Slowing down

I think we are starting to 'sink in' deeper to life on the road. We've covered 5000km so far and life is slowing down to a different, deeper, rhythm. I think I (ydi) am starting to see how tired I was. Today, when we hiked up some remote koppie to a cave high in the mountains, I realised how much I craved a break from the world. I think August's breakaway is from screens, job responsibilities and working really hard. I think I desperately needed a break from the postmodern world, from quarrels and opinions, hashtags and culture wars, headlines and arguments. Fatigued by too many people talking at once. Even being an artist has become pretty complicated.

So. Being away is good. Being able to sit still for once, looking at the swallows as they skilfully fly right up against the cliffs and then swerve off, providing for their young. How agile they are. Or watching large granite boulders turn pink, and then golden, and then grey as the globe turns, reliably, ignorant of our little lives. And then looking on as the milky way slowly appears and then starts to crowd a firmament where there are almost no other lights. Time has a different pace here. One has to hear the crickets here, now, to know it in your bones.

From the ghost mining town Kolmanskop we headed to the German port, Lüderitz, and then towards Sesriem, on the edge of the Namib desert. The famous Sossusvlei area is famous for its iconic red dune photos and dead trees, but driving into the park before sunrise for an early start, we were met by a gale force wind storm, obstructing our view, blowing sand in my camera, our clothes, ears and everywhere else. An older couple from Gauteng asked if we would drive and walk with them, which was good, as it was easy to lose one's way in the vast plains with the dust all around. We hiked a good few hours, found water in dead vlei (August waded in a bit and says it was frigid cold) and we were all struck by the harshness of the weather, the desolation and the remoteness of the place.

Other highlights traveling northward included Sesriem Canyon, camping at the foot of the remote Mirabib mountain and camping and hiking at Spitzkoppe. Everywhere we are near to almost the only visitors, with a beautiful silence hanging over the usually busy tourist spots. Humans are sparce in this Namibian landscape, which makes it a good place to clear your mind. We walk a lot, often in silence. We do small chores slowly, like cooking and washing. And then at night we watch the stars. Which is what I'm going to do now.

Ydi