Game Drive in Namibia: Can you see animals at the desert?

 

View from the And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge

Hello, we will continue talking about our trip to Namibia during the month of September 2021. We had arrived at the Hotel And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge. That first night we had slept incredibly well.

View from the Room

After having breakfast with a majestic view of the mountains and the valley, and having spent a quiet afternoon reading and swimming in the room's pool, we prepare to start our first Game Drive through the Sossusvlei region. It would be a drive around the reserve to the Petrified Dune.

And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge

Somebody was having fun
 in the cold water

 

Our hotel guide, Michael, originally from Namibia, explained the nature of this place in detail.

Definitely in a safari through South Africa the visitor is rewarded with the diversity of the fauna of the continent. In Namibia, in the desert, the chances are less due to the adverse weather. But there are desert animals. Definitely!

Mr Orix

Desert animals

Let's go to the Drive

Molly, a friend from Cape Town, asked me when I posted photos on Facebook, if there were animals. Well, I answered yes. From the hotel you can see the famous Orix, a kind of cattle, ostriches and Springbocks. There are also jackals, especially one that ventures to walk through the hotel's courtyards where visitors' clothes are hung and through the garbage dumps. We saw this hotel mascot one night when we were enjoying the stars on the terrace of the room.

Our Ranger, explained us the footprints

And there are also hyenas. Apparently the legend is true and where there are no lions, there are hyenas. This is the case in the Sossusvlei reserve. But you can't see them during the day, at least not during our drive, but you can hear them at night. And also the jackals.

Apparently the only ones who have no enemies in Sossusvlei are the oryx, as their number is significant. From our guide Michael, we learned that male Orix are loners and overly defend their territories. The fights between them are impressive considering their size. Their long, sharp horns, strong as steel, are their best defense weapons.

Beautiful place 

There are obviously vipers, including the dreaded Cape Cobra species. Michael told us that he is talking about the behaviour of these reptiles. Normally they do not attack the human being, on the contrary, they flee from him. They only attack if they feel threatened and don't like open fields. They move through the undergrowth or under the ground. If they leave their safe place, it is to look for water or food. They even move into the mountains or in the dunes of Sossusvlei.

The Petrified Dune

Leopards, Elephants and other animals are sure to be found in Namibia, but in other regions, like Etosha. On this trip we decided not to continue to the north of Namibia. That would be for the next one.

The hand of God or the presence of aliens?

No explanations at all about this phenomenon

We continue in our traditional Safari vehicle. We didn't see much different along the way. The mountains and Orix. But the Petrified Dune was special. But before reaching it, Michael showed us an area where the ground had changed color. Even small circles could be observed.

NamiRand Nature Reserve

For him the most normal explanation was that God had been his creator. For me the best proof of the sensation that I had been feeling since I arrived in Sossusvlei: the presence of ufos.

These circles were formed in the mountains with stones that had changed colour. They were darker. Everyone can interpret this phenomenon. The reality is that in this area nature changes.

At the sunset

We continue the journey to the top of the dune. Yes, the Safari vehicle got on without any problem. Time turned a sand dune, worth the redundancy, into solid material. At the top, our guide prepared everything for the famous sunset drink. The view was wonderful and we took the opportunity to take family photos.

We returned to the room flooded with solar energy and all the knowledge that our guide provided us. We rest a little and get ready to go to dinner the delights of the Hotel And Beyond. Our table was al fresco and we enjoyed the silence of the desert. This is not always the case, but this time we don't hear anything.

Thank you very much for reading me. For the next entry of Landing I will bring you the adventure of walking through the famous Dune 45. Quite a challenge.

Landing in Namibia after Lockdown

After landing, we were ready for the desert!

Finally, after almost two years without taking any plane, we flew to Namibia from South Africa, where we live. In Lent 2020 we wanted to go to this country, but with the restrictions due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we decided to travel to South Africa. Namibia is South Africa's northern neighbour.  We flew on September 20, 2021 from Cape Town.

The safest way to drive on the streets of Namibia

First impressions of the country

We decided to fly and not travel by car, due to Covid's requirements, because it was safer that from the capital, Windhoek, we could get the results in the time necessary to take the plane to Cape Town. We arrived at the Cape Town airport and came across a desert. These are the times of Covid, hardly anyone travels. The flight was with Airlink and in less than three hours we were in Windhoek. Its airport is small, so the German plane looked like a giant on the runway. We rent a car from Europcar. 

We met this giraffe in our way to
 the Oaniob Resort

Lake Oaniob Resort

We did not leave the agency without having seen a video explaining the dangers of driving on the wild streets of Namibia. As not all roads are paved, drive slowly and try to drive from the center and not to the side, as rocks and speed can cause fatal skidding. Well, that's where the adventure began. The first giraffe appears: in a Lodge on Lake Oaniob In less than an hour down the road we started seeing Baboons monkeys on the side of the road and a giraffe. 

Best place for a family vacation

Welcome to Africa. We did the lunch break at the Lake Oaniob Resort lodge restaurant. There we ate in front of the lake. There were not many tourists, but in pre-Covid times this place was the preferred place for tourists with children. We hope those times return. This place is in the Rehoboth West region. The food was good. I had some spring rolls and my husband tried his first Cordon Bleu of the trip.

Coffee break at
 Conny´s Restaurant and
Coffee Shop

Impossible to stop pausing with Gunther, the owner of the Conny Coffee Shop The journey continued along the desert side roads to reach the Conny´s Restaurant and Coffee Shop. Out of nothing, because there is nothing between Windhoek and Sossusvlie. The owner, Gunther, of German descent, made us coffee. But first, her puppies Flecky and Panda welcomed us by biting our hands to get our attention. Don't worry, they were just messing around. The German style filter coffee was delicious. It was to be taken alone, without milk or sugar and we did it. He had chocolate muffins, which he baked, but our daughter delighted in a vanilla ice cream that he made himself. The coffee beans are imported from South Africa, from the Bean There! I can totally recommend it.

Gunther, the owner share with us the great
coffee and a nice talk!

Tourists usually arrive in trucks to have a break. His coffee is very famous in the tourist guides. Then he told us about the Covid era in his community. He also told us about his adventures in Argentina and Brazil and of course, he showed us the map of Namibia. But we had to leave to reach our destination, the lodge at NamibRand Nature Reserve, near Sossusvlei. 

And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge,
a Hotel in the middle of the desert

Did we reach the end of the world? 

 

Finally, we had our time to enjoy!

After the delicious coffee and the pleasant talk we arrived at And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge. Yes, in the desert the doors opened before our eyes. A curious jackal, mascot of the hotel, greeted us in the residential area of ​​the hotel employees. Growing up, this jackal is the hotel's pet that it looks for in its trash cans. When we got to the hotel, I definitely had the feeling of being in the furthest place from civilization. 

Romantic Dinner with special views

The hotel is located in a reserve of I don't know how many kilometers. The first thing that came to my memory is that this place would be ideal for any extraterrestrial civilization. Landing a ship there would be the easiest thing to do. No animal in these directions would have enemies. There would be no lions, because there were hyenas, jackals and of course, thousands of a species of cattle called Orix, the African cow. If you ask me for a description. I felt in an unreal world, without civilization, or at least what we think is a civilization. But in short, amazing, wonderful. A mystery of nature. The Namibian desert. Namib, original name And we arrived, well I will tell you about this in the next post. Thanks for reading me and see you soon.

Santiago de Chile: Neruda and the mountains. March 2019

Hotel Cumbres Lastarria

Hello again! Return to Aterrizando to tell you about an adventure through the American Continent, our trip to Santiago de Chile, after visiting Easter Island. This was in March 2019.

Many things have happened in the life of my family, so the delay in writing this entry in Landing. Since mid-2019, we have moved from Switzerland to South Africa. So he hadn't spent much time writing about this trip. Now that we are in the Quarantine for the Corona Virus, because the nostalgia for traveling is great and what better way to combat it than remembering past trips.

Restaurant Mulato

Our journey through Santiago de Chile began on March 13, after visiting Easter Island, also belonging to Chilean territory. We arrived in the afternoon. On a LATAM flight, the Chilean airline. We were in the Chilean summer. It was very interesting to see the mountains on our way to the hotel. Santiago de Chile is a city in the Andean mountains.

And we arrived at our hotel. Cumbres Lastarria Hotel. Very central and perfect for walking the next day throughout the city. At the moment it was dinner time and we decided to visit the restaurant on the corner, hoping to eat typical dishes and yes, we had them. Mulato, Market Cuisine. There we savor their cuts of meat, accompanied by a Chilean wine, Syrah. The empanadas could not miss and of course, with dessert, bacon from heaven.

Empanadas

Syrah

The way to the hotel only a minute, it was next door. It was time to sleep and prepare for a nice summer day on the streets of Santiago.



Walking to the Cerro de Santa Lucía

View from the room

Nothing could be more beautiful than walking in the Chilean sun at 10 in the morning and seeing the streets of Santiago come alive. Our first point on the tourist agenda was to walk to Cerro de Santa Lucía. We had an excellent panoramic view of the city. On the hill is the Hidago Castle, which was built in the 19th century. The sun at that time was pleasant, so going back down to the city was not a hot problem.

Back at the Plaza de Armas, we sat down to enjoy a Chilean beer and the girls from some delicious hot dogs. In El Rincón del Portal, we sit outside. From there we could see the Metropolitan Cathedral and also, the coming and going of the Chileans during their midday break.

Arriving to Cerro de Santa Lucía

After the break, we continued walking to visit some shops, including Hites, and to visit the Palacio de la Moneda, current residence of the Chilean President. Time was pressing, because soon we would return to our hotel to meet my friend from the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Maggie is Chilean but has Mexico in the heart. We met while we were studying some subjects of the Bachelor of Communication degree. And of course, she speaks like a mexican.

View from Castillo Hidalgo

Castillo Hidalgo

Walking in the city

Plaza de Armas

Salvador Allende

Palacio de la Moneda

After greeting each other and not having seen each other for a long time, since we only communicated on Facebook, we sat down to talk in the hotel's terrace restaurant. She took us to la Chascona, the house where the poet Pablo Neruda lived. It was one of the best things we could take from Chile.

Chascona, Pablo Neruda house

With Maggie

Lovely details

Patio Bellavista

Dinner at Azul Profundo

Mist Ice Cream Roll

Afterwards, we returned to the hotel on Uber to change and go to dinner. Maggie took us to the Patio Bellavista. But first we had dinner at the Azul Profundo restaurant. An authentic Chilean food, with the best fish and seafood. Afterwards, we walked among the shops of the Patio Bellavista and for dessert, we had an ice cream with Mist Ice Cream Roll.

Bye, bye Santiago

This place is really a must visit for the tourist. We really enjoyed the summer night and a good chat with Maggie. Our daughters bought some souvenirs and we all enjoyed the good ice cream.

The night ended and we returned to the Hotel Cumbres Lascarria. Our visit to Santiago de Chile was about to end with another stop before returning to the European Continent. We were going back to Toronto, Canada, to spend one night before our flight to Basel, Switzerland.

Hello again, Toronto

Thank you very much for joining me in this account of a past trip, of more than a year. Now that we are in Quarantine due to the Corona virus, I have time to update this blog that was interrupted by our move to another continent, Africa, in Cape Town. We have been living here since July 2019. We are very grateful that we reached the African continent before the virus, because the move would have been even more difficult. Well, I wish you a good week and take good care of yourselves please

Madrugando para ver el amanecer con los Moais de la Isla de Pascua

Así encontramos a los 15 moais de Tongariki

¡Hola! de regreso en este blog antes de terminar el 2019. Hoy les quiero contar una experiencia sin igual que vivimos en la isla de Pascua durante el mes de marzo del 2019.


Era el 13 de marzo. Esa noche no pude dormir muy bien. Me desperté a las 3 de la mañana. Dormíamos en el Hotel Altiplánico de la Isla de Pascua. Estuvimos hospedados en dos cuartos un poco lejanos el uno del otro. Más que cuartos, parecían casitas. Como no quisimos dejar a las niñas solas, decidimos que mi esposo dormiría sólo en uno y yo con las dos en el segundo cuarto o casita.

Reinaba el silencio en ese amanecer

No sentí miedo, pero estaba emocionada, creo que por eso no pude dormir. Teníamos que madrugar para manejar hasta Tongariki.

Amenazaba la lluvia

Tongariki es el centro ceremonial más grande de la isla. Se puede manejar desde la capital, Hanga Roa o bien ir en bicicleta. Nosotros tomamos quizá el camino más largo, pero el más interesante, porque nos tocó ver a los caballos salvajes de la isla, todavía durmiendo cuando pasamos cerca de ellos antes del amanecer. Manejamos en la oscuridad completa. Por suerte en Rapa Nui no pasa gran cosa. Parece que los actos criminales no existen. Todo es paz en la naturaleza. Al menos viajando seguro en auto.

Dejamos el hotel a las seis y media de la mañana, ya  con las maletas casi listas, porque nuestro vuelo sería antes del mediodía. Estábamos emocionados de ir a Tongariki.

Los moais de Tongariki protegiendo desde siglos a sus habitantes

El pueblo estaba vacío. Casi a las siete de la mañana, las casas mostraban plena oscuridad. Al parecer las clases comienzan casi a a las nueve. Ni siquiera nos topamos con otros autos, probablemente los turistas tomaron otra ruta, la más rápida.


Llegamos a Tongariki. El estacionamiento estaba llenísimo. Hasta nos encontramos con un puesto de café. Muy improvisado, con termos y sin techo. Listo para esa mañana gris.

Empezaba a aclararse el día

Y en eso, empieza la lluvia. El día anterior el sol era intenso. Estuvo caluroso. Por eso me atreví a decirles a nuestras hijas, que se pusieran shorts. Y también lo hice yo. De repente, la llovizna nos hizo temblar un poco por el frío.  Nos abrazamos los cuatro y después nos sentimos mejor, calientitos. El espectáculo estaba por comenzar.


Estaba oscuro y nos instalamos enfrente de los moais. No los podíamos ver muy bien. Sólo aprecíabamos su silueta en la oscuridad.

Esa maána, el sol no saldría

Poco a poco el cielo empezaba a iluminarse. No lo pudimos ver en todo su esplendor. La lluvia y las nubes grises lo impedían. Pero ahí estaban, esos gigantes de piedra.

La llovizna se quitó

Tuvimos demasiada suerte porque no fuimos muchos los turistas reunidos ahí. Me imagino que los encargados de la entrada controlan la cantidad de personas que ingresan a Tongariki.

Nuestro deseo fue haberlos contemplado con la luz del sol. Tendremos que regresar a Tongariki, Pero a pesar de haberlos visitado en un día gris, los gigantes eran imponentes. Los protectores de Rapa Nui.

Moai separado de las 15 estatuas

Escuchamos pocas reaciones de admiración, todos estábamos concentrados admirando cómo la luz iluminaba las figuras míticas. El tiempo corría y nuestro avión pronto despegaría rumbo a Santiago de Chile.

Add caption

Por eso decidimos irnos antes de que el la luz del día avanzará más. Nos faltaba desayunar y dejar el hotel para irnos al aeropuerto. Sólo nos quedaba un poco de tiempo para caminar por las otras figuras de Tongariki

Adiós Moais de Tongariki

De regreso al Hotel Altiplánico



A nuestro regreso al hotel,  la vida en el pueblo progresaba. Los niños ya estaban llegando a la escuela y la gente empezaba sus labores cotidianas. Llegamos a desayunar al hotel y dejamos este maravilloso lugar para adentrarnos en el Continente Americano, a Chile.

Adiós Hotel Altiplánico

Así fue como le dijimos adiós a esta isla encantada. Esperamos regresar otra vez y disfrutar la tranquilidad que vivimos por sus alrededores. Y por supuesto, visitar a mayor cantidad de Moais que podamos.

Volamos con LATAM, rumbo a Santiago de Chile

Mil gracias por leerme y hasta el próximo Aterrizando.