South Africa 2022
I’m finally sharing with you all our INCREDIBLE trip last summer to South Africa and Namibia! This was one of the most incredible trips of my life. I tend to plan our trips around countries and continents that have an animal I’m obsessed with and since my husbands spirit animal is the Honey Badger, we were on a mission to see one! It took us one full year to map out our trip. We knew since we were driving we had to study the route and roads to plan our stops. Initially, we wanted to get a Toyota Hilux with an attached camper so we could alternate between hotels and campsites. We wanted to camp some nights at the NWR Campsites but we had a difficult time acquiring a camper. It ended up working out better for us and well if I’m being honest I’m not as rouge as I used to be. I always tell my husband that “I’m more rico than Eco” !!! I prefer comfort as I’m sure many of you feel me on this! In August we departed from our home in Italy and landed in Cape Town. It was a 15-hour flight and really comfortable on Emirates. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a wonderful woman who relocated from London to SA and opened an Artist Space in Muizenberg called The Commons.https://thecommons.co.za . Such a cool spot that I highly recommend! This Beach community is so freaking cool. There’s a lot of fantastic food options here also for Vegans. Every week there are different live performances so check their site for live music, poetry, art, yoga and meditation classes. We stayed at The Raddison RED Cape Town V&A Waterfront for our first few nights in Cape Town. From The rooftop bar you can see Table Mountain,which we hiked the next day and being in the Silo District we were walking distance to everything. Breakfast here is also REALLY good. I’m not a breakfast person outside of vacation but when you’re on holiday you need to start your day with something right ! Instead of walking we rented an E-Bike through Electrek http://www.electrek.co.za and it was so fun! Like after a 15-hour flight, indulging in amazing food and hiking table mountain we decided that checking out CapeTown on an E-bike would allow us to cover more ground and we had so much fun doing it! A few dinner spots we had a lovely evening at were Belly of the Beast http://bellyofthebeast.co.za great tasting menu and excellent wine list, Gold http://goldrestaurant.co.za, a fun place with really amazing real African food. Bouchon http://bouchon.co.za it’s like tapas style (UM no the plates were good size and filling!) But the service was very good and their local wine recommendations were wonderful pairings for our lunch. On that wine note we picked up our 4×4 and drove along the SA Whale Coastal Route to our next spot Hermanus then Stellenbosch. I’m the queen of pamphlets and guides I have to take one from every spot we go. I get that I phones are amazing for this kind of stuff but guys I get so much joy from reading an actual pamphlet and guidebook. Also maps. I LOVE maps and globes. You get the idea. I took some shots of the ones I took and they were (aside from locals telling us what was up) REALLY helpful and also give you some good insight and history about the area. I’m dorky and love this info. We stayed at Whale Rock Luxury Lodge http://www.whalerock.co.za. This is without a doubt one of the most incredible places I’ve ever stayed at. The owners were so kind, everything was fantastic here literally every detail. Mind you it’s winter time and being on the coast it’s freezing cold our room was so warm and cozy with the most comfortable bed and linens. We had our whale watching and shark diving excursions the next two days so we took a beautiful walk around the cape and OMG you guys for me my first animal trip out were the DASSIES!! The Dassie / Rock Hyrax is the cutest coolest animal EVER with it’s sweet cranky face. So much fun to see these critters around. We had a beautiful lunch that day at Perlemoen. It had just opened a week prior I believe but it’s located in the Old Harbour on the harbour’s edge. It’s such an incredible view hiking down to the rock platform and then you’re hanging with dassies , and eating the most incredible , fresh caught fish and seafood with DASSIES and it’s the most spectacular view! The old Harbour here was the first abalone hatchery how cool is that! For dinner we went to The Fisherman’s cottage http://fishermanscottage.co.za and we had the most incredible Malva pudding of our life. It was our first time having it and let me tell you this place spoiled me because for the rest of the trip I didn’t have any other Malva Pudding that lived up to that one!! I also had their Thai Red curry and it was so fresh and 100% authentic Thai. Whale watching was eventful and we spotted many Southern Right Whales as August is their breeding season. Shark Diving was cancelled due to bad weather and I’m NOT mad about it. I mean yes it would have been cool and scary fun but it was off to Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins then the Cape of Good Hope! What a beautiful drive. For real though this western Cape side of SA is just wow. So Blue, green, the most incredible sunrises and sunsets. We saw so many Baboons in the road on our way in and they have zero fear of cars and people so make sure you take your time driving through the park to the cape point. The Cape of Good Hope left me feeling so peaceful. I’ve always wanted to come here and now I can
Costa Rica 2021
Our first trip to Costa Rica was in 2018 . International restrictions were lifted so we headed back to Costa Rica this time staying for twenty days and adding the Caribbean side of CR to our itinerary. We started our trip in the capital San Jose .We picked up our 4×4 and headed to our first stop Quepos. After flying for fifteen hours the three hour drive to Quepos is kind of a nice “jumping off point ” for us to get our trip started . There’s a beautiful apartment we rent for a few days owned by a lovely french couple Fred and Carl called La Maison Blanche . They’re located in the El Cerro area of Quepos and their property is so clean , comfortable and with the most stunning views. I can cook , do our shopping , laundry and it’s 45 minutes away from Dominical which is this tiny surf side town that has an amazing array of cafes and organic shops , It’s just a cool vibe. It hit different because once you’ve been somewhere and you go back and find that the same people are working in your spots , it’s just so cool to me. I guess I’m not explaining it LOL It’s just a lovely feeling I had. We did stay in a beautiful resort Makanda by the Sea http://Makanda.com for two nights in Manuel Antonio . A really beautiful resort with amazing amenities. The staff was super kind , the food was wonderful and it was just nice to lounge in the pools and bar at night … Until the monkeys came !!! Oh and a scorpion found its way into my bathroom but other than that it was a fantastic stay! Our next stop was Villas Alturas. http://villasalturas.com We were staying seven days on the pacific side then driving across the country and up to Tortuguero to stay the weekend (hoping ) to catch the turtles nesting. We visited Villas Alturas on our first trip and went to tour the sanctuary , (SLOTHS) but it was the Tamarindo margaritas and fish tacos that really lured us back . YES they were THAT good and we booked a villa with the most breathtaking view so we could eat and drink there for the next two nights while we went whale watching. If you’re going to be in the area this is the best accommodation in my opinion . The sanctuary is small and to be honest after visiting a few I’m not fond of them in general but for activities and a stop over before heading down to the Osa Peninsula if you’re headed that way I recommend it.We now needed to start heading east towards Tortuguero and this was a long tiring bumpy drive . NOT as bad as Africa was in some parts but you do need a 4×4 to get around Costa Rica if you plan on driving to see parts of the country for sure. Our last trip to the Oso peninsula had us crossing rivers (Luna Lodge!!!) so we were MUCH better equipped this time . Located in the Northeast Tortuguero is small and you really only need two days to visit . You take a small boat through the mangroves and canals and after 45 minutes you arrive to this tiny village . There’s literally one path that guides you and winds around the few shops and cafe’s . It’s on the canal side and there’s no driving it’s just walking or bicycles allowed. For accommodation we stayed right next to the beach at Pura Natura as our focus was to see the turtles . You go with a guide , at night around midnight and only red lights are lit so as not to disturb the turtles. This sadly was what I call the “dip in the trip ” for me….. I feel like on vacations there’s sometimes that one time or moment where something just feels off for you am I right ? For me is just wasn’t a pleasant experience being there . The saving grace was this beautiful spot we found about five minutes from our hotel called Taylor’s Place. It was this beautiful space we stumbled upon and the sweetest guy came out and greeted us . He was like come in ! He made us Pina Colada’s then told us he’d cook us something amazing . Yea he did! Alberto had steak with coffee sauce (he says it was tamarind but I swear Taylor said cafe LOL) and I had prawns . I’m telling you it was one of the best dinner’s I’ve ever had and we went back again the next night for more . He was super sunburned from fishing all day and prepared us the most amazing fish . Finding Taylor’s was really what I needed . This was our first trip after a six month lockdown in Italy and between that , studying, not seeing my family and just a lot of unknown stuff floating around my head was kind of all over the place. Tortuguero isn’t MY place at all but If you’re curious about going do a little research first is my suggestion . It was about four hours to get to Limon which is the main port city on the Caribbean side. It’s a bit chaotic and bustling , but if you need to get gas , stretch or essentials it’s a solid place to stop. We stayed in Puerto Viejo , and Cahuita for this last ten days of our trip. The sea is so beautiful here . Blue and green , warm , it’s so beautiful . We stayed at a few different places my favorite being La Paz Del Caribe http://lapazdelcaribe.com run by a WONDERFUL couple (Wade and Laurie ). They are the kindest people and have this beautiful comfortable home in the jungle. They know their area really well and will give you the best
