sandboarding

fun.
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Tomorrow we are heading up north and I have a feeling that I may not have internet access for a week, or 2, or 3. So if you don't hear anything, assume I am well! Swakopmund has treated me well, it has been nice to sleep in a bed and eat toast and drink lots of tea and relax. Yesterday I super splurged and went sandboarding and it was worth it. The strangest thing happened- I was talking to the woman who owns the company, about the weather of all things, and told her it was similar to where I'm from. Turns out she grew up in San Anselmo and went to HS with some of the people I grew up with in Point Reyes! She even knew my Dad ! She grew up riding horses like I did, lived in Sleepy Hollow and went to Marin Academy. Now she lives here and owns a Sandboarding tour company. I was tripping out pretty hard, though, that she knew all of those people from my childhood and my DAD! and I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. We chatted a bit about people in common but she rarely goes back and seems to be very much living in Namibia. Her brother, Jay (her name is Beth Sarro), lives here, too and loves it, he is a surfer and used to surf in PR, I am sure I would recognize him from those days. How small the world is!!

and i landed.
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The sandboarding was great fun. I wasn't so good at it but I liked the challenge, I guess it's pretty much like snowboarding but a little easier cause the sand is soft. We had to hike back up the dune each time we went down and I really liked that part cause I got to get a little exercise, of which I am lacking these days. They made us try lie down boarding, which was a little scary, they had a speed gun and I went 51 kph which isn't really that fast but fast enough for this girl. And they made me go off the little jump and that was scary too but fun since I landed. All in all a good day. I'm paying for it today, though- I am soooooo sore!!

they made me do this too. i was a little scared.
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Today was a relax day- did some shopping for the upcoming trip. I took my first dose of Larium today and I am a bit worried about the side effects, so I'm just waiting to see what happens. My travelling companions told me not to worry, they will just abandon me if I go crazy ;) The Dutch are taking it now with no problems so I'm hoping for the same. Better than Malaria, I guess, and apparently Doxicyclene, the easier, softer way doesn't work around here.

Our first destination is Epupa (sp?) falls, on the border w/ Namibia and Angola, then we are going to Etosha National Park, and over into Botswana, at which point I think I will jump ship and go to Victoria Falls. Then I am loosely thinking about flying back to Jo'Berg, then going to Mozambique, but that is a long way from now. For now I have to worry about how I am going to survive day after day on 4x4 roads, facing backward. Actually when the going gets rough I set up so I can look forward but it's still from far back. Wish me luck!

beth
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That's all for now, I think. If I have time I may write again tomorrow but like I said if a few weeks pass with no news, assume all is well. The Dutch have a GPS, Satellite phone, laptop, and everything else you can think of so if something really bad happens at least we can call out and we should know where we are!!

Thanks for the news from home. I love it and keep it coming so I have lots to read when I get back to civilization.

Lots of Love,

H