One of the things that stand out in this area of Africa is the absolute desolate and dry looking coastline. I always think of plush areas right up to the ocean but look at this coastline. This photo was taken near Luderitz but Walvis Bay was the same.

Namibia in general seems very safe but obviously there must be some problems since this Security Firm in Luderitz does advertise “armed response”. All of Namibia is filled with minerals, diamonds and uranium so mining operations are quite close to the cities.

Maurice, Peggy, Marcy and I did a walk about in Luderitz which is very small. Peggy has a tendency to pick up small children along the way so I took this photo at the port. As we were leaving she spotted a young lad of about 10 or so selling his art work. She haggled with him for awhile and got him to reduce it from $20 to $10. Now this precious piece of art work can only be described as hideous. I hope I get a photo of it when she places it in the white elephant sale at the end of the cruise. The frame is made out of dried muscle shells and there is a dried crab in the middle of the board . Only Peggy could buy this sort of thing. She, of course, likes helping children out but will not give them anything if they beg. This young entrepreneur made her happy.

My purchases so far in Africa are not quite so exotic. I am finding the prices are great here and I THINK I AM BUYING TOO MUCH. Hopefully I can get my purchases off the ship and into Rachael’s SUV when she picks me up. I have not found that to be the case in South America so I didn’t buy much there. I believe I will be TOTALLY BAD here since I am finding great buys.