots around town and take some photos for upcoming blogs.

If you come to Namibia for holiday, choose to go with the Gondwana Desert Collection  www.gondwana-collection.com for your accommodation all over Namibia.  My friend Manny runs a great lodge chain! 

Call up my friend Martin at Ultimate Safaris if you need a tour operator to help you get your tour of Namibia booked.  www.ultimatesafaris.na.  He'll do an excellent job.

This photo of a baby zebra nursing from its Mom, is from my friends
Scott and Judy Hurd, www.scott-hurd.co.uk
 

When you come to Namibia....

Tell 'em, Jackie sent ya'

Tour Guide Registration in Namibia! Quality, just for you!

Wow...I haven't blogged since March! Sorry about that.  I was busy working with Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism industry in Namibia and working with candidates for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to be assessed as Level 3 tour guides in Namibia.

Then, I went home to the States for the entire Month of May to attend my daughter's graduation from my alma mater, Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.  She doubled-majored in German and Fine Arts. Congrats to her!  Anyone looking for a quality education, consider Earlham College!  It is a winner!

In June, I hit the ground running back here in Namibia with assessments of tour guide candidates and moderations of completed assessments.  I also continued working with start up entrepreneurs with dreams of establishing a tourism enterprise.  Some of these entrepreneurs are very talented and full of energy and that is a good thing.  The challenge is to translate that energy and positive outlook into the extremely risky and hard work involved in starting ANY new enterprise, particularly in this dicey economy. 

Having qualified, registered tour guides may seem a small thing to some people visiting Namibia.  But, in fact, it is quite important!

Guides are the face of Namibia that most tourists will remember most!  The country is indeed beautiful and the sights that you will visit as a tourists are stupendous!  BUT... if your Guide is an ass, that is what you remember, not the scenery and great food.

 

This is the 'dead vlei'.  My friend and a world class photographer, Paul
took this shot!  He has a website and sells these marvelous
photos!  Contact him!

 

Now is the time to book your holiday to Namibia!  Our Guides are trained and ready to receive you.  Our accommodation facilities are the best.  My personal favorite is any of the facilities in the GONDWANA LODGES!  Google them and check out their reasonable prices and their 'green' facilities.  They are innovative, inclusive, uplifting for their staff,  and provide GREAT accommodation and activities!

So, when you come to Namibia... tell'em Jackie sent ya!

(ps.... I still cannot upload my wider array of photos for some reason...sigh...)

Bugs abound, but that's a part of nature!

Hello Readers!

 

I have been so busy lately, I haven't written my blog in over a month.  I pledge to do better going forward!

 

The article below was written for Air Namibia's Flamingo Magazine.  It received a lot of positive responses and people seemed to enjoy it.  So, I decided to put it in this blog for you to read it too!

 

This is a view of the deck at Namibia Wildlife Resorts' Dolomite Lodge
in Etosha National Park.  You should come to see and enjoy it for yourself!

 

“Waiter! What is this fly doing in my soup?”

By Jackie Marie (my nom de plume! for this magazine)

One of the adjustments I have had to make in my life as a transplanted urban American girl now living in Windhoek, Namibia, has been to make my peace with bugs.

When I was a kid, there was a joke around school that went like this:

 A patron in a restaurant having been served his meal and upon looking at it is enraged and calls the waiter.  He angrily points at the bowl in front of him and says:  “Waiter! What is this fly doing in my soup?”  The waiter, nonplussed and totally calm, leans over and looks into the soup bowl with a slight raised eyebrow and responds:  “The backstroke, sir.”

 My work in tourism in Namibia takes me into rural areas, national parks, pristine bush areas and other raw environments.  The vast landscapes, moon-like vistas and wildlife in their natural environment are stunning and I am thankful that I have a job where I can experience such things regularly. The Namibian foods, music, and cultural activities are an uplifting part of any vacation experience and you will enjoy it during your time in Namibia.  But, there is a downside as with anything else in this world.

 For me, it is the displeasure of meeting up with indigenous Namibians of the insect species.

 Bugs are an integral part of the eco-system certainly.  They have their very important role to play and in fact, without insects, all life would soon degrade.  That general information aside, my reality was that bugs are simply icky. I didn’t discriminate.  Some people are ok with flies and not ok with spiders.  I was an equal opportunity screamer; they all set me off.

 While bugs in Namibia are not as huge as the insects from Hollywood movies like Indiana Jones, for one such as myself who has an aversion to anything with more than four legs (except delicious Namibian crayfish!), I used to run for bug spray when such ‘icky, yucky’ visitors entered my line of sight.  The thought of insects crawling over my face in the night or huge beetles with their pincers crawling up my leg or mosquitoes buzzing in my ear was enough to reduce me to trembling in a corner in the fetal position.

 However, as time went by, I had my ‘A-Ha’ moment about bugs. 

 I had my wake-up call while on a camping trip.  One of my good friends came up to me while we were sitting at night around the camp fire, and he had a huge moth in his hands. 

OK… to get the picture I am painting with this story, first let me clarify the ‘camping thing.’  For those totally urban, city folk like me (born and raised in Washington, D.C.), ‘camping’ in Namibia is the real deal, with tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, cooking meals over a fire, washing in ‘nature’ exposed, and flashlights.  In the States, ‘real camping’ happens a lot, but not in my youthful summers with various church groups taking urban kids into the wide open spaces.

 I went to summer ‘camp’ (usually a name supposedly based on American Indian words like: Camp Tacoma wa Tonka or some such thing) every year.  This was the typical ‘camping-lite’ USA-style, i.e., log cabins with soft single beds, pillows and warm blankets, ghost stories and silly songs, canoeing, fishing lessons, roasting marshmallows and eating dinner in the cafeteria, etc… 

 Well, one evening while camping with friends, one of my good buddies walked up to me with cupped hands and smiled happily. He opened his hands showed me a gigantic moth he had captured alive.  In the spirit of ‘true’ fish tales, I tell you dear reader that the moth was the size of a basketball. 

I wanted to run away screaming in terror, but my friend soothed me with the fact that moths are harmless and actually quite useful in the environmental chain of things.  He talked on about the type of moth it was and told me some old African folk tales about moths and the markings they have on their wings.  This particular moth was rather large (though as I calmed down, it seemed to shrink).  I could even see its ‘eyes’ when I looked closer. 

 As crazy as it sounds, that moth seemed to say to me: “Lady, what is your problem?” I declare honestly here and now that the moth winked at me.  Seriously, I’m not kidding.

 Finally, by the end of the talk, my friend got me to gently hold the moth for a bit and then release it unharmed.  I believe that the moth gave me final look, shook its head at my stupidity and then flew away into the night.

 Since then, I have asked more questions and done some reading about bugs.  I have learned that they are not so bad after all and in fact, help Mother Nature in many interesting ways. 

 It is funny to watch the dung beetles collect animal droppings and roll it with their stronger back legs into their nests.  These little janitors-of-the-jungle are busy and important.

 I have learned that there are flat, fast moving spiders that are great mosquito catchers.  That is definitely a good thing!  The point is that bugs have no interest in human beings at all.  In fact, they go out of their way to avoid us. 

 For my part, I still have the fear of something crawling on my face and I still hate buzzing of anything by my ear, but I am relieved to report that I am convinced now that there is no great bug conspiracy to eat Jackie-meat!  Hurray!

 

--

Plan your holiday to Namibia.  Check out the GONDWANA COLLECTION.  Google them and see their offerings.  They have lodges all over Namibia and their price range is FANTASTIC!

 

When you come,

 

Tell'em, Jackie Sent you!

 

Bye-Bye

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch on the Pan!

After a long hiatus from this blog, (apologies) I have to report that none of my photos taken from my trip to and from the airport will download.  I get the error message "server rejected."  Sigh...

Anyway... on to other topics to stimulate your coming to Namibia on holiday!

I write a weekly column in a local newspaper called:  the Windhoek Observer.  My column is called:  "shout out."  I also write a monthly tourism section in a magazine called:  "Insight Magazine".  I write monthly for the inflight magazine of Air Namibia under the nom de plume:  Jackie Marie. And, occassionally, I write for the largest daily newspaper in Namibia, called "The Namibian."  I have two major feature pieces in February so far. 

I am actively trying to get a piece in O Magazine's South African edition, but they are not interested in anyone other than South Africans as their authors and story bases.  Being in Namibia means that all we can do for O, is buy their magazine and be grateful that we have access to it.  We are a small market, so I guess that is how the marketing cookie crumbles.  So much for that!

As a feature writer, sometimes pieces I write don't get published for various reasons.  One of those is a piece called:  "Lunch on the Pan."  I liked that piece which was about a trip taken with a representative of the Adventure Travel World Summit who was doing a site visit to Namibia to decide if they would have the event here or not.  In an earlier blog I published pieces of this article, but here it is in full. 

Lunch in the Pan
By Jackie Marie

(sorry, none of my pix will upload!  I am told "server rejected"...I'll do the great search to find a solution, but until then... please read on!)

 Namibia offers some unique experiences in Nature that will absolutely change your outlook on life.  The Etosha Pan is breath-taking and will make that change inside of you. 

 As a part of a delegation doing a site inspection of Namibia in support of its bid to host the Adventure Travel World Summit 2013 (ATWS), I went with Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) and Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) officials to Etosha.  Our goal was to spotlight the fabulous adventure experiences possible on side trips on offer to the delegates should Namibia win the bid. 

While it is not yet on offer to the public, NWR, with special Government permission was able to lead a special nature discovery walk and set-up a light lunch on the fringes of the Great Etosha Pan. 

 One word for that rare experience fits:  Amazing.

 At this particular season, the Pan is dry.  The white ‘firm, yet powdery, cracked, sand-like’ flat floor of the Pan is strange, moonlike and vast.  Footprints of the animal visitors to the Pan during the rains are evident.  With sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats firmly in place, we saw the perfectly shaped prints of a lion that moved a great distance from one side of the Pan to the other during the past post-rainy season when the Pan floor was still muddy enough to take an exact impression of his paw. 

We followed that walking lion all the way until our eyes could not make out the trail any longer.  The paw prints disappeared into seemingly, nowhere. 

 
Hoof prints of Springbok, Gemsbok (Oryx) and Blue Wildebeest were also all over.  We followed some of the tracks for a bit, imaging what great mission took these beasts out, alone on the Etosha Pan, during the rainy or muddy season.

Closer to the edge of the Pan, there were the huge bones of a giraffe that had joined the circle of life sometime in the recent past.  A piece of its brown speckled hide was still left to tell a bit of the tale.  The giraffe skull and bones were blanched by the sun and picked clean by scavengers. The guides and armed rangers looked at the bones and the various paw prints around that site and told us a possible story of what could have happened.  The young male giraffe likely made a bad choice and got stuck or slowed down in the mud of the Pan and was unable to escape hungry predators of the Etosha night.

We discovered that the distances on such a flat plain like the Pan are a trick on the eye and mind.  We left our vehicles to walk straight out onto the Pan. After walking only 20 minutes in a straight line, we turned back to see our cars and they were just dots on the horizon, barely discernible as cars!  Turning around 360° on the Pan, you can see landmarks with no real point of reference about distance.  We were told that an outcropping that looked like a nearby island was actually over 5 kilometres away! Nature’s Etosha Pan is greater than our puny human eyes and brains.

As we walked, the crunch of the floor the Pan was audible.  Surprisingly, there was little impression left by our footprints on the sun-cracked and baked Pan floor.  I was concerned that our passing would destroy something pristine. The rangers and the conservation scientists with us told us the story of seasonal rains, new life unlocked, flowing waters, animals being renewed, salt, sand, calcium, breeding flamingos and nature.  Any evidence of our presence would be washed away when the rains came. The Pan would remain, but we would not.   

The most intoxicating thing about this walk and then the lunch on the edge of the Pan was the explosion of color.  How does one describe in words, an azure blue of the heavens so rich that you feel like you are being encircled by the sky?  I walked on the Pan with the constant feeling that I wanted to duck down to make room for the sky.  Was it the light wind tickling my hair or was that the sky pressing down on my head? 

I wanted the colors to assimilate me.  Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a movie; on the Pan, the body-snatcher is the sky.  The all-absorbing sky blue meets with the chalky white/light gray, sun-cracked Pan floor in an endless carpet rolling forward until it is completely out of sight.

By the time we were instructed by our guides to turn towards the site set out for our lunch, we all were running around giggling, laughing, staring at the horizon, getting a natural high from the Pan.  Maybe there was something in the fumes from the salty chalky sand beneath our feet? 

We talked animatedly while we ate lunch; but, I realized we rarely looked at each other as we spoke.  We were all talking and eating, but we are also all staring at the horizon across the Pan.  We enjoyed a light lunch of salad from Namibian-grown asparagus, peppery rocket, butter lettuce, chick peas, shredded carrots, slivers of red onion, walnuts and a bit of sliced apple, tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. We ate Gemsbok filet, medium-rare grilled on kebabs wrapped in bacon slices.  We also were served a mixed bean salad, grilled prawns with a home-made spicy cocktail sauce and vegetable-filled spring rolls with a sweet chili dip.  The locally baked garlic bread and coconut cake, topped up with Namibian Breweries’ Tafel Lager or a merlot or a cold chardonnay from South Africa, made the meal sing.

Leaving the Pan with regret and drinking ample water to replenish ourselves, we all were lost in sky blue memories for rest of that nature drive through Etosha. 

Tourists to Namibia can also enjoy the Pan at from other vantage points in the Park. NWR’s Onkoshi Camp is built right on the Pan itself, giving marvellous views of the Pan in both rainy and dry seasons.  Day visitors to Etosha can also have their guides take them to various public spots around the Pan and get body-snatched by the sky.

 ----

So... when you come to Namibia,

 

Tell'em,

 

Jackie Sent Ya'!

Your trip to Namibia begins as soon as you arrive!

Happy New Year readers!  We are up to 300+ hits! Wow and double Whoopee!

 

I have read some of the old blogs I have posted in 2012 and I can see that I am getting betterat being an amatuer blogger!  Email me:  jw.asheeke@gmail.com with comments on this blog.  Thanks to those who have sent in your opinions and topic suggestions. 

 

My New Year's Resolutions:

• Do this blog once per week!
• Lose 20 pounds!
• Slow my roll a bit and relax more!
• Start writing my book this year!

Whew... can I do it?  Let's see.  I'll keep you posted.

 

This is the year that the Adventure Travel World Summit comes to Namibia! hurray! we are all so very excited here.  It is fantastic to see diverse people doing something great as a team!  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (but he is on vacation in Swakopmund right now; I saw him chillin' on the beach New Year's Day.)

 

Onto the airport trip! 

I drove out to the airport with my daughter, Martha, to take some photos along the route to and from.  I have my lo-tech digital camera and my shots are by no means professional or stunning; but they do help me tell a story.  I wanted to show you that your vacation in Namibia can start right away with the beautiful sky and landscapes en route to your hotel in Windhoek from Airport. 

 

Likewise, when you are finally leaving after a GREAT holiday in Namibia, the scenery is sort of a farewell scenic drive.  Thanks to Martha for taking the pix!

[well....my novice-ness has struck... I cannot upload the photos that we took.  I have to check to see what I did wrong... sigh...  I have viewed all the pix and they look GREAT!  I made a folder and stored them in My Pictures as I always do.  But, for some reason, the blog won't give me the prompt to load those photos....I'll keep trying and do a blog of photos once I get it to work!  I have to call my buddy Shareen to see if she can help me figure this out.  Sorry about that....]

When you come to Namibia on vacation,

Tell'em, Jackie sent you.

Namibia at Christmas!

Hey there!

Its that time of year again!  Wow... Namibia at Christmas.

 

As a D.C. girl, born and bred, it's a bit weird for me to see Christmas holiday decorations up in October.  But, that's the deal here.  Since Halloween and Thanksgiving are not Namibian holidays, there is no barrier to getting the Christmas stuff up nice and early.

 

Also, in Namibia, the vast majority of the country basically goes on serious holiday anytime from the second week of December until the second and third weeks of January.  Things get slow here during that time.

Mr. and Mrs. Santa Bear welcoming
 all guests to our house

Most shops close down by the end of the second week of December. People take leave and they get out of Dodge! 

 

They go to the farms where they come from, the villages where their parents and families live or they leave the country to take holidays outside of the country. 

 

These days it's changing and not so extreme, but easily half of the city is gone during the Christmas holiday.  Those of us that stay in town, get the city to ourselves and we relax.  In recent years, merchants are waking up to the fact that you need to make profits to survive and they are staying open to reap in the Xmas profits!  Some of the larger stores are actually open all the way through the holiday time; but these are usually the South African chain stores; local Namibian stores, by-and-large, still don't get it; they close at holiday time.  

Bowl of golden ornaments in the Christmas sun!
(the bear is getting a tan!)

When I first came to live in Namibia in 1990 after Independence, Windhoek, the Capital City was a serious ghost town after December 1 and remained that way until the end of January.  Schools close here in November and don't re-open until the last week of January.

 

It's no wonder that the Christmas decorations go up in late October.   The cities put up light displays and all stores put something of the holiday spirit in their windows.  People only have November to enjoy them until they and all of their customers leave town!

 

It gets a bit strange to see holiday decorations in Africa with snow, ice cicles, Jack Frost, sleds, reindeer, jolly ol' Santa in a thick red suit trimmed with white fur, and Frosty the Snowman plastered on all windows, doors, mall decorations and trees.  The Christmas trees on display here are all the blus spruce or other pine trees that I grew up relating to Christmas.  

None of this is native to Namibia or Africa at all!   I've written an article for a local weekly newspaper called the Windhoek Observer.  I wrote:

"...[instead of seeing Santa in the recognized way,] ...We should be talking about a brown brotha’ on a magic sand board going over the dunes, wearing shorts, sandals, an open safari shirt, a Windhoek Laager logo tank top, sun shades and a wide brimmed straw hat. Our ‘Santa’ should be happily singing Liberation Movement songs as he tosses his gifts over the wall of each city house, farm, tukul, or rusted zinc roof shack that he passes. 

Whattup with reindeer?  Let’s go with kudus pulling the extra-wide sand board around as it glides in the air on heat thermals.  Let’s switch away from the North Pole thing and have ‘Santa’ live in a secret, beautiful hidden workshop deep in the Namib... "

 

All that said, I cannot tell the a lie... I miss the snow, cold that makes my red nose run, the smell of a freshly cut pine Christmas tree, baking my famous chocolate chip cookies and sweet potato pie, roast turkey with my Mom's oyster dressing, giblet gravy, hot homemade biscuits, buttery corn, collard greens with smoked turkey, cranberry sauce,  and apple pie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  Yummy....

 

I miss playing spades or pinochle with my family and friends! I miss watching the NFL games and screaming at the TV screen alongside of my nephew who won our family pick-em competition last football season, I miss hugging Mom and seeing my kids studying in the States; I miss being home...

 

But, the pictures in this blog are my way of celebrating Christmas those years where I cannot go home for the holidays (like this year).  I have a different kind of holiday fun here, but I have fun!  Everybody should just do Christmas in whatever way makes them happy!  Afterall, that is what the season is all about anyway.

 

Merry Christmas....

 

If you come to Namibia at Christmas time,

 

Tell'em Jackie sent ya'