When I was in Namibia I visited one area which had a
bit of a reputation for being haunted: the Skeleton Coast. The Skeleton Coast is the term used to define
the Atlantic coastline of Namibia running from the northern border with Angola
to about midway down the country at Swakopmund. The region gets its name from
the rocky, shallow waters which have caused countless ships to run aground there. Thus, it is a kind of ship graveyard if you
will. The early Portuguese traders
called the area As Areias do Inferno
which means, “The Sands of Hell.”
Naturally, most of the hundreds of shipwrecks along
the Skeleton Coast are from colonial times, but that doesn’t mean today’s sailors
are immune to the harsh conditions there. You would think with modern technology that
shipwrecks would be a thing of the past.
Quite to the contrary. In 2009, the Russian ship Ze’la ran aground and
was unable to be salvaged:Perhaps the most famous shipwreck along the Skeleton Coast is the Eduard Bohlen. The Eduard Bohlen was a 310 foot ship which weighed 2,272 tons. It was shipwrecked in 1909 when it ran aground at Conception Bay in thick fog. Due to its size it is particularly impressive because it is nearly half a mile away from shore. I took a flight over Skeleton Coast during my trip and here is the Eduard Bohlen from the air:
Aside from the shipwrecks, the Skeleton Coast is
also well known for the 200,000 cape fur seals which live there. Birthing season for the cape fur seals is in
early December, so we visited when the little ones were only a couple of weeks
old. You could see, hear and smell nothing
but seals for several miles:
Check out these teeth:And some of the babies. They already have teeth:
No comments:
Post a Comment