Namibia - Etosha national park

The Etosha national park is famous for its herds of elephants. What a disappointment then that we did not get to see a single one! I remember that ten years ago I saw a herd of 42 elephants. It is probable that the rains were plenty enough for the elephants to remain far from the waterholes and the roads. Indeed, the park with its 22000 km2 is almost half the size of Switzerland, so the animals have space to hide. At least we saw a rhinoceros and many antelopes. The first animal we saw is the smallest antelope, the dik-dik.

During the drive, we had the chance to see many groups of animals. The most numerous ones were without doubt the very common springbok. The most elegant were the giraffes.

We obviously saw a lot of gemsbok.

Etosha, which means "white soil", is famous for its 4700 km2 salty pan. This was a large inland sea which evaporated more than 2 million years ago.

While driving in the park, we got a puncture to our front right tyre. A big moment of stress. We checked if there were no animals in the vicinity and got out of the car. We took out our luggage from the boot and started changing the tyre. Even though we worked under the midday sun, i thought we did a good job of changing the tyre in 50 minutes. At least, the tradition of having a puncture per trip in Namibia continues. The sad thing is that at the camps in the park they could not repair the puncture, so we decided not to take chances to drive more than necessary on the parks dirt roads. Which meant that we were confined to the main camps and could not do an evening or a morning drive. Fortunately, the main camp of Okaukuejo is one of the best in the world as it is organised around a well frequented waterhole. So we spent our evening and early morning seated on benches overlooking the waterhole and could watch animals (zebras, wildebeasts, springboks, impalas, warthogs, jakals) come for a drink.

Namibia - the desert

Upon arrival in Namibia, the air is dry and the temperature nice and warm. We head straight to the desert driving on dirt roads. They are actually well maintained and we reach our camp at Sesriem early enough to witness a superb sunset on the dunes. It is the next morning that we have to wake up really early. We are amongst the first ones to drive along the river bed of the Tsauchab, a river that still could make it to the sea in the XIX century but got then blocked by the barrage of dunes. Today the temporary river dies here in the middle of the Namibian desert, at a place called Sossusvlei.

The first surprise is that the 60 km long road has been tarred! There is now a perfect road leading us to the highest dunes in the world. For all those who had previously driven on the chaotic untarred road, what a pleasure. So here we are driving around while the sky gets lighter and waiting for the sun to rise. The colours are fantastic and soon the contrast between the sunny and the dark sides of the dunes is breathtaking.

We get to the end of the tarred road, after which only 4*4 vehicule can drive through the last 5 kilometers up to Sossusvlei. And there other surprise awaits us, there are now shuttle busses driving tourists from the parking area to the Sossusvlei. Nice service for the tourists! But having so much enjoyed the walk on the sand and through the dunes the previous time, i decide that we should again do the walk. It gives us so much more, we get to experience the desert and to live it much better. The desert is quiet, yet it is full of life. We also bump into a gemsbok.

At Sossusvlei, a dry salty pan surrounded by a magnificent dune, i decide for the first time to climb it. On the previous occasions, i thought that this climb was only for lazy tourists who just wanted to experience the desert at their convenience and were actually not deserving it. This time, as we were probably the only ones to have walked from the parking area, i agreed that we also deserve to climb the dune. And the view was magic. We see dunes all around, and the contrast between the deep blue sky and the orange sand dunes is most striking.

Oman

In the Arabic Peninsula, Oman has retained its charm and a certain traditional touch, while the people are very welcoming. In the capital city, there is no skyscraper but instead many low castle-like houses. The city is organised in many small quarters in-between rocky hills. There is a certain vibe in the downtown area, although it was Eid, which for Westerners mean "dry days" (no alcohol is served) and "holidays" (there were many expats from Dubai - including Indians - who took these off days to come and visit Oman).

The most remarkable building is certainly the new and flashy mosque erected by the sultan. It is actually an impressive mosque, surely with several records (size of the carpet, weight of the chandelier). But it is nice in the sense that it incorporates many motives from all the main arabic cultural areas.

Oman is dotted with numerous castles, which were used by sultans to protect the interior trade routes. Most of them are renovated (sometimes, too much...). However, it must be said that the country has invested its oil money not only in mosques and museums, but mostly in infrastructure, schools and clinics. On a few occasions, we had the feeling we were the first ones to drive on a brand new section of the freeway. We could have relinquished renting a 4by4, where it not for the few kilometers we drove in the desert. Always a pleasure to be in the desert. Great colours in the evening lights. And a real pleasure to have supper outside in the quiet middle of nowhere. However, it must still be said that the dunes of Oman do not compare to the ones in Namibia. The highlight of the trip was then the evening we spent on the beach observing the new-born turtles trying to make it to the sea. Such a nice sight and so good to see how strongly they try to make it, but also so sad to know that only 4 out of 1000 will make it to adult life. We observed a turtle lay its egg and covering its nest. Slow but meticulous moves. The National Park around the area opened a few months ago and the authorities seem determine to preserve their natural heritage.Oman is then a land of seas, sands and wadis. We went to discover several wadis and even jumped in the pools formed by the rivers. Some spots were quite touristical - although a lot of potential remains to improve it - while some others were pretty wild. There is very little agriculture throughout. In some places, attempts to cultivate on terrasses do not seem very successful. This probably explains why there are several ghost villages.

Doha

Once in a while, work and travel mix and when it happens, it generally turns out to be a great experience. This time our international commitments took us to Doha. I think this city tries to become the "conference capital" of the world as it attempts to grab every opportunity at hosting conferences. Good for them, as we wonder how they manage to fill up all these hotels. But they still need to improve on their performance: my swiss colleague was tagged on his conference pass as representing Swaziland!

Anyway this conference was a little "who is who" in international politics. It is probably better that i do not name the presidents that attended, but among them was a short and excited one who bulldozed the agenda so that he could speak first, a few hysteric ones shouting at Israel, England or imperialistic forces and a few anxious ones who came surrounded by bodyguards and yes-man. Still, the majority of them did try their best to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties. What surprised me the most in this conference is how its different sub-elements did not interact with each other. On the main stage, there were the presidents' and ministers' declarations. Further, negociations on the final document took place in the open or behind closed doors depending on the stage of the process. And finally, there were many side events. During a lunch break, we managed to escape the conference so that we could finally discover a little bit of Doha. We chose to head to the newly opened Museum of Islamic Art. It is a real gem. From outside already, it is one of the few building with a modernised version of the traditional Qatari architecture. It is certainly the only building that is less than 10 years old that is not a skyscraper... And inside, a great variety of quality objects from all over the islamic world is very well presented.

Mandela and democracy

Professor Ntsebeza, from the best university - the University of Cape Town, gave a presentation on Mandela's position towards democracy. He described the two roots of Mandela's thoughts: liberal democracy and tribal democracy. The first one is the one the struggle was for: elections and direct representation. The second one relates to the way he grew up in his village: participative democracy, somewhat idealised according to Prof Ntsebeza. This tension is present in Mandela himself. The current developments in South Africa are also trying to find a balance or a way between the two. In many places, tribal authorities have not been dismantled. On another level, most decisions are taken according to liberal democracy. Interesting to hear all that coming from an academic.

Prof Ntsebeza is very much encouraged by the recent political events. There is the chance to have a robust discussion on politics and for serious multi-party democracy. This is why he is quite critical about Archbishop Desmond Tutu's stance that he would not vote in the next elections.

Paris Bercy

Since the snow decided to make an even earlier visit to my country this year compared to last year (this blog is quite useful in that sense; the first snow this year came on October 29), why not attend an indoor tennis tournament? It is nice and warm inside, there is no wind. Good idea then to go to Paris for the Bercy tournament, the last regular one of the year.

The hero of the tournament was Tsonga, the french coloured player, who went on the win the final. Was that a premonition for Obama's victory in the USA? Whatever the serious historians will say about this correlation, he played a flamboyant tennis. The partisan crowd was on its feet.

And what about the two best tennis players. At least, we got to see a bit of Nadal. He played a set before he was forced to abandon. Federer did not even show up and withdrew because of a back problem... I can only agree with a spectator who was waving a sign reading "we miss you Roger".

London

Welcome to London, on a sunny day. Yes it is indeed possible. And it is very nice to walk around, through the many gardens. Although this city is quite stressful and hectic. And the financial turmoil is being felt by many people. Indeed, there was a very long queue trying to get into the Bank of England, on its open door day. But, of course, there are bedrocks of stability such as Buckingham Palace. The guards are still doing their round.

Strange that on this sunny week-end, we decided to spend a couple of hours in the British Museum. Fantastic pieces, such as the Rosette stone, the sculptures of the Parthenon and the Lions of Assyria, and most of all a very well done special exhibition on the Roman Emperor Hadrien.Back outdoors, we queued to get onto the London Eye. Beautiful views over London, including Westminster and Big Ben.On the final day, we went to the outskirts of the city, where the new neighbourhood of East London and Greenwich. We clearly get the sense that the country was proud that the sun never set on its Empire. One foot to the East of the world and the other to the West. But since then, the centre of the world has moved...