Walvis Bay Flamingos
April 9
It has been nice to be a little bit lazy. I feel super comfortable at Loubser’s Bed and Breakfast. I have my own room, Lala the older woman running the place acts as my mother and her husband Francois gives me fatherly advice. They are very sweet and it feels like I am a part of the family here. I do not really want to go. Today Lala found me a car to rent from one of her friends that I will drive to Skeleton Coast. I had found a car to rent through Avis on Tuesday for 552 Namibian dollars ($36.87), but then she arranged a car for me for 350 Namibian ($23.36). Sweet.
At noon I went to Horizon Printing in town where 700 pristine, fancy, new Beaver stickers were waiting for me. I have made purchases of 500 of them before. It was only when I went to pick up the 700 stickers that I remembered how much just 500 weigh. I got greedy for content when I negotiated a great price. But, it is hard to not want to do extra business with good people. Leroy, the guy who was taking care of me was so cool I could have hung out with him all day.
[su_quote]This area of the world is a strange place[/su_quote]
This area of the world is a strange place. There are signs in Afrikaans and in German, and there are white people everywhere. Most of the people who are of African descent here are really mixed so their color is very light. And then as you walk down the street, the white people speaking their Afrikaans variation of Dutch nod at me to say hello as if it is some kind of code because I am white as well. It is a peculiar place. The town certainly is nice.
There is a huge flock of flamingos living at the lagoon at Walvis Bay. There are hundreds of them and they are what the tourists come here to see. When flamingos have been in the water and they attempt to rise up and fly away, while they are flapping their wings to get airborne, they use their feet to sort of run across the water to try to lift themselves up. It is entertaining to watch.
[su_note note_color=”#b0b1b6″ text_color=”#030303″ radius=”6″]In Chinese Mandarin:
One sneeze – “Someone misses you!”
Two sneezes – “Someone hates you!”
Three sneezes – “Whoa, you are sick, you should probably see a doctor!”[/su_note]
It is cool here in this part of Namibia at night though. It is amazing how deserts get so cold at night. I had to put on a sweater. Having to put on a sweater is always kind of a time warp, because you never know when the last time you had to wear one was until you put your hands in your pockets and find receipts inside from three countries ago…
Sunset on The Raft of Walvis Bay’s lagoon.
I went for a beer at The Raft, which is a bar in a pier on the water. When I got back to Loubster’s, Lala introduced me to Julia, a beautiful girl from Belerus. There are two beds in my room, and Lala said, “She is your new neighbour!” I said, “Great, you put her in my room! Thanks Lala,” and I high fived-her in front of Julia. Lala liked that. She had put Julia in the room next to mine. It was that kind of neighbour.
Lala and Francois were going for groceries and Julia was going with them in the car so I decided to tag along to buy some beer for the evening and chat with Julia. By the time we got back to Loubser’s, we were friends and I shared my dinner with her. Then we went to her room and hung out on her bed and shared stories. She went for a shower in the middle of my visit, and I assumed that was a very good sign. We were hanging out on her bed again. I was touchy and she told me that I could stay in her room with her but that I might need my own blanket. That seemed to be a mixed signal. Then we ended up spooning in the bed for a while but she started to fall asleep. I kissed her on the cheek. She still seemed sleepy, so I decided to just go to my own bed. She got up and walked me to the door of her room to lock it behind her. I kissed her and then I made out with her. I had second thoughts about going to my own bed at that point so I asked her if I should stay. She told me that I should probably go to my own bed, so I said goodnight and disappeared.
That was a little bit of awesomeness that came from out of nowhere!
