Locked down again, this week’s COVID-19 Update
Well, the last week of May was a bit of a let-down as far as our fight against this pathogen is concerned. Walvis Bay has quickly gained a few more cases, and the country is now standing on 24 cases in total. Here is a news report from New Era Live.
The positive truck driver that escaped from quarantine last week was the cause of Walvis Bay going back to Level 1 lock-down while the rest of the country has had it’s lock-down restrictions lifted to Level 3. Yes, it’s a set-back.
Talking to some business owners before the lock-down took effect the virus has been devastating. They report losses of over N$ 100,000.00 per month! Of course, the government’s hands are tied, as they simply do not have the cash to help anybody out, it’s all evaporated over the years. They are desperately trying to blame anything but their own ineptitude, of course.
Times have been good for humanity in the last couple of decades, and it’s easy to forget just how tough life was only a short time ago. This little hut at Sandwich Harbor in the photo above is a fine example. Life here must have been a bit tougher than being locked in your house with lots of food and a fast internet connection.
Desert Clean Up
There was a bit of fun to be had during the week, though. Rather close to town in the desert there has been some broken glass laying around for a very long time. Having decided to go clean it up, we also rather defiantly decided to overnight at the spot, despite the locked in orders.
We invited some of our friends, but unfortunately the lock-down has had them down in the dumps and they respectfully declined. With just Isolde and I, a fun little camp was had, with plenty of photographs. In the morning we filled our bag that the wood came in with bottles, but there was so much more that we actually popped into town for more bags.
At the end of the day, when it was all cleaned up, the trash filled the back of our Land Cruiser, Ouma. The camp was a success, too. Just watch out for the Mozzies! These things are plentiful, and will mess up your night’s sleep.
They fly in formation, crawl under your sleeping bag, and hit you through clothes. If you do decide to sleep here, not even bug repellent works, only sleeping in a tent. Unfortunately that means no sleeping under the stars, which is a bit of a let-down.
Small fix-ups on Ouma
Our spare time and creative energies during this locked period was used to do small repairs to Ouma, our trusty four seat Cruiser. Niggling for a long time now was a leak between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust itself. While not damaging to the vehicle, it was making a noise…
We tried putting Firegum in the gap, but it just cracked and fell out in the space of minutes. Even using Asbestos in the Firegum as a binding agent did not work. My late father gave me a chunk of Asbestos ore when I was a little kid, and this was the first time that I actually used any of it.
Anyways, with the locked status of our town spannering all of the works, getting parts in to Walvis Bay for a classic Land Cruiser is a tedious process. Not to mention the ridiculous prices that Toyota are charging. The gaskets that I finally ordered cost N$512 for the pair. Then of course we had to get the gaskets fitted!
Mike from CV joint center does an amazing job, and even they struggled. The entire manifold had to be removed, and new bolts fitted as the older ones had rusted out. Now, Ouma is quiet again, relatively speaking. 🙂
