I had already spent 10 days in Windhoek in February applying (unsuccessfully) for a visa to Angola. Now, after the truck accident and a broken bike, I was on my way the 900 km back to the capital. From the small town of Divundu where I was staying I simply went to the gas station and asked the passing cars for a ride. After 15 minutes a pastor and his crew invited me along for the ride. The bike even fitted nicely in the back of the pickup truck.
After a 12 hours ride with gospel music at full volume I was back at the Cardboard Box backpackers in Windhoek.
Hostels in Africa are different from what you experience in Asia and South America. There are still the typical twenty-something backpackers around, but then there is also all kinds of adventurers to be found; people having driving their cars or ridden their motorbikes all the way from Europe, and the odd cyclist now and then. Conversations over a beer in the bar were never boring.
It might seem like a long way to go 900 km back to find a bike store, but in fact I was lucky that the accident happened in Nambia. Getting new parts in any other African country (apart from South Africa) would be next to impossible.
So, after a week in Windhoek the bike was fixed with a new wheel, derailleur, and crank set. I had also managed to get my laptop computer back to life with a new screen. All in all a successful although expensive trip.
An early morning I went to the mini bus station to look for a ride up north. After waiting for 5 hours the bus was finally full, and we started the 12 hour ride back. Sharing a bus with 10 other Namibians is an experience in itself. Babies and food were being passed around to people who wouldn’t have known each other before, and of course everybody was asking the stranger with the bicycle about his trip. All good fun.
With a shiny new bike it’s time to get this expedition back on two wheels!
Good to see you back on the road, Thomas! I hope the rest of your trip, through Africa, will be trouble-free. 🙂