{desolation and remoteness}

"The desolation and remoteness of the place hit hime with such force that he felt God inside him."
-Orhan Pamuk


After the excitement and upscale living of Swakopmund, myself and nine other volunteers went camping in the desert. It was a much needed and welcomed change in pace. We camped in Solitaire, a tiny town about an hour from Sossusvlei, one of Namibia's greatest tourist attractions. It was a great place...quiet, plenty of shade, running water (hot showers AND flush toilets!). The running joke of the week was "you know you're a PCV when your campsite is nicer than your real life" :)

To get there we rented two itty, bitty volkswagens. Every one of us relished the freedom of having our own reliable transportation! We stopped to help turtles cross the road, assist stranded tourists, and to take photos (whenever we wanted!). It was great! It did mean we had to face several roadway challenges...such as small bodies of water and amazingly steep inclines... but, thankfully, we had competent drivers and encouraging passengers, and we made it through in one piece.

We took two trips into Sossusvlei, taking in the amazing scenery and wildlife. It's truly an incredible place. Even in Namibia, one of the least densely populated places in the world, I've never been anywhere so empty feeling. If you wander away from the tourists for just a few meters, sit down and just absorb everything you can see... you start to think that you're the only person left in the world. It's incredible.

The road into the park is paved for 65 kilometers. The last 5 k, however are only accessible to 4WD vehicles. Our vw's were certainly not up to the task. The shuttles were a bit beyond our PC vacation budget, so we took the last 5 k on foot, into the edge of the desert. We made it all the way to Big Daddy, the largest dune in Sossusvlei, at 325 meters high. By the end, we were all pretty beat... so we sang our way into a free ride from one of the shuttle drivers (he was impressed with our knowledge of Namibian songs!). Afterwards we hiked down into Sesriem Canyon, which ended up being an unexpected highlight for a lot of us.

And now, here we are, almost to Christmas! I'm enjoying some down time for the weekend, then heading up to Okahandja to see my host family for a few a days. I hope everyones holiday preparations are going well! Travel safely and enjoy every moment!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the gap between posts, I've been on the road for the past week and a half without my laptop. Last week I was outside of Windhoek for Reconnect, another week of Peace Corps training. It was really great to see the rest of my group, swap stories from site, and just relax a bit. We also has another language interview, and I went up another level, which was really encouraging.

Currently, I am sitting in a cute little psuedo-Starbucks in Swakopmund. It's an amazing town, although it does make me feel less like I'm in Africa. We're staying in a bungalow that we've rented here... it's a tiny A-frame, made for 6 people (so 6 beds, one shower, 1/2 a kitchen...) and we currently have 23 people crammed in, Peace Corps style. We're having a blast though...it definitely facilitates bonding!

One thing in abundance here that I can't find in my village is delicious food that I don't have to cook for myself! There's Mexican, Italian, Thai... my stomach and my wallet are both in overdrive right now! There is also an amazing beach, where I've been swimming just about every day, sand dunes, and...skydiving! I went yesterday - and it was amazing! It was a fantastic experience! Thanks so much to my amazing grandparents for financing a once in a lifetime Christmas gift! (I'll get the video up as soon as I can!)

Anyways, so far this Christmas/Summer break has been amazing. Just the right combination of restful, invigorating, lazy, and fun. I can't tell you how much I love group 36! :) And, it's not close to ending yet! From here I'll be traveling to Sossusvei, camping there in the oldest desert in the world, then I'll head up to Okahandja and spend Christmas with my host family from training.

Hope all of you are enjoying your holiday season as much as I'm enjoying mine. I'll update again when I can!