Spring with a zzzzziiiinnnnnnnggggg

The seasons change rapidly here, or the transition from winter to spring certainly seems a speedy flip from chilly mornings and evenings, when I've needed the heating on and had to buy extra jumpers to boiling hot, simmering days in no-time. Well apart from a couple of days of strong biting winds in-between when I tried to walk uphill in headwinds in search of an elusive Sunday afternoon tea recently but couldn't make it and was blown back down again.

Today is different, calm, beautifully clear, azure blue skies, with the sun's rays beating down on my back. So to mark the occasion, in my lunchbreak today I trotted off up the nearest hill and round the corner to one of Windhoek's best kept secrets - the Cicada Cafe, tucked away at the back of lovely garden nursery called Wilde Eend on Uhland Street. I know what you are thinking....this blog is turning into a guide to food and drink and general over indulgence in Nambia! But food and drink, along with sights and sounds, music and laughter are all part of the experiences here.

I enjoyed a slice of zingy home-made lemon meringue pie accompanied by a tall glass of ice-cold, equally zingy ginger and lemon sparkler while watching the German inhabitants of Klein Windhoek dive into an array of luscious salads. Note to self....must try one of those next time!

From fish to apes and marmite

Last weekend I took myself off on a self-guided mini-walking tour in the centre of Windhoek, taking note of some of the landmarks and orientating myself to find places of interest I want to go back and explore at a later date e.g. the State Museum, National Art Gallery, Craft Centre etc. I stopped to admire the fountain and sculpture on Post Street Mall, made from real meteors commemorating a large meteor shower at Gibeon which happened 600 million years ago! I meandered through the many street stalls selling wood carvings, bead and leatherwork and baskets and stopped to buy some collectors stamps for my postcards home. I dropped into Ocean Basket to treat myself to fish and chips (well what is a Brit abroad supposed to do?) which happens to be one of my favourite foods anyway and cooked to perfection. I tucked in while sitting on the balcony overlooking the street craft market and watched the world go by for a while. You have to take a peek at one of their bizarre TV adverts, check out the prawn pack

Then to work off those calories I set off again on a ramble, pondered for a few tranquil, prayerful moments in the courtyard garden of the Dutch Reform Church, enjoying the welcome shade. And then I continued on to the Owela museum to see the Natural History Collection which ranged from the Welwitchia mirabilis desert plant, through to the endangered rhino and included an impressive display showing the evolutionary history of the elephant. On the other side of the museum visitors can wander through a series of displays showing the history and cultural practices of Namibia's diverse peoples including the Himba, Herero, Nama, Damara and Khoisan. Well worth a visit!

After that and feeling a tad parched in the strong afternoon sunshine, I toddled off to Maerua Mall to down an iced chocolate and slice of pecan pie at the Mugg and Bean Cafe but was disappointed with the iced chocolate because it had coffee in it.  I said to the waitress "but this is a mocha....", she replied, "no it's iced chocolate", I replied "when you mix chocolate and coffee together its a mocha", she said "no its an iced chocolate muggaccino".....oh my how confusing! Anyway I then bought myself a ticket to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at Windhoek's only cinema. I thought the dialogue was pretty ropey at times but the computer generated action and special effects were impressive. I think the best actor award should go to the computer generated "Caesar", voice over and motion capture by Andy Serkis (remember him as Gollum in Lord of the Rings?....I rest my case).

Yesterday, I had a lazy Saturday, firstly a long lie in then a ramble down to get a strong coffee at Caffe Brazza. Secondly I bought a lovely aloe and soft linen home fragrance  reed diffuser from the Body Shop to bring a fresh spring scent into my flat now that the winter cold and wind is showing signs of abating and summer is on its way. A quick dash round Checkers supermarket to stock up on my food for the week ensued and later I joined my new friend Tracy, who runs the Cinnamon Cafe and a lovely little bar next to it, for a very late but delicious lunch at La Marmite restaurant on Independence Avenue. A North and West African venue with a fantastic menu is a place not to be missed. I delighted in one of my favourite African dishes, chicken in groundnut sauce with rice and spinach followed by flambed bananas in Amarula and coffee liqueur with ice cream...hmmmm.....amazing. I didn't need to eat again that day!

On the good life....

Dear readers!

 I'm aware that I've been a bit slack lately and haven't posted on my blog for a while. I hope you enjoyed the slide show I posted up yesterday! I've had my head down the last few weeks analysing data and getting a report finished. My colleagues and I had managed to gather a lot of information from interviews during our field visit. We have heard about some good practices and innovations in responding to protection concerns during the relief phase of the flood emergency, and some key individuals who are championing the cause at field level which is encouraging. However there are still gaps during the return and recovery phase and much work to be done in the next four months to strengthen leadership, coordination, conduct trainings and assist stakeholders to come up with a realistic and practical plan for the protection sector. We have a series of meetings ahead of us this coming week to galvanise more support and commitment across the board so hopefully we can accelerate the process.

Meanwhile on the 'leisure' front I've also been a bit busy too! I want to make the most of my time here. A couple of weeks ago I managed to join the monthly guided tour of the Botanic Gardens which started at 8.00 am on a Saturday morning.  I set off from home in the chilly morning air to walk down to the botanic gardens and I arrived to find a really good turnout, people from all ages and backgrounds had pitched up ready to explore the wealth of plant specimens with the help from our incredibly knowledgeable guide, Wilhem, a very tall German chap. The tour took 2.5 hours and after much searcing, scrutinising leaves, seeds and flowers and listening to numerous anecdotes on plant collecting we ended the tour with a lovely steaming cup of tea and delicious home made cake. During the tour I made two new friends,  a Brit called Beth who works  as a field guide at the P.A.W.S project at Okonjima (cheetah conservation) and Mark who is an American anthropologist, studying management systems and structures in uranium mining. 

The next day Beth, Mark and I decided to go out for dinner at NICE, the Namibian Institute for Culinary Education which is a 'finishing' school for future top chefs in Namibia.  The food is top notch at reasonable prices and the setting beautiful, a myriad of individually themed and beautifully designed dining rooms.

I enjoyed some grilled butterfish on couscous with tomato chutney, accompanied by a refreshing glass of chardonnay, followed by a cassata parfait and coffee. Delightful!

Another culinary find is the Cinnamon Cafe, a quaint cafe attached to Otto's antiques, ideal for a tasty brunch or lunch. I enjoyed a steak roll and then pancakes with chocolate sauce! Browsing Otto's is like stepping into a time machine and being transported back into Namibia's chequered history....

Photo slideshow - Namibian River Adventure, July 2011

Here are some photos I took during my recent field visit with my colleagues from UNFPA and NRCS in six regions in north eastern and north central Namibia.