Rundu lies at the entry to the Caprivi strip, at the Namibian side of the river Okavango (Cubango in Angola), with amazing views over the Angolan highlands. A bit more shabby to Namibian standards, the influence of nearby Angola is very strong, with a Portuguese speaking community and more mixed people than in Tsumeb.

On my way to the river bank, I meet Bramley, who shows me the little path down to the jetty. He’s studying in Rundu to become a teacher, although he hopes one day to become a vet, which is difficult to impossible in Namibia. (no university course for veterinarians in Namibia) Bramley’s family was originally from South Africa, so his Afrikaans is good and we can both speak our mother tongue and understand each other. His father is anthropologist and wrote numerous books, at one time they owned a zoo in Rundu, with two lions and leopards around their house, now sadly enough only three dogs and a talking parrot. He shows me his father’s books about the tribes in Northern Namibia, with a small and interesting chapter about Cuca shops in one of them.

All over Northern Namibia you can find little shacks along the road, sign posted as Cuca Shop. At the Cuca shop, you can buy and drink beer and spirits, but originally they only sold home brewed concoctions, most often made with ginger, maize, sugar and water, and in Portuguese Angolan times, imported Cuca beer, from which they derive their name. The Cuca import from Angola is long gone, but the name stuck on. Currently there’s a government crackdown on Cuca shops, the owners have to apply for a license, and plenty of them are slowly disappearing.