December 26 - Day 7
Hot. There is no better way to describe the day. Today I walked through temperatures that I was expecting to experience. I wish I had a thermometer to measure just how hot it was. I would estimate it above 100°F and maybe more with the sun reflecting off the ground. Even the Himba found it to be too hot for their taste, pointing to the sky and saying “omutenya!” as I passed. Besides that, the day was pretty uneventful. I was off the track for most of the day following the river through palm forests and up and over gorges that turned the otherwise calm Kunene into a raging torrent. I saw few people today. For the most part my only company was the vervet monkeys swinging in the branches overhead.
This evening I faced what is turning out to be the most stressful part of my days – finding a place to pitch the tent. Never before have I had to consider so many factors – crocodiles, snakes, people, safe access to water, etc. It has become the least enjoyable part of my days. I don’t want to intrude on Himba homesteads so finding a site that is a decent distance from homes is challenging. It is by no means densely populated in here but ensuring that there is adequate separation behind and in front of me is tedious.
Today I found a nice beach on the river with a spot to pitch the tent away from the water and rapids from which I could safely get water (I was informed that crocs prefer to not hang out in rapidly moving water). There was a Himba kraal (corral) adjacent to the beach so I walked down the river to ensure that there wasn’t a homestead too near. Upon returning to the site I met a Himba man who also decided to stop on the beach. He was less personable than the other Himbas I had encountered which made me a bit uneasy. I asked where he was going and he points to where he is standing. He makes himself comfortable in the sand and falls asleep. I am reluctant to unload all my gear because I am alone and I do not want him eyeing all my valuables. I decide to move on and wait it out and see if he continues on. After an hour I slowly creep back in there and see him still lazing around. I sneak back out and begin looking for a new site. I get myself into the large kraal and find another nice sandy spot. However, I am in a kraal. No cows at the moment, but I would hate for them to bring the cows home and find a white guy hanging out in their kraal. While I am awkwardly standing there playing through my options, the Himba man strolls right on by me. By now, I assume he is as weirded out about me as I am of him. But, my original beach is now free so I hustle over there to set up camp. The man returns and awkwardly watches me do my thing. I chat with him as much as I can (him little English, me little Himba) and finally gather after some drawing in the sand and some animal noises that he is waiting for his goats. This must be the beach where he meets his goats every day. I also gather that they happen to be missing today. Just great! The one day his goats go missing is the day there is an unusual white guy on the beach! What an ordeal…
Taking all measures to keep the menacing sun off my skin
It was an all new experience for me to be wandering through palm forests
Vervet monkeys provided me with plenty of entertainment
Also providers of entertainment
Rewarding views for my patience in snagging the beach campsite
2 comments:
It's nice to a see a picture of you once and a while.
You look great!!!!!!
How many people typically live in the Himba villages?
Mom
There really aren't the typical villages that you are imagining. It is similar to Owamboland where homesteads are spread out far and wide. I don't know how many people live on one homestead though; probably depends on how many wives the man has (Himba are polygamist I believe),how many children, elderly, amount of cattle, etc. During the hike I only passed through a couple of what you might consider villages. In this case it is a cluster of small shops selling the necessities; maize flour, sugar, beer, and so on.
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