Wednesday morning we had to get up really early for our sea kayaking trip at 7:30 am. We met our lovely South African female guide at a little coffee shop where we had breakfast then headed out. On our way out to the point to go kayaking we saw a few jackal, greater flamingos, and some other birds I don't know the name of. The road is rough and you need a 4x4 to get out there. We were the only one's out there kayaking and it was amazing! I was worried I would capsize, but once I got into the water it felt as natural as could be. We saw lots of dolphins that would go right under your kayak and jump up out of the water next to you. It was quite a sight. Then we went down the coast line to where the seals were. There were some boats looking at the seals as well, but we were right in the midst of them playing. They would come and bite your oar and splash you. After a bit I got them to come to me so I could pet them. When we finally finished we went to the shore and had brotchens while watching the seals. After we got back we were a little tired so we took a nap and finally got on the internet. It was about dinner time so we heated up our meals from the previous night. In the kitchen we met Marlo and Jose. Marlo is a 23yr old South African guy who is the chef four a big tour bus. Jose is a 29yr old Spaniard who is the Spanish translator for the tour bus. We had a nice chat with them while we waited for our food to heat, and then we went upstairs to eat where we watched the end of Hidalgo that was playing. As we cleaned our plates Marlo was still in there and asked if we were going to the bar that night. Apparently there is a typical bar that all the foreigners in the area go to. They couldn't explain how to get there so we just agreed to meet them and all go there together. That left us about two hours to watch my favorite movie Everything You Want. We went out to meet them in the main common room and then we all left. It was definitely a better place then the last disco we went to in Otjiwarongo. At least the music was good, and we had fun talking with the guys. Jose said he saw three kayaks that morning on a boat, which turned out to be us! We played a game of pool where Jose and I lost horribly, but then Meg played with Marlo again against another two guys. They won surprisingly, but we all know it was because Marlo was amazing. It was a fun night, and I'm glad we were social for one night. Also, it was nice because we had two guys with us walking down the street so we weren't as worried about walking at night.

Thursday morning we planned to go drive to the Skeleton Coast. As soon as we looked at the map however we gave up on that idea. It would be about a 6 hour drive which I was not willing to do. Instead we looked at our tourist guidebooks and found out we could go camel riding! We did some shopping until it was time to go for our ride. When we got there the whole place looked empty. Finally this German woman came out and told us to sit so she could put on our headdress. I decided I was never meant to be an arab, but Meg's headdress looked much better which I think was because of her huge eyes. The woman said she'll have to find her a rich sheek to marry, which became a constant joke later. For the rest of the day we pretty much just relaxed until it was time to eat at the Tug. We had made reservations prior, and it was really good seafood. It was funny because she made the reservation for two and they must have assumed it was a date since we had this really quite table off on its own basically lit by candlelight.

Friday was our spa day. We spent most of the morning at the spa where we had made appointments for massages and things. They are significantly cheaper than you can get in the states, which is why we decided to go. It was a fancy seaside hotel and while Meg was busy I just sat in the Sauna for a while. After all the work and stress over the last 3 months the spa was a perfect anecdote. It took longer than we expected so we didn't do as much as we wanted to in the afternoon. We finished looking for souvenirs before all the shops closed and called it a day. That night we made sure we had everything packed and organized for the plane then went to our last restaurant in Swakopmund. There was a lot going on since the World Cup had started. We watched a part of the Mexico versus South Africa game. We were too tired to really want to watch the game that night so we just went home watched a movie and went to bed.

Saturday morning we had to get up early so we could drive to Windhoek (5 hrs). I was glad because it was on a paved road which made it a lot easier, and I could go a lot faster. The speed limit was about 120 km/hr most of the way which meant of course I went about 130 km/hr most of the time. I discovered people on that road went significantly faster than even I felt comfortable with. As I passed a couple of policeman I decided that apparently speeding is not a big deal on the main highways as much as cities probably. The result was that our long drive went by very quickly. We had to stop for gas at a small city on the way. Unfortunately we didn't have enough cash so I had to go to an ATM and go back to pay them. As I took out money the guard at the ATM asked me if I finished school and could help with some of his math problems. It was really unusual, but I didn't mind helping him. When we got to Windhoek and got our room at Chameleon it was nap time. I didn't sleep much and spent most of the time reading. I was determined to finish my book since I usually don't read much books for fun during school. That night we met Matt and Kate at Joe's Beer House for dinner. The plan was to have a table to watch the UK vs USA world cup game. Matt is from the UK so it would be very appropriate for us as well. Unfortunately as much as Matt tried to use his British charm we couldn't get a table in view of a TV. The end result is that all of us girls ate and talk, but Matt frequently got up to watch the game. It was really great to see them one last time not work related. We had to give our final goodbye to them and CCF that night.

Sunday morning we got up early and drove to the airport to drop off the rental. So that's it. My African adventure ended Sunday as we got on the plane. It was a wonderful experience. I'm glad I was lucky enough to work with the cheetahs so often. I will definitely miss the cheetahs I studied, but even more so I will miss the many staff members that became my family in Africa. Hopefully we will stay in touch every once in a while. After a day and a half of traveling I am finally back in the U.S. at home. Now there is a lot to get done before summer classes start. I'm glad to be home and have hot water in the shower, see my friends, and wear clothes that don't smell like donkey meat, but at the same time I'm not excited to start classes again and have so much to do. Well life is what it is and you do what you have to do.