Namibian Culture, Food...and Sandboarding

Township Tour.  One of the best I've been on.  I got to: meet the Chief of the Hararo tribe in the Township and ask her quetions about her job (it sounds a bit like being an elected agony aunt); visit an artists wacky pink house (it looked like something I would have designed when I was young, so very cool); visit a local medicine woman (I smelt a lot of dung from various animals that supposedly cures various illnesses when boiled with water and drunk...I'd rather be ill than eat poo); eat fried worms/grub-like caterpillars with spinach and chicken, washed down with that minging local maize drink again; and then watch the local children perform dances for us about raising awareness of AIDS/HIV, poverty in Namibia, and saying how great it is to live in Namibia.  Now those kids can dance!

Sandboarding.  I think we can safely say I've got a long way to go before going for gold in the championships.  First of all, the walk up the massive 110m dune is not for the faint-hearted, letalone in the scorching hot sun.  I was absolutely petrified on my first run down after spraining my wrist snowboarding last year.  After a few runs though, and my legs stopped feeling like jelly, and my hands stopped shaking enough for me to take off my board I was good to go.  I even attempted to jump off the ramp TWICE!  Both times ended with me landing face-down in the sand.  I also had a go at the lie-down boarding.  I managed to rack-up a speed of 68mph...after my first attempt which resulted in me spinning as I descended the dune at about 50mph and rolling down the rest to yet again land on my face.  I get the idea that sandboarding, and perhaps snowboarding, isn't my thing.