A change of scene
Today’s stage is flat with a good surface. We’re going to ride along the coast from Henties Bay to Swakopmund, just over 70 easy kilometres that we’ll be grateful for after yesterday. The weather changed completely: the day dawned much colder than the days before and, above all, much more humid, so much so that we set off in our rain jackets. As there was no café at the campsite, we started the ride without breakfast, hoping to find a good place to have it. And so we did: as soon as we set off we came across a lovely café where we had a great breakfast, one of the best of the trip. Once again, Henties Bay pleasantly surprised us.
With our stomachs full we hit the track. Completely flat and with a good surface, it let us ride at a good pace while we took in the beautiful Namibian coast. The sea wasn’t very rough and looked very cold, so it never even crossed our minds to dip a toe in the water.
The track slowly leads us south through Namibia. The landscape has changed radically: now we’re pedalling with the ocean on our right and the desert on our left.
And it isn’t just a sudden change of landscape. The climate is nothing like before: the temperature has dropped to a cool 17 degrees, with lots of humidity. Pedalling in this weather and with no wind has been so comfortable that almost without noticing we reach the outskirts of Swakopmund. It takes us a while to get through the town’s residential neighbourhoods to the centre and, once there, for the first time on this trip, we feel like something hot. It’s so humid that we’re chilled to the bone and, although you couldn’t call it cold, what we fancy most right now is something hot inside us.
After a stroll along the seafront we head into the town centre and find a place to have a drink.
As soon as we enter the town we realise that it really is a German town on the African coast. With its 35,000 inhabitants, this small town is a piece of Germany in the desert. Neither its shops nor its people remind us that we’re in Africa. I mean, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble if we fancy sauerkraut for dinner.
As we’ve arrived early, we pitch the tent at what must be the most comfortable campsite on the planet and go for a wander round the town. That door you can see in front of our tent is our private bathroom, next to our private washing line, sink, barbecue… We didn’t know places like this existed, and we love it!
Just outside the campsite we come across Swakopmund’s small aquarium, which is well worth a visit. And yes, Swakopmund is pretty, but… this isn’t what we came to Africa for. Though there’s no denying it’s quite a curiosity.
A wander round the town and not much else. Tomorrow we’ll reach Walvis Bay, the end of the road. Only 40 kilometres on the bike and we’ll have reached our destination.