Beaches, dunes and deserts of Africa--June-July 2015

June and July usually make us think of relaxing get a-ways, beautiful sunsets, beaches, sand dunes, long, warm days and good times.  That's just what this past June and July were filled with.

In mid June Aly attended a conference in the German influenced town of Swakopmund, Namibia with Peace Corps colleagues (about 50 of us flew in from DC and the 26 African countries where PC works today).

Flying in over the Namib desert to the coast

all you see is the Namib desert from the plane

even the airport is out in the middle of the desert

Dune 7 is the highest dune in the world at 383 meters and is 7 kms from the ocean, hence the name.

Dune 7

Dune 7 closer up--that's a LOT of sand!

We left the airport and drove west to the coastal road so we could head north to Swakopmund.  We stopped in Walvis Bay to see the flamingos, thousands of them...

thousands of Flamingos in Walvis Bay

 then we headed north in the coastal fog to Swakopmund.

driving north in the fog to Swakopmund--with the ocean on the left

We arrived at our hotel and the fog lifted and it was a lovely winter day (yes, I said winter).  Remember we are in the southern hemisphere and it was chilly, but clear and blue.  Highs were in 60s-low 70s and eves were in high 40s (similar to southern California during winter).

our hotel and old rail station in Swakopmund

the hotel grounds and pool

2015 Africa DMOs and admin support

Every year different departments within PC hold conferences strategically located around the world for staff to get all the latest updates, meet counterparts, colleagues and support staff, and to share ideas and best practices.

This year's Africa Region DMO (Director of Management and Operations--my job!) conference was held in Namibia, in south western Africa with coast line along the southern Atlantic Ocean (see map below).  Namibia is about 1.18 the size of The Great State of Texas with only about 2 million inhabitants.  Incredible for Africa--remember Rwanda is about the size of Maryland--one of our smallest states--with a population of 12 million--and Maryland only has about 6 million residents!  It took 2 flights to get to our destination from Rwanda, a 4-hour flight to Johannesburg, an overnight there, then on to Swakopmund, roughly another 2-hour flight.

African geography--Namibia borders South Africa, Botswana, Angola, a bit of Zambia and a smaller bit of Zimbabwe

here you can see where exactly Swakopmund is located...

The conference was all finance, logistics, travel, contracts, procurement, cashiering, inventory, HR, vehicle management, and budget related.  The majority of the 10 days was filled with breakfast meetings, all day sessions, break out groups, working lunches and cocktail discussions all about work.  But hey, as most know, DMOs are the backbone of all PC offices (just ask anyone!!), but that doesn't mean we don't know how to have fun and squeeze in some R and R as well.

We made time for some meals out--

an old restaurant at the end of the jetty with delicious fresh seafood

with friends Karen and Eric

lunch at the end of the Jetty

watching the dolphins swimming outside the restaurant

sushi, or grilled calamari

or grilled springbok were on the menu

the beach with the fog rolling back in

another dinner out with DMOs and HQ staff

We made time for an afternoon of 4-wheel dune riding--

friends getting ready for some fun

atop a dune with the Atlantic ocean in the distance

dunes as far as you could see

who hoo!!!

yup, this is fun!

Namib dunes

a desert Zebra spider

dunes with the Atlantic ocean in the background

And we made time to visits town, shops and watch beautiful sunsets--

a vendors shop

Add caption

from the end of the jetty looking back at Swakopmund

town

the lighthouse

After the conference ended, Aly flew back to Rwanda just in time to pick up Buddy and off we flew to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania, this time in east Africa, and part of the country of Tanzania.  We took 2 planes, flying through Nairobi then directly to the island.  The temperature was much warmer, and yes, it was summer...

look how small Rwanda is compared to Tanzania

Zanzibar has a huge history in the Arab slave trade, but today is more commonly referred to as 'The Spice Island' as many spices grow naturally (cinnamon, vanilla, cardamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, anise, pepper and more) and it's one of the few places in the world where saffron is produced.

We both have been to Zanzibar before so our intent was a relaxing trip to a beach side lodge for a few days of R&R.  We chose a lodge on the north east part of the island (just north of Matemwe--see map below), almost as far as you can get from civilization...we spent 5 lovely nights enjoying the peace and tranquility of what a small beach resort offers...

After landing, it took 2 hours to drive about 50 miles to our lovely resort...

looking back at Stone Town, the main city on Zanzibar

tropical coconut palm forests line the road

Zanzibar has a huge fishing industry

a few boats...some working, some not...

a small town on the way up north

We finally reached our destination of The Sunshine Marine Lodge--with only 23 rooms which were almost empty during our visit.  http://www.marinelodgezanzibar.com/lodge/  Our room was beautiful with a gorgeous view...

our beautiful room

the bed and deck over looking the water

The pools were lovely over looking the beautiful Indian Ocean...

the dining room

an old dhow put to use as a bar

The colorful grounds of the lodge

Mnemba Island 3 kms away

taking snorkelers and divers out

We'd take morning walks along the beach

looking at our lodge from the rocky coastline

that's our room upper right

walking along the beach at low tide

the view up the beach 

looking back at the dock at our lodge while on our walk

rock lobster

sea urchin

rock crab

Buddy with friends we met while walking the beach

We'd watch in the early mornings, the women and girls, fully clothed, 'fish' during low tide--they walk out into the water and as the tide is going out, they'd gather shells, sea cucumber, anything edible from the tide pools, for their evening meals,

washing their 'catch'

mom is leading the way

While the men went out fishing for larger fish in their dhows...

And they'd all return at high tide (around midday), many with shrimp, snapper, tuna and more...

Our last eve...what a beautiful relaxing time we had...

evening dining with a full moon

Buddy enjoying a last fresh fish meal

the last evening was a beautiful full moon

Flying home we flew past Mt Kilimanjaro with its smaller peak Mawenzi and Mt Meru in the distance.

It was a very restful 5 days, which we spent reading, playing games, swimming, taking walks, borrowing the lodge bikes, eating good food, all the while enjoying the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of Zanzibar.