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Nancy is a friendly airhostess I met by chance in the
Namibian desert during last year's Safari season. She stayed in the luxurious Karos lodge with her airline crew while my fellow travellers and I were at the dusty camp of Sesriem, a few hundred metres away.
The wind was blowing strong and gusty from the first
light of that morning and the bright yellow "Voyageur 912" trike parked near the entrance was definitely grounded. No flying in that stuff! It was one of these extremely windy mornings you get once in a while in
deserts all around the world from the Great North African Sahara to the Austral Gibson, where kangaroos replace the camels. Making the traditional outdoor breakfast in these turbulent conditions is a nightmare. I
just can't stand the crispy sensation of having sand in my mouth, having sand in the food.
I quickly decided to take my friends Marie, Dominique, Pia and Francis to the lodge and have our first morning meal in serene surroundings.
I first saw her while I was busy spreading creamy butter
onto my dark toasted German bread as she appeared in the restaurant with some other Nordic-type people. She was a fresh & delightful sight to look at, in that dry heated early morning desert atmosphere. We
exchanged few words in the souvenir shop where I followed her, pretending to buy post cards. An hour later, I "spotted" her again, in the tormented dunes with her bunch of blondies coming out of a VW microbus.
The wind was getting very strong and some brave tourists were experiencing severe sand blasting over the ridge on the huge dune. I felt more curious about this friendly person than the billions of particles flying
all over and pushed myself to another close up. It was exciting and special. I just had time to give her an Email address and we went our ways leaving each other with a wink and a smile.
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