A Wednesday Night

After another looong day at the office, we decided to go for dinner and spontaneously called Caravelo for a table. It is one of the most famous restaurants in Gabs and I had heard a lot of good things about it but never been there myself.

We got a nice table near the open fireplace and enjoyed a delicious meal. I especially loved the red-checkered tablecloth and the quaint Mediterranean atmosphere.

Thanks to Björn for taking me there and to Caravelo for the best chocolate mousse in a long time!

bush braai

On Sunday we met with colleagues and friends for a bush braai in Mokolodi. The picnic site was in the middle of the bush and on the way there, we saw quite a few animals.

The guys were mastering the grill and the kids were helping to put up such a good fire that our potatoes were totally burnt by the time we remembered them...

But the rest of the food was delicious and enough to also feed the ants, who were busy carrying away crumbs from the buffet.

It was a lovely afternoon in the sunshine and I hope summer will come back quickly!

Sunset Saturday XVII

Sunset at the beach after a massive thunderstorm in Varadero. The rain was pouring down for an hour or so, accompanied by ferocious thunders and gusts of wind. In the hotel there were several leaks where water was dripping from the ceiling onto the floor. The dark clouds went out towards the ocean and the sun was setting under a dramatic sky, glowing red on the plain sea. I went down to the beach and watched until it got dark with a sundowner in hand. It's about time to go back to the beach and I can't wait for some warm days and beach time when we get to Zanzibar in about 2 weeks time!

signs of winter

Over the last couple of weeks, winter has arrived over here.
The trees are shedding their leaves, the ants have disappeared and my alpaca jumper is my favorite piece to wear right now.
It still feels weird to be in the middle of the cold season when in the rest of the world (most notably home in Bavaria) everyone is taking out their summer clothes & flip-flops, and enjoying long days full of light while here, the sun sets as early as 5pm.

However, even in the middle of winter it is usually warm enough to have lunch outside.

That's not too bad for winter, right??

sour happy jam

It's citrus season here and all over town you can see lemon and orange trees full of fruits in the garden. We got a huge bunch of lemons from a friend and were contemplating what to do with them. Turns out, for a lemon cake you only need two - not enough to kill the lemons sitting on our kitchen table. So we got down to work and made lemon marmalade with some mint leaves from our garden and some vodka for the taste.

Now we have enough for the rest of our lives (I don't really like lemon marmalade), but it was quite entertaining to make it. Anyone in Gabs fancy a glass, let me know ;)

Sunset Saturday XVI

Evening sky at the Moon Palace grounds in Cancun during the COP16.

I attended the climate conference as part of the SADC delegation to present our proposal for a regional REDD+ approach and it seems that during the recent session in Bonn the idea was taken up by some countries...
So it will be exciting to see how things develop over the next months - despite the fact that overall, progress on a new climate agreement has been very slow.

total eclipse of the moon

We were lucky and got a fantastic view of the total lunar eclipse!
To watch, we dragged out some chairs into the garden and sat there for almost an hour under thick warm blankets, watching the moon become darker and darker.It was a great experience to see the moon moving into the central shadow of the earth and then out again.

There is another one in December this year, but apparently this one was the longest and deepest in almost a decade.

Did you get to see the lunar eclipse?

today

- the strike was suspended
- the new issue of lapologa is finally out and looks fantastic
- we booked our flights to Zanzibar!!!

Sunset Saturday XV

I snapped this picture of one of the sunsets during the longest bus journeys I have ever been through, somewhere along the Pacific coast of northern Chile. After the earthquake I did not really want to stay in Santiago but the only way out was by bus. And so I booked the ticket for the 30-hour bus ride from Santiago to Arica. The sunset and the tranquility of the ocean were nice to watch, but I remember that looking at the steady swell for too long made me kind of dizzy. From Arica, it was 'only' another 10-hour bus ride to La Paz and then I did not even want to come close to a bus for a couple of days.

who let the dog in

Some failed attempts of trying to take a picture of the dog and me.
She somehow thought it was playtime and started jumping up and down.
Not helpful.
The short session ended with a frustrated dog that seems to say:
'Just leave me alone, I am tired of having my picture taken'
Ah well, that's life over here ;)

on the Leopard trail

We spent a couple of nights in a lovely cottage in a nature reserve in the Waterberg area, having breakfast on the terrace with impalas watching us curiously, hiking for hours through the hills and looking for leopards (who are said to be living in the rocks and trees around the reserve). Unfortunately, we didn't see any of the shy wildcats, but we sure saw some trails during our hike.

We also went horseback riding through the bush and came quite close to the game.
The best part of the day was to come back to the cozy cottage, eat a home-cooked dinner and spend some hours cuddled up in front of the crackling fire.
It was exactly what we needed.
(Even though I am still in pain because I fell off my bumpy horse)

Sunset Saturday XIV

I took this picture on my very first gamedrive in Botswana at Mokolodi. It was the beginning of winter and it was rather cold on the open vehicle but I was fascinated by the wide sky, the amazing landscape and the vibrant colors.