Days 14, 15, 16 - The Bus Ride From Hell!!! - Windhoek, Namibia
Windhoek, Namibia
The last couple of days in Livingstone were spent with Faith working in the morning, and myself going for walks through the town. When I came here I had planned to make the trip to Devil's Pool once again, in fact I had thought of it for two years. Devils pool is a natural pool on the edge of Victoria Falls, and when I was there two years ago, I wasn't able to get a great picture and I wanted to great photo that every one else gets who goes there. But once I actually got here, and I got pictures of Faith and I near the end of the gorge, going back to Devil's pool just didn't seem as important anymore. Plus with my being under the weather a bit, I thought it was best to stay close to Jollyboys. So, instead of Devil's Pool, I made the trip to the bank machine, then I found a back alley flourist to get Faith roses and a thank you card for her hosting me during my time here. When she got off work she went home to change, and I also showered and changed so we could go on our dinner date to the Ocean Basket Restaurant. The Ocean Basket is a popular seafood chain in many Southern African countries. In 2011 we had a wonderful date here, so I told her that I would take her there again. Not only did we go back, but we got the exact same table almost two years to the day as the first time we were there. The food was great, and Faith and I had a good time :) November 23rd was my last day in Livingstone and I was torn. Do I leave tomorrow, or do I stay till the 28th? There are only two buses a week that leave for Namibia, so if I didn't leave tomorrow, I would have to wait three more days. I was a little under the weather, and the thoughts of a 20 hour bus ride did not sit well for me. I had till 9 AM Sunday morning to let the bus company know if I was postponing. Faith worked during the day and I took another walk. In fact I walked down to Fawlty Towers Back Packers to visit Faith's sister Ernestine. I was being followed and harassed by a street tout, so I slipped into the back packers to escape him. After a 15 minute visit with Ernestine, I walked across the street to the bank machine. When Faith was finished work, four of us went to the David Livingstone Hotel and sat next to the Zambezi River watching the sun set. We could see the mist of Victoria Falls just a few hundred metres down river from where we were sitting. We came back to Jollyboys, and everyone stayed in the bar. Faith had a few to drink so she decided to continue the evening with her sister and friend at a bar in Livingstone while I went to sleep. She would pay for it the next morning. THE BUS RIDE FROM HELL (Sunday, November 24th) I couldn't sleep, I was up at 4 AM and was wondering what to do? Do I stay with Faith, or do I leave for Namibia. I finally made the decision to leave. Today was Faith's one day off, but she was hung over, and Monday and Tuesday will be the same....Faith working and my killing time. It was time to go. If I leave today I am sad, but I get to see Namibia. If I leave Wednesday I am sad, but I don't get to see Namibia. The choice was obvious. Faith showed up hungover and all to take me to the bus station at 11:20. I asked her if she would like to visit Canada some day and she said yes. We gave each other a hug goodbye, and she was gone. It was just me, and a huge bus. I noticed a few of the other Jollyboys clients in the line-up. I booked with Intercape Mainliner, a luxury bus service, and we were on the road just before 12:00. We wouldn't land in Windhoek, Namibia for another 22 hours. It took 3 hours to get to the border crossing into Namibia. The Caprivi Strip is a long strip of land jutting out of North East Namibia and at the end of the Caprivi Strip is a far oupost town called Kutima Mullilo and that's where the border is. The strip is long and narrow. Probably 450 KMS long, and 20 KMS from top to bottom. Angola is to the north, and Botswana is to the south. There is one highway, right down the centre of the strip travelling straight west. We were in Kutima for two hours, then once we got going, one hour later, we were stopped at a police check point. This took almost another hour, as the Namibian Police officers stripped the bus up and down, made us take out all the suitcases, and they went through them one by one. I was told later that all they were interested in were the shoes!! Something to do with Foot In Mouth Disease. Once we got going again, we went four hours non-stop to Rundo, a city just out of the Caprivi Strip and on the Angolan Border. To pass the time....we watched awful religious movies. We had a refreshment stop here, and it was almost midnight. There was a cute girl sitting outside the public bathroom charging everyone 2 Rand to use the can (about 20 cents). The toilet wouldn't flush, and the taps wouldn't work. But...I had to pay. That's Africa. In Rundo we took on more passengers, and some departed. We finally got going again. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. Too many potholes, too loud, but for the most part, I have never been able to sleep while in a sitting position. I need to be lying down. After many more hours we came to the town of Otjiwarongo. I have to say these towns aren't what I was expecting. All have nice buildings, many of them brand new...some so new they aren't even open yet. The streets are clean. It doesn't fit the image of Africa that we have at home. Kutima was like that, and Otjiwarongo was like that as well. At this point we had just 200 KMS to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. The landscape was changing....we were entering the desert. It was dry, and hot. I thought we were home free, but then.....we had yet another check point. This took about 40 minutes. By the time we pulled into Windhoek, it was about 9:50 AM. I had timed the trip on my stop watch. From bus stop to bus stop, the trip was 21 hours and 54 minutes. I had zero sleep, and I was shattered. I saw the girl with the Chameleon Back Packers sign and went to see her. Her name is Claire and she is who I have been on contact with. Alex and Nathan, two Harvard students who also stayed at Jollyboys hadn't booked any accommodation yet, so I told them to come with us. They did, and booked beds for $13 per night. Once I got settled in, I took a walk with a German fellow named Flo. We went to the Mall down the street to go to an ATM, and to eat. It was a first class shopping centre. Flo is on month three of a two year world trip. From Africa he plans to go to South America, Central America, North America, then over to Asia. I knew before I came here that there are a lot of white residents in Namibia, and a lot of the black people have very light skin. Namibia was once occupied by South Africa, and there is a strong German community here. I really enjoyed the walk to the mall. In fact, I took a few walks today around Central Windhoek. One thing I didn't expect to see was the huge ball hockey/roller hockey rink. It had real hockey nets!!! I ended up at a KFC for dinner. I spent the better part of the evening with Alex and Nathan as they were keeping up with their blogs as well. It's 9:04 now, and I have to be up early tomorrow for a trip to Sossuvlei. I will be camping there in a tent for two days. Sossuvlei are the worlds oldest, and largest sand dunes.