LUDERITZ, Namibia 
A pleasant change from the bustling cities we’ve been visiting -- Luderitz
is a small fishing village whose claim to fame was its now defunct diamond mine. It was owned by Germany (1883) and struggled for years to become independent. The captain joined us on our tender and we watched as he took lots of pictures. It truly is a tiny village and some 
of its roads are still unpaved. It had sprinkled a bit as we left the ship (their average rainfall is 20 mm -- that’s millimeters!) a year and the land is very arid. The desert comes down almost to the sea and the coast line is very rugged and rocky. We walked up through wet sand to see the stained glass windows in their little church on top of a hill and had a nice view of the harbor. We also watched cormorants sitting on a small rowboat.
Soon after it was settled, the locals realized that the island just off shore was covered with bird droppings and they proceeded to shovel it off onto their barges and sell the guano for fertilizer! Although this brought in cash for the town,
it unfortunately caused many of the seabirds to leave permanently. However, they are known for their wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches, and conservationists recognize this as an important coastal seabird breeding area.
A pleasant change from the bustling cities we’ve been visiting -- Luderitz
is a small fishing village whose claim to fame was its now defunct diamond mine. It was owned by Germany (1883) and struggled for years to become independent. The captain joined us on our tender and we watched as he took lots of pictures. It truly is a tiny village and some 
of its roads are still unpaved. It had sprinkled a bit as we left the ship (their average rainfall is 20 mm -- that’s millimeters!) a year and the land is very arid. The desert comes down almost to the sea and the coast line is very rugged and rocky. We walked up through wet sand to see the stained glass windows in their little church on top of a hill and had a nice view of the harbor. We also watched cormorants sitting on a small rowboat.
Soon after it was settled, the locals realized that the island just off shore was covered with bird droppings and they proceeded to shovel it off onto their barges and sell the guano for fertilizer! Although this brought in cash for the town,
it unfortunately caused many of the seabirds to leave permanently. However, they are known for their wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches, and conservationists recognize this as an important coastal seabird breeding area.We enjoyed visiting this quaint village which gave the sensation of stepping back in time.
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