Greetings from
Luderitz!
We’ve been making our way around
the tiny town of Luderitz this week getting to know the locals and their way of
life. I keep hearing the term ‘Buchter’ being used to describe the locals here.
I looked it up and found a very fitting description:
“Deep, deep in the south of Namibia, there lies a town nestled
amongst the windswept boulders of the rugged coastline. The town and people are
known by many names. Some call it Olindiri, some call it Okakoverua, some
simply call it Lüderitz, but the name the inhabitants of that town
affectionately use is the Bucht. Themselves, they call Buchters. I want to
explain exactly what we mean when we say we are Bucthers and why we Buchters
are proud to be called Buchters: “A Lüderitzbuchter or Buchter” is not just
someone born in Lüderitz. The name Buchter defines a very special group of
people who enjoy life to the fullest. There is an expression for Lüderitz and
its people, “The Bucht tires you!” because we can never get enough of talking,
of laughing and of having a good time.”
So needless to say, we’ve been
doing our best to fit in as Buchters and keep a low prolife as the newbies
around town. Can’t say that it’s working…it seems like we are approached
everyday by new people wanting to know why we are here and what’s with the
kayak strapped to the roof of the Jeep. In Luderitz, your car is your calling
card. Everyone knows you by what you drive, so we have been adequately titled ‘the
people with the kayak’.
We are staying in an igloo made
of wood on top of a large rock overlooking the harbor. We are renting from Mr.
Heiko Metzger and his lovely wife, Diane. They have three dogs that enjoy
paying visits to our flat. The newest addition to the family is Dex, a
Malamut/Husky mix. Dex doesn’t know how big he really is and enjoys a good
cuddle just like most of us.
This week we were fortunate to
be given a tour of the harbor and local bays where I will be collecting data.
Heiko owns a catamaran tour boat and brought us out for a morning trip to see
the local Heaviside’s dolphins and an African penguin colony. The water is a beautiful
green-blue color out here, teaming with life in every direction. I have truly
landed in a rather unstudied marine biology mecca. I can’t wait to start
collecting data on the dolphins out here! We were also fortunate to have been
given a tour of the local Heaviside’s dolphins hotspots in the bays surrounding
town. Jean-Paul Roux is our scientist contact in Luderitz. He works for the
Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in town and has been a native
Buchter for 30 years. He drives the 25-minute commute to the bays each morning
to go observe the dolphins and sea birds. A truly dedicated scientist and one
of the more brilliant I’ve met. I am looking forward to collaborating with him
over the next few weeks.
Keep in touch!
Morgan
9 comments:
Needless to us you both are doing a great job! I wish you all the best for your next venture and hopw that you will share the experiences of your next venture.
Encountersnepal.com is professional and Lengal Trekking Company in Nepal
and Base Located Trekking Agency,
and Most top Package is Trekking in Nepal
With fair deal.
Encountersnepal.com daily Departure short Trekking as
Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek,
Annapurna Base Camp Trek and
Helambu Circuit trek in Nepal.
Rest Short Trip as Annapurna Panoramo Trek,
Annapurna Siklesh trek and
Jomsom Muktinath Trek in Nepal.
Encountersnepal.com high recommend as high passes
Annapurna Circuit Trek,
Manaslu Circuit Trek and
Manaslu Tsum Valley Trek in Nepal.
Most Challenging and More Scenery as Upper Mustang trek,
Everest Base Camp Trek and
Kanchenju Base camp Trek in Nepal.
Encountersnepal.com has more attractive Peak Climbing,
Island Peak Climbing,
Mera Peak Climbing and
Lobuche Peak Climbing in Nepal.
Encountersnepal.com Daily Departure as Short Packages Tour as
Helicopter tour in Nepal,
kathmandu Day Tour and
Chitwan Jungle Safari in Nepal
the seasonal and main tour as
Kailash Yatra tour,
kathmandut to Lhasa Kailash tour
and 20 days Simikot to Mt Kailash tour in tibet.
Post a Comment