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In northern Namibia we travel into the Kaokoland, an area not many people visit, and bicycle along the Cunene River bordering Angola.
One afternoon we ride to a small village where the kids have never seen bicycles. At first the kids are very shy, but after a few minutes they come in for a closer view. The older girl is interested in the gear levers, so Tass shows her how they work. |
| Then one of the boys sees himself in the mirror on Tass's bike.
Tass adjusts the mirror so each one can see their reflection. Because of their excitement, we wonder if this if the first time they have ever looked in a mirror. |
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After awhile Bruce thinks of something else they might find exciting.
He sets the watch on his wrist alarm to go off in one minute. As the alarm goes off the kids gather around to listen and giggle at the strange noise coming from his wrist. |
| Soon the kids have forgotten their earlier nervousness.
Everyone becomes more comfortable as we joke around. The boys continue listening to Bruce's watch alarm, which he resets, and then dramatically countdowns the last few seconds before it starts to ring. While the boys contemplate the watch alarm, the older girl checks out Bruce's strange hat. |
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Then the boys notice their reflection in Bruce's Smith sunglasses.
Bruce likes his Buzzsaw sunglasses because they come with three different lenses: dark lenses for sunshine; amber lenses for storms; and clear lenses for eye protection from blowing dust. The Himba kids like the glasses because they can see themselves. |
| The kids find sunglasses and helmet so interesting Bruce lets each one try them out for size.
Each of the kids take turns proudly parading up and down the path wearing the bicycling gear. We all laugh so hard we can hardly stand up. |
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Since the kids have never seen bicycles, Bruce loads them up one at a time onto the rack on his Trek mountain bike, and rides up and down the path. |
| As Bruce gives each of them a ride, the others run up and down the road. laughing and giggling in excitement. |  |
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The oldest girl is so interested in the bike that she hops on for a test ride.
Bruce steadies the saddle as she tries to figure out how the pedals work. After a few minutes she gets the idea of how to spin the pedals, and, with Bruce helping her to balance, she takes off under her own power. We have a wonderful afternoon that we are sure none of us will ever forget! |
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