SOSSUSVLEI

Under one hour, this was our shortest drive in Namibia, from Wolwedans to Little Kulala next to Sossusvlei.We picked this location because it has is own gated access to Sossusvlei, Dead vlei and Dune 45.In banthu language ‘kulala’ means ‘to sleep’ and that’s exactly what we had. A good night of sleep. We decided to skip the morning rush, although it’s the preferred time of the day to shoot some pictures, and visit Sossusvlei at dusk. Turned out to be a good decision. Not too many people around, light was perfect and the occasional clouds slowly drifting by casting subtle …

NAMIBIA – Wolwedans #2

Don’t expect anything to happen here.Just wait. And let sink in the stunning environment.Ask ‘what is this place?’, then open yourself completely to what you hear in the silence that follows. If you’re an escape artist, this is your secret hideaway.Wolwedans did steal our hearts. Why? That’s impossible to answer, it just did.Like falling in love. Spanning a 180,000ha non fenced terrain, Wolwedans is nested in the NamibRand Nature Reserve with plenty of space to enjoy the silence and nature. During one of our morning drives we noticed a solitary zebra walking in the dessert. With the soft light and …

NAMIBIA – Wolwedans #1

While driving to Wolvedans, our next campsite, the landscape started to change. Slowly we started to see red coloured crumbled hills and variation in vegetation. Also gone the fenced thar road and welcome dirt road! My personal favourite. Driving down the Tsaris pass we stopped just after Zaris on the D827 to get a better impression of the desolate area. Once we stepped out of the car it felt like we were standing in a hot-air oven. Dusty and heavy warm wind blowing in our faces but nearly no sound. In the distance we saw some blown-by-the-wind bushes hunting each …

NAMIBIA – Kalahari Game Lodge

Located on the southern edge of the Kalahari dessert, near to Mariental we had our second stop at Bagatelle. A short one, only one night. The main reason why we stayed here is because we have cats back home. And since Bagatelle partners with CCF, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, we decided to spent a night. Driving there was easy and monotonous. Most of it was just dusty dirt road but also kilometers of fenced asphalt roads. We preferred the dirt roads ;-) We stopped at Maltahöhe and Mariental, two sleepy townships, to get a sense of the local life. The …

NAMIBIA – Kalahari

First morning in Namibia after an eventful flight. Our first flight got delayed by thunderstorms, a thorough check before the connection flight by the German customs resulting in a defective 400mm lens and to top it all off, only 1 suitcase arrived in Windhoek. Fortunately, we had all our luggage mixed and divided over our 2 suitcases, so it wasn’t too much of a problem. And because every piece of luggage got air tagged we could see it was still at Frankfurt airport. Deutsche Gründlichkeit? Yeah right.Waking up in Habitas while enjoying the sunrise from our Savanna room terras made …

SARDINIA #3

In order to explore more of the island we decided not spent our whole stay at one location. Therefore we booked a couple of nights in a cosy B&B down South in Gergei. Little did we know that our ride would treat us to such stunning scenery. Driving through the Gennargentu National Park was just lovely, it sometimes reminded me of Switzerland. Especially the part between Lanusei and Lake Basso del Flumendosa with dozens of hairpin bends did. Arriving at Gergei, a small dormant village, it was quit easy to find our B&B Domu Antiga. We were warmly welcomed by …

SARDINIA #2

Remember that exited feeling when you jump out of bed, look outside and see everything covered under a white layer of snow? Well, i felt it again this morning but for the million happy rays of sunshine! We already decided yesterday, if the weather would improve, that we would drive to Palau, take a ferry to Isola Maddalena and cross the bridge to Isola di Caprera. It’s not a big island but you can have some lovely walks and it’s doped with lovely beaches. Combine both and that sounds like a plan. The easiest way to get to the beaches …

ÉVORA #2

All good things comes in three. And the best news is, this is only our second visit to Évora so we certainly need to go back another time! For the great food? The wines? Nature? The quietness you ask? Yes, all of them.But the main reason why we are so riveted to the Alentejo region is Villa Extramuros. A little piece of Heaven on earth. See previous post Évora for more info One of the advantages of a repeating visit is that you are even more à l’aise.You don’t need to rush to discover everything because you have seen already …

Porto Palafita da Carrasqueira

For best reader experience go to first post of this series. At the estuary of the river Sado there’s an old fishermen pier. The scenery changes dramatically from high to low tide. Part of the pier has been renewed but most of it still looks like it will collapse any minut. The fishermen’s huts are decorated with dollies and other colourful objects. Objects that probably got stuck in their fishing nets. Another lovely spot at the Atlantic ocean is Cabo da Roca. It’s the westernmost point of the European continent with a dramatic coastline. High rocky granite cliffs and hidden …

ALGARVE

In all honesty, this was our least favourite area in Portugal. Can’t really explain why, it simply felt that way. Something with les goûts et les couleurs… Speaking about taste. We had the BEST vegan meal ever in restaurant Pisco.If you happen to travel to the most South-West point of Portugal, Cabo de Sāo Vicente, you really have to stop in Vila do Bispo and have a meal there. We stayed on a walking distance 2 nights in a B&B Pure Fonte Velha. Too bad Pisco doesn’t serve breakfast ;-) Traveling outside the normal touristic season has its advantages. The …