May 14: We continued the drive north through Namibia, stopping at Naute Dam, Keetmanshoop, and finally Mariental for the night. We found a wonderful bed and breakfast, the Anandi Guesthouse, a place with great decor and greater advice about our next destination, Sossusvlei. Our breakfast hostess was interesting and informative. The town of Mariental was flooded in February this year, the result of a massive rainfall and the release of water from a nearby dam because it was over capacity. In response to our questions she described the flood and its aftermath, including its effect on the Anandi's building and on other businesses and homes. Some people still have not recovered.

As noted elsewhere in the blog, we have picked up hitchhikers from time to time. Shortly after driving out of Mariental we picked up a small family of parents and toddler journeying to the town of Maltahohe, where we ate lunch of bockwurst and chips (a type of sausage and fries) in a German restaurant. We needed to arrive at the camp entrance to Sossusvlei, called Seerheim, before sundown to register for a campsite, so the post-lunch drive was somewhat frenetic, and over a gravel, rather than paved, road so it also was a bit jarring. The terrain passed through on the journey to Seerheim can best be described as otherworldly. We are wary of overusing the word "spectacular" when trying to convey the beauty and wildness of Namibia, particularly the western section of the country, but that's the word that most frequently comes to mind.

We were not in time to secure one of the regular campsites, since they can be reserved and were all taken, but we were able to camp in the overflow area, which simply meant that we didn't have a campsite bordered by a wall, with a private water and light source, and had to share the space with everyone arriving later--two more vehicles. The most important goal was achieved. Only people who have camped overnight at Seerheim are allowed into Sossusvlei, which is a national park, the following morning at approximately 5:15 a.m. Vehicles line up at the gate for a 45k drive to the appropriately named Dune 45, which can be climbed to watch and photograph the sunrise. Details will follow in the next post.