Thunderstorm in the desert!

Here in the Namib Desert, it gets pretty hot at this time of year. And it's supposed to be the rainy season now, but after all, this is the desert. So we weren't counting on seeing too much of that! Either way, we wanted to do some hiking and they've got two trails here at the Namib Desert Lodge. And because it gets so hot, we hit the trail at 7:30am yesterday morning.

Before breakfast!

And it was already warm. But it was only a 3.5 km (2.2 mile) trail that we were doing, so it wasn't really an issue. Besides, we had lots of water with us.

(Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to make them full screen!)

On the trail at Namib Desert Lodge. At 7:30am!

Ruth is queen of the desert!

Not the greatest trail, but it gave us some morning exercise. As I said, it was pretty warm. In fact, the high yesterday was 37.8C (100F). With that kind of heat, it's not a bad idea to sit by the pool for a while. So that's what we did!

And a beautiful pool it is! 

Not many people around during the day, because most guests go to the dunes at Sossusvlei at that time and don't make it back until mid afternoon. But we had done that trip when we were camping last month, so we used our time at Namib Desert Lodge to relax!!

After the pool, we sat on our porch and relaxed and watched the birds

Dusky Sunbird

Swallow-tailed bee-eater.

Just as we were getting ready to go for dinner, we saw the storm clouds coming. I was kind of hoping we would experience a desert rainstorm, because they happen so rarely. First, a lot of wind came up...so much that there was a coating of dust on our patio table afterwards! And then the rain came... 

In buckets!

Bouncing of the tin roof.

And the neatest thing about the whole experience?

The smell.

You know the smell you get after a summer rainstorm? Well it was similar to that, but much stronger. Difficult to describe, but it was amazing!

We headed for dinner during a lull in the rain. Unfortunately, we were eating indoors.

Because it was still a little wet outside.

The rain stopped, but we saw that the sky outside was becoming more and more colorful. Eventually, it looked so good that I interrupted a plate full of food to go outside and get a picture. It was gorgeous!

Evening sky at Namid Desert Lodge.

How much rain did we get? Well each Gondwana lodge has their own complete weather station. The gauge yesterday showed that they received 7.8mm, which is not really much at all is it? 

Well it is if your year to date total is only 19mm!!