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| Who can be bored when the playful antics of our temporary dogs, Jessie and Gucci never fail to entertain us? |
Yesterday, late afternoon the power went out. After 15 hours with no water yesterday, the power going out after the water came back on was an odd coincidence, none the less frustrating.
We were showering and dressing in preparation for dinner at a resort we’d yet to try, Diani Reef Resort and Spa (photos coming tomorrow). Luckily, it was light enough to finish getting ready. Our taxi driver, Alfred, was due to arrive at 6:30. Darkness falls at 6:45 pm.
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| Gucci loving demeanor make us laugh when he’s so pushy about us paying attention to him. He reminded us of our beloved Worldwide Willie (read Willie’s blog of the last days of his life, if you love dogs) who’d elicit a low bark if we made eye contact with him and then looked away. We love dogs. |
As we drove away from the house, we both sat silently, not looking forward to returning to a dark house after dinner. Since arriving on September 2, 2013, the longest power outage in Diani Beach had been an annoying 6 1/2 hours a few weeks ago.
After a divine experience at the Diani Reef Resort and Spa last night (we’ll share details tomorrow), we’d hardly given the power situation a thought until at 10:00 pm we were back in the taxi with Alfred for the long drive back.
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| Candles and lanterns to get us through power outages which frequently occur. |
The moment we approached the main security gate to our small neighborhood, which the guards opened upon recognizing Alfred’s taxi and waving “jambo” at us, we knew the power was still off. Jeremiah, our security guard greeting us at our gate with a flashlight walking us to the dark house.
Within moments Jeremiah (our security guard) and Jeri (Hans’ wife) appeared with a above handheld candle lantern, two tabletop lanterns and extra candles. With our plan to use an hour of the remaining battery power on my laptop, we settled in bed to watch a show.
With no overhead fan working, I was restless all night, overheated and uncomfortable. Yesterday, it had rained off and on, torrential with wind that required that Tom moved the sofa in our outdoor living room to avoid us getting wet. The sticky humidity remained into the night.
Just before falling asleep, Tom reminded me of the KES $28492, US $335 for two weeks of groceries we’d purchased the previous day, most of which was in the refrigerator and freezer. Thinking about the possibility of throwing out all of the food, had a tendency to flutter through my mind during the night also keeping me awake.
For the first time, I put my little LED flashlight under my pillow in the event I had to get up during the night. One must never walk around in the dark without checking the floors and walls for creatures. Also, getting into bed, I used the light to check under the sheet, pillows and around the bed. The rain drives the poisonous centipedes inside.
Another morning with no shower, the second in a row. (Thank goodness we showered late yesterday after the water came back on). Today, there was no power to heat the water. A cold shower didn’t hold much appeal. I got up at 6:30 am, exhausted but hopeful that in daylight the power outage would soon be resolved.
By 8:00 am, I found Hesborn (he lives on the property) to see if he knew anything about the power situation. He’d heard from a neighbor that a transformer blew with the power outage effecting a huge area. Again, we wait.
By 10:00 am, Hesborn informed us the power was back on, 17 hours after it had gone out. Surprisingly, the food in the freezer was still frozen solid and after tasting my ice tea from the pitcher in the refrigerator, it was still cold indicating that the refrigerator food also survived. I’ll guess I’ll stop whining about the refrigerator’s minuscule size now that I see how well it stayed cold in a power outage.
As much as we’d love to have “safari quality” stories to share every day, reality dictates that at times, that our lives likes yours, may at times be mundane and relatively uneventful and, perhaps at times seemingly boring.
We’ve asked ourselves why we seldom if ever, feel bored. With two little adorable dogs hanging out with us most of each day, with a baboon running through our yard cautiously looking our way, with birds involved in a mating rituals before our eyes, with goats in the yard making hilarious sounds as if they’re being torturing (they’re not), we find pleasure and humor that easily entertains us.
When we know that tonight, a dining-in night, that we’ll have another delicious homemade meal, to later watch a few favorite shows while munching on locally grown nuts, we have no reason to be bored. When we know that tomorrow night, once again we’ll dine out for what will most likely prove to be yet another excellent evening, again boredom is not within our realm.
In any case, last night we had a memorable evening at the Diani Reef Resort and Spa with the utmost of sophisticated atmosphere, the finest of gourmet food and the epitome of outstanding service which we’ll share tomorrow with several photos of both location and food.