Day 20: The rolling supermarket...

As announced yesterday, today we were supposed to help Sylvia with the 'store trip' through Okaue. So the alarm clock rang at 6:20 am, just like yesterday, because we were supposed to be ready for departure at 7:00 am after breakfast. While Sylvia made some preparations and Jakob helped hang the smoked meat in the cooling room for a short time, I quickly went to the farm workshop with our car. Checking the fuel level, oil level, coolant level, and tire pressure. It turned out that there was a missing spare tire, but the workers there immediately put on a new one. Meanwhile, the three of us started loading the car. From the storage, we put cornmeal, sugar, yeast, oil, powdered milk, candles, tea, tobacco, instant soup, instant lemonade, matches, work overalls, plates & cups, and even painkillers on the loading area of the pickup truck.

We also loaded two empty transportation bags for the finished charcoal and, of course, our new spare tire.

After loading everything, it was already 9:00 am and we headed towards Okaue. We reached the first of the 3 villages on the Okaue farm grounds around 10:00 am. They were already waiting for us. Soon, all the residents gathered around our car with the 'hot' goods. One by one, they were served: first, they introduced themselves to Jakob or me (we switched roles with each village), we found the cash book, and the villager placed their 'order'. The other person handed over the requested goods from the loading area. Each product was then recorded in the cash book. Sylvia and one of the workers (Simon) also worked as a team and helped with language problems. It was necessary because most of them only speak their tribal language (99% Herero) or a little bit of Afrikaans - English is rather rare. After delivering to all 3 villages and loading a few more items and villagers who were traveling, we headed back to the farm, passing through Kalkfeld (a town). Usually, on Tuesdays, Sylvia not only acts as a mobile store but also as a garbage truck, collecting the non-recyclable packaging waste. But due to limited space, this part had to be skipped today.

In general, Sylvia replaces the entire infrastructure for the villages. She supplies everyone as a mobile supermarket, takes care of garbage, water, and electricity, connects to public transportation in Kalkfeld, lends money as a bank, and pays wages as an employer. In extreme situations, she has even acted as a mediator and police.

Back on the farm, it was already 1:00 pm and it was time for lunch break and a big bowl of muesli. After the break, all cash books had to be updated according to yesterday evening's principle, to reflect the latest debt status.

We also had a reserve for another taxi ride. Somewhere from the north (no one knew exactly), 5 new charcoal burners were supposed to arrive today. The primary mode of transportation for them is taxi providers who commute between larger cities. Kalkfeld is one of the stops. These charcoal burners generally live as nomads and move with all their belongings from workplace to workplace. The large amount of luggage became a problem today... instead of 5 people with a small amount of luggage, only 3 people arrived in Kalkfeld with a lot of luggage. There were countless bags and backpacks, plastic bags, bed linens, jackets, and a cage with chickens. According to the taxi driver, the missing two will arrive tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock - according to Karsten and Sylvia, we should wait for the call first. In any case, we drove the 3 newcomers to one of the 3 villages and dropped them off there.

After that, we headed back towards the farm, and on the way, we picked up two hitchhiking workers and took a short break. We stood at the only railroad crossing in Kalkfeld for almost half an hour. It is located right next to the train station, and the train blocking the crossing in the middle of the town. Unfortunately, the train didn't pick up or drop off passengers there, but it refueled the entire diesel locomotive. Almost 7000 liters of diesel had to be replenished. Luckily, the train had been there for some time...

In the evening, Jakob found out that the train was not just any ordinary passenger train, but the so-called Pride of Africa. It is a kind of Orient Express through southern Africa and according to Wikipedia, the most luxurious train in the world...

Although it doesn't actually pass through Namibia on its route from South Africa to Tanzania, for some reason, it was clearly standing at the railway crossing in Kalkfeld and cost us half an hour...

In the evening, we had a delicious dinner and then it was time to go to bed.

(Source of Pride of Africa images: https://www.cedarberg-travel.com/experiences/rovos-rail-pride-of-africa?nabe=6542208244383744:1)