Astonishing, regenerating, beautiful!

The stars of the boreal hemisphere. We saw them for the first time at Okonjima and it was a big emotion: the sky was so clear, immense and full of stars, with the Milky Way so clearly visible, that we could not believe our eyes.

At the Etosha National Park, on a very hot day, a big herd of elephants reached the Olifantsbad waterhole to drink and cool off. While adults were showering with their trunk, the babies were playing and rolling over in the mud. After half an hour of drinking, showering and playing, the herd moved away from the waterhole and crossed the road right in front of our jeep, not more than 10 meters away. Compared to the size and the majesty of these animals we felt so incredibly small.

Landscapes of Namibia are all breath-taking, they never disappoint and they always change. If we have to make a choice, these are the competitors for the title: the Soussusvlei dunes from the hot air balloon that climbs up silently at sunrise; and the coast of Sandwich Harbour from the mirror of a Land Rover racing on the beach between the Namib giant dunes and the ocean.

Everywhere in Namibia there is a strong bond with the land. You can breathe it along the dusty roads. It wraps and disorients you in the desert. The land nurtures and supports life. The people of Namibia are proudly bonded with their land. A bond that we have lost, but there it is very clear, maybe because it is ancestral or because land is the real big richness of Namibia.

The kids are still afraid of darkness!

Watching our 2 and a half years old son laughing, playing and rolling down the dunes of Sossusvlei, in such a remote place, so far away from home and our world.

A Freitag & Berndt 1:1000000 map. For many years I did not travel without GPS or Google Maps, but in Namibia these tools do not work and you can rediscover road maps. A past experience that enriches your travel and turns on your brain!

Everything, but if we have to choose the hot air balloon in the Namib Desert.

Kuala Desert Lodge: immersed in the desert, well-finished, managed by kind and friendly people with a story to tell.

Africa teaches and reminds you that time is not beaten by the watch you wear, but by the light, by the sunrise and the sunset, by the rhythms of nature. Traveling to Africa changes your rhythms completely: everyday you wake up at 6 a.m. and go to bed at 9 p.m., and you do it easily, naturally. You live according to nature and you fully appreciate every moment of the day. The way we lived this trip is one of the most precious memories we brought home with us.