The West Coast Mist In Swakopmund

As I arrived in Swakopmund so to did the mist. This time of the year sees the West Coast being covered in mist.

The first day’s weather was grim and I decided to pay a visit to the museum. I remember this museum from 1997 and I loved all the stuffed animals back then. This time I walked straight past them and read up on Namibia’s mining sector, fishing resources and local tribes.

When you first enter the museum you’re bombarded by German colonialism and stuffed animals. Tourist friendly artifacts for the millions of Germans that visit here. Walking around I wondered where the other cultures and influences towards the modern day Namibia was. And there in a hidden away extended wing you find info on the Himba’s, Owambo’s, San and others. Since my visit in 1997 they extended the museum to cater for everyone.

One thing that stood out for me was at the cashier till where you can buy a sticker of the Old South African Flag, this next to the current Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s face,

“Does anyone buy this sticker?” I asked the cashier.

“Yes, lots do. Mainly South African’s” she replied.

I assume it’s for those guys that also have blue balls hanging from the back of their bakkies tow-bar or the one’s only brave enough to wear 100% Boer T-shirts in Hartenbos and maybe here in Namibia. I am sure Mr. Pohamba would not approve this sticker in his Government museum. But hey, it’s misty in Swakopmund, why visit now?

At night I went out for a few beers. The town was empty or maybe it was because I went out at 19:00. I was tired and went to bed early.

The next morning I slept late and went for a walk around Swakopmund. I watched the Rugby at a local pub, paid a visit to the aquarium and saw some cool colonial buildings.

That night I went to the local hang out Grunen Kranz and played pool till the place closed.

When I arrived I played pool with Goofy. Goofy thought he was a mean gangster and told me about all his criminal records, showed me his petrol bomb scars and 8 ball tattoos. It feels good when you beat a mean gangster at pool. I only won the first game and he won the next two till his brother apparently phoned to use his gun. Goofy left the pool table and I was joined by some of the locals. We played till late and I could see my pool partners becoming drunk as the night progressed. By the time the place closed I was on their level and walked down to the Backpackers to pass out in my tent.

I was up late and decided to go view the flamingos in Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay is the harbour port of Namibia and is about 30km south of Swakopmund. Two lifts later and I was dropped of at the flamingos. I walked around and snapped some shots. From there it was three lifts back to Swakopmund.

Arriving back at the Backpackers I met up with some German girls. They were going to eat out at the Lighthouse Restaurant and invited me to join them. I’ve mentioned this before on my Southern Africa trip: “seeing a good looking girl in Africa is like spotting a Leopard in the Serengeti. They are there, but hard to find”. I only saw the French girl thus far, so when four girls invite you out you say: Hell yes! They were really cool and we had a good party (even though none of them could play pool).

The weekend was over and I was ready to leave the mist. On Monday morning I walked to the station and booked a ticket for the night train to Windhoek. Taking the bus would be much quicker but almost triple the price. I wanted to investigate the Namibian trains. The train travels through the night arriving in Windhoek early the next morning. I was over hitchhiking and thought I could take the train from Swakopmund to Windhoek then south to Keetmanshoop and further on to South Africa, but soon found out that this option did no longer exist.