Lüderitz, Namibia

April 10, 2008

After an overnight sail we arrived early to a crispy cool morning in Lüderitz. What a picturesque place.....small, Geomantic in feeling with a few squarish church steeples silhouetted against a craggy mountain background with sand streets. Very picturesque

I took an interesting eight mile ride into the desert to a ghost town of Kolmanskop, founded in 1908. En route we passed a most interesting cemetery that was in such contrast against the sandy and rocky background. I only regret that I didn’t have time to stop and walk among the graves...no doubt, it would have been an historic stroll.

Kolmanskop was like no other place I have ever seen. Perched on the hillside, we saw it from afar....a wide “street” (about half the width of a football field) along which stood a grouping of some twenty or thirty-something sandy-colored one, two and some three-story buildings. Not a tree or plant in sight....only sand, sand, and more sand.

We learned that at the turn of the last century diamonds were discovered in this area....how, I am not sure....I mean this place is very remote!....but, discovered they were. Apparently there were so many diamonds that one could literally lay on the ground and with tweezers in hand pick up three to four hundred diamonds a day! In fact, we saw a photograph of men doing just that. Less obvious... noticeable only after the guide pointed it out...was the fact that these men, lying on their stomachs had their mouths taped shut to prevent them from swallowing the goods! We learned that the small hospital on the street had one of the first X-Ray machines in Southern Africa....why? To examine the miners to, once again, confirm that they had not ingested the stones! Apparently the native Namibians--some 800 of them –housed in dormitory-styled houses in the distant eyesight of the “town” were contracted for two years to work on the property. At the end of their term they were sent to the hospital for a week or 10 days to be put on a laxative diet to, once again!, ensure that they were not taking any of the diamonds home with them.

Around 1940 or 50, once the majority of diamonds had been cleared....and after another site some miles away was discovered that was producing very large diamonds, the town was simply abandoned....people just walk...or ran....away leaving furniture, dishes, everything. In the intervening years the desert took over and it wasn’t long until the city was almost completely buried in sand...many buildings were covered up to the roof line! Only a few of the local people of Lüderitz knew about the city and indeed used it as a building supply “store” as they pilfered the elements of the various buildings for their own homes. Luckily, the mining company that still owns the land realized what they had and have spent the last several years “restoring” the town and bringing it back to some sense of what it must have been like as a museum.

A number of buildings have been completely cleared of the sand. We first visited the “casino” building....not used for gambling at all...but more of a gathering place for fun and relaxation. The lower lever of this large two-story building holds the bar and bowling alley....apparently still operable. Upstairs was a large “ballroom” complete with stage where concerts, dances, and balls were held. The entire place...in fact every interior we visited was painted in the most unusual colors and most of the walls were stenciled in elaborate patterns. Because it is far enough away from the water and has been covered in sand it is relatively well-preserved. So very fascinating!!!

We visited the shopkeeper’s house which has been furnished with various pieces found throughout the town....charming! This house sits next door to the “shop” which is now used as a small museum.

The ice factory is a prime example of the ingenuity of the town planners. Since every house had an old-fashioned ice boxes, ice was needed on a daily basis. Ice in the middle of the desert? Not an easy thing. Especially when you learn that all the drinking water had to be imported from Cape Town South Africa...some 1,000 KM away...via ship and then transported overland from the harbor via mule-drawn sleds....not an easy feat. In the ice factory there was a large vat that was filled with salt water....120 or so metal “chambers” were positioned vertically in this vat and filled with fresh water. Then through an electrical and chemical process that I did not understand, ice was made and distributed to the various ice boxes in the town. With an early eye to recycling the ice factory shared a wall with the butcher shop. The chilled sea water that had been used to form the ice was forced through large pipes in the cooling room of the butchers, thus providing a large refrigerated room to hang the meat....and then smaller “pipes” allowed this chilled air to filter into the butcher shop in the next room.....thus, an air-conditioned shop in the middle of the desert in the early part of the 20th century....pretty ingenious!

Seeing all this was made even more delightful because of our great guide, Nathalie. A local Namibian of one of the native “tribes”, as she called it, was very knowledgeable and so very enthusiastic. She even spoke and sang to us in her native language....one of the “clicking” languages. If you have ever seen the movie, “The Gods Must Be Crazy” you have heard such a language...many dialects of which are spoken by the “bushmen” who still roam the deserts of Namibia as nomads today. Nathalie demonstrated the four different and distinctive sounds that she makes by shaping her tongue and breathing in....it seems impossible to me...but is very beautiful to hear and so different from anything I have ever heard before.

Returning to Lüderitz, we strolled the few streets and visited a local shop where I spotted four or five stones that were so beautiful. When I approached the shop keeper she laughed at me....those are just rocks she said....for display. But when I showed interest in them she perked up....said that they were “jasper” and this and that. It seems that the shop owner was out giving tours to us cruisers and this woman just was at a loss as to what, if anything to charge me for these “rocks”. We finally negotiated a price....$10.00 (US!) When the shop owner returned she either jumped with joy and laughter and realized that this dumb American had just paid good money for a handful of rocks....OR, she fired her employee for selling me this “collection” of valuable stones.....regardless, I have five beautiful stones from Namibia!

Now we are sailing toward Cape Town....I can’t wait! Everyone on board is excited....crew and passengers...saying that Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities....and harbors!....in the world!. Stay tuned!