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| Late yesterday afternoon during an uncommonly heavy rainstorm, I went out to the freezer in the garage to get some ice. I saw this long black thing, referred to as an omangomang in Balinese, moving along the garage floor. I called out to Tom to come see it. He grabbed the camera and came running. Creepy. Was that an eye looking out at us? |
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| A perfect sunny day at low tide. |
Is there ever a time we can sit back and not be concerned about the “next” location in our world travels? Its not likely at this point in our lives.
As we discuss short term goals (over the next few years) and potential long term goals (who knows where and when?) we realize that our travels are not only determined by cost and desirability but also the general safety of each location.
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| Suddenly, legs came out of the long black shell and the crustacean began dragging itself along the garage floor. The two Ketuts explained this is an omangomang which may not be eaten. |
Yesterday, Tom spotted this article about the “25 Safest Countries in the World.” Click here for details.
Over these past several days, we’ve watched online news retelling the horrific story of the mass shootings in Orlando, Florida. Our hearts go out to all the families of victims of this devastation and pray for healing and peace for our nation and nations throughout the world.
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| An ocean view while the van was moving through traffic. |
In the realm of things, our personal travels become small and insignificant amid such sad news. But, as we all know, we must each carry on with our lives with the hope and intent of doing so with love and harmony as our primary goals.
As we reach toward our future, we not only research places “we’d like to see” but also where we can feel relatively at ease if we walk through an open market or stop at a café.
We have no delusions that anywhere in the world is 100% safe. However, we can improve our odds of remaining safe by considering each future location after considerable deliberation and research.
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| Gede, our kind, helpful and thoughtful house man, built this house some years ago. He’s been heavily involved with construction and renovation over the years although he’s under 40 years old and quite resourceful and capable. |
Another factor we must eventually consider more seriously is proximity to quality medical care. Here in this remote area of Bali, far from any world-class medical facilities, we’d be in serious trouble if we had a life-threatening medical emergency.
The neighbor next door to our villa passed away a few years ago from a heart attack when he wasn’t able to get proper medical care in a timely fashion. He’d been taken to the hospital in Negara and the “doctor wasn’t in yet and not due to arrive for several hours.” Yikes. The man died while waiting.
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| On the left a restaurant and a data (SIM) card store on the right. |
We’re not getting any younger. In less than 20 months, I’ll turn 70 years old (good grief!) with Tom lagging five years behind me. Regardless of how hard we may try to stay healthy, things can happen beyond our control.
Every so often, one of us feels a sharp pain or sense of discomfort that usually dissipates after awhile. Most likely, this occurs for most seniors (and those younger) from time to time. When we’re far from medical care, an added sense of concern washes over us, wondering what we’d do if one of us needed immediate treatment.
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| Motorbike drivers stop at the beaches along the highway for a lunch break or to purchase products from roadside stands. |
Our health insurance provides for air ambulance to the closest world-class hospital paying 100% of major medical costs which gives us peace of mind to an extent although not entirely. It’s the getting there expeditiously that becomes the greater source of concern.
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| A few stretches of the highway can be less busy although shortly ahead at this location we encountered considerable traffic. |
What? Me, worry? Sure, overall, maintaining good health is our primary source of concern. Do we fuss over it all the time? No. We only worry when there’s a reason to, such as when there’s a lingering sharp pain or a sense of not feeling quite right.
In the future, we’ve already booked a few more remote-type locations for extended stays and most likely we’ll continue to book a few more remote locations in the future. Many of our upcoming cruises including Antarctica in January, 2018 are considered remote.
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| Commercial building along the highway. |
The world is a big place. We’ve hardly explored the “tip of the iceberg” (but soon will!). Safety and well being will always be of our utmost concern and never will we take that safety for granted.
May your day provide you with a sense of well being and safety.
Photo from one year ago today, June 15, 2015:
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| The rainy view of what is aptly named, Double Island, as seen from our veranda one year ago in Trinity Beach, Australia where we lived for three months. For more photos, please click here. |