Oh-my-oh-my too many things too little time

Forgot to post the Namib Naukluft Park pictures, so here it goes..


The never ending but breath-takingly beautiful road to the Park.




Oryx and Ostridges stroll calmly in this idylic place. They live a stress-free life as there are no predators in the area.


Our room at Kulala Desert Lodge looked taken out of a Star Wars movie.





Us enjoying the magnificent reserve.





Our lift to Swakop has arrived.. Flying in such a tiny thing.. it was the first time. But it went smooth and it was spectacular.




The dunes seen from above in our scenic flight to Swakop.



The Skeleton Coast. Stunning!

Namib Naukluft Park

What can I say, how can I start a post on one of the most spectacular places I have ever been to in my life? The Namib Naukluft Park should be a compulsory trip to anyone who is a nature lover and appreciates the beautiful sceneries of this little planet we live in.

To recharge one's batteries some people enjoy outlet shopping (!), others amusement parks (!!), some others enjoy radical sports (!!!), the list is endless.. As for myself, I really appreciate being close to nature. Preferably in the company of my family and in beautiful and unspoilt locations.

Living in this part of the world makes me completely spoiled for choice as I have rarely seen so many amazing landscapes before moving to South Africa in 2006. Actually the love affair started in a visit to Cape Town in 2000. The overwhelming beauty of that city was a first sample of what would become routine once we moved down here for Patrick's job with BA.

But back to Naukluft.. the reserve is home to the world's most beautiful and best known sand dunes. There is no exageration when I say that they are really as majestic as people have described them in travel guides and online forums. However, the mountains and plains are as spectacular and considered by astronomers as one of the two best star gazing spots in the world - the second being the Atacama desert in Chile.

Again, the sense of isolation and absolute silence are mind-blowing. Absolutely divine to say the least.

Below some pictures of paradise.

Windhoek

Arriving at the International Airport in Windhoek was a first taste of the kind of "isolation" we were going to experience in Namibia. A right turn taken after the parking lot and... desert! And a starry sky like I have rarely seen before.

Our hotel was an old castle conversion. Comfortable and exotic and I am still asking myself who the hell would build a castle in the 1900s - the time when the Germans landed in that part of the world. A castle in the 20th century? Oh yes, this is the Namibian answer to the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, built in the mid/late 19th century by the megalomaniac Ludwig II, who forgot he did not live in the middle Age any longer. Those Germans... tsc tsc tsc

Well.. at least that castle served as an inspiration to the Cinderela castle of Florida's Disney World. So.. Hurray!! Thanks Ludwig! As Obama would say: "you were the man!"



Jokes apart, the Heinitzburg was a great place and a lovely start to our trip.



Windhoek per se was not mind blogging exciting. It was a small German town, clean and quiet, organised and sterile. As our President Lula so kindly said on his visit to Namibia a few years ago: "it is so clean, it doesn't seem we are in Africa at all". Touche'!! With one little sentence our beloved President manage to embarrass 180mi people in one go. Thank you, Lula!! As Obama said: "You are the man!"

But forgetting about this horrendous faux pas of our Luis Inacio Lula Molusco da Silva and his total lack of diplomacy, he was kind of right about this town. So, to close on Windhoek: I am too polite to say it was a tad boring the place... and as I am going through a "ladylike" phase, I'd say it that 2 nights there were 'quite sufficient'.

Next stop: Namib Naufkluft Park and that's what we went to Namibia for.

Finally a good reason to be back

I felt like writing on the blog many, many times in the last months but life has been hectic and I just couldn't find time for it. I then started blogging for "O Globo" on being a Brazilian supporter on World Cup land. I had fun with it but honestly don't know if I am comfortable writing to a big audience. I rather keep it cozy, you know.. Gemuetlich, if you may say..

I then made a promise to myself that I would start writing again when I had something really wonderful to talk about. And now I have it. And that is Namibia.

We came back last night from an amazing trip to one of the world's most overwhelmingly beautiful countries. Beautiful as beautiful can be. And rough. Cliche' rough.

To start with, it is Germany in Africa surrounded by lots and lots of sand, with lots and lots of space. The country has 1,2million inhabitants in a country 4 times the size of the UK. According to stats, that is 2 persons per square kilometer. And - we love this one - with 2million seals as residents on its coast. Yes, sir, like British Columbia (with bears), Namibia has more seals than human beings.

German is spoken with no accent as is Afrikaans and English. Plus the other many tribal languages and Portuguese (lots of it) from the Angolans galore we found on Windhoek and Walvis.

We thanked them for the marvelous restaurant "O Portuga" we visited on our first day. Delicious "authentic" Portuguese food, drop dead cold beer and a marvelous spot for anthropological research. It had it all.



Best of all, on his way to the bathroom, Patrick made an amazing discovery, which I will here share with you....

Michael Jackson has been to Namibia! Yes, he did and he had lunch at "O Portuga".





OBS: Attention to the proud smile of the "Portuga" cook side by side with the King of Pop.



And when asked by the waiters what he though about the country, he replied: "It smells strange!" huahuahuahuahua

Jacko your forte was definitely not PR!



Was there a better way to start our trip?


PS: More posts on Namibia tomorrow, folks. Stay tuned.

Shame on me

For having stayed so long away from the blog. I missed writing and now am back full power.
My apologies to my two or three regular readers.

Time off

Amanha partimos pra Cape Town. Fim-de-semaninha gostoso, sem muitos planos, pra descansar mesmo.

Vamos ficar num dos hoteis que mais adoro no mundo, o Twelve Apostles, sempre um "trato" que o Patrick gosta de nos dar.

Cape Town esta para Johannesburg, assim como o Rio esta para Sao Paulo, so que mais longe (2 horas de voo). E vamos combinar que Joburg nao e' tao ruim quanto SP.

CT e' uma das cidades mais bonitas do mundo, de tirar o folego e mesmo tendo estado nesse lugar magico varias vezes, o vistante fica enlouquecido com sua beleza selvagem SEMPRE.

OBS: Na foto acima, o maravilhoso hotel e a cidade "impossivelmente" linda

Histericamente engracado

Me esburrachei de rir. Ri pra me acabar. Chorei de tanto rir. Gargalhei.

Descobri o blog do Marcos Mion ontem a noite e sinceramente nao me lembro de ter lido nada tao hilario ha muito tempo.

O cara e' engracado de verdade, tipo brilhante, daqueles que conseguem transformar uma historia banal em piada.

Seu blog faz parte da pagina bloglog, dos blogueiros globais, do mega portal Globo.com, que conta com artistas desde "startlets" bobinhas ate atores consagrados e autores de novelas. Passando, logico, por gente do "naipe" (termo roubado do Mion) de Vitor Belfort e Dado Dollabela.

Vale a pena ler o cara esculachando seus colegas blogueiros sem do' nem piedade - com toda a razao alias - pois tem gente que como diz ele, "a gente achava que nao sabia nem escrever". E consagrar a mae mais "motherfucking crazy" do mundo (dentre sua lista encontramos Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Michael Jackson e a mae do Marilyn Manson, que segundo ele pra ter um filho desse naipe (olha ai o termo ) deve ter feito uma merda das boas). Hahahahahaha. ADOREI.

Alem de brilhante e paulista ate a raiz do cabelo - isso tambem faz o blog mais engracado ainda - Mion e' politicamente incorretissimo e segundo ele, seu blog nao tem censura. Um de seus posts tinha mais de 10.000 comentarios.

Nao paro de ler o cara nunca mais.

The Travel Bug

The travel bug has caught me and I feel restless, restless.

Due to the chaotic and very sad situation in Lebanon, our June Middle East trip to Syria, Jordan and (!) Lebanon is canceled. It is such a pitty.. I was looking very, very, very forward to it.

The options are many and very different: Provence, Klosters, Namibia and the US are just some to name a few. More interesting, exotic African destinations such as Madagascar and Reunion are much more to my liking. And I bet those might be our final destinations.

Departure date is 27th June so until then I will be back and forth, left, right and centre. As a good, old Libran, of course.

I'll come back with the final result.

Happy Birthday Israel

It was touching to watch the images of Israel's 60th aniversary celebration yesterday night.

After having been there last September my affection towards the Jewish State and its inhabitants grew considerably. Few times, as a tourist, have I been treated with such hospitality and friendliness, openess and warmth. My visit to Israel, surelly, exceeded all my (very poor) expectations.

The holiday of Rosh Hashannah, spent with the Kabbalah Centre, was my first of, hopefully, many visits to the Holy Land. The incredible energy of this country is addictive and its beaches, exoticism and history, extremely inviting.

The 60th aniversary reportages raised questions about the ever-existing, always difficult and forever uncertain peace process in the region. And showed images of former wars, politicians, peace-makers, war-makers, terrorism.

Saddened by the rocky past of this nation but amazed by its prosperity and urge to hold on to its territory, I wish Israel much happier and peaceful 60 years ahead.

Longing for Paris

It is incredible how much I miss Paris at the moment. This time last year, my dear friend Cris and I were having a ball, the best time ever in there.

I never hid from anyone my love/hate relationship with France during the last years we were "held hostages" there and how relieved I felt while driving in a cab direction the airport to leave the French, their winters and bad mood behind me. And move to my beloved Rio and have my first child.

That was 2002, I was in my eighth month of pregnancy with Antonio and I couldn't stand one day longer of grey skies, rudeness and incompetent gynecologists.

2008 finds me leaving with my 5 year-old "baby" in a sunny land, with friendly people and a huge mix of very interesting cultures. And... no art, music, museums.

Patrick laughs when I say I miss civilization but it's true. I do. I miss the buzz of a big urban centre, to shop till I drop, beautiful restaurants, great food, fashion.

I start asking myself if I will ever be 100% satisfied with my country/city of choice. My best bet is I was a gypsy or a Mongolian nomad in my previous life and must be constantly on the move, exploring, learning.

Ah! But the good news is we will do a pit-stop in my beloved "city of light" on our way back from Oslo. Counting down...30, 29, 28...

Beirut

Ouvi falar dessa banda atraves do site Radar 55 - maravilhoso site de tendencias da area de moda, design, musica, restaurantes e tudo aquilo sobre o qual amamos descobrir novidades.

Entrei no site e simplesmente me apaixonei pela musica do Beirut - beirutband.com. Ha tempos nao me emocionava tanto com algo que ouvi.

Um mistura de estilos, com influencia de musica cigana - acordeon, trumpete - e orquestra... Parece doido.. e e'.

A musica Elephant Gun e' um balsamo pros ouvidos. E pra alma.

Delicia de filme

Acabei de voltar do cinema, fui ver "Dan in Real Life" com o Steve Carell.

Achei o nome pessimo para um filme tao bom, leve e divertido. Resolvemos ir, mesmo nao levando muita fe', pois sou fa de carteirinha do ator.

Ha muito tempo nao ria tanto no cinema... e chorava. Com uma trilha sonora sensacional e com um elenco de primeira, a pelicula deu pra emocionar.

Rumo a Noruega

Hoje confirmei nossa presenca no casamento da minha querida amiga Mia. Nem acredito que vou ter o prazer de ve-la se casar!

Amiga de fe' e roommate durante a faculdade em Guildford, a Mia e' a quele tipo de amiga do peito, alma gemea - uma tem tudo a ver com a outra. Pensamos igual, gostamos das mesmas coisas, e o senso de humor.. identico! Ate ja saimos com um mesmo cara... (eu peguei primeiro, mas tudo bem... - hahahaha)

Entao dia 06 de Junho, Patrick e eu desembarcamos em Oslo pra prestigiar essa queridissima figura se casando com Fabrizio, seu noivo italiano.

Mais do que ir ao casorio, vai ser maravilhoso ver minhas amigas do coracao - a Mia e a Stine - depois de quase 10 anos..! A ultima vez foi no meu casamento no Rio.. Que loucura.

E voltar a Noruega, pais encantador de gente hospitaleira, simpatica e descomplicada. ( e festeira!)

Vai ser um verdadeiro arraso! Prometo muitos posts e fotos desse dia tao especial.

No estaleiro

Ando pra la de morta, cansada pra valer.... Durmo, durmo, durmo e durmo. Eta, preguiiica!

Estou lendo no momento "100 anos de Solidao" - maravilhoso! - e parte da historia conta sobre a tal da "peste da insonia" que os moradores de Macondo contraem. Ninguem dorme e aos poucos todos vao perdendo a memoria.

Engracado eh que no meu caso, alem de hibernar como uma ursa, tambem ando totalmente esquecida. Deveria ser ao contrario..

Alguem arrisca um diagnostico?

Absurd world

I admit having tried to ignore what is going on in Zimbabwe for a while. However impossible that is and how much I dislike my own attitude, I have done it. Guilty as charge.

Yesterday night I received a letter from a friend of a friend by e-mail, who writes from a chaotic, mad, isolated Zim, where whites are again losing their houses and homeless people are sleeping on the streets at zero degrees Celsius, with no food, water, anything.

There is no petrol, no provisions, no security, no hope. Fortunate, better-off families are taking "refugees from poverty" into their own homes, unable to send them back to the freezing streets.

The fears of failing to support themselves is an ever-increasing one as well as utility bills prices go up at staggering rates. Electricity will raise up to 250% next month.

Journalists were kicked out of the country once again and no one can see the real picture of what Mr Mugabe and his mob are doing to the, already, miserable, starving, desperate population.

It is useless and naive to ask these question, but... why isn't anybody doing anything to help? Why hasn't England (the former coloniser) done anything concrete to help this nation? Why Mbeki still treats Mugabe as an old pal and has washed his hands over this issue? Why the US, the sheriff of the world, has ignored the doings of the ZANU-PF and its chief? Why the result of the recent elections are still not out? Why are there so many English troops in Afghanistan and none in Zim?

This is one of those moments of History I feel ashamed of belonging to the same race as some of those bastards.

The most beautiful day in the world

Waking up in a day like day makes one happy to be alive. And to love even more living in this Southern part of Africa.

Mrs Lieberman

I took Antonio to his first piano lesson this morning. I knew it wouldn't be an easy task to get a 5 year-old boy to sit quiet and was ready to go back home without hearing any tune at all.

I did not count on the charm and experience of Mrs Lieberman - as from this morning - his and mine piano teacher.

The friendly lady was recommended to me by Alberto, who sold us his late father's piano and who learned all he knows from her.

Antonio, after much resistance, played a few notes until his attention span expired. Then was my turn to try and remember anything from my classes as a child.

I did not remember much but look forward to studying with this adorable woman, who reminds me of much better times from the past.

Goodbye Parreira

Ao passar pelo jornaleiro de um shopping no sabado a tarde li: "BAFANA COACH QUITS". Levei um susto e parei pra ler.

Bafana e o apelido da selecao de futebol local e o tecnico em questao, o nosso muito querido Carlos Alberto Parreira.

A reportagem dizia que apesar do salario astronomico, Parreira estava se desligando do comando da selecao Sul-Africana e a razao seria saudades de casa. Fiquei bastante triste com a noticia mas entendi, como ninguem, a causa de sua partida.

Hoje, li mais uma vez, desta vez no site do Globo, que Parreira estava voltando ao Brasil pois sua mulher esta com cancer. O artigo falava dos progressos feitos pelo "professor"a frente do time local e de como esse trabalho de montar uma selecao do nada era mais gratificante para ele do que treinar a selecao Brasileira em 2006.

Uma pena para a Africa do Sul perder presenca tao ilustre e talentosa em suas terras. Espero que sua mulher venca essa dificil batalha e que Parreira ainda nos de muitas alegrias como essa - maior de todas - abaixo.

Saudades de casa

Hoje e um daqueles dias no qual me pergunto varias vezes por que moro fora do Brasil.

Minha saudade de casa ja vinha crescendo nos ultimos dias (semanas, alias) e hoje, apos ler O Globo, e ver essa foto deslumbrante do Arpoador (abaixo), quase explodi de vontade de pular num aviao e ir pro meu querido Rio.


Minha amigona/irma Bruna esta tendo sua terceira filha num desses dias e gostaria muito de poder estar la.

Nao existe lugar no mundo como o lar, com certeza. Hoje, meu lar e o Rio e a saudade da minha cidade querida e seus habitantes ta doendo no peito.

I miss home

Today is one of those days when living abroad feels completely senseless.

I've started feeling homesick a few days (weeks, actually) ago and when I read the news from home this morning and saw this picture (below) I just couldn't help but feeling like jumping a plane to go to Rio.


My good friend/sister Bruna is having a baby daughter these days, her 3rd one, and I wish I could be there right now.

There is no place like home (that's for sure) and home happens to be Rio - very strongly - at the moment.

Masterpiece

Few things give me more pleasure than reading an excellent book.

One of those I can hardly put down and keep on thinking about the story all the time.

Well, I have finished reading a book that had a similar impact on me now as Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" had when I was in my early twenties.

"On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan is exquisite reading and I strongly recommend it.

And already miss it.

Fabulous Jozi

I have complained about Jozi's weather and guess what? The bluest skies are back!!!

Autumn is there and is getting colder and colder everyday. And the sun - oh the sun!- is always there, making each day more glorious than the one before.

I missed Johannesburg as it is now, as I am used to. Beautiful, sunny days and cold, starry nights.

Delightful.

Pesach at home

I finally had to cancel my Pesach holidays with the Kabbalah Center in Miami. I am a bit disappointed, of course, as in the end I was looking forward to it.

I will do all the spiritual work required here in Joburg and hopefully will spend many other Pesachs with the KC team somewhere in the world in the years to come.

Enjoy it, guys! You deserve it.

PS: I look forward to one more Rosh Hashanah in Tel Aviv later this year. Let's hope I can make it.

Good news

To hear good news is second best only to sharing it. I must admit being VERY happy with the late developments in my life.

I will be even happier when I can tell everybody what's coming up.

Boas novas

Receber boas noticias so nao e melhor do que dividi-las. Confesso estar MUITO feliz com os ultimos acontecimentos na minha vida.

Ficarei mais ainda quando puder contar a todos o que vem por ai.

Thin Cows

In such a period of economic crisis and of very poor sales in my shop - and when you think business could not get any worse - I get assaulted by the news of another increase in interest rates.

It is now 15% per annum.

In a country where a great majority of people has mortgages to pay, this is some piece of bad news.

Some South-African authority - not sure who that was yet - has asked the population to "tighten the belt" even further...

Now, that was a really bad joke with the retail industry, my man!

Best thing after sex

I love eating. And I adore eating well.

Yesterday night we were "treated" by friends to a fantastic meal of unforgetable food and wine.

Christian is a German friend of ours and a fantastic cook. Anna is Swedish and his fiance and a sweet and attentive hostess. Add to that great wine and a cosy and charming set up and - voila! - we had a fabulous evening together.

The starter was a delicious seafood soup - with langoustine, scallops and fish cooked to perfection - followed by the best rack of lamb I have ever tasted in my life. Absolutely divine!

Bravo, you guys! And thanks a lot for a fantastic time.

Life is not fair sometimes

Antonio spent the weekend feeling terrible - the poor thing. He had a temperature, a running nose and body ache.

Yesterday (Saturday) afternoon he told me: "Mum, isn't it unbelievable that I get sick on the first day of my school holidays?" He was so right, my beloved boy.

But after a good laugh and agreeing on the unfairness of the situation, I couldn't help myself but, proudly, noticing what a fine sense of humour my 5 year-old boy has.

Mundane distractions

The Kabbalah Centre has put in the web a few recorded conference calls from KC teachers explaining us all we need to know about the upcoming event. All super well-done and organised as always.

During a call, an Israeli teacher meant to explain us something related to the "direction" one should take in such and such matter and he pronounced the word as "DEE-ERECTION", which I obviously understood as "THE ERECTION".

And that was it for the evening! Concentration was gone and I could not stop laughing anymore...

And by the way...

The lazyness is gone and my trip to Miami is confirmed.

Pesach

The preparation for the Kabbalah event in Miami, coming up in a few days, has been intense and extremely important.

Pesach - or Passover - is the Jewish holiday that marks the escape of the Israelites from Egypt. From a Kabbalistic point of view, it means escaping from your own fears, your ego.

This is the time of the year when we have the opportunity to fight our major negativities and connect to an incredible amount of LIGHT.

I will do my spiritual work and do my best to share all the LIGHT received with all those I love. In fact that means everybody.

Dr Davis & Bechstein

There were only a few things missing to make our lives in Joburg complete bliss.

Our black Bechstein upright piano arrived last Thursday and our little boy has sat down to it every morning ever since and played a few tunes. "Happy Birthday to you" and "The beef" were the first hits discovered by Antonio of, hopefully, many more to come.

However, meeting Dr Davis, a pediatrician recommended to us by the always-reliable Dr Cobb, was by far the best thing that has happened to us this year. The old-school, friendly, extremely knowledgeable, chatty and cosy doctor has given us an indescribable sense of relief and happiness. Our son, now, is definitely in fantastic hands - I don't have to call Dr Pedro Solberg, his Rio pediatrician, in every single emergency - and that makes a world of a difference.

A few more things are still on the pipeline to make us even more happy here but at least the basic ones are sorted.

Laaazy!

The hotel is booked, the event paid, the JHB-LON-MIAMI ticket sorted and confirmed,... but I must admit I am soooo lazy to go and spend Pesach with the Kabbalah Centre in Miami!

I must travel for two days - via London - and what's worst: I must connect through Terminal 5, the new chaotic BA terminal in Heathrow.

I have already decided to take hand luggage only if I want to have anything to dress during the event at all.

Since its opening a few weeks ago, 28.000 pieces of luggage have been lost in T5 and the tales of the madness in this place strongly encourages me to stay put in SA.

Should I stay or should I go?

De volta as minhas origens

Desde minha visita ao maravilhoso blog da minha amiga Bia - l'amour dans l'assiette - nao consigo parar de pensar em voltar a cozinhar.

Desde meus tempos de Cordon Bleu -tempos esses que me trazem doces memorias de horas e horas gastas cozinhando na minha minima cozinha Parisiense- que nao desenvolvo meu lado gastronomico. Depois do nascimento do Antonio, abandonei de vez todos os ensinamentos adquiridos atraves de meses de arduo trabalho nas cozinhas da escola.

Entao ontem, com pilhas e mais pilhas de trabalho de contabilidade em cima da mesa, e ainda me recuperando de uma gripe, resolvi desempoeirar minhas facas e comecar a treinar a Loveness, que e a baba do Antonio e nossa cozinheira formidavel.

Nossa talentosa ajudante ja havia trabalhado em um conhecido restaurante Portugues aqui de Joburg e conhece bem a arte da boa mesa - e faz um bacalhau DIVINO!

Nossa primeira receita foi uma quiche de rucula e queijo de cabra (uma delicia por sinal) e hoje de manha fizemos um bolo de creme azedo, receita deliciosa da vo da Bia (Vo Genny). Enquanto o bolo assa no forno sinto uma imensa felicidade por estar de novo envolvida com uma das minhas grandes paixoes...

A Vos fourchettes!

Back to my roots

Since I saw the fantastic Blog "l'amour dans l'assiette" of my friend Bia, I cannot stop thinking of going back to cooking.

Since my Cordon Bleu times - a period of my life that brings sweet memories of lots of cooking in my tiny Paris kitchen - I haven't done much for my gastronomic side. After Antonio was born I very much abandoned all the knowledge I acquired in months of hard work in the school's kitchens.

Then yesterday, with piles and piles of accounting work sitting on my desk, and still recovering from a cold, I took my knives out and decided to start training Loveness, Antonio's nanny and our formidable cook.

She has previously worked in the kitchen of a famous Portuguese restaurant in Joburg and is no stranger to pots, pans and Bacalhau (cod).

Our first recipe was a goat's cheese and rocket quiche (which was divine, if I may say so) and this morning we made a sour cream cake - a recipe from Bia's granny.

While I wait for the cake to cook in the oven, I silently celebrate my long-awaited return to one of my greatest passions..

A Vos fourchettes!

What's happening to Joburg's weather?

The weather in Joburg is notorious for being fantastic. Sunny -always- dry, pleasant days by the pool and cool nights by the fire place have made this city a true delight to live in.

Since late last year though, we have seen more and more rain, cooler, gray days. Is it due to global warming?

The winter is coming up and in this place, unlike most of other cities I know, winter days are usually cloudless, gloriously beautiful throughout the whole season. How will it be like this year?

Let's wait, hope and see.

Amigas queridas

Esse mes que passou trouxe de volta a minha vida muita gente querida que nao via e ouvia ha seculos. Ja ha alguns meses, atraves do Facebook, reencontrei um monte de gente legal dos tempos da faculdade na Inglaterra, a maioia de Noruegueses - gente otima, querida e companheira de (muitas) farras.

A Stine, minha madrinha de casamento civil e gente muito boa, que era minha amiga do peito e roommate na epoca de University of Surrey, esta casada com o Morten (namorado desde aquela epoca) e com duas filhas lourinhas e de olhos azuis - lindas como a mae.

A Mia, outra alma gemea, amiccissima minha e tambem roommate em Guildford, re-apareceu e se casa agora dia 7 de Maio em Oslo com o noivo Fabricio. E la vou eu me debulhar em lagrimas por ver amiga tao querida subir o altar... A Mia tem uma familia que amo de paixao. Na epoca do meu casamento no Rio, todos os Hovers vieram ao Brasil para o casorio e seu irmao mais novo, tremendo pe-de-valsa, deu um show a parte na nossa festa.

Outra queridissima que re-apareceu depois de (nao tao longo) periodo, foi minha muito querida amiga Bia "Cordon Bleu" Belliard. Amiga de coracao da epoca em que eu ainda conseguia fritar um "oeuf" e colega de Cordon Bleu, a Bia, que viveu um tipico conto-de-fadas com o (agora) marido Yves (se ela deixar eu conto a historia aqui no blog) esta felicissima da vida dela. Mora com o filho lindo Marc e o maridao em Rennes e prepara delicias e mais delicias - e depois da tudo de bandeja para nos mortais atraves do blog sensacional dela.

Tenho andado me preguntando... Quem sera que vai aparecer em Abril?

PS: A ordem das amigas acima foi ditada somente por data de "reaparecimento".

Souvenir from Rio

A few hours and a few beers later, we headed back from Maracuene to Maputo and had to face the "cruiser" trip back to the mainland again.

On our way we met a group of youngsters, two Spanish girls and one Mozambican boy, who asked us for a lift back to the capital.

We could not deny it, of course, as the very friendly Horacio was wearing Rio's Prefeitura's (City Hall) t-shirt, which allows young students to travel by bus in Rio for free.

He claimed that traveling in my beloved city on the tax payer's expenses was not his motivation behind bying the t-shirt. He loved the design and thought it would be a nice souvenir.



Let's pretend that Cesar Maia's (Rio's mayor) polemic choice of colour was to his liking and let's also pretend I believed him.

Not so adventurous anymore

Patrick and I have done a lot of risky traveling before. Mostly in Asia and during our 20s, we never gave a second thought about flying Mandala in Indonesia or Air Nepal out of Singapore, crossing from Malaysia to Sumatra by speed boat, taking our various long bus and train trips in Southeast Asia and hopping on many "not so recommendable" ferries in Thailand.

We even thought about jetting off to the Spice Islands Archipelago (the Moluccas) - close to the remote Indonesian province of Sulawesi- and crossing the Philipino part of the South China Sea, known to be infested with 21st Century pirates.

But now... in our (not so late) 30s and having Antonio on board, things are quite different.

I've realised it when I felt not so keen to take the "ferry" below to cross a tiny little river on our way to Maracuene, a beach located in the northern part of Maputo.


This vessel, which certainly cannot be called a ferry, has definitely seen better days but nonetheless carried 6 cars, a tractor and lots and lots of passengers.



What used to be an adrenaline-fueled part of our way of traveling, became a nervous, non-enjoyable, nerve-wrecking trip.

Patrick and I later agreed that, during the "crossing", we both thought of various ways of saving our little boy in case that bloody boat sinked.

It hurts me to say that.... but, yes, we are definitely getting old.

Mozambique

After our marvelous days at the Kruger, our next stop was Maputo, Mozambique's capital.

I had no idea what to encounter there but was very anxious nonetheless. Similar to Brazil in being a former Portuguese colony, to me our trip felt like paying a visit to a distant cousin. I must admit I prepared myself for the worst as the country is currently ranked as the 7th poorest in the world.



Maputo was a messy and dirty capital but with a very distinctive European flair. The urban design is the same you see in most Brazilian cities and I couldn't help but get very homesick. However, the sheer poverty and piles of garbage sprawled all over the place constantly reminded me we were in a poor part of Africa and that this former colony was not as lucky with natural resources as its distant cousin from South America.

The city had definitely not yet recovered from the many conflicts in the past and its population - surprise!- was not as friendly and hospitable as we had expected.

We stayed at the "Grand Dame" of Maputo's hotels, the Polana. An impressive building with a feeling of colonial times and sea views, it made our visit to the capital much more glamorous indeed.

The sun was shining and we enjoyed our trip to Mozambique. It was tiring but extremely interesting visiting South Africa's next door neighbour.

Next time our destination will be the beautiful "turquoise-water" archipelagos in the Northern part of the country. Looking forward...

PS: In the picture below, Maputo's train station built by Eiffel and later found to be inappropriate to Mozambique's heat due to all the metal work involved in the project.

Lucky people we are

Upon arrival at Londolozi we freshened up quickly and went straight into the bush.

15 minutes into the drive and who do we see??!! That's right: Ms Leopard.

Antonio loves the bush

Our little one at 5 years-old is quite the expert on safaris already. He's seen the big five over and over again and right now he's very much into birds.... Cuuuute!

Here the little ranger enjoying himself and being simply adorable.

We love Africa

A Safari in the Kruger was just what we needed to fall even deeper in love with this continent. What a fantastic time that was! We took off on Sunday the 16th of March and spent lovely days in the bush.

Uli brought Daniela to travel in SA for the first time and guess what? She loved it!

The lodge we went to was the amazing Londolozi. It was truly remarkable - the kind of place one feels sad to leave.

Ivan Kaplan

Ivan is my spiritual mentor and a dear friend. I found him last year when searching for a meditation and a non-religious Kabbalah teacher. How lucky I was.

I did his first Kabbalah and Meditation course and loved it. My first meditation experience was indescribable and I have been doing it ever since. He's been doing it for more than 30 years and has told me that it has made an enormous difference to his life. And I believe him.

The Kabbalah teachings were also incredible and a nice balance to the religious Kabbalah Centre approach. As he said, it felt like finally visiting a country after reading various guides about it. He was spot on.

Having said all that, what really strikes me when I am with Ivan, is the soulfulness, goodness, kindness of his eyes and tenderness of his heart. I honestly have never met anyone with such a pure soul before.

Next weekend I'll do another course with him and cannot wait for it. This time we'll do a bit more on Kabbalah, NLP and Astrology. And of course, lots and lots of meditation.

Starting at the end

Swellendam, a beautiful "Cape dutch"-style village right between the Garden Route and the Little Karoo. What a beautiful place.

It was our last stop in our "long weekend" trip to the Garden Route before heading to Cape Town and then flying home.

In the pic below, Antonio and I, having breakfast at our guesthouse. It could be somewhere in Amsterdan.

Garden Route

Como esse pais e lindo, Meu Deus!

Acabamos de chegar de Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Wilderness, Swellendam, um pedacinho do Karoo e... Cape Town!

Tudo muito bonito, de tirar o folego, vou escrevendo aos pouquinhos sobre as cidadezinhas.

De volta a casa, gordos e corados, prontos para uma semana de batente.

E pra comecar... meu telefone da loja quebrou de novo!! So pra nao perder o habito, claro.

One more hilarious joke

"Official Announcement:

The ANC government today announced that it is changing its emblem to a CONDOM because it more accurately reflects the government's political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed!

Damn, it just doesn't get more accurate than that".

Not so politically correct

One more African joke / Mais uma piada Africana

A couple is sleeping in a small village in Zimbabwe and in their house there is no water, no electricity and outside there is garbage all over the place.

Suddenly, there is a noise and they both wake up. As if by miracle, the garbage truck comes to pick the garbage and inside the house the lights turn on and the water is coming out of the tap.

The husband then shouts to his wife: "Get up quickly and take your machete! The whites are back!!!"

Sooooo bad! Ah, Mr Mugabe...!

......................................

Um casal dorme em num pequeno vilarejo do Zimbabwe. Em sua casa, nao ha eletricidade, agua e do lado de fora tem lixo espalhado por todo lado.

De repente, ouve-se um barulho e os dois acordam. Como que por milagre, o caminhao do lixo aparece e recolhe o lixo, a luz acende e a agua comeca a jorrar da torneira.

O marido entao vira-se para a mulher e berra: "Levanta rapido e pega sua peixeira! Os brancos voltaram!!"

QUE SACANAAAAGEM!!! Ah! Sr Mugabe...!!

Como eu amo esse menino!

Maybe a pub is the safest place to be in South Africa

Loved this e-mail I got today.

I love Telkom

And - voila! - the landline of my shop broke for the third time this month and today is still the 14th of February!!!

This can drive one barking mad and I admit being pretty upset yesterday afternoon.

T.I.A. (This is Africa), I know that... but I am also off to the Garden Route tomorrow, today is Valentine's Day, the sun is shining bright outside and I'll take care of it next week.

One must live here according to circumstances and try not to stress too much about little details. Or else one can go bananas.

Obama

Piada que ja ouvi por aqui algumas vezes...

"... se Barack Obama for eleito presidente dos Estados Unidos, ele sera o primeiro presidente Queniano eleito democraticamente."

Sera que vai dar ele??
.................

A Joke I heard a few times around here...

"... if Barack Obama becomes the president of The United States, he will be the first Kenyan president elected democratically."

Will that really happen??

Gold Reef City

Levamos Antonio e William para passar o domingo no parque de diversoes Gold Reef City aqui em Joburg. Foi uma dleicia! Eles amaram o dia e se divertiram MUITO!

Na foto abaixo a ansiedade aparente dos pequenos ao entrar na Roda Gigante. Muito fofos esses dois!

...........................................

We took Antonio and William to spend the sunday at Gold Reef City amusement park here in Joburg. It was a fabulous day out! They loved it and had a great time!

In the pic below, their anxiety is clear, just before the giant wheel got into action. So cute these two!

Blame it on Eskom

Tomorrow night is Valentine's Day and as a "loving and devoted" wife (hahahaha) I booked us a table in an ultra-romantic restaurant set 45-mins away from Joburg.

Before choosing "Alfiume" as our venue I did some research on the net and came across a famous Joburg eatery called Browns. In its website, apart from a Valentine's Day special menu, it said in big, red, flashing letters "WE HAVE A FULLY FUNCTIONING GENERATOR".

Absolutely indispensable for anyone who wants to run a business and make a living in today's South Africa.

Ebaaaaa! / Yipeeeee!

Vamos viajar na sexta-feira: Plettenberg Bay (ou apenas "Plett" para os locais), Knysna, Wilderness, George, Mossel Bay... Cape Town! Vamos finalmente visitar a Garden Route.

Que delicia. To precisaderrima de um descanso.

.....................

We'll go on a vacation on Friday: Plettenberg Bay (or simply "Plett" to the locals), Knysna, Wilderness, George, Mossel Bay... Cape Town! We'll finally visit the Garden Route.

How delightful! I need badly some time out.

The same old bugger

Hahahahahaha! Guess what?! The pothole mentioned below is "THE" Luanda pothole and not a similar one in Harare as it was mentioned in the e-mail forwarded to us. Our friend Stuart checked in his archives and VOILA! - it was the same one.

Below, a brazilian version of a pothole. A massive, gigantic, swimming pool of a pothole in Rio.

And then the question: who is better at screwing the tax payer, Angolan or Brazilian politicians?

Ok, ok... let's blame it on Portuguese inheritance.