March 1877.
On the West African Coast, four ships quietly broke away from the slave-trading fleet sailing from East Africa to North America and headed toward a bay.
Walvis Bay had developed in a rather unusual shape. A long, narrow channel stretched into the Atlantic Ocean, making the entire bay resemble a person extending one arm. Its open mouth faced north, making Walvis Bay easy to identify; virtually every ship passing through these waters could recognize it.
In fact, in 1487, the Portuguese navigator Dias, one of the pioneers of the Age of Discovery, had discovered Walvis Bay. Before the eighteenth century, the Dutch had also surveyed the area, but nothing had come of it. Thus, although Walvis Bay stood out prominently, it had never received much attention.
"This is Walvis Bay, the only deep-water harbor between Angola and South Africa. According to our measurements, most of the waters should be over fifteen meters deep, and the bay's entrance is nearly ten kilometers wide. It truly has the conditions to build an excellent deep-water port!"
Yet these figures did not put the East African sailors at ease, because the land east of the bay was an endless white desert, with only sparse patches of vegetation in sight.
"No wonder His Highness said the conditions here were poor. The land is still nothing but desert. It does resemble Mogadishu somewhat."
"It is far worse than Mogadishu. Mogadishu is an oasis; this place does not have a great river like the Shebelle River nourishing both banks."
From a tourism perspective alone, Walvis Bay's scenery was quite remarkable. Pure white beaches met azure seawater, giving one a feeling of broad horizons and refreshed spirits. But no matter how beautiful it was, it could not change the fact that this was a desert.
Andre