Date of Entry: November 7th 2016
Date of Writing: March 6th 2017
We wake up early, a few people having slept up on the rock. The sun is only just beginning to rise and I have my tent backed up before breakfast is ready so I head up the mountain again, this time just halfway to watch the sunrise, which can’t quite reach the heights of sunset from yesterdays, but it still remarkably impressive.
It’s a peaceful beginning to a somewhat controversial day that will focus around a visit to the Himba Tribe, a semi nomadic group of people found mostly in northern Namibia. They are a tribe separate from the modern world with their own prescribed practices and beliefs, but they are proving more and more susceptible to losing their way of life to the modern world. Villages have been set up for tourist visits the money supposedly going to helping them maintain there traditional lifestyle. I’m concerned it will feel exactly like a human zoo, but soon enough the beautiful sunrise soothes my worries.
We get called down for breakfast by Honary and enjoy some tasty eggs alongside everything else that comes in a standard continental breakfast. I finish quick and eat little so take a little walk the sun now fully up but these stunning rock formations shining differently than they were the afternoon before thanks to the early morning light and I snap some more pictures before regretfully heading back to Peter Tosh and climbing on board for our continued journey north.
Today’s another long day on the road as we head up towards Etosha National Park and tomorrow will really kick off the animal portion of our trip, but for today we’re focusing perhaps the worlds most interesting animal, the human. First though we’ve got a ton of kilometers to cover. Here’s some shots from the road and some of the small towns of the village.
After a long morning on the road we begin to drive through a selection of private game reserves, that are fenced on both sides and offer tourist experiences, though I’m thankful Nomads seems to stick more with National Parks on this trip. Still when we speed by a giraffe towering over and watching the highway in silent contemplation, we all kind of lose our minds, though sadly blessing can’t stop and Honary gets on the microphone from up in the cab promising us we’ll see a lot more giraffes tomorrow in Etosha. Lucky us, but it still hurts leaving this first one behind.
The hurt is eased as we pull off the highway and down a long dirt road where Honary starts making lunch after arranging our visit with the Himba people. Blessing goes with us for this excursion since it’s his first time doing an over landing trip outside of South Africa and he’s curious to learn about the Himba people. We meet our guide, a Young Himba man dressed in modern clothes, outside a small mud building that is labeled as a school for the village which is mostly home to young children (many without parents) and single women. Worth noting that the Himba people don’t wear much in terms of clothes and some of the photos to follow do include some nudity.
I’m feeling awkward and nervous as we enter the dirt floor village of decent looking clay and branch huts. It doesn’t take long before a small group of eager looking wide eyed toddlers show up to greet us, hopping around eagerly as we walk into their village. The women walk by going about their daily lives around us, there hair is braided and matted with clay in the traditional Himba style and it creates a very distinct and interesting look. The little town is full of curious children,and while it is not without it’s issues and does not feel entirely good, the money we pay does go to a good cause,and the children at least seem to love the visitor’s and they’re about to love me more.
Back in South Africa I ran into some bouncy balls in a supermarket and bought a pack of 12 or so not knowing when I might need them. (Seriously I usually travel with at least a few of them as they make great gifts and also are a great way to pass some time waiting for buses and such. Try it out.You won’t regret it) And today it leads to a special experience as I pull out three of them and approach three young children offering them the balls. Instantly I see the one problem,communicating to them that they are not food, but once that is done and I show them how high they can bounce even on the loose dirt ground everything takes off and huge smiles spread across there face.
At first I’m only planning to bring out three but soon enough there’s a frenzy of empty hands reaching towards me until all 12 are out and being thrown around the village. Luckily the grownups don’t seem to mind at all and time disappears as it always does when I’m playing with young children. They teach me a few words of their language which I have infuriatingly forgotten now, but the most popular word is either up or high. See they love how high I can throw the bouncy balls and they collapse into laughter as they try to catch them on the way down, failing more often than not. Believe me, it’s harder than it sounds and I miss more than my fair share.
Some of them notice my camera and ask to pose for some pictures and a video and some of my other friends also join in on the games of catch while some others move on through the village to the adults and the handicrafts they’re selling.
VIDEO COMING SOON
Eventually I have to move on and join the group but the kids still follow, still putting the bouncy balls in their mouths but mostly because they seem to thoroughly enjoy my dramatic pantomime routing to explain to them that these are not food.
I join the rest of the group in inspecting handicrafts, the Himba women sitting behind small blankets covered in random handicrafts. Buying here isn’t the cheapest place but I do want to show appreciation for these people opening their homes to us so I do buy a few bracelets and a cool wooden giraffe in my time here.
Watching these people exist around us is a strange feeling. I feel like I’m intruding though I can’t really tell if it’s a welcome or unwelcome intrusion. It seems to vary between the adults, though the kids are definitely glad to see us. The way they style they’re hair is beyond cool and I listen as our guide tells us a little more about his people and speaks about how many young people are choosing to leave behind the semi nomadic lifestyle and live in cities which often leads to extreme poverty and bad choices. Skills passed down for generations are being lost, and this is sad, though I think this is a complicated issue. Preserving you’re culture is never a bad thing, but if there is a more effective way to merge with the modern world while increasing the quality of life for your people is that really purely a bad thing? Hard questions and I do not claim to have the answers, so I just take more pictures, which we’ve been assured is absolutely expected and not resented.
The women are fascinating but the kids are adorable and throughout the visit they keep demanding I play with the super balls with them and I have no objection, eventually though our group is split in two and we are invited into a Himba house to learn more about the culture and also to see how the women keep clean, as they are not people who bathe, probably at least partially down to the lack of water in Namibia, instead the clean themselves with a scented wood smoke inside their homes, which allows them to also maintain they’re fascinating hair styles. We sit and watch out guides sister Bathe and I will admit this is the one moment I did not enjoy. It was fascinating, but it felt too much like we were making her do this for us and her expression was not one of joy. We also learn that Himba women do not often have control on who they marry (I suppose it’s no big surprise) and are instead bought from their fathers by potential grooms for cattle and other things of that nature.
Back outside of the house I rejoin the kids playing with them a bit more and taking more pictures of these adorable little ones who seem to be very sad following us out of the village and saying goodbye to us as we return to the truck and carry on our marry way. The visit certainly made an impression and on a personal side I am glad I went, as I learned a lot and got to play with some awesome young ones. In the bigger picture I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. The money raised undoubtedly helps the Himba’s but it is not without the sensation of human zoo and the adults living in the village may not enjoy it. By choosing to focus on the kids though I think I made the experience better.
We pass lots of warthogs or pumba’s as they are called here, on the road to our campsite and I manage one picture as we go. All in all it’s been a great day. But that’s about to change.
We get to the campsite and get our tents set up enjoying wifi and a pool there. Great right. Then the skies open up and empty themselves on us. Soaking some tents and delaying Dinner. No big deal. Before the Wifi and electricity die though the real bad news comes. I check Renata’s visa application to come to Canada to meet my family over christmas and find out it’s been denied. The main grounds for denial is they don’t believe she will leave Canada at the end of her visit. This despite being a semester away from finishing university here, having two full time jobs here, two sons, a home, and a return ticket purchased.
I’m instantly very depressed and kind of can’t believe it myself. This upsets me a lot. Not just on a personal level either. I have been travelling along time and at time of writing have been welcomed in more than 50 countries. Sometimes I need to get a visa, but it’s never really a question of will I be approved, it’s just a matter of paying the fee and showing them what they ask for. Do that, you get the visa. Renata and I did that and more, so what’s up Canada. For the first time in a long time I feel deeply ashamed of my country,and it’s a sour note to end the night on. We’ll apply again of course, through an agency, and with more proof of each of the above factors i mentioned, but it won’t matter and she ends up being denied again. Endlessly frustrating. But oh well at least tomorrow brings us to Etosha National Park and almost all the animals I have dreamed of seeing for years.
