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Velvet

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Posts posted by Velvet

  7. Nik Wallenda crossing The Falls

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    I'm actually in Niagara Falls. We just got back from watching it live.

    We got there about fifteen minutes before he started and easily jockeyed through the huge family-oriented crowd to a spot where we could see him cross start-to-finish.

    It was slowly exhilerating, like watching Evel Knievel jump the Snake River Canyon. For twenty-five minutes.

    It really was exciting, I'm very glad we happened to be in town for it.

    Ringo Starr was great.

  24. Namibialog

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    Stardate 060312

    Well, this is it. We're on our way home after a month's vacation, a time that seemed so long when we started and seems so short now. We are on South African Air, currently cruising at 800kms/hr, ten kilometres above Angola. We'll be touching down in Dakar before continuing on to Washington, then a ninety minute layover and we'll be headed home.

    We're in Business Class again on the way back. Heather and I started this leg by clinking champagne glasses together before I moved on to a steady diet of rum and cokes.

    We woke up this morning before the alarm, as we have every single time we set it in the last month. We were packed and ready to go, just a shower and the coffee/crepes daily ritual and about an hour spent twiddling thumbs and we were in our taxi.

    We then shuffled off to another guest house to pick up a loud-talking Australian miner who was headed to Nashville before finally zipping off to the airport. Our check-in was a breeze, no lineups for first class, and we were surprised that the small Windhoek airport even had an executive lounge. I stuffed myself silly on snacks and started into the self-pulled draught well before 10am while Heather lounged on the comfy couches with coffee as we waited for the first leg of our 28-hour journey, a short jaunt from Windhoek to Johannesburg.

    We've really packed it in on this trip. We both experienced a lot of things for the first time, things we'll never forget, visited three new countries (four if you include jumping back and forth over the borderline in Zimbabwe, plus our few hours in England was my first time in the UK) and saw some truly remarkable stuff.

    We both agree that one of the major highlights was Etosha park, particularly our first visit to the camp watering hole where three elephants and a half-dozen giraffe quenched their thirst at sunset before our gaping eyes. I'll always remember playing guitar to the Himba women and tromping in the ancient dinosaur footprints, sharing drinks with my lady as the sun went down over the Royal Livingstone Hotel and driving some of those crazy dirt roads in Snakey, our rented Nissan Tiida.

    I know Heather really liked Cape Town, the beaches and the cool boutique hotel in Camps Bay and taking pictures of ostriches in Sesrium with the golden dunes for a backdrop. We witnessed about 31 sunsets and sunrises and soared above the world's biggest waterfall together, saw at least thirty different kinds of crazy critters in the wild and drank an admirable amount of beer. We even made a couple of good friends along the way.

    We just finished an excellent meal up here in the sky. Heather warmed up with a glass of Moet's & Chandon Brut Imperial champagne and I picked one of the red wine choices, Plaiser de Merle Merlot 2009, both served with canapes. I asked the stewardess if she would pour me another rum to accompany the wine and she did, with a smile.

    I started with the potato and leek soup, Heather opted for smoked salmon and prawn salad and we shared our mains of garlic and chili lamb chops and Moroccan chicken thigh stuffed with olives. Our meals were followed by dessert and a cheese tray and plenty more drinks. Heather is currently plugged into a documentary on Nelson Mandela while I type away. Our seats fully recline and come with AC power outlets, complimentary toiletries kits and lots and lots of leg room. It truly is a world apart up here at the front of the plane.

    I can't recommend Namibia enough as a travel destination for pretty much anybody. The roads are good, English is spoken everywhere, the food options are plentiful, hell you can even drink the tap water. Call it Africa for beginners: it's safe, easy, has great weather and lots to do. It's European when you want European, true Africa when you want true Africa, it has all the wildlife you could ask for and it's reasonably priced. I spent slightly less than I anticipated, going through about $2,400 in the month, not including the flight, though one could easily spend $300 a day here if they were so inclined.

    For those willing to pitch a tent Namibia is a campers paradise. Everywhere you go you'll have your choice of camping options, and everywhere you go you'll find friendly faces willing to help with whatever you might need. For those with a camera and a zoom lens you'll never want to leave, it's a photographers dream come true. And when you feel like you've seen all that you want, the country borders South Africa, Botswana and Zambia to name a few popular destinations.

    The lights have gone dark on the plane, passengers are reclining all around me – our seats even have a massage option. Breakfast looks great, we both selected the cheese frittata with grilled back bacon, stuffed mushrooms and ratatouille. I think I'll catch a movie and get some shuteye, I have to work tomorrow (you can actually reasonably do that when you fly Executive, even after more than a day of travel you arrive refreshed, if a little tipsy).

    In conclusion I'd like to thank any and all of you who took the time to read these logs, and I'll go out of my way to encourage you to put Namibia near the top of your travel wish-list. Young or old, experienced traveler or novice, it really is a great travel destination. I promise you'll never forget it.

  25. Namibialog

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    Stardate 060212

    I was not well rested when I woke up this morning before 7am. That crazy dude who was up half the night screaming seemed a bit too crazy for me (or, so it seemed, anyone else) to go off on, so we campers collectively let him burn himself out, and with the rising sun rousing me after a tidy three hours of sleep I used the shower and coffee method of wakefulness. I ran into the owner and told him what happened. He said he would kick dude out and I felt a bit bad about it. Luckily for my conscience in the end he didn't do anything about the guy at all.

    Heather got up about an hour later and soon we were four collected together for the appetite-inducing tiny crepe breakfast that is ubiquitous here at Cardboard Box Backpackers. After breakfast it was hugs and handshakes as we bid Richard and Maya safe travels. The four of us have been virtually joined at the hip since we met on our second day in Zambia, they're a very nice couple and I hope we cross paths again.

    That's one of the great things about international travel; it's very easy to meet like-minded individuals and because you are all off on some sort of adventure it's possible to share some unforgettable unique experiences together, which makes for some primo bonding. It was Maya and Rich that convinced us to book our microlight flight over Vic Falls and I'll always thank them for that. Lots of different people travel for lots of different reasons and it usually only takes the shortest of conversations to find the sort of folks you know you'll be exchanges addresses with. If we're ever in Cardiff we know where to turn and if and when they are ever in our neck of the woods I look forward to showing them the best of times.

    With them gone Heather and I packed up the tent and moved our stuff into The Ritz for our last night, tonight will mark our only bed sleep on this trip to Namibia. On our own and with little in mind for the day we decided to make the rounds at the craft stores again; Heather had decided on a few things she wanted to pick up. Though it seems very counter-intuitive, on Saturdays most shops close at 1:30 in the afternoon. We managed to catch a few places before they closed and found a nice large shop that was open all afternoon. For a day with little planned my dogs were tired when we got back to the hostel around 4pm.

    Packing was up next but not until we had a cold beer or two. We relished the double bed and lounged as long as we dared, but with a lot of stuff to cram into two backpacks we had to get to it. Heather seemed to prevail without too much effort; by the time I finished packing I looked like I had just gone three rounds with Ali, shirt off and sweat dripping, but I did it. Using a lifetime of packing skills acquired as a furniture mover, performing musician, and backpacker I took advantage of every nook and cranny I could find, expelled air from ever pocket, stuffed socks in every gap and managed to squeeze 31.2 kilograms of stuff into one pack. I was tasked with finishing my rum before we left and stuffing today's clothes in the pack come morning, but I'll manage.

    We had been keeping a careful eye on our Namibian dollars for the last few days. We tucked our airport taxi fare away and the money we'd owe for the room and shopped accordingly. As dinner approached we had just about enough for a fairly good meal so on Heather's suggestion we went down the street to a traditional African place called Fusion. We had to be a little careful perusing the menu with our shortage of local currency, Heather skipped the wine opting for water instead and I drank nothing, but her chicken curry was great and so my kudu and salad was even better.

    Back at Cardboard Box the bar was hopping but we skipped it, booked our taxi for the morning and headed to the seclusion of The Ritz. I finished off my rum and on her insistence even drank Heather's last beer. We somehow managed to stay up past 10pm, and needlessly setting the alarm we lay down for our last sleep of this trip.

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