(I’m sure this will be confusing but going forward, I’ll title the entry with the date/day of the events, not the day/date that I’m writing this. For instance, it’s now Thursday, at 6:45 in the morning but I’m writing about what happened two days ago. Now that you’ll thoroughly confused…..)
I spent most of Tuesday trying to bring this blog up to date but I had a lot of trouble getting on line until Chrissy, our IT specialist, helped me. We had dinner together and I promised her my recipe for onion soup, which she loves, and so she showed me a better way to do this. I just create my entry for the day on Word. Then I go on line and copy and paste the entry onto my blog. That saves me loads of internet time. So here we go.
Tuesday was a catch-up day. I didn’t get selected to go ashore here and so worked on the blog and did some laundry. I spent some time on deck, just resting up for the big event of the evening when most of the passengers went ashore for a “Dinner Under the Stars.” We boarded huge busses and snaked our way through the town here – which isn’t much – and into the famous Namibian Desert, which is, with dunes as high as a 15 story building. The highway was truly washboard, with deep, rocky ruts under the sandy surface. Getting there was like a very long vibration in a cheap motel. We turned left at Dune #7 – there’s literally a sign saying “Dune #7” – and threaded our way into the dunes themselves. We turned a corner and there, tucked away in the sand was our oasis, a U shaped tent nestled up against the highest dunes I’ve ever seen. A red carpet took us into the courtyard of the U where we were greeted by kids from Namibian schools, singing folk songs. It was really sweet. There was a campfire and a cook, tossing vegetables chopped like slaw on a big surface that looked like the end of a steel drum. Inside the tents, all was civilized, with white table clothes, plastic chairs slip covered in white material and palm tree plants. It looked like a wedding reception. The food was okay if you like ox tail soup and lamb stew and the wine flowed freely, which made the food taste better. I sat with Elise and Henry, making Henry my charge, even helping him to the pot-a-potty in the dark. (He’s taking me to dinner tonight in one of the two upscale restaurants on board). As it grew dark outside, the hundreds of candleros – candles in paper bags – that had been scattered over the landscape (even up in the dunes) made a beautiful tableau, like so many fireflies buzzing around. Unfortunately, the sky was not clear so dinner under the stars became dinner in the sand, but what the heck: it was a memorable experience, all the same. Back on the ship, I ran into Rudy in the lounge (which sounds like the title of a CD of Ethel Smith playing the organ in a bar) where, for a change, I didn’t have to be on dance duty. Rudy wanted to talk over his cognac so I joined him for a real vodka. He let me know that Heinz is married, yes, married, and his wife doesn’t really like him doing this. I can see why. Rudy also got friendly, putting his hand on my shoulder and inviting me to visit him in Los Angeles. I escaped by saying I had to apologize to Dirk and Melanie (who appeared at that strategic moment) for standing them up for dinner. They understood but I don’t expect them to repeat the invitation. And then to bed. Stay tuned.
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