A Visitor From America!

Choosing only one picture of an elephant to post was a very difficult task

My holiday started off with a bang by a visit from one of my friends from college, Norah. I think it would be safe to say that the whole thing [living/traveling like a PCV] was a jump out of her comfort zone, and definitely a huge shift from life in New York City! We started with a couple days of safari activities, which were amazing, as to be expected. So many elephants, water buffalo, hippos, and other assorted animals! 

So lucky to have gotten another visitor to Nam!

After that though she got a real taste of Namibia when: we couldn’t find an ATM that worked* for three towns so she had to rely on me to pay for a couple days (luckily I had enough cash!); the water had been turned off unexpectedly in Divundu at a PCV’s site we were visiting, so we didn’t shower for several days; two of the combis we rode stank of rotted fish or something similarly unpleasant; the last combi we took only played three songs the whole 5 hours, Celine Dion songs, that were also skipping; and our last ride into Windhoek was with a man who had his own homemade biltong resting on the backseat - of course he shared some with us, and it was lekker! In Divundu, along with a group of other Volunteers we ate a delicious breakfast at a nearby lodge on the river, relaxing there for the rest of the morning! That night we were invited to the Volunteer there's neighbors for a braai! This South African couple is in the midst of building what looks like luxury campsites, and their hospitality towards this group of American strangers [not just the amazing braai but also letting us use their showers!!] was incredible. In Rundu we enjoyed some traditional Owambo food at the open market, where Norah sampled porridge and traditional spinach, and of course fat cakes! On our last day we managed to visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund 30k outside Otjiwarango for half the day, hike to Okahandja where Norah could pick up some souvenirs at the craft market, and get to Windhoek to our hostel for the night. The week went by so fast and she got a bit of a sense of life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Hopefully she enjoyed it :) 

This sundown view from the Kavango River Lodge, where we ate in Rundu, is one of my favorite spots in Namibia.

*it was the end of the month so everyone had just been paid, therefore a couple of the ATMs we tried to use were just out of cash.