It’s called Solitaire. It was not named after a card game or a piece of jewelry, but for its remoteness. There, in the middle of the desert, you’ll find rusty old defunct trucks sinking into the dust and spiky plants rising out of it. It looks like a place where vehicles have come to die. Its description doesn’t make it sound like the most inviting highway rest stop you could visit.
But this is certainly not a sad solitary place; it’s a place that brings respite from a day of driving across barren land. After you’ve barely seen anything or anyone for hours, Solitaire emerges, shining in the desert, full of people and full of life. It’s hard to imagine how everyone got there because where were they on the road?
Solitaire is the sole place to stop for gas, food, and toilets along the 6+ hour journey from Swakopmund to Sossusvlei. Our only other stops had been pulling over briefly to take pictures, and one time to use nature’s toilet behind the not so discreet cover of our truck. In Solitaire, we could shake off the monotony and recharge.
And I was so taken by this colorful place that’s frozen in time, but where time has been allowed to take its toll:
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What an interesting place. Your pictures are amazing. Namibia seems like quite the unforgettable experience. Enjoy!
Thanks, glad you liked the photos. I was really inspired by this scenery! Namibia is profoundly different from anywhere else I’ve ever been and the trip was full of surprises.
Lol, that aloe growing inside the toilet is less than inviting though. I can see why you had to make use of “nature’s toilet” instead
We had to make use of nature’s toilet before we arrived there because there was nowhere to stop between Swakopmund and Solitaire! It’s pretty crazy how long you can drive in Namibia without seeing anything. Solitaire also has real toilets that aren’t filled with plants
I like when people turn old household equipment into planters! At the hostel I stay at in Oaxaca, one of my friends turned an old toilet and a retro washing machine into planters for the roof terrace… fun, quirky, and cheap!
These look like pictures from a Coen brothers movie!
So quirky!
Maybe not as bleak as some of the Coen bros’ movies, but it definitely had a Wild West vibe. There was kind of a strange dichotomy of having the look of a deserted place while being the only place full of people on this long drive!
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