Namibia

Namibia was easily Abi's favorite port so far. We arrived in Walvis Bay to the sound of a choir of girls singing. The girls were ages 8-17 and gave an amazing performance of songs in English and Damara, after which they came on ship for a brunch. Abi was delighted to play with them, and begged to go with them when they left. The girls were from inland Namibia, and their trip to greet the ship gave them the occassion to see the ocean for the first time.

Afterward we went up to Swakopmund, a German-style beach town where Abi ran off some energy by playing in the ocean and at a local playground. On Saturday, everything in town closes at 1pm. Apparently, the whole town goes to the beach on Saturday afternoon because the water was filled with children. I have never seen Abi be so adventurous in the ocean. She was running through the water and getting completely soaked with all the other kids. The disparity was noticable. Some children played on skim boards, while others took a giant piece of styrofoam and broke it apart to stuff in their swimsuits as an innovative floatie.

We climbed Dune 7 as a family. It is one of the largest sand dunes in the world. Abi was the first one up - she scaled it like a little monkey, never stopping. We ended up going around sunset, so the sand was cool enough for us to go up barefoot and the view was breathtaking. I was afraid to take the kids on that kind of adventure because I thought Abi might get tired. What I realized was these types of activities are perfect because it gives her a chance to be un-controlled for a little while. When we are walking in a city or on ship, we constantly have to tell Abi to slow down, watch out, be careful, etc. On the dune, she could go to the top however she wanted.

Swakopmund and Walvis Bay were great cities for family travel. A map wasn't essential in either city as they were both of a size and structure where you could find your way to any place by walking and looking for major landmarks. There are tons of outdoor activities that are great for kids, lots of familiar meals, and plenty of opportunities to interact with local kids on the weekend when most businesses are closed.

Luke already has pictures up on Facebook - I'll work on getting them posted here over the next few days.