The Town of Opuwo

I’ve been out here in Opuwo for eleven weeks now – it’s hard to believe that it’s been that long – and am very much enjoying myself here. Life here is very different for me as opposed to that I experienced in Gobabis. I find Opuwo to be a quiet, relaxing and safe place – a much-needed change following all the stress of Gobabis. Opuwo is beautiful in its own unique way. It is one of the few areas in Namibia with mountains (or any elevation really); I love sitting on my porch and gazing at the mountains on the horizon.

Opuwo is also a unique place owing to its unusual mixture of cultures. The two tribes present here are the Himbas and the Hereros. Out of all Namibia’s tribes, the Himbas practice the most traditional lifestyle. Most of them still live in remote, outlying villages far removed from the influences of Western culture. They still wear traditional garments (both men and women are topless), rub red clay on their skin, and raise cattle and goats for subsistence.

Opuwo is much smaller than Gobabis. It is a little town in the middle of nowhere between nothing and nowhere. It is a very dusty place; in fact, in parts of the town, when you walk, dust flies up from the ground in little clouds – it reminds me of what I would expect volcanic ash to look like. Unfortunately for stemming disease outbreaks, Opuwo is also one of the dirtier places in Namibia. The streets are littered with rubbish, people defecate in public, and few are informed of the art of personal hygiene (Himba people never bathe but rather burn herbs and use other traditional methods to ‘cleanse’ themselves). Opuwo actually has a rather peculiar smell owing to the combination of the refuse and the clay the Himbas use to color their skin.

There are no paved roads leading directly into the town; this has kept the area rather isolated from the rest of civilization (the closest actual town is over three hours away on primarily dirt roads). Presently, the government is busy paving the road that leads south through the other towns in the region, Outjo and Khorixas. So Opuwo won’t remain so isolated forever. In a sense, I think this is a very sad thing as it will likely quicken the end of the Himba culture. Already many Himba children are opting to leave the villages and venture out into the more urban areas where there are greater opportunities; once the roads are paved, I would expect even more children to leave behind their traditions in favor of more a ‘modern’ lifestyle.

The isolation, sanitation concerns, and dust don’t really bother me though as I am still mesmerized by how special this place is. Truly, there is nowhere else on earth where one would find this mixture of cultures or this merging of Western customs with traditional practices. I feel really blessed to be able to live in such an extraordinary community, particularly knowing that the future will likely bring a great many changes to this remote, beautiful place.