Luderitz, Namibia

Massive dunes rise up from the shore, obscuring mountains in the distance. Intense sun warms the surface of everything it touches, though there is a crispness to the air. The landscape is stark, high contrast, saturated. It feels alien and exotic, beautiful, but eerie. A fragment of a village sits perched on the edge of a rocky bay. Streets are empty, does anyone live here?

We learn of great plans for Luderitz, including establishing a second town 20 kilometers inland. Diamonds and fish exports may have kept this place from shriveling up completely. But it will be green hydrogen, a new port dedicated to imports, and sadly, oil platforms which will catapult it fully back onto the radar.

Our catamaran ventures around the last rocky point as we see a wall of fog hanging back just behind our destination, Halifax Island. We pass a pod of white-sided dolphins, cormorants, and cape seals basking on barren rocks being beaten by incoming surf. Our target is the African Penguin colony, but before we arrive the fog moves in silently, hugging us tightly with its frigid embrace. We glimpse a peak at movement near the shore, a flamingo and a penguin hurriedly retreating towards its den. First a pause, then overly enthusiastic flapping, and then a tumble to his belly. Back up again, waddling more carefully, he continues on home.Read more