Two weeks and my first Namibian hike in the books!

And by hike, I mean a real proper hike climbing a mountain (“Hiking” also refers to hitch hiking, a very common mode of transportation in Namibia. But, I’ll be able to fully explain that more once I get a little experience).

On Sunday, August 20, a lot of us woke up early instead of sleeping in to go climb “Pride Rock”, as it has been dubbed by past volunteers.

However, it was on the way from the hostel to the base of the mountain that I discovered that either a. My malaria medicine doesn’t like apples or b. I have intolerance for Namibian apples, because I got very very sick.

But, instead of letting this apple situation hold me back, I rallied and climbed that darn thing (albeit slowly with a few rest breaks).

part of Okahandja behind me

Getting to see the town from a bird’s eye view was truly incredibly. I didn’t realize it is as big as it is. The center of town isn’t very large. It consists of a couple of grocery stores, a small mall, and a few other shops, bars, and food places. However the “township” part of town sprawls around three kilometers out.

On my first night of homestay, my new Mama told me that when I was staying in the hostel in town, I was not living in Africa. But now that I am living in the township, I am truly living in Africa.

Halfway through view to the top

But, the main moral of the story is that I haven’t completely lost my hiking ability, but I definitely need to get into better shape.