Namib Desert bliss: until the tourists come.
Sitting in blissful solitude in the Namib desert. Watching the sun peep over the pink-orange pyramid of sand. Hands and toes numb and cold to the new morning air. Silence. Silence. And then.
Flashes of white lights approaching like a line of oncoming invaders. Racing furiously to catch the sunlight on the iconic Deadvlei trees in the ancient sands. The tourists are coming! Coming to capture that perfect photograph so they can say to others “look I was there”.
Yes, you were there but you missed it. You missed breathing it in. Missed making it a part of your soul. You missed capturing the Namib desert with your mind as you raced one by one over the sandy rocky paths to get here. Jumped out your 4x4s and herded off up the dunes.
You missed, it.
You looked at me. Why am I a just sitting under my tree? Why am I not racing up the mountain? Because I have arrived already. I am, here. Leave me to my solitude. Leave me to absorb the desert.
My memories will become a part of me.
By all means, take your photograph, and what an amazing sight it is. Iain captured some fantastic images here. But take the time to feel what it is you are looking at.
Get there early. Before the tourists come. Visit the big old tree by the side of the car park. Sit and wait a while. Absorb the wisdom of the sands. Listen to the tree. Clear your mind. And don’t worry about your fingers and toes, they will defrost when the sun rises and awakens the desert for another day. Keeping its early morning secret, when the tourists come.
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