Indulge in good food. Indulge in creature comforts. Indulge in relationships.
Last weekend, I made the long trek from Ohangwena to Rundu in the Kavango region of northern Namibia. WorldTeach currently has three volunteers in Kavango, two of which are newbies like me. On Friday afternoon, I met up with Tanya and Amy at one of the lodges in Rundu. This particular lodge boasts good pizza and free wifi - can't beat that! As I walked through the front gate, I wasn't even sure if I was in Namibia anymore. There was air conditioning, a total lack of bugs, comfortable couches, popular hits playing on the radio, peacocks roaming the beautifully manicured lawns, and a view to boast. I indulged in their free wifi while eating a toasted egg and bacon sandwich (bacon! unheard of). When Amy arrived, we ordered two pizzas for the two of us because you sure can eat a lot of it when you've been pizza-less for two months.
After hours upon hours of eating and internetting, the three of us walked down the road to our sleeping spot for the night: the Kavango River Lodge. I was reassured when we spotted their snazzy metal sign at the end of the road, backed by the most perfect view of the Kavango River Delta.
It was a sign (hah, pun intended) of good things to come. We arrived at the River Lodge and were like giddy kids at Disney World. Air conditioning! Hot showers! Quintessential views of Africa! No bugs! Plush mattresses! Real comforters! Couches!
After running around our area of the lodge, we settled in for dinner on the veranda of the lodge restaurant. I ordered hake fillets - only N$60 (about $8 USD) for two huge, delicious, battered fillets. A dream come true! We enjoyed our dinner and wine while watching the sun set to the left:
and the rains passing over Angola to the right (cue Toto now):
As Patty Griffin sings, "Only I'm glad to be here with you on this heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly day, all the troubles gone away, for a while anyway, for a while anyway, heavenly day."
After the best night's sleep in a while, we enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast in the morning, did some grocery shopping (finally found some pesto for my pasta!), and went back to the first lodge for a double order of chocolate ice cream on a waffle and a chocolate milkshake (indulging in cravings).
Later that day, we parted ways and Amy and I went back to her cute house in Bunya for the night. Amy's golden birthday was on February 23, so we celebrated the night in style with an experimental white pizza...
...a Pillsbury chocolate mousse cake (cake = good, mousse = not so good)...
...and candles, birthday tiaras, and goofiness:
Very grateful to have found such a kindred spirit on this Namibian adventure. And even more thankful that we got to see each other and celebrate this weekend!
Sunday, I travelled for 10 hours from Bunya to Ohangwena. The first hour was spent hitchiking on a Windhoek Lager semitruck. Life goal: complete.
Here's to good friends, good food, and respites from the crazy daily Namibian life we are living!
It's great to hear how you are getting some to have some fun adventures in the midst of other more challenging days! Hope you get to go back to that "heavenly" lodge one day!
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