Goodbey Africa. We are enjoying two restdays in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The last two days we rode from the border with Botswana to here. I found Botswana very different from the other African countries we have visited, but in Namibia this feeling is even stronger: I was passed by numerous BMW’s and Mercedes Benzes, the restaurants and coke stops along the road looked very much like their European colleagues, and once you are in Windhoek, you easily forget you’re in Africa. The city reminds me of a town in the Midwest of the USA: shopping malls, big cars, people with a lot of overweight, etc. On one hand this is very pleasant because we get access to the things we had to do without for very long (food, drinks, showers, etc), on the other hand it makes you realize that the Tour is nearing its end.
The last day in Botswana was a very special one: it was the longest stage of the entire Tour d’Afrique, 209 km to the border at Buitenpos. In the morning we were confronted with the fact that we were camping in the Kalahari-desert: the temperature was 4 degrees, on some saddles a thin layer of ice was formed. Shivering and shaking, wearing a sweater, we started the stage. After a few kilometers we caught up with another group. We were with 8 riders, we stayed together for the rest of the day. Everybody took his share of leading the peleton, we did easily 29 km/h on average for the whole day. Riding like this is more fun, and does not wear you down so much. At 15.30h already we reached the border post.
Both in Namibia and Botswana the cycling was very monotonous, but for me not boring at all. Long, straight and level roads, the only sounds you hear are those of the birds and of your own tires. I expect no changes in this for the coming days, because Nambibia also is very sparsely populated.
Being Dutch, it is not hard to feel at home in Namibia: Afrikaans is widely spoken, so there are Dutch words all around you, and very often you can talk in dutch to the local people.
Monday we'll be leaving Windhoek, to ride in 6 days to the South African border. There we'll have our last rest day, after which another 6 days will hopefully bring us to our final destination, Capetown.
