GLOBAL ODYSSEY 2010 BLOG #39 WALVIS BAY

First, before you start thinking you know how to pronounce this, realize that it comes from the Dutch “whale – fish.” Got it? The town was our first introduction to Namibia, and from what we saw in the way of __, had a plethora of good tours. The one we settled on was “Sandwich Bay,” less for the name than the fact that it promised views of the flamingos settled here. (Recall that we had only seen a few at Torres del Paine in Chile.)

Well, this more than made up for it. Indeed, several of the other tours would have been just as good; heck, you could have walked the right direction out of town and seen the flamingos for yourself! What made us happy with our decision, however, was that this occurred in the first half-hour of a very full day. We were in all-terrain vehicles and continued up past the local salt works on a “road” which ran through grass and scrub before emerging on the shore of the South Atlantic. We followed this for miles, sometimes almost being hit by the spray, and seeing seals, porpoises, and other wildlife.


A stop was made where tall sand dunes extended beyond the shore side lagoons, while those who were more intrepid (Sam says “Crazier”) than the rest spent a lot of time climbing to the top. Back below, a feast was spread and we had a relaxing lunch before taking off again.







 Our journey back to the ship, however, was not a mere repeat. We headed “off road” into the great sand dunes which border the coast, spotting local nara melons, used by the bushmen, as well as springbok. The drivers gunned up and down the dunes in a remarkable display of bravado, with the two of us bouncing in the back.



A return to the city left just enough time for us to be dropped (you guessed it) at the local bookstore, incurring the glares of everyone else, who hadn’t thought of asking.

Well, not as well known to Americans as its southern neighbor, South Africa, Namibia has lots to offer anyone who loves nature and the wide-open spaces. Now it’s on to Luderitz and the “Diamond Area” ….

GLOBAL ODYSSEY 2010 BLOG #12: MANTA, ECUADOR

Sam has to say that Ecuador is one of his favorite stops to date! What’s not to like about a country where not just children, but road workers and passersby stop and WAVE at your bus!

We had a couple choices about what to do on our day in port, but they narrowed themselves down nicely. First there was “Hemisphere Crossing & Quito World Heritage Site,” We had alreadycrossed the Equator (and received the certificate to prove it, although King Neptune’s visit was postponed) and hope to visit Quito someday as part of a trip to the Galapagos, so at almost a $1000 a pop, this was too pricey. On the other hand, “Fine Panama Hats” and “Manta & Montecristi” were both tours which dealt with Panama hats (a major product of Ecuador – they were apparently used in Panama during construction of the Canal, which is where they acquired their name). These seemed a bit too sponsored. We settled for the “Machalilla” tour, visiting that National Park, and got a stop to watch work on hats anyway.

Speaking of this, it’s hard to come away without one (unless you let a wind blow it overboard, which happened to one lady on the ship). Prices vary according to weave – tightly woven hats take much more time to produce. But stopping to see the early stages of production in which fibers for the finished product are cooked and separated is a real eye-opener and offers some wonderful photographs. (Figure a cheap hat will run you about $20 and a fine one about three times as much, although you can bargain a bit!) One of the things which most impressed Mary was the change in ecology based on altitude – this can range from anywhere from lush jungle to arid desert, but was more at the desert end of the scale when we were there.

Machalilla National Park is a little bit of everything. Ecuador’s only coastal park, it boasts archeology (a quite impressive small museum), plenty of spectacular scenery, and a resident local population, many of whom are involved in helping in the park. A short nature walk offered everything from lessons in local husbandry to an exotic bird or two, to (Sam’s favorite) very small dung beetles, who just like the scarabs, rolled small balls of you-know-what around. You have to look close to see them though. We stopped at Mantaraya Lodge for a set buffet – good local fish and apparently the price of accommodation is about $50 a night (and we mean $50 – Ecuador uses the US dollar as their currency – prices apparently went up when this was instituted, but it has provided a measure of economic stability and things are still inexpensive by US standards).

Finally, there was time for a walk on the beach opposite Isle de la Plata, where Drake’s men allegedly divided Spanish loot. A beautiful location – you can even find chunks of Ecuador’s only coral reef washed up on the sand. Seeing slices of Ecuadoran life, in the kapok trees, the houses painted in “election colors” (something neither sympathizers of McCain or Obama appeared to have tried state-side), to the ebb and flow of everyday life on the side of the road. It’s a beautiful country with surprises around every corner, and we didn’t even make it up to the mountains!