19th to 22nd of November, 2018.
There is an Brazilian expression which says “mau agouro” and can be poorly translate like bad lucky but with much more intensity.
The security guy from the airport decide t come over and investigate (being fucking curious) about my situation. The same bullshit as everybody else always ask and or suggested: “You should go to town and…” Fuck you bloody asshole! Just because you are a stupid amoeba, it does not mean that I am one too. I know what I am doing! Get off!
Middle time, a small snake was approaching. A tiny white snake, beautifully crawling at the strong wind, which looked like a sensual dance. Than the bastard security, just for being a stupid human being, decide he needs to stop the snake. “It is dangerous! Can come to your bags.” So do not kill it, please! I ask. Just make it go away. His action was even worse than death: he throw a big rock in its back, breaking it, and not allowing the snake to move anymore. And he tells me that with proud, as he was my hero or something. Bloody ignorance is a curse. Than he left. Me and the snake remained on the road. Its trying hardly to move, to leave, to save itself. But it cannot. And I have to watch without be able to help. Why I did not put a end in its misery? I simply could not. So I was just hoping that I car come and realize it for the suffer.
That my friends, that it was a huge “mau agouro”.
No one was stopping for hours and when finally a such nice couple do it and offer me a lift until Aus, I was stupid enough to refuse. It was over one hundred kilometers, I accepted lifts for much less than that on the past. Plus, I could increase my chances with people coming from Aus, locals or tourists or what ever. But I could not see. It was happening.
After another hour, a truck finally stops. He is going not to Aus but just after town, when he is going to get out of the way where I need to keep on. This time I take it.
I eat my sandwich while waiting. It after one o’clock already, so no way I will get at the South Africa border during light time. I decide that I need to get at least in Keetmanskoop than.
It does not take long to Alan stops for me. Such a nice man with a lot of knowledge of Namibia. He tells me so many things about it in our way to Keetmans. He is actually going to Cape Town, but just next morning. As me, he will spend the night in town.
I ask Alan to drop me in the church that is closest to the road I will hitchhike next morning. He is very kind and drive me there with pleasure. After checking that there was someone with who I could talk, he leaves wishing me good luck.
The church is a Lady of the Eternal Help. Always my favorite Saint back my times of believer. I guess for me it was more about how much I liked her picture than anything else. After talking with a lady who worked in there, she called Brother Lidin. He was a very nice guy and let me stay without hesitation. We talked for a while and he was very surprise about my travels. I stay inside the building, which would give me some more precious minutes of sleep next morning, since I would like to be on the road at 7a.m., to try recuperate the lost time. After cook my dinner, Igo to sleep very early, around 8 o’clock.
I leave at 6.30a.m, as I had planned, and luckily Lidin was already awake (he stays in the church) so I could say thanks to him one last time.
I am surprise how a little time of regular exercises can make a huge difference in your physical resistance (during the three weeks I spend in Luderitz, I was going for 1h10min walking plus twenty minutes of stairs). I could walk now with the bags for two or three kilometers without need to stop to rest. Remember: I am caring over 30Kg. Try it! And come back to tell me what you think.
Two indiscreet women approach and make some questions, suggestions and ask to see my sign. One of them is also looking for a ride so they go a bit further. Exactly where a car which would stop for me would pull over. Then a man come in a taxi and also remain there, with the women, to hitchhike. Instantly, the women start to laugh out loud. I do not know what happen with some women, they are so into men that is inexplicable.
A car pass and star slow down while look at me. I realize that he would pull over but give up when see the other three people just in front. Bastards, I think. But he stops anyway a little further. Then he come back and stops pretty close to me. “I usually do not pick up hitchhikers, but I am pretty concerned about a woman doing it (and when saying that he take a look in the three people ahead), so you can some with me.” Before we leave, the guy with the women approach and I do not understand what they say in Afrikans, but we left without any one of them. Justice!
Barnie is a nice man and I swear that since the first moment I felt that he was in some how very conservator and traditional. Just hours later he would tell me he is a Theologian. We do not talk all the way to Malmesbury (I even was able to take some naps) but we did talk. He told me about his whole family and I was quite jealous of them: two girls in Cape Town doing Music and Journalism at University, and a boy in New York studying Cinema). It was really cute when he called them “kids” when stopped to buy some biltong. “Is for the kids. They love it!” I was just wondering how should be for he and his wife (also a Theologian) to have their kids in a so not traditional direction in life and also vice-versa.
He was very nice and drive me inside Malmesbury, even that was outside of his way. I need to warn Paula, in SA, that I was in my way, so I go to a KFC. The really nice manager explain to me that they are out of wi-fi but he does not offer to come with me to Wimpy and talk to their manager as also he says I could leave my backpack in his office.
A nightmare started when I left Wimpy because a huge crise of migraine started. I took a pile and started to look for a church. While walking, a guy stopped his car and asked if I need a lift. It sounded very nice of him, all right? If he was planing something bad? I prefer to think that not.
I sat to rest for a while and to wait for the migraine pass. Well, I could not find any churches opened and no place to go, I talked with some people but then I started to feel desperate because the pain was crushing my head. I wait for a while in front a house, which looked empty and had a covered and high porch. I was deciding lie down my mattress in there when I saw a light from inside. I talked with an old man at the door then. I think he was so scared of me that we could not even give me directions of a proper place where I should go. I do not blame him or the other old an with whom I tried to talk through a window and refused to help me. It must to be pretty hard to leave in such very dangerous country and try to deal with those kind of situations, like trying to help someone.
So there am I, walking around, no place to go, it is dark already. At least while I am walking, I cannot feel the pain so much…