From Baboons to Dunes

We had some R&R this weekend, and a lot of fun.  Namibia is the most diverse country I've ever seen. As we left the City bright and early yesterday morning, we managed to spot our first real wild life.  We saw quite a few baboons, that seem be a menace on the road.  Over the entire weekend, we also managed to see warthogs, kudu, ostrich, and flamingos.

We got a lot in.  After spending a full morning driving, we made it to Walvis Bay.  A very bizarre change in scenery indeed.  From the arid hills and flat lands around Windhoek, through a vast desert, ending up in the worlds largest and most golden sand dunes, that fall away into the sea. In Walvis Bay, Rick was insistent on eating at a restaurant where he had lunch on a previous visit.  ....after about an hour of driving around, and the rest of the passengers wanting to lynch him, he finally found it.  Though he did redeem himself because it was one of the best seafood meals I've ever eaten!  Not kidding, and I've had a lot of seafood in my life.  The town itself was, errr.... weird.  Never in a million years would I have guessed we are in Africa.  It looked like a seaside village in Central America. ....by the way, did you know that fishing is Namibia's second largest industry?  1st is diamond mining, and 3rd is tourism. Also, Namibia is the only country in the world that has sand dunes that go right to the ocean. (pretty neat stuff)

From there we ventured out to "Dune 7" where we took a guided quadding tour of the dune filled desert.  Too cool.  From there, we went over to Dune 7 itself, and with Tracy on Rick's back (I won't use Tracy's comments, at least not in print!) we hiked part way up the dune for a spectacular view.  From there Rick and I hiked the nearly 1,000 foot dune to experience a once in a lifetime view.

Back at the residence now, and ready to get back to work.  Which I'm sure will include some more of that fabulous Namibian hospitality in the evenings.

We'll have s shorter week as next weekend we'll head up North for another adventure.  I believe it will be a very busy week, so I'm not entirely certain when I'll be able to blog again, but I promise I will.  Oh, I promised Tracy I wouldn't post the picture of her on Rick's back going up the Dune. ....so you'll have to see me when I get home. ;-) (sorry Tracy)

Wayne

Copps 94

Had an interesting day yesterday, got some good work in.  Last night we were invited to participate in Copps 94. It is a weekly radio program they started about 6 months ago.  It runs from 8:00pm until midnight.  We go out in a long procession of vehicles, emergency lights on, and respond to the various calls throughout the City.  In between songs they interview the police to educate the community on various crimes going on around the community and how to stay safe.  ...maybe it was working because it was very quiet.  We participated in a road block where they had ALPR set up.  Interesting.  Running plates against the 50,000 outstanding warrants they have.  Mainly moving violations and parking tickets.  I have some interesting observations, including how officer safety is well, ......different.  We all wore bullet proof vests, without a trauma plate in it! Lol, guess it won't stop an AK47 anyway :)

Weekend is here, and it is bright and early. We are heading to the coast, to stay overnight in Walvis Bay.  We will be renting ATV's near "Dune 7". Should be very awesome to see some of the world's largest sand dunes.  Stay tuned for photos.

Wayne

Protein, Guns & Culture

I re-read my post from yesterday, and boy doesn't that sound depressing!  I said I didn't want to share anything else, and I still feel that way as it was such a humbling experience to visit that area.  I'll try and share some of the more fun stuff with you today.

On the work side, it has been going well. Although the funny part is, I never seem to know what we are doing.  We had quite the intensive schedule that was pre-set for us.  Rick told me not to worry about it, as it will change by the time we get there. And boy has it changed!!! By the minute.  We never seem to know where we are going next.  It is quite funny actually, but we are getting some great work done.

The other day we visited some members out in the field practicing their drills. Some of you may already know this, but Windhoek has adopted the Russian style of drill, and had formal training from Russia on it. ...hmm, never quite expected to see this in Africa!!!  I've posted a couple of pics below...

The other evening Rick and I were out doing some shopping.  There was a group of women from the Himba tribe selling their crafts in the open market.  I ended up purchasing some items from them.  It was a hilarious bargaining session!  At the end of the day, I think I ended up paying too much but they said I can get my picture taken with them! So I've posted that below as well.  The picture of me taking money out of my wallet appears to be rather incriminating I have to admit, but it was great fun. ...You don't see this on the streets of Abbotsford that's for sure!!!

Today we were out for lunch with one of our colleagues from the Police force.  Have I mentioned their entire diet seems to consist of meat??  Seriously, I've never seen so much protein served over three daily meals.  We were having a conversation and I mentioned that my family doesn't eat a lot of red meat.  When I said that, he appeared to be in shock!  I said we tend to eat a lot of fish and chicken, to which he replied "but fish and chicken isn't meat, you need meat with your meal!". Too funny.

So I get back to my room after my presentation in the afternoon and I get a phone call that they are sending a driver as there has been some confusion with the schedule. We are to meet with some media people at the Hilton.  Once again, another change to "the program".  A traffic member showed up to drive me over to meet the rest of the group.  Oh my, I was so happy to see the hotel parking lot by the time we arrived!  I guess the fact I'm still alive to update my blog is indicative that all my prayers worked during the drive.

When we finished with that, we got back to our room to get ready for our dinner with the former Mayor.  .....so jumping back a few days, we were woken up in the middle of the night by somebody screaming outside.  Rick warned me the next morning that he was surprised it wasn't accompanied by gunshots.  .....so as we are getting ready, I realized I need a needle and thread to sew a button back on.  I figured since Tracy was staying at the Hilton (and we definitely aren't, which is a whole other story) she may have a sewing kit in her bathroom.  So I decided to call her and ask, and just as she says "hello" gunfire erupts outside of our complex!!  And I'm talking a lot of gunfire!! My immediate reaction was to exit my bedroom towards the stairwell, at which time I figured it can't be a real gunfight because there have been too many shots fired! Since the rest of my day appeared to be an episode of faulty towers, I started laughing.  I also figured Rick would likely stick his head out the window to see what is going on.  In other words, if he managed to escape his bedroom, everything must be ok!  I start laughing hysterically as I'm on the phone, gunfire in the background, and Tracy yelling at me "OMG is that gunfire? Stop laughing, WTF is going on!".  Just then Rick comes around the corner, laughing so hard tears are coming from his eyes, but composes himself long enough to yell out "I've been hit!!!".  I think Tracy ended up being most scared by that one! ...as it turned out, it was an ERT exercise in the grounds outside.  I choose to believe it wasn't a live fire exercise as there were children playing nearby out back. ....at least that is what I hope!!

After that we had an amazing dinner with the former Mayor.  They put on a traditional Namibian/African meal for us.  Spinach, porridge, ....and lots of meat!   We were also treated to a traditional tribal dance from a group of people that were from the same tribe as one of the other colleagues we have been working with.  Amazing!!! I swear if you closed your eyes, it sounded like the sound track to The Lion King!  Now that is Africa, how cool.  ....The best part, and it will be if you read my last post, is the group is sponsored as part a program from the area we visited yesterday (the informal settlements).  They perform at various events to earn a small amount of money.  It also keeps them focused, as they have to practice a lot to hold true to their tribal traditions.  Once again, truly amazing....  Time for me to get some rest, it is after midnight here and it has been some very long days, but very cool ones to say the least.

Tugging on Your Heartstrings

I'll warn you upfront, there isn't too much in the way of humor today.  Nor any real cool pics, though I have some.  I won't share any funny stories like how at the Council meeting tonight, we were broadcast live on NBC (seriously, Namibian Broadcasting Company). What I will share with you, is what we did for a good part of the day.

We ended up touring the "informal settlements". It was simply heartbreaking.  10'x10' tin shacks, in the thousands.  Children and women washing clothes, barefoot, or playing in the dirt/sand next to their "home" under the hot African sun.  No sewer, no water, no electricity.....

The City of Windhoek has a population of appx. 350,000 people.  Over 200,000 of them live in these "informal settlements". On the professional side, it painted a very clear picture of  the policing challenges this City faces.  On the personal side, it left a permanent and profound imprint in my memory that I'll never forget.

On the positive side, we did hear of some efforts that are underway to help all of those people. There is a lot of history to share on how this came to be, but I'll share that on a different day.

As I mentioned, today I don't want to share any other experiences, or photos except the ones I've published below.  The next time one of my children (and I have many of them) are unhappy that they aren't able to get that new toy, or game, or cell phone, I'll be showing them some of the 100+ pictures I took today.  I'll remind them of how good they have it, and how happy some people are in the world just to have a sandy back yard to play in.....

We made it!

So I'll apologize up front for the lengthy post. We've been here for a few days now, and trying to get internet access to update my blog has been a little, ummmm.... Challenging! The other comment I'll make, is sorry for not posting any photos yet, but it has to do with my previous comment.

We arrived safe and sound, and with major jet lag! It is definitely the longest trip I've ever done. We have some wonderful hosts here taking care of us, and I can't say enough about their hospitality. They keep telling my that Namibia is the land of contrast. It is hard to explain until you've seen it first hand. My first impressions are it is a fairly modern City, with huge gaps between the "have's" and the "have not's". Their are many children here who only get one meal a day, which is at school. Yet others are driving around in BMW's and Mercedes.

The work side has been interesting to say the least. The first day was mainly a meet and greet with various dignitaries, ending it off with a dinner with the Mayor. We are considered an official foreign delagation here, which they seem to put a lot of emphasis on.

Today we really got some good work done. I had the chance to see first hand how they dispatch calls. ....oh my. It is too much to put into this blog, but there is a lot we can do for them that could really help them out, and most of it is simple changes to their processes. I'm really looking forward to what we can do for them.

Tomorrow will involve spending more time going over their business processes, and we also plan on driving out to the Katatura area. It is an informal settlement, ....they shanty town area. Not sure what to expect.

On the "contrast" side, the police building is very old and run down. (I won't even mention the bathrooms), and the front counter has one female sitting there, without any glass to protect her. The only protection are two large signs that say no guns allowed! ...the contrast, they spent money on a biometric access system for their building!

The other funny contrast, was getting a rid in Chief Kanimi's car back from dinner, in Namibia, with Dolly Parton and Porter Wagner cranked over his bluetooth enabled stereo system! Too funny.

On the personal side, I've never met such wonderful, and gracious people. I can't tell you how welcomed, and well taken care of we are.

I went shopping today, and bought some hand made crafts from some Himba tribe women in one of the market areas. They were wearing their tradition attire, ....which is pretty much nothing. (Google them). After some feeble negotiating on my part, I bought a few gifts and was allowed to get my photo taken with them.

So far, nothing is like what I imagined. Our hosts have some very cool things planned for us on the weekends. This weekend, we will be traveling out to the coast, where we will get to see (and climb) some of the world's tallest and oldest sand dunes. Did you know Namibia is the only country in the world that has sand dunes that go right into the Ocean?

I've had some great food here, italian, american, ...and some of the best steak I've ever had! Which was Oryx, and Kudu (sorry Jane, but it's true). .....the truth is, if it moves and can be killed for food, it will be. They are huge meat eaters here.

Anyway, I'll sign off for now. I'll hopefully have some better success in updating my blog, and promise to get a few photos published!

Wayne

Two more days

So it is two more days before I go off and fight the giant spiders in Namibia. ...ok, so maybe I won't actually be fighting off any spiders (I'll be running away from them).  I had considered about starting a blog for my upcoming trip, but hadn't really considered it until earlier today when Stacey asked if I was going to "blog" while I was there. So thanks to Stacey, I've started this blog for my upcoming trip. I'm sure the 2 or 3 people who might actually read this will appreciate it! ;-)

All kidding aside, we leave for our trip in just two days.  Hard to believe.  We had a great meeting on Monday night with the delegation that is currently here to go over our agenda for our trip. My role will be primarily to observe, and make recommendations.  However I will also be giving a couple of presentations regarding what we have done out here in BC with PRIME and our CAD/RMS.  There will also be some R&R time as well.  Our first weekend might include a trip out to the coast, where we will get to see some magnificent sand dunes.  The second weekend will be extended to a 5 day trip up North, where we will visit Etosha National Park http://www.etoshanationalpark.co.za/ and then spend some time in a rural village where we will be hosted by the Chief of Police at his traditional Namibian residence.

I'm hoping this blog will keep you up to date on our travels, as well as some light entertainment. (which will mainly be stories of me running from spiders).  Stay tuned.....