Day 76 – Docked in Walvis Bay, Namibia – Find Insignia on CruiseMapper
No, the Namibian coast has not been spirited away by pirates. Your Partout duo has been becalmed by covid!
Yes, after a couple days of unremarkable sniffles, Doris and Louis took abundance-of-caution self-tests for covid this morning and were rewarded with the dreaded double pink lines.
What this means is … Partout will not be all over the place in Namibia.
No photos of the famed Dune 7, no sighting of the prehistoric Welwitschia Mirabilis, no visit to the township of Swakopmund, no tour of the Kolmanskop ghost town of German colonial days. No joining the happy cruisers heading off the ship to explore.
No Namibia.
The Good, Bad and Ugly
What this also means on a cruise ship is that we are confined to quarters, all 215 square feet of them, for five days. If you weren’t already wondering how Louis and Doris were managing to live for so long in such a small space, this might be an excellent time to start.
The good news: So far, both of us is in the “feels like a cold” category. We’ve been given a second internet line – with streaming capabilities! – so we have entertainment and communications. And we get to order room service from all of the ship’s award-winning dining rooms, elevating “comfort food” to new heights.
The bad news: No Namibia.
The good news: We have a veranda to sit on.
The bad news: We are gazing onto what may be the ugliest port of our journey so far.
The good news: What’s five days missed out of 180? The glass is way more than half-full.
The bad news: No Namibia!
Another Question Answered
Susan asked how she can be sure questions she sends to Partout reach us and also wanted to know, “Which country have you enjoyed most?”
Thank you, Susan, for the nudge to comment on comments to Partout, which is the very best way to submit questions about our adventures.
We see every single comment that comes in. We mostly don’t respond in the “Responses” space because we want to leave that for reader responses. (The exception is if a question is very straightforward and can be answered in a few words like, “No, alcohol is not free.”)
Instead, we squirrel every question away and are working our way through them, slowly but surely. When we get a lot of questions on the same topic, we flag the entire topic for a dedicated future blog. Besides “Fitness Afloat,” that list currently includes cruise wardrobes, passenger personalities, crew amenities and a few others. The more people ask a question, the more likely we are to answer with a dedicated blog, but we will answer everything eventually. We promise! Please keep asking!
As for which country we have enjoyed most so far, Susan, does a continent count? Antarctica! It was quite simply out of this world.
Coming Soon!
Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana: Haunting Histories
Introducing Milou and Snowy
Fitness Afloat
Fyi, “Fitness Afloat” is being delayed by our inability to move around the ship to complete photography while we are busy missing Namibia in our stateroom.
Partout with Louis & Doris 
Oooh dear Doris and Louis,
We hope you will recover very soon.
As we say in Gronings: “kop d’r veur”
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Oh No – I think for most of us now the biggest side effect of Covid is boredom! Hope you guys are riding out this wee storm with smiles, and good for you for still feeling the glass is half full! As fellow followers have already put it – Namibia isn’t going anywhere, chances are you will come back to tick that box! We back in Tanzania now – its nice to be in sunshine! Big hugs! Laura & Colin
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Wait! You’re missing Namibia? I almost got my bag with money, passport, camera stolen in Namibia (start of a 3-week trip). Would have been a disaster but an observant waitress starting yelling at the guy running away with my bag and he dropped it in the street and there happened to be a cop right there. Have any passengers experience any pickpocketing or thievery at any ports?
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Oh, so sorry to hear this! Get well soon!! 😟
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We are loving seeing the world through your eyes!
Your observations about seeing the beauty of a country from the water strikes a chord with me. Now you can understand what it felt like living aboard Lady Helen. Of course minus the gourmet meals! Loving your adventure!
Hugs, Candy and Dave
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I love everything about Partout except the news that you have covid. Hope they are mild cases with quick recoveries.
My question: You are both so well traveled. What has surprised you most up to now?
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Wow. Hope you’re OK! Namibia will wait until you get better.
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Hope you guys feel okay and stay safe!
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No Namibia does not mean Never Namibia and you guys are such intrepid travellers I have little doubt if you want to you will. The Covid strain here in the UK is as you are experiencing it, “ a mild cold” so let’s hope you two are back up to speed in a couple of days. Are fellow passengers you have been in contact with also having to isolate? I am looking forward to hearing about the people you have met.
Cheers Brian
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