A village visit
This morning two passengers (Art and Mark) went fishing at 6 a.m. Yesterday four went fishing and caught a large catfish that they gave to a local village.
Most of us left at 9 am to visit a village, meet the elders and chief, talk with the school children and buy handicrafts at their market. Barb stayed on board to recover from the long day yesterday on safari. Niles toured the village but skipped the school.
The village is known as “Itongo” (eye-ton-go) and means “abandoned village”. Our guide there was a young educated woman of the village named Anid. The people of the village belong to the “Masubia” people which is also the name of their language.
Anid…
…led us around the village.
She introduced us to a young mother…
…with five young children
The houses are made of mud packed around thin tree limb supports. The roofs are made from reeds…
which are dried and attached to tree limb supports with twine.
The bathroom is another area out back..
Chickens roam freely…
…except when enclosed with thorny vine fences.
Anid showed us where the people make local beer from leaves and berries from an “elephant tree” which if left too long to ferment can reach 85% alcohol.
The sound of drums brought all to a nearby reed-enclosed area called a “Boma”.
Several dozen village women danced and sang traditional cultural music.
The marketplace followed the boma: the reed baskets were made by the village women; the other handicrafts came from other villages.
After the dancing I met the village chief and presented him with a bolo from The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
A very friendly gentleman he and I posed for a photo as he continued to thank me for the bolo.
I skipped the visit to the school…just too hot.
Those who did visit the school reported energized students and teachers but a library with no tables or chairs and few books. A class room with no electric lighting and either openings for a future window or slats to let in the air. The students had raked and tidied up the grounds. The students and staff were welcoming and delighted to have visitors. Many passengers brought gifts for the school: books and games. The school superintendent said they have plans to build another 5 school rooms to meet the demand from nearby villages. Cost: $30,000. A dollar goes a long way in Namibia.
After returning to the ship I rested, had lunch and worked on John Grisham’s book “Rogue Lawyer”.
Cruising the Chobe we saw a pod of hippos by the riverbank:
…and housing for the Zambezi Queen boat staff and nearby government workers.
The Queen is a lovely boat and is on the Chobe River but hardly cruises…usually back and forth for short distances but most often anchored in the middle of the River. Turning to head back the other direction involves maneuvering back and forth many times in this narrow river.
Tonight is an African-themed dinner. The buffet dinner was wonderful as usual…
After dinner the Namibian staff entertained us with traditional dancing and drumming. Barb joined right in dancing while wearing a long tasseled belt, each tassel ending with bottle caps to create the rhythm as she danced. The staff ended the evening by singing the Namibian national anthem.
Tomorrow we are out of our rooms by 9:30 am and head for Victoria Falls
Note to self: Carolans instead of Bailey’s
Barb: I stayed on the boat this morning and rested. Yesterday was thrilling with all the animals including lions (6 females & 2 males) about 10 ft from us. The heat was almost unbearable. So today I’m listening to my body and resting.
This is our last night on the boat. Tomorrow we will pass through Namibia where we get our passports stamped then onto Botswana and Zimbabwe where we will board the Rovos train for 4 days as we go through the savannah. Then overnight in Johannesburg before flying home.
Our South African Adventure 