The Ghost Coast. Swakopmund.

 

It was if tornado had sucked up a Bulvarian town and its residents and dumped it intact on the coastline at the edge of the Namib desert.  Gingerbread houses included.  It was a little surreal to say the least.

After the parching heat of the desert, we decided to head to the cooler coastal climes for a few days, eat ice cream, go for sundowners and maybe glimpse the ghost coastline that this part of Namibia is renowned for.   What we hadn’t bargained  for was the rolling semi-opaque white sea mists, which envelope the area, combined with sharp biting winds dropped the temperature to sub degrees.    It was freezing and having only packed for warm days on the beach and balmy nights we both succumbed to shocking colds.

The pleasant surprise though was the lack high security fencing with its obligatory rolled barbed/razor wire or electrified fences protecting properties and the ability to wander around safely at night.

There is not a lot to do in Swakopmunde.  Extreme sports, camel rides, play Russian roulette with the rips – not our style.  We ate a lot of cake, walked along the beach, watched the sea fog roll in, froze and spent a lot of time wondering how ‘That Woman” Pub got its name.    However, the pier made for good photographs and the sunset was always spectacular.