The City and the Township - Swakopmund

Part one


Part two

Save the M-Bag - Peace Corps Community Advocacy Issue

Background information

On May 14 the U.S. Postal Service eliminated International Surface Mail (M-Bag). This is the method used extensively by NPCA affiliate groups, returned Peace Corps volunteers and friends/family of currently serving Peace Corps volunteers in supporting grassroots efforts in many rural schools and communities in our countries of service.

USPS now offers airmail service only, which in most cases has tripled (or even quadrupled) the cost of shipping items overseas. This has shut down many projects not only with RPCVs but other non-profits, church groups and school groups.

Several groups (Friends of Malawi, African Library Project , One World Childrens Fund, among others) are compiling a list of non-profits and other groups who are protesting the elimination of International Surface Mail. This list will be sent to the Board of Governors of USPS as well as to Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which oversees USPS.

Take action now


An interesting Chicago Tribune article about the M-Bag

We have returned

Here are links to photos I posted on another blog (more will be added periodically):

Travel to and arrival in Namibia

In Windhoek

Windhoek to Anker

Amy's house and Yard in Anker

Sketch of Amy's house

Around Anker

Amy's school and hostel

Anker People

Etosha National Park

Etosha: Okaukeujo to Halali

Etosha: Halali at night

Etosha: Halali in the morning

Etosha: Halali to Namutoni

Map: Etosha to Waterberg

Lake Otjikoto

Tsumeb

Otjiwarongo, Cheetah Conservation Project

Waterberg Plateau Park to Karibib

Swakopmund 1

Swakopmund 2

We returned from Namibia last Friday. After a weekend of unpacking, sleeping and talking to friends, it is great to have another day off before returning to work. Our trip went great. There were no major problems. The people we met were wonderful and Amy enjoyed introducing us to everyone. The highlights were:

--Travel- we survived the 24+ hours. Made every connection and all luggage arrived (with one brief delay). Got upgraded to a Toyota Avanza for free. All the school supplies fit in. I don't know what we would have done without the better car.

--Windhoek-As everyone seems to say, "Is this really Africa?. It is and it is a fun, vibrant city. We got to meet several PCV's on break and at work.

--Driving on the left with the steering on the right was different at first but I got used to it and going 150 (kph) on a completely straight road was fun.

--Amy's town of Anker - Sand, dust, dry-- but the people were so fun and friendly. Amy put on a braii and we got to help (okay. watch) them kill a sheep for us. Walking through the school and seeing the dedication of the teachers who get by on so little and yet want the best for the students was moving.

--Etosha - what can I say -- it lives up to all the hype. All the wonderful animals that became routine - springbok, zebra, kudu, elephant, giraffe everywhere. Among the many animals and birds that amazed us were lucky views of a leopard and Black Rhinos. The water hole at halali was outstanding.

--Tsumeb - what a suprisingly beautiful little town with flowers all over

--Waterberg- disappointing, but only because it was so cold that nothing was out during our early morning safari.

--Cheetahs - the cheetah conservation project in Otji was educational and worth the visit

--Swakopmund - another "Am I in Africa" moment. Two days to relax from our fast pace. The ocean, food and beach were great. I had my greatest "new bird" day ever. 20 new birds in one day (I am still compiling my notes from the trip and am at 88 new birds so far)

--5 hours on bumpy, desert and mountain roads to Sesriem, then 6 hours the next day on the same kind of roads to Windhoek. The worst roads I have ever driven. Felt that we would be returning the Avanza in a heap of rubble. Got one star crack on the windscreen.

--Sossusvlei - not enough time to see it, lots of walking, it was hot and we were tired. The place was massive and remote.

Finally, we had a great time with our daughter. We wore her out, I'm sure. Her pace of life is much different than ours. I am impressed with her commitment, her confidence and her communication skills. I could never do what she is doing and she is having fun at it. Her plan is to return to the US in December.

There, of course, was much more I could write about and maybe still will. Photos are possible too (We only have a thousand or so - no exaggeration!).

Our visit to Namibia

On Tuesday, August 14, we (my wife, I and one of Amy's best friends) will be flying from Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit Amy and to adventure through Namibia during her school break. This trip was originally planned for last December, but due to health reasons it was postponed. It almost didn't happen at all, but we are now on our way.

We will meet Amy in Windhoek on Thursday, August 16 and spend the next two weeks seeing some of the following places: Anker, Damaraland, Etosha, Waterberg, Twyfelfontein, Opuwo, Skeleton Coast, Cape Cross, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei and Windhoek. I doubt we will make it to all of those places and there will probably be some unscheduled places as well. We hope to meet some of the PCV's and others that Amy has worked and taught with.

As we travel, it will be doubtful that we will be able to update this blog, but when we return after August 31, we will have several posts and photos of our trip.

Trip to Africa provides perspective on life

Trip to Africa provides perspective on life

By Alyse Knorr
Special to the News & Record

One of the first things I noticed about Africa, and thing I'm sure I'll never forget, is the sky.

During the day, the light reveals the emptiness surrounding you on all sides -- fields stretching for miles, vastness spilling toward a horizon broken only by a few shrubs or palm trees and this enormous blue sky hanging over it all.

Multimedia: Journey to Africa

Looking out over all that empty land, it feels like the sky is sucking you up -- like you're drowning up into the blue. When the sun sets about 5:30 each evening, you can see the colors painted across the sky, like the horizon is one 360-degree canvas. The sun becomes a big,

almost tangible ball, slipping below the land as the space over it turns pink, then orange, then purple, blue and black.

At night, the sky is covered by so many stars that you feel you're in the middle of them, suspended in space. The Milky Way is scattered across the night like tiny freckles, and the Southern Cross hangs above everything in its perfect, calm order, like a compass twinkling in mid-air.

Something about that sky was humbling. Its sheer magnitude made me feel tiny, and every time I looked up at it during my stay in Africa, I was reminded of just how huge the whole world really is and how much about it still needs to be fixed.

That was what I, two other students and one professor were trying to do during our two weeks in Africa last month, -- joining in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

Various Elon University students and faculty members have been working on the problem of HIV/AIDS in Namibia since 2003, when a group of students from the class of 2006 decided to tackle the issue through the support of Project Pericles, a nonprofit organization advocating social responsibility and civic action in higher education.

Namibia's overall rate of HIV infection is currently about 20 percent and stagnant, but the rate of HIV infection in the town of Oshakati is 40 percent, meaning that two out of five people in the region are HIV-positive.

Erin Barnett, a broadcast communications major and my college roommate for two years, was the first to get involved. Last fall, she took a class with Dr. Tom Arcaro, a sociology professor and Elon's director of Project Pericles.

In November, she and Tom had begun discussing the idea of Erin producing a video documentary about Anita Isaacs, a passionate AIDS activist who is HIV-positive herself. Telling her story could help spread awareness about the HIV problem in Namibia on a grander scale.

Erin suggested bringing Conor Britain, a good friend and fellow broadcast communications major, to help film. I came on board later when Tom realized he wanted to bring a writer along, too. My role would be to interview Isaacs and piece together her written autobiography to accompany Erin's video biography.

Our journey to Namibia took more than 30 hours of total travel time, including three flights on two different airlines. On the morning of Tuesday, May 15, we flew from Raleigh to Atlanta, then from Atlanta to Dakar, Senegal, and finally, from Dakar to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The next morning, we flew on South African Air from Johannesburg to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, and then finally, after one night in the city, we drove seven hours north to Oshakati, the small town where Anita Isaacs lives.

We stayed at the Okatana Catholic Mission during our two weeks in Oshakati, living in two small rooms with Afghan-style blankets on the beds and crucifixes on all the shelves. The mission was quiet, inhabited by a few priests and nuns, a pair of mangy brown dogs and a Peace Corps volunteer from Miami named Angie.

Arriving in Oshakati was a bit of a shock after spending time in the big cities of Johannesburg and Windhoek. Both of these cities, the capitals of South Africa and Namibia, respectively, seemed as urban and fast-paced as any American city. Pizza parlors, department stores and skyscrapers line the streets, standing in stark contrast to the poverty and barrenness of Oshakati.

The town of Oshakati is centered around a huge outdoor market almost a mile long. Every morning, local vendors trickle into the market as the sun rises to set up their merchandise and sit in front of their stalls that day.

The smells of spices and small fires half buried in the sand fill the air during these busy mornings, and echoing throughout all of the cramped stalls are the sounds of voices chattering in Oshivambo, the language of the Ovambo tribe, which populates most of northern Namibia.

During my first day in the market, we spent nearly an hour walking through the sand under the hot sun, in front of rows of big, woven baskets full of seeds, nuts, withered raw fish, wheat, grains and dried centipedes, a local delicacy. We passed stands selling sunglasses, watches, grapes and perfumes, all covered in flies, and when we walked through the meat section of the market, in the shaded center, I saw the head of a bull on the ground, horns still attached, with flies buzzing around its gory neck.

Vendors sat on green and white plastic patio chairs, Coke crates or cardboard beer boxes, talking and drinking Windhoek Lager and patiently awaiting customers. No one hassled or heckled visitors in the market. It was all a simple waiting game.

Namibia is the second least densely populated area in the world, and the rural landscapes of Oshakati reflect this fact everywhere you look. A main highway cuts through the center of town, and a cluster of strip-mall shops, grocery stores and Internet cafes is near the big market, but the houses reveal the area's true poverty.

Most of the houses are tiny shacks made of sheet metal and clay bricks or tall sticks tied with wire. Thatched roofs, dirt floors and broken, plastic lawn chairs are all common sights around the small neighborhoods in the town, and hundreds of brown speckled cattle roam the streets freely.

Most of the families residing in the outskirts of the town live on traditional homestead farms. A homestead is made up of a large group of extended family members and friends gathered on one piece of land, living in one-room, wooden huts with stick-and-wire fences around the perimeter of the homes. Chicken coops, cow pens and hog cages are separate structures within the perimeter, and the group "living room" might consist of a table and a few plastic chairs under a large, old tree inside the fenced area.

Mahangu fields surround the entire complex and provide everything the family needs. Mahangu is the staple crop of the region and looks like a cross between corn and wheat with its tall, tan stalks rustling in the fields.

Farmers in Oshakati harvest mahangu by cutting it, letting it dry in the sun for days, thrashing the stalks with sticks and grinding the ears into a fine powder by pounding them with logs.

The mahangu powder can then be cooked into Omalodu, a fermented drink commonly referred to as "Ovambo Beer," or mahangu porridge, a thick, gray food eaten at nearly every meal.

When we went to the homesteads in the bush, every family we visited served us Omalodu, mahangu porridge and a freshly slaughtered chicken, pig or duck.

We ate the traditional Ovambo way: grabbing a chunk of mahangu porridge out of the community basket on the table, sticking it to the tips of our fingers, dipping it into the juices and sauces of the family's chicken bowl and licking it off of our fingertips.

Anita usually led us around Oshakati during the day, introducing us to different government figures and old friends. Because Anita's story was the focus of our project, we spent a good deal of our time interviewing Anita herself. We filmed interviews with Anita all over town: at her house, in the market and even in our rental truck.

Despite the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the area, the problem exposed itself in subtle ways. We often heard public-service announcements on the radio urging people to use condoms. The local newspaper, The Namibian, frequently had headlines concerning HIV/AIDS.

But one of the scariest and most tragic aspects of HIV is the fact that it is, for the most part, invisible. No matter how often it occurred, I still felt shocked every time Anita would tell us that the person we just met had HIV.

The hardest things to see in Oshakati were the children who were either HIV-positive or orphaned by parents who died of AIDS. Many were both. At a meeting of a support group at Anita's office, I met dozens of AIDS orphans. Children of all ages were seated on benches in the courtyard, eating candy and drinking from juice boxes. It could have been an American school recess, only these children didn't laugh or play. They didn't fuss or complain or get up to playfully chase each other around their seats. They simply sat on their benches quietly, staring at everyone with wide eyes and occasional shy smiles.

On one of our last nights in the country, we took Anita to spend the night in Etosha, a large national game preserve a few hours south of Oshakati. What we found in Etosha was the Africa you see on the Discovery Channel: a Serengeti-like landscape populated by zebra, giraffes, wildebeests, elephants, warthogs and more.

We saw huge herds of springboks -- tan and skinny hooved animals that bend their heads around backward to scratch themselves with their horns -- and even a family of ostriches, bobbing their long, tube-like necks as they walked.

The bungalow where we stayed was in an old German fort near a big watering hole where we saw kudu, oryx and jackals come for drinks and, just as the sun was setting, where we watched an old, lone elephant take a bath.

Moments like that -- when I could watch a wild elephant clean itself in the middle of Africa under that big, beautiful sun -- left me speechless. As humbling as that huge, sun-streaked sky was on nights like that, every time I looked up at it, I felt inspired. Each time I felt my eyes drawn up to it, I remembered that I may be only one person, tiny and weak compared to the vastness of the world around me, but one person can make a difference.

During my two weeks in Africa, I saw herds of wild giraffes roaming across the side of the road and six-foot anthills towering between huge stalks of grass. I saw men carving beautiful wooden statues by hand and baboons running across the highway.

But the truth is, when I think about Africa years from now, what I will remember best will be the colors of the sunset in Etosha and the way the stars looked sprinkled on the black over the mahangu fields. I will remember how I felt under the African sky. Alyse Knorr is a rising junior at Elon with a double major in English and journalism.

Namibia, a filmmaker's destination

A short film produced to showcase Namibia as a safe and versatile location for filmmakers, with location shots and scenery shots.

Teachers and Learners get another week off!

Pupils Get Extra Week's Holiday

from AllAfrica News: Namibia

Christof Maletsky
Windhoek

GOVERNMENT schools will only reopen on May 28, as the start of the second semester was delayed by one week to cater for public holidays.

The senior public relations officer at the Ministry of Education, Toivo Mvula, told The Namibian yesterday that the delay was due to the fact that there is a public holiday and home weekend for hostel children in the same week.

"Schools were supposed to start on May 22 but Friday, which is Africa Day, is a public holiday and it is also an out weekend for the hostel learners.

So they will only be going to school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," Mvula said.

As a result of the delay, schools will be losing two days of work.

The school calendar has 195 days in a year but Mvula said the two days would be squeezed in somewhere else.

NamibiAlive video promo

NamiAlive - a promotional video for the HIV/AIDs album produced by Nam24 PCV's Amy and Dan




From the intro on YouTube:

In case you feel any need to see a commercial for the HIV/AIDS album made by Amy Taylor and Dan Cwirka in Namibia, here it is. Thank you very big to Jason Sears for getting this together.

News article about the project

NamibiAlive website (includes samples of the music)

Namibia is no longer number one!

Namibia is no longer number on on the Gini Coefficient list as this recent blog post from "Namibia Notes" reports:

Namibia’s Gini Coefficient

Namibia has lost a world title, one that was good to loose. From 1994 through 2006, Namibia had the highest, at 0.7, Gini Coefficient in the world. This is a measure of income inequality in a society with 1.0 meaning that one person has all the wealth and everyone else has nothing. Conversely, 0.0 means that everyone has the same wealth. So, having a high Gini coefficient is bad. According to the recently released National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, our Gini Coefficient stands at 0.6. A 10 point reduction over ten years is good. But, before we get lost in self congratulation, let’s look at this accomplishment.

To start, the first measure took place in 1993/94, three years after Independence. The high level of inequality was expected. After all, we had just emerged from forty plus years of apartheid, and a century or so of colonial rule. Both systems (actually one could argue that apartheid was just colonialism taken to its extremes — though this discussion is for another time) had as a central tenet the creation of a large majority of poor ruled over by a tiny group of very rich. Under apartheid, skin color determined into which group one was placed. Three years is woefully insufficient to undo decades of inequality. Ten years, however, provides us with a reasonable benchmark. After all, as life teaches us, inheriting a bad situation is nothing to be ashamed of — it happens all the time. The important thing is what you do with that situation.

After a decade we have made progress on a number of fronts. Economic growth has been steady, more people are benefiting from that growth, levels of poverty have gone down. A relevant question at this time is, “Where do we stand now?” Namibia has passed Lesotho, Botswana, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic. We are now in the neighborhood of Swaziland, Bolivia and Haiti. Our long term development outline, Vision 2030, clearly does not wish that we linger too long in this new place. The Vision sees us reaching status beyond the developing world with some very strict, some would say difficult, targets to reach in terms of education, employment and wealth creation. The next twenty-three years will see both progress towards and setbacks to achieving the Vision. For just as a Gini Coefficient can go down, it can also make the return trip back up. Clearly this is not a time to rest on our laurels.

Click here for old information about the Gini Coefficient on Wiki. The arrows at the top of each column enable you to sort each column. Click the "UN Gini index" Or the "CIA Gini index" twice to sort from worst to first.

Namibia now on Standard Time

The United States changed to daylight saving time (DST) three weeks ago on March 11th for our spring/summer/autumn months. However, very few countries during the southern hemisphere's summer months observe DST. In fact, Namibia is one of only three countries in Africa (the other two are Egypt and Tunis in the north) that observe it.

However, since they have just entered autumn, they are now actually going off DST. Just to make it confusing though, the Caprivi Strip (that part of Namibia that sticks way out on the northeast) unofficially does not observe DST at all and so will now be on the same time as the rest of the country.

So, while we "sprang forward" one hour, they "fall back" one hour. That means our time difference is now shorter than it has been. For us in Minnesota, we were 8 hours behind Namibia all winter, now we are only 6 hours behind them until September 2 when Namibia returns to DST.

So, what time is it in Namibia? Check the clock on the right.

See these links for more information on the confusing world of DST.

New Era newspaper article about DST

World map of daylight savings time

About Daylight Savings Time

Worldwide Daylight Savings Time

Interesting and confusing facts about DST, time and time zones

Funny post from a former PCV in Namibia. This comes from an email posted by Melanie, a returned PCV (Nam 24) who worked on the Angola border near Eehana:

Time change

I didn't not realize until someone pointed out to me…but Namibia observes Daylight Savings Time. So, as everyone back in the northern hemisphere experienced "spring forward" with time, we "fell backwards" today. It will be funny how many of the learners remember. I must chuckle actually, I tried to find a clock today just to see if anyone actually changed their clocks…couldn't find a single one. But, folks in the village agreed that everyone would change their clocks etc.

Well, that's more than I can say for a colleague of mine. This is probably the funniest story I've heard in a while. We were all hanging out during our week vacation and the topic of Daylight Savings Time came up. Cory piped up and told us about his experience in his village. Apparently during a staff meeting the topic came up and there was a bit of a discrepancy over whether or not they should change their clocks or not. Some of the teachers argued that the learners would just be late everyday if they changed their clocks.

Well, actually they would be an hour early since they were falling back an hour…but that is beside the point…or maybe adds to the humor of the whole thing. Anyway, the principle apparently believed in the spirit of democracy, and decided to put it to a vote. Do they or do they not change their clocks. Well, the vote was tied up 5 for the change and 5 against it. Who knew? So again, the principle being very efficient and democratic, decided to…COMPROMISE! Who woulda thought that something as binary as changing the clocks by 1 hour could be put to a compromise. So, his village has decided to change their clocks by ½ of an hour. The entire country of Namibia will begin school at 8:00…but Cory's village will have been in school for a half an hour already. It is just that crazy around here. It seems as though villages can just make their own rules…why not right?

A video about Namibia

From Google Video: "Namibia 2007: an African Odyssey" (27 min).

The part about Damaraland (9:53-13:27) is near where Amy lives right now.

At 10:22 on the video the road sign says:

C 35 Kamanjab --->

<--- C 39 Khorixas Amy is about 50 km (30 mi) from that spot. If video doesn't work click here.

Happy Independence Day, Namibia -- #17

Articles on Namibian history of independence:

Namibian Independence

Namibia 1966-1990

Namibian History

Wikipedia - History of Namibia

The 26 newest nations of the World

Fall begins tomorrow (tonight) in Namibia

The autumnal equinox

The same date (March 21 [March 20 in the USA]) and time (12:07 AM UTC, 2:07 AM Namibia [7:07 PM March 20 Central Daylight Time - see this web page about time zones and daylight savings time]) that spring begins in the northern hemisphere, fall begins in the southern hemisphere. That means that the days start getting shorter than the nights in Namibia.

Fall in Namibia (March 21 through June 21), generally means slightly lower average temperatures and much less rainfall. Though, like anywhere, daily temperatures and rainfall vary widely.

Since this past summer (the wet season) in Namibia was without much rain in so many places it is likely the drought will deepen and times will get even tougher for most people. See Amy's "Drought Prayer".

Namibian Climate

• Namibia has a dry climate typical of a semi-desert country, where droughts are a regular occurrence.
  
  
• Days are generally warm to very hot, while nights are generally cool.
  
  
• Midsummer temperature can rise to over 40ºC (104ºF)
  
  
• Winter days are warm but dawn temperatures can drop to freezing.
  
  
• Along the coast the cold Benguela current is also the prime determinant of the climate of the Namib, as it reduces rainfall and causes the omnipresent fog typical of the coast.
  
  
• The rainy season lasts from October to April. The rest of the year is dry and cloudless.

CLIMATE CHART FOR CENTRAL NAMIBIA

All areas of Namibia average more than 300 days of sunshine a year!

Click to convert mm to inches

Click to convert C° to F°

Anker, Namibia on Google Earth

Google Earth finally posted a high definition satellite photo of Anker. You can compare it to the hand drawn map Amy sent us to see some of the landmarks including: her house, the school and the hostel.

Use this link if you want to download Google Earth (it's free): Google Earth

Use this link to find it if you have Google Earth: Anker

For those who don't have Google Earth, you can link to this same spot on Google Maps by using this link: Anker

Google Earth Image of Anker, Namibia
(click on map to enlarge)

Hand drawn map of Anker, Namibia
(click to enlarge, then click to enlarge again)
(note: north is left on this map)

KhoeKhoegowab language lesson videos

KhoeKhoegowab is the language that the people in the village of Anker speak. Although most of Amy's classes are taught in English, she has learned enough of it to understand some basics and is able to read it.

More about the Damara people group and the language they speak.

Want to learn some KhoeKhoegowab?

Here are some video lessons in the language:



KhoeKhoegowab Lesson No: 1



KhoeKhoegowab Lesson No: 2




KhoeKhoegowab Lesson No: 3




KhoeKhoegowab Lesson No: 4

Videos about Namibia

Videos should play right on this page by clicking the arrow once:

"We children from Baumgartsbrunn"

22 min video about a school in Namibia where one of the Peace Corps Volunteers (Irene) works.






"Animals in Namibia" - a 1 min video about Etosha animals






"Cruisin Namibia" - a 4 min video about the adventure of getting around in NW Namibia






"Namibia - experience it yourself " - a 10 min video about some touristy things to do in Namibia

"Namibian Green Energy" - a 4 min video about renewable energy in Namibia

"Educating Namibia: A dream come true" - a 9 min video from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America about Namibians trained in the US and working in Namibia

Link to videos on other pages:

"Namibia's unexpected ecosystems" - a 3.5 min video about some of the unusual natural beauty in Namibia

"Namibia - This land is ours" - a 19 min video about the land redistribution challenges in Namibia

"Maturisa Ehinga- We are fighting AIDs " - a series of 4 videos (check the links on the left side of the page) about a project by Elon University students on the AIDs epidemic in Namibia

"Cats and Dogs work together" - a 4 min video about a unique conservation project near Amy's village.

KhoeKhoegowab lessons - 4 videos about the language that Amy is learning to speak

Namibia March 2007 - a 27 min video by a tourist with good video from near where Amy lives

Welcome to Namibia - 3 videos for the Namibian Tourism Board

Wolvedans- The Namib Desert - a 3 min video of scenery from the desert set to music

Namibia, a filmmakers destination - a 6 min film on movie sets in Namibia

New school year starts this week

The new school year begins this week in Namibia. It is mid summer there and some of the hottest days of the year, but the holidays end this week and the children begin to return to schools and hostels all around the country for another year. Teachers are supposed to report to work today and prepare for students, who are to report on Wednesday. Below is a schedule of the whole 2007 school year for Namibia.

Click to enlarge

World AIDS Day 2006

The hidden cost of AIDS - loss of teachers

Namibia: Special CDs And Event in Fighting Aids

More links:

Some videos from Namibia

Namibia - This land is ours (PBS 19 min)

Postcard - Namibia (Elon University 4 min)

Animals in Namibia (Google 1 min)

Cruisin Namibia (Google 4 min)

Namibia - experience it yourself (Google 10 min)


(For more videos click on Google Video, Yahoo Video or You Tube)

Detailed satellite maps of Namibia

Google Maps and Google Earth just did a big update of their satellite maps including many new high definition views in Namibia. In many spots you can zoom in to street and house level and see details (trees, cars, even people) that you could never see before.The following links are all in Google Maps but if you download the free version of Google Earth, you get even better views, angles and even 3-D panoramas.

For example, Amy's shopping and post office are in:

Kamanjab

(If you do not see detail, click the "satellite" button in the upper right corner of the map. Double click a spot or use the zoom bar on the left to get a closer view)

Unfortunately, the high definition satellite view ends about 8 miles east of Anker, where Amy lives.

(2/28/2007: updated high definition Google Maps now include Anker too)

Anker

Other towns are also now in high def. including the larger, nearby town of Otjiwarongo, where Amy has visited and shopped many times:

Otjiwarongo

Swakopmund, where Amy has spent a couple of vacations:

Swakopmund

The capital city and surroundings:

Windhoek

Where Jay and Shoni live:

Keetmanshoop

Where her good friend Elizabeth lives:

Gobabis

Dylan and Sandra's town:

Gibeon

Beth and Megan are in this town that had the bad floods in January:

Mariental

The town Amy did her orientation and where Caitlin and Wendy live:

Omaruru

The town Amy did her teacher training:

Karabib

Several volunteers live in or near:

Grootfontein

and:

Berseba

Many other towns and almost the whole coastline is in high definition. go exploring a bit on your own. Much of the USA is also now in good detail. Maybe you could find your own house