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| Mmm Picanha!! Our first stop in SP... a rodizio restaurant @ U$10 per person! |
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| Cheers! one can not visit Brazil without enjoying a delicious Caipirinha.. |
14 June we started on a long journey home. From Rio Dulce by bus to Guatemala city then Thursday 15 June by plane via San Salvador, Lima and Sao Paulo for an over night stop, then to Luanda, Angola and arrived on Sunday, 17th late afternoon in Windhoek!
We had a lot of fun in Sao Paulo visiting sites recommended by our great friend Ana.
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| Strolling through the magnificent park in this big densely populated city! |
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| Pic-nic in the park. (Chilean red wine disguised in a Coco water bottle.) |
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Selection of "jamon", cheeses and breads, with brigadeiros for desert!
(Ana it does not come close to your home-made ones) |
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| Jaco and Joep |
We kicked off in Namibia with a memorable evening with Joep and Anita, planning their December visit. An evening filled with laughter, great food and a constant flow of wine and Rum!
Next followed an everything with our old party crowd and greatest friends: Nico & Motte, Dot, Pierre & Silke and Joep & Anita.
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The crazy gang!
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| The camp site |
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| Springbok sirloin stuffed with smoked mussels marinated in brandy! |
After a few days in Windhoek, we traveled north to Outjo, where my parents reside.The next few weeks Jaco helped to renovate/build a room for a resident assistant for my mother.
While in the north, we took a couple of short trips. We thoroughly enjoyed the scenic camp and surroundings at Oppi klippe.
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| A sun-downer with Deon and Lydia, owners of Oppi Klippe |
On another occasion we joined my parents on a journey in the past. Together we visited Otavi, where my dad was at school in 1944, the farm Ester where he lived in those years. Next was Tsumeb the mining town where we visited his childhood house, the hotel where they met on New Years Eve 1959, the house of oom Nic where my mom stayed when they met each other, the church where they got married, and many many other sites of their past. It was a great privilege to join this journey with them!
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| The school building of 1944. |
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| Oom Nic's house where my mom stayed when they met. |
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| The church where they got married in 1960. |
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| Jaco taking a smoke break at the Minen Hotel where my parents met in 1959. |
The pirates of the Caribbean, Jaco, ala Capt'n "Jake" Sparrow and me, his first "maid" looted farm Uitsig!
(the only ones doing a big effort at a pirates fancy dress party, ... luckily the party was worth it!)
Jaco looked damn good with tinted black beard, beads, dreadlocks, hip flask, authentic knife and all!!
One kid was mesmerized by him and when Jaco proofed that the knife is not plastic, but the real thing, the boy looked at Jaco with huge eyes and whispered "so you really are Jack Sparrow ".
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| The 3 "Swart" sisters and husbands having an exceptional memorable evening at home with master chefs, Hentie and Doreen Champion, great friends of my parents. |
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| Our campsite at Bloedkoppie. |
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| View of the desert from Bloedkoppie. |
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| Scenic drive to the Tinkas. |
Next adventure was a weekend camping trip to Namib Naukluft Park with Joep and Anita.
Once again we were reminded why we love Namibia so much! You can truly be alone and feel the immensity of this wonderful country. The total silence and the wide-open spaces make an eternal impression. Here much better than any five-star accommodation, you’ll get each and every night a million stars in the heaven above you.
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| Water in the desert at Tinkas! |
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| Cheers! Anita and Joep, yet another memorable weekend! |
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| Quick stop in the desert on the way to Walvisbay. |
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| Viewpoint of the desert. |
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| Photo was taken last year on-board Sea Horse. |
Needless to say, our next adventure was on the sea! Another lovely day on S/V "Seahorse" with Jorg, Shelly, baby Ramona and Snuffels. They are slowly getting ready to cross the Atlantic and follow in our wake next year....watch out there'll be 2 Namibian fish-smoking, beer-&-rum-drinking sailboats in the Caribbean!
What can be better than a potjie on the beach?
...Mmm one prepared by Samuel and Rochelle!
An excellent way to finish off an lovely coastal weekend!
Jaco returned to Windhoek to give a hand at his previous company, while I returned to Outjo with my parents.
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| The Venterjie kids giving the old men a tough time on the beach! |
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| I left my camera at home and took these photos with my antique phone |
Just before we said goodbye to the family in Outjo, we went on a day trip to Etosha National Park. Yet again we were not disappointed! Within a couple of hours visiting just 3 water holes we saw a huge male lion, 3 big groups of elephant bathing and the usual giraffes, zebra, springbok, kudu and oryx.
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Jaco and Nico having a business lunch?
Cold beers at Joe's Beer house at 12h00 on a Tuesday....newly retired Nico loving every moment! |
We end our Namibian visit with an evening at "Que Tapas". The gorgeous Venezuelan, Ricardo, treated our table with a constant flow of delicious "surprise" drinks to the ladies. The tapas was excellent especially the Iberian Jamon, thinly sliced at our table. The cherry on the cake at the end of the evening, was when they dimmed the lights to serve our table Caribbean rum (from Dominican Republic). First we ate a slice of orange dipped in coffee beans, then sipped the rum from cognac glasses infused by burnt cinnamon! Absolutely fantastic!!
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| Ricardo burning a cinnamon in a cognac glass. |
This must be a sign.... we should return to our beloved Venezuela!
