We had
planned to move further south from Lüderitz, but we were still missing the
dunes of Sesriem and decided to head back instead of taking a slow route back
to Cape Town.
I guess it
wouldn’t be a road trip in Africa without at least one flat tire.
Africa’s
roads are not kind to tires, which is why we were carrying two spares on the
truck. About halfway back to Sesriem, we were going through a livestock gate
and a little kid pointed out that our back tire was flat. Totally flat, and
clearly had been driven on for a while. The road was so squishy that we hadn’t
even felt the change in the tire. Two more boys appeared and quickly jumped in
to get that tire changed. B had a hard time keeping them out from under
the car while he was jacking it up. They had clearly seen a few flats in their
short lives. Apparently they worked at the farm we were passing, and
unfortunately they also looked malnourished and very poor. They only looked
about 5, 7, and 12 years old, and it seemed impossible that they were going to
school. These kids were super helpful and polite. We left them with a tip for
their help, wishing we had done more. Here’s B supporting child labour.
Namibia and Botswana are among those African countries that have had effective shifts from colonizers to independent
democratic governance, but there is a pretty obvious gap between white and
black. As in Botswana, there always seems to be a white person in an office
somewhere and blacks doing most of the work. It’s a bit tough to reconcile.
Our first
spare was flat – we’re hoping it’s a slow leak and can be pumped up in case we
need it – but we got the tire changed and were on our way.
We were
noticeably less blown away by the views on the drive back to Sesriem. It’s sad
how easily we can start to take magic for granted. We made it back just in time
for a sunset visit out to the dunes.
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