[ad_1]
When Andrius and Ilka got married in Namibia in November 2014, they went to visit relatives in Ilka’s hometown every year. This was usually done in December, January.
“At that time, there is a little less work in our area. It would not be wise to leave during the working year, smiles Andrius. – Besides, these are the darkest months in Lithuania. The cold is not a terrible thing. The lack of light it’s more urgent. ”
But it was too early for the couple to leave in December of this year, as Adriana was still too young. Namibia has also been closed for some time due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Andrius Pauliukevičius with his daughter Adriana / photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
Ilka Adams with her daughter in Namibia / Photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
Andrius admits that traveling with a young child was more terrifying for him than it was for his wife.
“It just came to our attention then. On the other hand, her bravery is justified because she is a very good mother, she copes well. Adrian is only hard on the day his teeth germinate. good mood, he says. – Due to the long delay between flights from Vilnius to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Namibia, this time from door to door, it took a little more than 30 hours. But Adriana did not exhaust more than us. The plane did not it was full so we had a chance to put my daughter in two seats and fall asleep. “
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams with daughter and grandmother in Namibia / Photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
The first meeting with the Namibian grandmother was a great success. “Ilka’s father died four years ago, leaving her mother alone. Ilka talks to her on the phone every day or even several times a day. Since Adriana is always close, she was also able to hear her grandmother’s voice and recognize her. The most It was shocking when Adriana saw her grandmother for the first time: it was seen that she did not know, but hardly this started talking to her, the girl laughed. He felt like a familiar person and his own. From that moment on, it was already possible to leave Adriana with her grandmother, she felt calm and safe ”, says Andrius.
Andrius Pauliukevičius in Namibia / Photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė.
This time, the family trip to Namibia was a little slower, without the usual urgency. “You can only be very fast when you travel with a friend in a male company; you don’t have many things, nobody needs to paint … And you can eat anything by sitting on the sidewalk,” he laughs. And now I had to adjust to Adriana’s sleep regimen: she moved out of the house a little later so her daughter could fall asleep, and she came back earlier so she could go to bed on time. The little one slept well in the car or stroller. “A child who has fallen asleep is like a man who has fallen asleep and has eaten: then the mood is good and he does not complain or cry about anything”, laughs Andrius.
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams with their daughter in Namibia / Photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
Travelers say the pandemic in Namibia can almost be forgotten. After several months of restrictions, everything works again: shops, cafes, sports clubs.
“It is true that the curfew is still valid, so you have to be home from the tenth night to the fourth morning. But we go to bed after nine o’clock, I get up from the fifth to the sixth tomorrow, so we don’t feel any restrictions, “smiles the Lithuanian.” It is officially mandatory to wear masks everywhere, but people with masks can only be seen in the center of the capital and are usually covered. only chin. In other cities, masks are only worn in shops because they are not allowed in without them. They walk the streets wearing masks. ”
Andrius says he was interested in why people are being so lazy, and he was generally told that the locals don’t take the virus seriously. “On the other hand, since the beginning of the pandemic, the official death toll from Covid-19 in Namibia is less than five hundred,” he says.
Arriving in Namibia in early March, the family managed to visit attractions. Etoša National Park is visited every year because there is nothing more beautiful than the wildlife that lives in a large area.
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams stay in Namibia / photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams stay in Namibia / photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
It also always reaches the ocean coast. This year I still wanted to visit the north of the country, closer to the equator: many people still live there in traditional villages, they do not have water in their homes and most have electricity.
“They bathe and wash clothes in the river, they drink and use river water for cooking. He brings it in buckets every day ”, Andrius shares his impressions.
To visit several more remote towns, asked the guide for help, but says there wasn’t much benefit: “He couldn’t understand in any way that we could be interested in the way local people lived, so he didn’t help talk to local people. Realized that it would probably also be strange to me if someone from any American asked me to show me how to, say, boil oatmeal in the morning. So I checked with the locals myself – I ordered dinner for myself prepared as followshow to produce by yourself. Nothing more beautiful, tasty or chic. They usually boil mahangu – wheat porridge with oil and salt, makes a spicy spinach sauce. I told him that I wanted to try it and pay for it like an expensive dish in a restaurant. It was really delicious, so I ate the entire portion. It is true that the porridge felt a bit gritty. Probably due to the fact that the grain cannot be completely cleaned. The locals tend to eat with their fingers, squatting, because they place a plate of food in a bucket, box or other higher object, because often there is no furniture. “
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams stay in Namibia / Photo from personal album.
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams stay in Namibia / Photo from personal album.
Another traditional dish, more from South Africa, that Andrius decided to taste was Mopane worms. They were prepared for travelers by Sandra Jakštaitė, a Lithuanian who has lived in Namibia for more than twenty years.
“They don’t have a bright taste, just the texture is unusual for us. You may or may not eat it; First of all, there is a psychological moment. At the end of the day, people eat fans, snails and the devils still know what ”, laughs the coach.
After traveling the country for a while, the couple planned to spend a few weeks with Ilka’s family; they hadn’t seen her in a year and a half.
Andrius Pauliukevičius and Ilka Adams stay in Namibia / photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
Andrius Pauliukevičius in Namibia / Photo by Vitalija Jakavovienė
“We will not do anything special. Ilka will be with her loved ones, I will answer letters, read and train. More so because in the capital, Windhoek, I can go back to the gym, Andrius is not hiding. – But even after sports clubs closed in Lithuania , Ilka and I play sports all the time: at home we have a bar, rubber, in the yard – a cross bar, parallel bars, TRX belts, so we can do the basic exercises. Even while traveling in Namibia, I trained every day: in the courtyards of the places to stay, in the reserves, I did what was possible: squats, squats, push-ups. If you really want to play sports, you can find or create suitable places. “
Photo gallery of Ilka and Andrius’ stay in Namibia:
[ad_2]
