Walvis Bay/Namibia

30.5.2024 Walvis Bay

At around 10:00 a.m. I had completed the immigration formalities, left the ship and took the shuttle bus to the Dunes shopping center.

The Dunes Mall has around 80 shops, many of which sell everyday items. The prices there are pleasantly low. I got around USD 50 worth of Namibian dollars from an ATM, which I spent almost all of in the mall.

For this I got:

1 bottle of "Royal Rhino" African Cream Liqueur, which I had been looking for for a while

1 bottle of "Traditional South African Melktert", whatever that may be

1 litre guava juice

1/2 litre Guava Fruit Blend

1 This Stoney Ginger Ale

approx. 300g Beef Droewors

80g Beef Biltong Chilli Pepper

1 tube of toothpaste.

I spent the rest in a steakhouse on 600g of spare ribs and a Windhoek beer. You can obviously live cheaply in Namibia.

I took the shuttle bus to the ship to leave my purchases there.

Then I set out on foot to fulfill the wish of a Facebook friend. She had asked for a postcard from Namibia.

I used Google Maps to guide me to the post office. I had planned to buy a postcard on the way there and write, stamp and mail it at the post office.

After about 25 minutes I reached the exit of the port area near the city. Before I could leave, I was stopped by the port security service. I was not allowed to use this exit. I explained my intention, he called a colleague over, with whom I then went into a guard room, where I was graciously allowed to pass.

Fifteen minutes later I was at the post office. The problem was that I had looked for postcards in a kiosk, a supermarket and a stationery store, but hadn't found any. I hadn't seen a souvenir shop anywhere. I considered buying stamps, but decided against it because I hadn't seen a NamPost mailbox anywhere.

On the way back to the ship (on a different route) I kept looking, but there were no postcards anywhere. This is not particularly surprising, because Walvis Bay is not a beautiful town. The photos from the tour operators only showed attractions such as sand dunes outside the town. So I had to admit defeat, which I was sorry about, because I try to keep my promises.

In the evening I skipped dinner, but not the "Walvis Bay Spectacle": Twenty dancers presented songs and dances from Namibia.