Precap: Namibia

There will be no new posts after this until, at the earliest, July 3. Tomorrow I leave for a week-long adventure in the land of sand and sun: Namibia! All that is planned is my bus ticket - a 20-hour ride between Cape Town and Windhoek via InterCape Bus. While a flight would be much faster, I'm looking forward to the long ride because I'll actually see the country. I'm hoping the ride is something similar to the 24-hour train ride the Simmons trip had. I'm also dreading that it's going to be like that.

I know that I'm going with M, one of the American University grad interns, and most likely four of her fellow AU students, including A, with whom I had brunch on Sunday. Their group is embarking on a three-week trip around southern Africa; the first stop is three days in and around Windhoek. They're scheduled to leave on Wednesday, leaving me on my own for two more days. I'm pretty sure we're staying at Chameleon Backpackers Lodge, which was suggested to me by a CSer who lives in Windhoek. I'm 92 percent committed to attempting to drive a car there so that I can visit a cheetah reserve, which is too far from the city to take a taxi. An American told me that Namibia is the place to learn how to drive on the left side of the road because the roads are flat and empty, so it doesn't matter if I stall.

I'm hoping to meet up with at least one CSer while I'm there, but there is nothing set right now. This trip will be another challenge for me being on my own, but I feel surprisingly calm while writing this, despite having little planned. I'm looking forward to the sun and warmth;  seeing another African country; and a new stamp in my passport!