Rundu, Namibia - Okavango River Access

No mainliner buses going through Otjiwarongo until Friday, no place to camp, and the cheapest room I can find is nearly N$400 ($60USD). I eventually found a mini-bus heading north to Rundu for N$100. I'm on it. The bus had 11 seats and 19 travelers. Every one of my travel compansions was from the small village of Rundu and were deathly afraid of the lightning storm which enveloped the car for much of the trip. The women cower and shelter their children and refuse to open any of the windows. I loved it.

From my tent pitched in Rundu, I could see Angola and the flooding Okavango River. Tomorrow, I would spend time at the local market across the street, go for a hike through the countryside, and try to find a boat on which to head down the river towards Botswana. Gotta have dreams.

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It poured rain all morning, so I slept in and didn't really ever leave my tent except for a large T-Bone steak for lunch. I got deeply engrossed in a good book and spent the whole day reading. I can't recall a time when I read a book all day.

In the evening, I met an Englishman at the campground who invited me to a local bar to watch the Mozambique vs. Nigeria football match. Bad game, but great fun to be in a local bar in a rural town with a local crowd - mostly Angolans. The Englishman was traveling with an Irishman and a German. The Englishman and the Irishman were going by 4WD into Zimbabwe enroute to Mozambique where the Irishman lives and teaches English teachers. The German had hitch-hiked alone from Capetown and was heading to Botswana.

So ... I'm hitch-hiking from Rundu into Botswana with my new friend Jo from Germany. Sorry, mom.