Photo update!

We're at the coast, in Swakopmund today, and students are busy blogging.  I think you can tell we are having some great experiences.  I thought I would post some additional photos from my camera to illustrate some of our experiences thus far.  Judging by the number of hits on the blog, there are some family members interested in what is going on--we have a good group, and it's been a great trip at this mid-point.

Enjoy!

We toured Katutura and learn about how the residents live.  This is a 'shabeen' (bar).  Don't worry, it's not a jail.  No one has come close to a jail, yet. 

Our friend, Uapii, took us to a place in Katutura that serves traditional meals.  We sampled goat head (some of us sampled more parts of the head than others...), mopane worms, dried fish, oryx (antelope), spinach, chicken, and mohangu (among other things).  Quite an interesting culinary stop on our tour!

On the way south, we stayed in Maltahohe.  It's a town in the middle of nothingness.  For a flavor of what it is like near Maltahohe, check out this blog post from 2009 when my family lived in Namibia.

On Farm Namtib in the south, we did surveys for weaver bird nests.  The Theile family was very hospitable and showed us the farm.  For one activity, we loaded up in the truck.  Don't forget to look at the scenery behind the truck---breathtaking!

The Theile family at Farm Namtib, where we had an excellent time and learned a lot about farming with wildlife and cattle.  We gave some CASNR t-shirts to the family, as well as some School of Natural Resources jackets to Linn and Thorsten.  They're wearing them, here.  Hated to leave, but we have an entire country to see!

Camping along our way from Helmeringhausen to Swakopmund.  This is at a place called the Rostock Ritz, and they had a nice campground.  I thought folks would enjoy seeing our rooftop tents.  The campground had warm water from a wood-burning 'donkey' (hot water heater).  Everyone pitched in with dinner and breakfast---good food out on the plains.  When we woke up, there were about 20 mountain zebra 150 yards from our campsite.  You never know what you'll discover in Namibia!

Had to stop for a photo opportunity, here!  How many other college students can say they've been here?!

Clowning around...trip must be going OK if the prof's are still doing stuff like this.

On our harbor tour of Walvis Bay, the boat captain brought a visitor aboard...a cape fur seal. 

During our tour of the Namib Desert, we had a chance to climb a dune.  Later, they actually drove us to the top, as well.  And, we had several fun roller coaster rides on 4x4 Land Rovers through the dunes!

"I will prepare a meal for you in the wilderness."  Or something like that.  How about the middle of the desert?!  Some students learned that they liked Namibian oysters.  Others were happy to eat other stuff.

The Snake Park in Swakopmund.  This is a python, native to Namibia.  Tara and Monica rated this as a pretty good stop!

Stay tuned for more.  We're headed into areas with less internet, so there may be less blog activity for a few days.