Our first border crossing in Africa! We have crossed from South Africa into Namibia. In our latest video, we share our border experience and first campsite in Namibia. Then the adventures begin. We visit the largest canyon in Africa, Fish River Canyon. Then we wander through Kolmanskop, once a decadent German diamond mining town. Only a century later, it is a ghost town becoming buried by sand.
Watch now:
Fish River Canyon controversy
I may regret bringing this up. We continue to encounter a trend as we travel. The very first time, we were in Todos Santos on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. There was a hotel there called Hotel California, and all the local literature insisted it was the hotel that inspired the Eagles.
…But the Eagles flatly denied it. And sued the hotel. The claim was made up by someone in Todos Santos to bring tourists in. And even after the lawsuit was settled in 2018, tourists were still falling for it. In fact, they were nearly getting run over in the street as they tried to take their photos.
On and on it goes. One church we visited in Latin America was designed by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. But it wasn’t. Et cetera.
And now we come to Fish River Canyon in Namibia. For reasons beyond my understanding, all the local literature says Fish River Canyon is the second-largest canyon in the world, after Arizona’s Grand Canyon.
…But it isn’t. Chicamocha Canyon in Colombia is the second-largest canyon in the world. It is both longer and deeper than Fish River Canyon, and we’ve camped on its rim:
The existence of Chicamocha Canyon doesn’t take anything away from Fish River Canyon. You’ll see from our video that the latter is awe-inspiring. Absolutely beautiful. It isn’t covered by vegetation like Chicamocha, so you can see how every wall and hill is uniquely sculpted.
I’m not sure why places all over the world insist on blurring the facts to bring in tourists. These things can be appreciated for what they are.
What’s next?
In our next video, we continue overlanding Namibia and we continue to be inspired. We’re struck by a sudden downpour in the desert, which floods the roads and requires long water crossings. We visit Sossusvlei, where Caspian does a spontaneous hike without us (wait until you see what he did). And then there’s Spitzkoppe, known as the “Matterhorn of Namibia.”
Thank you for being part of our journey.
-B
Leave a Reply