When we left Uukwaluudhi we went to the town of Opuwo and checked in at the Opuwo Country Lodge. From there we visited Epupa Falls on the border between Namibia and Angola. The river is very wide above the falls and has many islands. In fact the "falls" is a spread out collection of many small falls. From where we were staying in Opuwo it was about a 120 mile trip over a dirt road that has a washboard surface most of the way.
We also visited a Himba village while we were staying at Opuwo. The women still dressed in the traditional way. Their hair is constrained with a waxy substance from their scalps in 1/2" diameter bundles to about 3 inches from the ends where there are balls of hair (like ratted hair). They wear only jewelry above their waists. They carry babies in sarongs on their backs. An ochra paste is spread on all exposed skin. There were a significant number of Himba women in the town of Opuwo. I did not figure out how being in town fits in with village life or whether they live in town but continue to dress in the traditional way.
Except for the leader of the village all of the men were away - tending herds of cattle. They do not spend much time in the village. The village had no running water. The small houses are built from materials available in the bush. The children do go to school to learn English. One 14-year old girl we spoke with was in the second grade. Some seek employment in the modern society. To get jobs they wear "western" clothing.
After we talked to a group of about eight women we were asked whether we were interested in buying any hand crafted items. Without knowing the consequences Diane's sister and cousin expressed an interest. We were invited into one of the huts where a woman showed us how the ochra paste is made. When we left the tent there were about 50 women and girls arranged in a circle. Each had crafts to sell. This was a surprise to all of us - including our guide.
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