It’s all figured out…We’re leaving Ecuador on December 14th…Details here today…

We love this photo, taken when we were at Chobe National Park in Botswana in 2022. This elephant illustrates how they use their trunks as snorkels. Aren’t they amazing?

What a relief! We had difficulty figuring out where to go in the US and finding flights and holiday homes available so close to Christmas and on short notice. We researched for hours, finding only a few flights with less travel time and almost no holiday homes available for our preferred dates of December 15 to March 31, three and a half months.

The first question we asked ourselves was where we wanted to go. We were thinking of either Nevada, our home state or Arizona, close to the Mayo Clinic. There were no affordable holiday homes in Phoenix, Scottsdale, or Apache Junction, close to Tom’s sisters, since so many retirees and seniors visit Arizona during winter.

There were several condos available on VRBO for Lake Las Vegas. Years ago, when I visited my son, Richard, he showed me the area, and I loved it. It stayed in my mind as a possible place to stay at some time in the future. The reason there was availability in that area is the 25-mile drive to the Las Vegas Strip, where most visitors prefer to be in close proximity.

For us, staying there makes life so much easier right now. And easy is what we’re looking for based on current circumstances. We need easy grocery shopping, going out to dinner, and some form of socialization, which may be readily available in Lake Las Vegas.

So, here’s what we booked/planned in the past 24 hours:

  1. December 14: Drive for three hours to Guayaquil, where there is a larger airport than Manta and shorter flight times
  2. December 14: Fly from Guayaquil to Panama City to Las Vegas
  3. December 15: Pick up the rental car at the airport in Las Vegas
  4. December 15: Check in to the holiday home in Lake Las Vegas. See the link here. Dates: December 15, 2023, to March 31, 2024
  5. December 30: Return the rental car to the airport and pick up another
  6. January 9: Drop off the rental car
  7. January 10: Tom flies to Chicago for his pulmonology appointment regarding exposure to asbestos while working on the railroad for 42½ years
  8. January 10: Tom flies back to Las Vegas from Chicago and picks up another rental car
  9. February 10: Drop off the rental car at Las Vegas airport and pick up another.

We’re renting cars, which are so expensive in Nevada, using reward points. On one of our credit cards, collision insurance is included for only the first two weeks of the rental, whereas on another card, we are covered for 31 days. We chose the card based on the rewards’ value, but must comply with the insurance periods.

As a result, we’ll have to return the rental car after having it for only two weeks. It’s 15 miles to the airport from Lake Las Vegas. Coverage is only provided on new contracts, not extensions on prior contracts. Tom is fine with this. Also, I will be driving the rental car to the grocery store. Tom is thrilled with this, and I won’t mind being able to take my time while shopping. It’s mind-blowing for me to be able to peruse the countless options.

I’ve spent enough time sitting at my broken laptop for one 24-hour period. I am excited to put it down and relax a little.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, November 26, 2013:

From a walk on the beach across the road. One of our favorite views of the Indian Ocean. For more photos, please click here.

Two days and counting…How’s my head?…Last trip to the store…

This giraffe was having a “bad hair day!” The hair on the female giraffe’s ossicones is usually short and straight up. From this post

Today’s photos are from a post on this date in 2018. Please click here for the story.

With only a few hours until my pedicure appointment, I’m debating whether to get back to packing or do as much of today’s post as possible before we head out the door. My inclination is to work on this post so that when we return, I can focus entirely on packing.

Cape buffaloes on the Sabie River in Kruger.

I’ve organized but haven’t started loading items into my single clothing suitcase. I’ve packed most of the supplies into the big yellow bag that will contain my Tempur-Pedic pillow, our shoes, hoodies, and various jackets, which we’ll undoubtedly need in the cold weather we’ll surely experience in Norway, Greenland, and Iceland and other ports of call along the way on the upcoming two cruises.

Mom and baby hippos on the bank of the Sabie River.

My primary focus this past few weeks has been doing everything possible to reduce my left forehead and face pain. Regardless of whether it is an inflamed nerve, trigeminal neuralgia, or occipital neuralgia, the home care for these conditions is very similar.

A dazzle of zebras hanging out near the road in Kruger.

My small heating pad arrived, and it’s been helpful. Four or five times a day, I focus the heat on my cheek and then on my forehead. It seems I get the most improvement with the heat on my cheek which leads me to believe it might be trigeminal neuralgia, not occipital neuralgia, or in the worst case, a combination of both conditions, precipitated by my awful bout with Omicrom in April 2022.

The pain began on the day I tested positive for Covid-19, and it never went away except for short periods when I took Prednisone or a few days here and there for no apparent reason.

A crocodile was lounging on the bank of Sunset Dam.

Sometimes, I think the pain is sinus-related, but beginning last week, I noticed improvement when I started using a prescription steroid nasal spray Doc Theo gave me months ago, which hadn’t helped at the time. I still do the sinus rinse treatment twice daily, but now I add the nasal spray after that, and I am experiencing some relief.

On top of that, I have been doing several head and neck acupressure procedures at least twice a day, never missing a day. I am better between all of these processes, the heat, the meds, and the acupressure. The trick will be to take the time on the cruises to continue all of this. I won’t have any problem doing the acupressure treatments since I do it first thing in the morning and before bed.

Yellow-billed storks and other birds are not easily identifiable due to the distance when taking this photo across the lake at Sunset Dam.

During the day, I can always return to the cabin for 15 minutes a few times daily to use the heating pad. Hopefully, it will continue on this path of improvement. I can’t tell you how much better I feel when my head and face don’t hurt for periods. I am like a new person. As I am sitting here right now, typing on my laptop, I don’t have any pain.

With a thick pillow under my laptop, I don’t have to look down or have my head in an uncomfortable position. Good posture and avoiding bending over to use my laptop or phone also help significantly.

Several giraffes were attempting to drink at the Vurhami Dam.

Soon, we’ll head out the door. Tom will drop me off at the nail salon, run errands, and pick me up when I’m done. After that, we’ll head to the Publix market for a few items since we found we need meat of some sort for one more night, or we’d have to dine out. Being preoccupied with getting ready to go, neither of us feels like going to dinner.

We surmised this elephant might have been ancient because of its size and bright white tusks. Scientists can better gauge the age of an elephant by its teeth, as described on this site.

Two more days? It’s hard to believe. The three months here passed quickly, and we’re ready to be on the move again.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 26, 2013:

Santina cleaned our house this morning, bringing this fabulous plate of “torte” she’d made. How thoughtful she is! With the pie crusts made with flour,  I won’t be able to taste them, but Tom will try all three of these. There’s no doubt they are delicious. I will savor them via my eyes, otherwise known as being a “food voyeur.” For more, please click here.

For our Minnesota reader/friends…What did you think of yesterday’s Vikings game?…Names for Lollie’s piglets…

This is an African Hoopoe we spotted in the garden.

Last night, when we hunkered down for the night, Tom began watching the Minnesota Vikings football game using the app for which he pays each year, with replays of all US football games. I am supposed to take one 10 mg. tablet of Amitriptyline early each night, at 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs., so I am not groggy when I awake. But, usually, I am sleepy enough to nod off an hour after I take it.

Earlier, the WiFi was out for a few hours, so we watched a movie on the external hard drive, picked randomly since we had no way to look up the movie’s content or reviews. It was called Beast of Burden, a somewhat ridiculous premise, but with load shedding and no WiFi simultaneously, it’s what we had to keep us busy until the WiFi returned.

Once the movie ended and the WIFi returned, we could stream a few episodes of Animal Kingdom on Amazon Prime and later watch the Minnesota Vikings Game, which had played at 8:00 pm, 2000 hrs. At around 10:00 pm, 22000 hrs., Tom started watching the Vikings game while I couldn’t help but fall asleep.

This bird seems to hang out with Vega, a common starling. Is it the female of the species?

I should mention that Tom is a silent viewer of football games. Regardless of what happens, he is quiet and doesn’t make a sound, as much as he loves watching. But, the weird thing about this drug left me dozing off and on while I heard every play in the game.

Last night, in the fourth quarter, with one minute remaining in the game, he couldn’t keep quiet and yelled out, totally awakening me from my “twilight sleep.” Oddly, I heard what was happening in my sleep and would have been jolted awake anyway. What transpired in the game in the next hour blew our minds. It was the most exciting game we’d ever seen.

For Minnesotans and Vikings fans throughout the US and possibly the world, we held our breath along with you after one stunning play after another. We were so wound up after the win that we couldn’t attempt to sleep until after 1:00 am. Tom fell asleep, but I didn’t, not getting sleepy again until after 2:00 am.

We both ended up with enough sleep and felt rested today. But we’re still reeling from the excitement. What a night.

Lollie arrived this morning with her three piglets. We were happy to see them. We named the two boys Leon and Leopold and the female Lolita.

Today is much cooler with lower humidity, which is quite a relief. The temp is 80F, 27C, the sky is cloudy, and there’s a lovely breeze. The dew point is still tropical at 67, with the humidity at a more tolerable 65%. With many holidaymakers gone after the weekend, we’ve started to see our wildlife friends return for a visit.

After being absent for several days, other than to show up last week with her new piglets, we were delighted to see Lollie return this morning with them in tow. She brought them to us the day they were born and stayed away, other than a few stops without them, for pellets, carrots, apples, and lucerne.

We were worried something had happened to the three piglets, and then we realized she had wanted to show them off to us but then tucked them away for a few days to allow them to grow and feed before she brought them back. This morning, we were thrilled to see the four of them offering plenty of treats good for her.

Our boy Norman, the dad of Noah, and partner of Nina, our favorite family visitors.

We never feed the animals “bad” food, only nourishing pellets, fruits, and vegetables suitable for their diets. We look online at reputable sites to see what foods are appropriate for them based on their digestion and eating habits. Most herbivores do well with vegetables and fruit but not corn.

Our friend Lynne from Jersey, UK, stopped by for a visit this morning. They arrived a few days ago, and we’re excited to see her again. We will get together with her and her hubby Mick when we return from our upcoming trip.

We’ll be back with more soon!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, November 14, 2021:

This is Stringy. Notice the strings from digging roots between his horns. For more photos, please click here.

Weird news…Bad news…Good news…

Last nigh, Tom enjoyed his Rueben sandwich in Lucky Penny restaurant in the resort.

Our flight to Las Vegas from Minneapolis had a late departure, by almost an hour. The flight itself was good on a newer Delta plane with entertainment screens which helped the time pass more quickly. Tom and I each had aisle seats across from one another. We wore our masks on the plane, but less than 25% of the passengers did the same.

The flight arrived at 6:30 pm. We drank only bottled water and ate a few little packets of almonds. Tom has insisted I ride in a wheelchair since I was too slow walking after being sick for almost a month with Covid-19 and mainly lying in bed. Poor Tom had to handle the luggage but paid for a trolley to assist, the only place in the world where we’ve had to pay for a trolley.

I should mention that the fabulous helper that wheeled my chair was so conscientious that it shocked us. His name is Lee Paolo Matela. He works for a company called LAS Prospect, and they surely couldn’t hire a better candidate to work for their company. While I waited for Tom to collect the rental car, I emailed the company praising Lee Paolo for his kindness, efficiency, professionalism, and customer service. What a treasure this guy is!

I needed to wait for Tom at entrance #26 on the departure level with the trolley with our bags. He was gone no less than an hour. We knew it would take a long time when the rental car area was far from the airport, requiring transportation on both a bus and a van.

I watched out the window for every car approaching, hoping it was him. Finally, he shows up on foot without a car. What? I was shocked to see him on foot. When he explained that ACE car rental refused him the vehicle, they required a copy of a home utility bill for Nevada residents (which we are) to rent a car. We don’t have a utility bill for a home in Las Vegas. We don’t have a home. Good grief! That’s the weird news!

There we were, exhausted from the lingering effects of Covid-19. We hadn’t eaten anything in 13 hours except for those few nuts, and now we had no transportation. It turned out, a comedy of errors. We had to make our way to a distant area to get in line for the taxi stand. Tom pushed me in the wheelchair, insisting I stay in the chair while I pushed the trolley using his strength from behind me.  This would have been quite the sight to see.

Finally, we found a worker who grabbed a taxi for us, and we were on our way to the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada. How we’d manage to go to Costco, replace Tom’s broken suitcase, and pick up supplies at our mailing service, a 30-minute drive from here, baffled us at that moment. We could barely think straight to come up with a plan. We both agreed to worry about this today instead of last night.

Check-in was relatively painless. A bellman delivered our bags to our lovely hotel room on the 7th floor. Since we’d booked the hotel with Expedia on our site, the best price we could find, we received priority status and received a coupon for 20% off on all of our meals. It looked like we’d be eating at the hotel without a car. Besides, we still didn’t feel well enough to go out to a restaurant or even have a beer or glass of wine.

Last night, I managed to eat every bite of this delicious Cobb salad at Lucky Penny.

This week will be one month since we tested positive for Covid-19. So far, we’ve spent 26 days in isolation; two on the ship and the remainder in hotel rooms. Tom’s cough is much better. He’s taken all of the antibiotics as of last night and the last of the cortisone this morning. He’s still using the nebulizer six times a day and will continue for a few more days. His coughing is 75% better and improving each day. That’s good news!

Walking to and from the hotel’s restaurant takes everything we’ve got. I am still getting headaches, occasional fast pulse, and minimal coughing. Of course, both of us are struggling with becoming exhausted from exerting ourselves in any way.

OK. So our big concern is getting our stuff at the mailing service, which has the Costco gift card we received for using Costco Travel for sailing on the Celebrity cruise, during which we got Covid-19, which we’ve intended to use toward the purchase of a new computer for me. The keyboard is dying from overuse. It’s over two years old, and I am ready to upgrade and return to Windows. I can’t bring myself to become a devoted user of Chromebook for the long haul. I need easy access to desktop folders with files that can be easily accessed.

We headed to dinner at 9:00 pm here, 11:00 pm to us, to the Lucky Penny in the resort. It has excellent food and service, and most likely, we’ll have breakfast and dinner there each of the remaining six days we’ll spend in this town, in this hotel. Tom had a fantastic Rueben sandwich with chips (fries), and I had a Cobb salad, both of which we’ve included photos here today.

This morning at breakfast in the same restaurant, savoring delicious meals, we came up with a plan. We’d arrange for a rental car through the hotel’s concierge for one day. After breakfast, we met with Douglas, the Concierge, who, with the greatest of ease, arranged a rental car for us for 24 hours, starting tomorrow morning, for only US $79. At 10:00 am tomorrow, the car will be driven up to the hotel’s valet station, and off we’ll go, no utility bill required. Good grief! Good news!

We’ll return the car tomorrow night and get all of our projects handled; head to our mailing service to pick up our mail which contains the gift card for Costco; then to Costco to use the gift card toward the purchase of my new laptop and Tom’s new suitcase; Walgreens for two Covid-19 tests for our upcoming flights to South Africa, using the US $15 coupons we received for Tom’s US $300 of prescriptions.

Our goal is to continue to rest and recover, which we both see as vital to our recovery. This morning, just walking in the hotel to breakfast used almost 2500 steps registered on my Fitbit. After dinnertime, I’m sure we’ll be up to over 5000 steps which equals over two miles. Based on how we’re still feeling, we’d never consider walking two miles while we’re still recovering. Once we both feel better, we’ll gradually amp up our activity levels and exercise.

We aren’t looking forward to the difficult upcoming two travel days back to Marloth Park. We have an over six-hour layover in Newark, followed by the 15-hour flight and having to spend the night in Johannesburg, to avoid the risk of the excessive number of carjackings after dark, on the N4 highway from the airport to Marloth Park.

When we leave Las Vegas on May 22, we’ll have to get up at 4:00 am to get to the airport for the international flight and then again at 4:00 am when we leave Johannesburg the following day.

We’re anxious to be in our new house in the bush to get back to some semblance of “normal life” among our human and animal friends in the bush.

As lovely as this resort is, it doesn’t feel like a “holiday” as much as it feels like another hotel room in which to recover from this dreaded virus. All we can say, at this point, is to do whatever possible to protect yourself from this virus. Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky. It could have been worse, much worse. For that, we are grateful. The rest? An annoyance and gross and costly inconvenience. We can recover from this!

Take care, everyone!

Photo from one year ago today, May 16, 2021:

Our photo of the black sparrowhawk when it took a break from devouring its kill. For more photos, please click here.

Hanging in…Hanging on…

Unusual artwork that was for sale on the ship.

No, this is not easy. But whoever said being long-term nomads would be easy? Who would have known when the concept of permanent home-free world travel only came into the limelight in the past decade? No one could have anticipated a worldwide pandemic that has changed everything for people like us.

Stuck in this hotel room in Southampton, England, with the exact room configuration in the hotel in Mumbai, India, where we spent ten months in lockdown in 2020, gives us the creeps. But, what can we do? It’s the way it is, and we’ve chosen to make the best of it.

We’re busy determining what we’ll do if we get negative Covid tests by Thursday. Can we make the fight scheduled from New York to Minneapolis on May 1? Can we get a flight from London to New York to catch that flight? In our research, it appears we’ll have to fly from London to New York one day earlier, spend the night in a hotel, and fly from New York to Minneapolis on May 1 as originally planned.

However, as Tom is conducting research online as I write here, it may be best to forfeit that flight from New York and book an entirely new flight to Minneapolis from London. If that’s the case, regardless of how we test, we could leave for London on Thursday when our reservation at this hotel ends.

Once we test negative, we can book a last-minute flight and be on our way to Minneapolis, perhaps even making it there on our initially planned date of May 1. The rates at this hotel are doubling this weekend because it is a “bank holiday.” We’d be better off paying for a hotel in London close to the airport.

Of course, everything will remain up in the air until we take those two Covid tests on Thursday. We are both feeling a little better today, although we are coughing a lot. The headache and body aches are gone, but I still have a sore throat. I have the feeling I won’t test negative until the sore throat is gone. It’s 50% better than when I was first tested as positive and getting better each day.

In any case, we’d like to leave this hotel by Thursday. It makes sense to get closer to London, near the airport, than to wait here. We are 90 minutes by car from London. We’ll arrange a private shuttle.

Hopefully, we will be feeling well enough to manage the long drive and handle our bags as necessary by Thursday. We are both optimistic in this regard.

As for today, we’ll continue to research our options but based on the progress we’ve made thus far today; we’ll have a plan in place by tomorrow’s post.

Have an excellent day. We’ll be back with you soon.

Photo from one year ago today, April 25, 2021:

Two duikers at night. For more photos, please click here.

Off the ship today….The Azores…Photos of a quaint town…

A colorful display at Ponta Delgada, the Azores.

More than halfway across the Atlantic Ocean today, we had a port-of-call experience when the ship docked at Ponta Delgada. For details about this island of nine in the archipelago, see below from this site:

“Ponta Delgada (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõtɐ ðɛlˈɣaðɐ] (audio speaker iconlisten)lit. '”Thin Cape”‘) is the largest municipality (concelho) and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,287 inhabitants in 

232.99 square kilometers (89.96 square miles). There are 17,629 residents in the three central civil parishes that comprise the historical city: São PedroSão Sebastião, and São José. Ponta Delgada became the region’s administrative capital under the revised constitution of 1976; the judiciary and Catholic See remained in the historical capital of Angra do Heroísmo, while the Legislative Assembly of the Azores was established Horta.

The origin of the placename Ponta Delgada (Portuguese for delicate or thin point) was elaborated by the famous Portuguese chronicler, Father Gaspar Frutuoso, who wrote: This city of Ponta Delgada is named for its situation located along with volcanic lands, thin and not too considerable like on other islands, that lead to the sea, and where later, was constructed the chapel of Santa Clara (Saint Clare of Assisi), which was named the Santa Clara point …

Cloudy mountain view.

In 1450, Pêro de Teive established a small fishing village that eventually grew into an urban agglomeration in Santa Clara.

Populated in 1444, the island of São Miguel was a vast territory, with small settlements scattered about, except for Vila Franca do Campo on the central-southern coast and the smaller community of Ponta Delgada. Villa Franca had for many years been the center of the island economically and socially and the seat of the local government, but many nobles and landed gentry despised its subordinate status to the government in that town (originating many conflicts between these inhabitants and administrators in the southern coast). The nobles in Ponta Delgada sent a secret contingent, headed by Fernão Jorge Velho, to meet with King Manuel in Lisbon to petition that the community be emancipated. In Abrantes, King Manuel conferred a foral on 29 May 1507, elevating the settlement to the status of a village (Portuguese: vila).

Celebrity Silhouette docked in Ponta Delgada, Azores.

Then, in 1522 an earthquake and landslide devastated the provincial capital, destroying many of the buildings and killing several people. Ponta Delgada became the only center with an infrastructure to support the Azorean bureaucracy and supplant its important economic links. Quickly, its role changed, and eventually, it was elevated to the status of a city during the reign of King D. João III by decree dated 2 April 1546.

The naval Battle of Ponta Delgada (also known as the Battle of São Miguel) took place on 26 July 1582, off the coast, as part of the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis. An Anglo-French corsair expedition sailed against Spain to preserve Portuguese control of the Azores, which had aligned itself with the pretender António, Prior of Crato, thereby preventing Spanish control (it was the largest French force sent overseas before the age of Louis XIV).

During the 19th century, the municipality experienced its greatest boost of economic activity, with the funneling of citrus exports to the United Kingdom and the growth of foreign-owned businesses in the historic center, many of them Jewish merchants after 1818.[6] As with other centers across the archipelago, the town of Ponta Delgada experienced many of the trends common for the period, including the “greening” of the communities (with the construction of the gardens of António Borges, José do Canto, Jácome Correia, and the Viscount of Porto Formoso, which would become part of the University of the Azores), the construction of many of the ornate homes/estates, the clearing of animals from urban spaces, the opening of newer, larger roadways, the moving of cemeteries to the periphery, and relocation of markets for fish, meat and fruits. Due to these changes, and the growth of the mercantile class, Ponta Delgada became the third largest town in Portugal in economic riches and the number of residents. The poet Bulhão Pato, writing of Ponta Delgada, was surprised by the extraordinary riches of the plantation owners, the “gentlemen farmers” that lived within the urbanized core: exporters of oranges and corn, bankers, investors, industrialists, and shippers, all contributing to a privileged class of economic and social thinkers and philanthropists.

Kayakers in the bay.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ponta Delgada’s position was relatively high (eighth largest), although the changing importance of rural economies steadily chipped away at its growth. But it remained the central place in the economy and hierarchy of the Azorean archipelago. Consequently, it was at the forefront of political change following the Carnation Revolution. In one such event, property owners and right-leaning farmers challenged the Civil Governor António Borges Coutinho, who was responsible, under the direction of the MFA government, to implement land reforms. The Micalense Farmers’ Protest forced his resignation and inspired a series of terrorist acts that plunged the Azores into political turmoil.[7][8] After a clandestine round-up of arrests and detentions by the Military Governor, the Autonomous District of Ponta Delgada was extinguished, along with the other districts (Horta and Angra do Heroísmo) on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of the Junta Regional dos Açores (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region’s transition to constitutional autonomy.”

We’d considered taking a taxi for the city tour, but we decided to walk when we discovered the village was easily accessible. The air was crisp with a cool breeze, but I was comfortable in a tee-shirt, jeans, and a hooded sweatshirt. Tom brought along a lightweight jacket but never had to put it on.

A play area for kids.

Although not outstanding, the scenery was pleasant, as shown in today’s photos, and we enjoyed the pleasant walk through the quaint village. Although it was a pretty town, it wasn’t an island we’d care to visit in the future. When we compare Madiera, another Autonomous Region of Portugal, we assumed that Madiera, where we stayed for 2½ months in 2014, was much more appealing to our tastes, and we had a fantastic time.

After over a week of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, it was fun to get off the ship. But, as often is the case, it’s worthwhile to check out various ports of call while we’re cruising to “expand our horizons,” as they say. We’ll reach Southampton on Thursday, five days from today. As mentioned, we’ll spend three nights in a lovely hotel, and then on April 24, we’ll board the Queen Mary 2 to return to the USA.

So far, this has been a fantastic cruise. Before it started, we wondered if being unable to sit at “shared dining tables” would hinder our ability to meet new people. This rule went into place when cruising started up again after the pandemic. But, with the placement of tables for two, we’ve met many wonderful people and made many new friends with whom we hope to stay in touch.

As it turned out, several other passengers on this cruise will also be sailing on the Queen Mary 2 back to the US, some of whom we’ve met. That ship will also have a reduced number of passengers, as has been the case here with only 1288 out of a possible 2888. The Queen Mary 2 has a capacity of 2691, so we shall see how many they actually allow during times of Covid.

Tonight, like last night, will surely be another pleasant evening, during dinner and afterward socializing with a wide array of passengers we’ve met in the past eight days. We certainly enjoy cruising. More new photos will follow tomorrow.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, April 16, 2021:

Narrow and The Imposter lying close together, appearing to be a two-headed warthog, one head at each end. For more photos, please click here.

Three days and counting…Wrapping it up here…Busy days…Sunsets to savor…

Not a lot has to be said about a beautiful sunset. It speaks for itself.

There have been more tasks for the upcoming two cruises than we listed earlier. They include:

  1. Applying for a visa for both of us for Bermuda, the first port of call in our itinerary which is required to board the ship, which we weren’t aware of until a few days ago: DONE
  2. Get Covid tests – scheduled for tomorrow morning
  3. Enter negative Covid test results into the Bermuda website to complete the visa process
  4. Applying for an additional $100 cabin credit for the Queen Mary 2 since we own stock in the parent cruise company, Carnival, which offers this credit for stockholders: DONE
  5. Complete health questionnaires for both cruises a few days before sailing
  6. Pick up Tom’s suit, stop at Target and Skechers store in Brandon, Florida
  7. Contact Costco about a considerable price reduction on Azamara’s website for our upcoming cruise in November. Tom is on hold now to see if the credit will be applied.

Our friend Karen made quite an observation over the past several days. She said, “Traveling the world is a lot of work! You two are busy all the time!”

This observation has dawned on us repeatedly throughout the past 9½ years. We are always busy planning, booking, filing documents, scanning, and preparing forms, applications, documents, and more to stay on top of our tasks. No doubt, it’s a daunting task. Whoever thought that traveling the world was one big holiday was kidding themselves. This is work.

Couple those tasks with the blog each day. Is it any wonder we need downtime to get through it all? On Friday, we’ll see passengers at the port cruise check-in, figuring out how to do all the paperwork and prep work they failed to do in advance. Surely, this will slow the check-in process to a snail’s pace. Hopefully, they will allow those of us who were well-prepared to move on through and board the ship.

The process will be slowed down even further with all the new Covid restrictions and protocol. It will be interesting to see what transpires at check-in for both upcoming cruises. Before the pandemic, the process was often cumbersome and time-consuming. I can only imagine what it will be like now. Of course, we’ll be sharing these details as they occur for our interested readers.

We’ll do our last load of laundry on Thursday, pack our bags and do my nails, and touch up my polish from my last pedicure. I’ll fill my pill case with my three little prescription pills and various vitamin supplements today. Tonight, Karen and I are making homemade pizza, two different types for each couple.

This morning, Tom and I headed to the grocery store for ingredients to make the pizzas. It’s so enjoyable to shop in the grocery stores in the US. There is every possible ingredient you can imagine, many of which we cannot buy in South Africa. Of course, I wish I could bring back some items with us, but with our new clothes and shoes, we won’t have any room to spare or weight allowance.

A few nights ago, the four of us sat outside poolside until after dark. I noticed I was itchy when we went indoors to eat dinner. It turned out, typical close to the sea, I was attacked by no-see-ums, resulting in hundreds of bites through my clothes. I had used repellent, but it has little effect on these pesky creatures as described here:

“Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums or biting midges, generally 1–3 mm long. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic.”

We’ve lived in many seaside or desert locations during our world travels. Only in Belize, Morocco, and now, here in Florida, have they bothered me. And bother me, they did. I was awake all night long, itching, trying various creams I had on hand, and basically, being miserable and unable to sleep.

I am allergic to dust mites and no-see-ums, which is quite common for those with allergies. In an attempt not to be a “party pooper,” last night, I put on my compression socks, jeans, and a long-sleeve, tightly fitting tee shirt. I generously applied repellent on any exposed skin, my hands, face, and neck. Fortunately, that worked, and I never was bitten again. The old bites are still itching, but that should improve in a few days.

Well, at least we know now that if we ever thought of eventually settling down in Florida, that won’t work for me. No, we’re not thinking of “settling down.” We’re just getting ramped up again after this darned pandemic.

Tomorrow, I will prepare a short post in the early morning since we plan to be out most of the day wrapping up some of these last-minute details and completing the above as indicated by no later than Friday.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 5, 2021:

Notice the puffed-up cheek on this giraffe. They eat vegetation and store it in their cheeks for short periods. For more photos, please click here.

We made it to Dubai…Harrowing experience…

I look like a scary insect while seated on the flight to Dubai.

Where do we begin to describe this harrowing day that started at 7:00 am when we started the drive to the Mumbai International Airport through crazy Monday morning traffic at this early hour? It was quite a daunting experience.

But, before we get to that, I’d like to mention that the Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport made our departure extra special when they “comped our dinner” and sent an exquisite chocolate cake up and a beautiful handmade card filled with signatures from the staff, to our room last night. We’d just finished dinner, and Tom ate a small piece, leaving the rest behind. Since I don’t eat cake, I could only admire it and take a photo below.

We settled the final bill last night, making checkout this morning quick and easy. We arranged for a wake-up call at 6:00 am, but neither of us slept a wink. My Fitbit said I slept 4 hours 44 minutes, but the majority of that was me lying still and trying to fall asleep most of the night, causing my heart rate to become slow enough that Fitbit “thought” I was sleeping.

Check out the look in Tom’s eyes! I howled!

In our past travels, especially during the first few years, we had trouble sleeping the night before a travel day. As time marched on, we combated this issue and were able to sleep. However, after these past ten months, we lost some familiarity with being on the move once again.

We arrived at the airport with over three hours until departure, plenty of time to do what had to be done, all of which we dreaded. Our baggage sailed through without any excess baggage fees only after I reminded the Emirates rep at the counter that the website allowed a total of 40 kg, 88 pounds, per person. I’d be happy to show her that fact on the Emirates app on my phone when she tried to tell us the maximum was 23 kg. The excess fees would have been more than the airfare. She relented, and our bags went through at no additional cost.

That bullet dodged, we made our way through the airport toward the security check-in and immigration, each of which took no less than 30 minutes to get through the queues. In each case, we had to produce copies of our endless documents. In each case, they seemed to have no idea how to process the paperwork. Somehow, we made it through.

The airport in Mumbai, quiet in some areas but a madhouse in others.

Throughout this process, we were stunned by the number of passengers not wearing their face masks properly or only covering their mouths and not their noses. I’m not exaggerating when saying no less than 40% of passengers that we encountered weren’t following masking and social distancing protocol.

Finally, we reached our gate to sit in chairs and begin a horrendous wait, including while in the “tube” where the poorly masked passengers were huddled close to one another. We desperately tried to avoid facing anyone directly, but it wasn’t easy.

They’d provided us with face shields, and we were wearing the extra heavy-duty N-99 masks we’d purchased in the US over a year ago to protect from the smog in India, long before the mention of Covid-19. N-99 masks are one step safer than the coveted N-95. Regardless, we were nervous over the proximity of all of those people.

Boarding the plane was like in the “old” days, people packed tightly together, talking loudly, spewing spittle, with little regard for the virus. We cringed in our seats as they passed by. Around ten years old, a young girl sat next to me while I was on the aisle seat in the grouping of four center seats.

The beautiful card the staff at the Marriott made and signed for us.

During the entire flight, I had to ask her to put her mask back on while her arms were continually flailing my way. It wasn’t very good. We never ate the offered food, a spicy Indian dish which didn’t work for Tom and me wouldn’t like. As of this moment, we’ve yet to eat a morsel today. Soon, we’ll order very pricey room service, but we need to eat before the long night ahead. Tom’s having a burger and fries, and I ordered the Caesar salad, no croutons, with a salmon add-on. Had I ordered a burger, it wouldn’t have been a sufficient portion of 200 grams, with no bun, no fries.

Everything was smoother when we arrived at the relatively quiet Dubai airport. We had plenty of help from staff and the reps at the Emirates desk. We asked for an upgrade to Business Class, but they could only accommodate one seat for the additional US $650 plus tax. Tom insisted I take it. If they get a no-show or cancellation, Tom will join me “up-front.” I hope that works out. I feel a little guilty.

To leave the airport and return only hours later for the next flight, we had to have a complimentary Covid PCR test since we were going to the terminal due to UAE regulations. This was no big deal. Shortly after, the hotel shuttle was waiting in a nearby parking lot outside of Terminal 3, and we made our way to this bargain hotel which is quite acceptable for resting for these few hours.

Without drinks (we have plenty of bottled water), our dinner will cost more than the hotel room with the taxes and fees. So it goes. Again, we aren’t allowed to leave the hotel, but we had no intention of doing so anyway. We’re content we don’t have to spend the next several hours with lots of people until 1:30 am when we have to return to the airport and go through immigration and security one more time.

The chocolate cake the chef made for us.

I know I’m rambling a bit from the poor night’s sleep, so I’m signing off soon and will return, providing all goes well once we’re in the hotel in Johannesburg. That layover would have been 21 hours, so once again, it made sense to stay in a hotel and await our next flight on Wednesday.

We probably won’t sleep tonight since we have to leave this hotel by 1:00 or 1:30 am. By the time we get to the hotel in Joburg, we’ll be ready and hopefully able to get a whole night’s sleep. Our flight the next day to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger will only require that we get to the airport around 10:00 am for our 12;30 pm, 45-minute flight. We hope to be in Marloth Park by around 3:00 pm.

As I mentioned to many well-wishing family, friends, and readers, we won’t relax until the 14-day quarantine period ends in Marloth Park, and we feel confident we didn’t get the virus.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and breathe the fresh air. We certainly did that today!

Photo from one year ago today, January 11, 2020:

Saturnalia, a Sculptural group by Italian artist Ernesto Biondi at the botanical garden Buenos Aires in 2018. For the year-ago story, please click here.