Usakos with Friends

looking back to January 2017:

January was a bit rough, with a sad family situation and some very looong flights and layovers.  As glad as I was to get back to Arandis, I was very willing to leave town for a weekend to help M. celebrate his birthday with a whole bunch of other volunteers in the next town east, Usakos.

The view, from M's porch, of the outskirts of town.

Usakos is a bit bigger than my town, and a bit wetter, with the Khan River supplying enough water underground to allow for a few trees to survive.  A bit wetter also means more possibility of mosquitos.

And it's hot, even at night -- but night two they couldn't sleep outside,
due to rain!  That's right, rain!

It's also a main stopping point for traffic between Windhoek, the capital city, and Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on the west coast.  Swakop is a big tourist center; Walvis is the only deep-water port on this stretch of Africa's coastline, so it's a major transport and business center.  That means that the east-west corridor stays busy with trucks and combis full of people traveling for work or to visit family and friends, and almost all of them stop for toilets and the mini-mart (biltong, kooldrink, chips).

The mini-mart also supplements the local mini-grocer.

Strangely, Usakos doesn't have a great grocer, unlike my town, which has three.  But it does have a lovely cafe where we ate breakfast both mornings.

And a little park.  The town also serves regional, far-flung farmers.

We braii'd for M's birthday dinner, enjoying the lovely view from his porch.

Pretty sweet set-up for a PCV, but of course no grocer is a challenge.

But a lovely neighbor like this sweetie is a bonus.

I don't know why there's a little engine on display in Usakos.