To entertain us in Diani Beach, Kenya, two of the several goats in the backyard jumped up on the stone wall.

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Today’s photos are from this date in 2013, while living in the village of Diani Beach, Kenya. For more photos, please click here.

The Indian Ocean view from the rooftop. We walked to the desolate beach with the utmost of caution when often, crimes were perpetrated upon tourists.

It’s Monday morning here in Mumbai and the evening of Sunday, September 6th in the US. Americans are in the midst of Labor Day weekend, surely involved in barbecues, parties, and various types of gatherings, often centering around good food, drinks and entertainment of one source or another.

We don’t celebrate most US holidays anymore and haven’t done so for the past eight years since we began our journey (our eight year travel anniversary is upcoming on October 31st). Without family and friends nearby, celebrating such holidays is pointless.

The goats in the rear yard of this property posed for us when Hans‘ two small dogs, Gucci and Jessie, chased them into their goat house.

In South Africa in 2018, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Marloth Park, including several of our friends, a few of which are Americans and traditionally celebrate this popular holiday on the last Thursday in November. Last November, 2019, we celebrated with son Richard in Henderson, the day we arrived in Nevada in the early evening, too late for me to cook the usual turkey dinner. Instead, we dined out.

The kingpin goat nuzzled up to Hans when we entered the gate remembering his early days when Hans fed him with a baby bottle.

Of course, here in lockdown in India, there will be no Labor Day celebration, impossible under these circumstances. We’ll follow our usual routine, dine on our usual (same) meals and go about our day as always. Nothing will be different. And, as it turns out, we may actually still be in this hotel for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We shall see.

The colors of the flowers in the garden were so pleasing to the senses

In regard to today’s photos, these were taken the first few days we spent (of three months) in a thatched-roof limestone house in a gated neighborhood with 18 houses in Diani Beach, Kenya. As mentioned in the post from a few days ago, security was a big concern, but with the owner living next door on shared grounds with tight security we felt fairly safe.

There were some features of the property that we dearly loved, particularly, the goats living in a walled backyard. The wall was constructed of stone and for security reasons the top edge of the wall was covered with broken glass embedded into mortar to discourage humans from climbing over it.

• In 2009 a fire destroyed 18 homes in this neighborhood, this property next door, yet to be renovated after a new owner took over a few years ago. Hans, a builder, and our landlord wasted no time in rebuilding these two houses.

But, the broken shards of glass, mainly from bottles, didn’t discourage the goats from jumping up on the edge to peer over at us, often on a daily basis. From time to time, we visited them through a secure gate and howled over their antics. Baby goats are hysterical in their jumps and antics and it was delightful to watch them.

Overlooking the stone wall from the goat’s yard. To avoid cutting grass, Hans preferred to go the natural way with the goats grazing on  the grass.  Much to our delight, he didn’t slaughter the goats, as is the practice of many local residents.

The area in which we lived had many monkeys, birds, rodents and insects, but little other wildlife. We saw plenty of farm animals in the streets; cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. So, why did we go to Diani Beach? Our goal was singular…to fly from the local Diani Beach Airport to the Masaii Mara National Reserve in a small plane to land on a dirt runway to spend days on safari while staying at a luxury camp. And that we did. More will follow on that in the days to come as we work our way through these old posts.

View of our house as we basked in the chaise lounges in the hot sun, lasting only 45 minutes due to the close proximity to the equator.

I’d return to Kenya in a minute, but Tom is less so inclined. We’ll see what options are available to us when international flights resume in India. If South Africa’s borders aren’t open, other countries in Africa may be excellent options while we wait for South Africa to open.

Spring is in the air, here in Kenya, seasons being opposite from the US and Europe.  With the close proximity to the equator, the weather is tropical year-round.

That’s it for today folks. Not much is transpiring with the hotel guests that moved onto our floor yesterday. We no longer walk down those corridors and haven’t seen more than a few while walking in the new confined space. Hum… More confinement. Oh well, so it goes.

Photo from one year ago today, September 7, 2019:

The main living area in the house in Tredarupp, Cornwall, England, included a den through the door at the far left end of this open area, which is spacious and comfortable with every possible amenity including Netflix on the new high-quality, high-def TV. The kitchen was beautiful, modern and well-equipped. We loved our time there. For more photos, please click here.

The first day we met Nancy, one of the daytime support staff at our guarded gate. She was so sweet, holding my hand the entire time we chatted with her. She kindly took the photo of Tom and me. We love being able to talk to the locals.

Today’s photos are from our first stay in Africa in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 2013. For more photos, please click here.

When I commenced my first walk of the day, I found that a huge section of the corridor was roped off by one of the three elevators (lifts). I walked up to that point, curious as to why it was roped off. It took me seven times up and back from that point to our door to walk ½ the distance I usually walk each hour.

There we were at last,  in Kenya, Africa, hot and sweaty as we embarked on our first walk outside the gated complex, onto the main road, definitely a daytime event only.

Respecting the ropes, I continued back and forth until I completed my first mile (1.6 km) for the day, knowing I had four more such rounds to go to do my usual five miles (8 km). It was more boring than ever. The usual full walk in the corridors is boring enough, returning to our room to await the next hour’s walk.

Thus today, instead of walking non-stop for the entire mile each hour, I’d walk twice an hour for the entire mile, every 30-minutes, setting the timer on my phone as a reminder. This way, I am getting up and moving around more frequently rather than sitting in one position for the hour. Who knows? I might go back to the old way soon enough. But, boredom is dictating that I mix it up as well as increase my hourly mobility.

The dirt road we walked in our gated community.

But, today, the shorter distance made the walk all the more tedious. While walking, a manager dressed in a crisp white shirt, tie, and black suit approached, telling me he’d called our room, but we hadn’t answered. I explained Tom was in the shower while I was out walking.

As we began our walk within the gated complex, we saw and heard many local workers working on the house destroyed by a fire in 2009. Hans, our landlord, told us that insurance companies didn’t pay fair claims for the losses, so many homeowners endured, ultimately paying out of their own pockets for repairs that often took years to complete.

He’d come looking for us to let us know that the area beyond the theater-type red ropes with the brass stands is intended as a marker to prevent us from going further into the corridor. He explained that 20 guests from the outside world, all from various locations in India, would be staying on our floor in the rooms beyond the ropes. All of the hotel’s other floors are booked with guests.

This wall was on our right as we walked along the dirt road within the gated community. Most houses were tucked away behind large stone walls, making it difficult to see the homes in the neighborhood.

As it turns out, these 20 guests will be staying on our floor for five or six nights. I just returned from one of my ten daily walks to see some of those guests arriving, wheeling their bags, all wearing masks. From what I could see from my vantage point, several cleaning staff members were down the corridor, along with several well-masked uniformed sanitization workers carrying stainless steel tanks with sprayers to sanitize the rooms.

A protected entrance to a neighboring home.

Of course, we’ll proceed with caution, but this scenario raises a few concerns, such as how safe will our cleaner be when he arrives to clean our room around 10:40 each morning? And, how safe will our food and room service server be when our food arrives twice a day?

Perhaps, I’m overly cautious, but I keep hearing stories of people we know and family members who’ve exercised the utmost caution and still contracted the virus. We could stay in our room for the next six days and nights, no longer walking the halls, but we haven’t worked this hard to lose some of our stamina from not working out for almost a week.

This statue was in the entryway of the neighboring home.

Also, as of late, I’ve been getting so tired of the dinners, I am considering going to one meal a day, just having breakfast. But, I can’t imagine missing those 30 minutes of dining around 6:00 pm each day. The routine is more important to me than the food. I know I’m eating way too many carbs with the red sauce with my chicken each night. But, without the sauce, the chicken is rubbery and dry.

This massive home was burned out, sold, and yet to be repaired, now almost four years later.

Whew! We sure could go for a big juicy steak on the grill, cooked rare for me and medium rare for Tom. I can’t wait for that first meal, along with a huge salad of fresh greens and other diced vegetables, let alone a glass of dry red wine to savor along with it!  We haven’t had anything but chicken (and occasionally salmon for me) in almost nine months! I haven’t cooked a meal in nearly nine months!

The dense thatched rooftops, typical in Africa, can easily be seen as a fire hazard. These would never be allowed in the US or many other countries.

I need a salad! (Not safe to eat here!) tonight, I’ll order the salmon, which I do about once a week, but it’s only a tiny portion with cooked vegetables on the side, which doesn’t fill me up.

I wonder what those 20 guests will be eating? The last time they had a group here, a few months ago, they all dined in one of the conference rooms. They were all Indian people, so most likely, they consisted of items we didn’t eat. Tom is still ordering his penne pasta with chicken with a side of roasted potatoes, not a very healthy meal. We’ll worry about that later when once again, we can cook our meals.

Oh, this looks refreshing on the shared property between our holiday rental and the owner’s home. We never used it. We’ll have our private pool in the next house in South Africa, where we’ll be in 3 months.

This article popped up online last night, implying that South Africa may open their borders sooner than we’d thought. Still, that won’t do us any good unless India resumes international flights.

Stay safe and healthy. Please wear a mask and social distance so we all can get out of this predicament!

Photo from one year ago today, September 6, 2019:

This had been our view for the past two weeks in Falmouth, Cornwall, England. This has been an excellent place to stay! For more photos, please click here. (Please excuse incorrect paragraph spacing, which is being resolved).

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The photos in today’s post were from this date in 2014 when we visited the Blarney Castle in Blarney, Ireland, during a port of call on a cruise at that time. Please click here for the link.

The Blarney Castle.

We hear some news from some of our family members in Minnesota. The grandchildren are going to or have already gone back to school with many excellent protocols in place to ensure their safety from COVID-19. We pray for their safety. Three of our grandchildren are going to charter schools, while the others attend public schools, with fewer students in each classroom, which may aid in their safety from contracting the virus.

We entered caves on the property walking to the end requiring we turn around, going back the same way we entered.

In addition, our dear daughter-in-law Camille is slowly recovering from her recent cancer treatment and surgeries and is going back to work after Labor Day weekend. We pray for a safe transition for her with continuing health and well-being after a long and arduous battle with this dreadful disease. No doubt many of our readers’ lives have been touched not only by cancer and other diseases but also COVID-19 during these trying past almost eight months since the virus hit.

Alternate view of the Blarney Castle.

My younger sister is still suffering from the effects of COVID-19, after over two weeks since she was stricken. We stay in close touch by text every day, but of course, it’s hard not to worry. She hasn’t been hospitalized, although she’s been to the emergency room a few times due to the horrific symptoms. We can only hope and pray she recovers soon and can avoid the necessity of hospitalization. This has been a big blow since losing our dear sister Susan only a few weeks ago.

One would have to climb to the top of the castle, lay on their back, and hyper-extend their neck to kiss the Blarney Stone.  After the stories we heard, we decided to forgo this event.

As we reviewed our photos from our port of call tours in Ireland in 2014, we’re reminded of how much we enjoyed Ireland again for the three months we spent in Connemara in August 2019. Tom particularly enjoyed Ireland based on his Irish ancestry, verified by DNA testing before we left to begin our travels, which indicated he is, in fact, 100% Irish.

Us, in front of the Blarney Castle.

Many of us show mixed variations in our DNA, as I experienced when having the same tests in 2012. Of course, Tom has entered our histories in detail at Ancestry.com, for which he pays an annual fee of US $389, INR 28,493, per year. However, with the time he spends almost daily on continuing to research his and my ancestry and his level of enjoyment, it’s a fee well-spent.

Tom had visited the Blarney Castle on two separate trips to Ireland. He was excited to visit the woolen mills store to see the Irish sweaters, one of which he’d purchased years ago. He didn’t bring it with him in his suitcase.

Not everyone is interested in their ancestry, like me, so I spent no time at all on the site. However, he shares tidbits he discovers along the way on both his and my ancestors, which certainly piques my interest from time to time.

This wool sweater is similar to Tom’s old Irish sweater. I always told him he looked like an older man wearing this. He paid approximately US $49, EU $36 back in the late 1980’s. Now it was priced at US $189, EU $139.

While in Cobh, the port of call in Ireland, we toured with a group of three other couples in our age group with whom we had an excellent time. The conversations were lively, filled with humor and whimsy, especially considering our surroundings when we had lunch and beer in a traditional Irish pub, as shown in today’s photos.

Here are the boys!

Here are the girls!

The day’s experiences were a plethora of many traditional Irish landmarks and events, particularly highlighted at the end, when we re-boarded the ships and the Irish ladies were dressed in garb similar to that on the Titanic. As it turned out, the last port of call the Titanic made in its fateful journey was the quaint village of Cobh. We felt fortunate to see considerable commemorations throughout the village of the historic sinking of the doomed ship.

Tom’s peculiar lunch was called “tacos.” It was ground meat and melted cheese atop a bed of fries. He said it was good. I cringed.

We didn’t “kiss the Blarney stone” as it is a typical activity for many tourists, primarily when we’d heard that teenagers would go up the steps to the stone and pee on it as a joke. Hum that turned us off! Tom had kissed the stone on two past visits to Ireland before he knew me, but social media wasn’t available at that time, and he had no idea about this awful prank.

Tom’s Irish beer.

It’s fun to look back at the photos from those special days. I often wonder when and if we’ll ever be able to go sightseeing as we had back then. Time will tell.

The ladies of Cobh dress in clothing typical of the days of the Titanic.

Be well

Photo from one year ago today, September 5, 2019:

Our holiday home is located in this colorful grouping in the center of this photo of attached yet individual homes. We captured this shot from across the harbor. For more photos, please click here.

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Today’s photos are from this date in 2013.  For the post, please click here.

Partial view of the yard from the second level.

As I continue to work on corrections, line, and paragraph spacing on each of our old posts, I can’t help but reread each one as I go along. There are 148 pages of 20 posts each. It takes me at least one hour a day to make the corrections, sometimes longer. As of today, I’m down to Page 137 since I am working from the oldest first.

It’s shocking to me. After all these hours, I’ve yet to accomplish 10% of the posts. At this rate, it will take another 4½ more months. But, the time will pass, and I will be happy to have tackled this monumental task, one I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

The sink in the galley-style kitchen. I moved Tom’s bottle of Courvoisier out of the window, so the monkeys don’t knock it over when they come to visit.

About today’s photos, it was quite a day on September 4, 2013, when we posted photos of our very first experience of living in Africa for an extended period, in this particular case, in Diani Beach, Kenya, a resort community on the Indian Ocean. Although this area was known for its attraction due to its upscale resorts and holiday homes, it still was an area requiring stringent policing and military control due to high risks of carjackings, kidnapping, murders, and other heinous crimes.

This stove and refrigerator are much smaller than they appear in the photo.

We lived in a gated community, manned by a guard for the 18-holiday homes. We were told not to rent a car, but to use a well-known local taxi driver recommended by our landlord, for any shopping trips and sightseeing. All entrances to shopping were guarded with rifle-carrying police and military, as were ATMs and banks.

The various resorts where we dined behind sturdy 12-foot high gates and guarded required a reservation and passports to enter. Within the gated community, our holiday home was fenced with wrought iron fences, gates, and stone walls guarded 24/7, while during the night, a guard sat in a chair not far from our front door, from dusk to dawn. Our houseman protected during daylight hours.

The master bedroom. The mosquito netting is very secure around the beds, leaving little opportunity for any flying insects.  Bugs that walk may find their way to the bed from below. The bed was comfortable, and we slept well most nights when it was fabulous.

There was a red emergency button next to the bed and bars on all the windows. There were ceiling fans but no air-con. There were bamboo sofas, tables, and chairs on the veranda, but no living room, lounge, den, or seating area inside the house. Subsequently, we spent 16 to 17 hours a day outside on the veranda for three months. We’d never lived in a home without a place to sit indoors.

There were venomous centipedes and insects inside the house requiring we wear shoes at all times, including placing our shoes inside the mosquito netting at the foot of the bed each night, in the event we had to get up to go to the bathroom. We inspected our shoes each time before putting them on to ensure no insect dwelled therein.

The guest bedroom with two beds and two separate mosquito nets.

With no air-con, sitting on the veranda all day in temperatures around 40C, 104F, and high humidity, we sweated like fools. Luckily, our houseman, Hesborn, washed our clothes every few days. The house was swept and cleaned daily. He was a wonderful help to us.

The adaptation required to accept this way of life early on in our travels was a rude awakening but entirely necessary for us to continue. If we wanted to see Africa and stay for extended periods, this was how we had to do it. We’d never lived outdoors for three months. Who, in their lifetime, ever does this? If you’ve done so, please write to us and tell us your story.

This spiral staircase to the second level is very steep, with the steps far apart. There was no reason to go upstairs when there was no furniture except on a second veranda.

It was a good thing we had this experience early on. We learned. We adapted. We didn’t complain. We chose this life, and we were going to accept it. By the time we reached Marloth Park, South Africa, in December 2013, we had ended up spending another 16 or 17 hours a day outside, although there were two air-conditioned living rooms indoors which we never used.

We spent all day watching and feeding the wildlife while seated on the veranda. We’d adapted to the sweltering heat, bugs, possibility of snakes, lack of air-con during the day, and never turned on the TV.

The vanity area of the single bathroom in the house. Bugs loved this area.

We learned to cook in a tiny galley space in Kenya, as shown in today’s photos. At night, when we went to bed, I used a flashlight to inspect every corner in the bedroom, placed my shoes under the mosquito netting, and pulled down the covers all the way to see if any creatures had crawled inside during the day.

It’s no wonder this tiny space while in lockdown in India, now approaching six months, is not as hard for us as it could have been. We have air-con, no insects, no snakes and have the TV on in the background most days, watching news of the world. It’s just not that hard.

Yes, it’s boring. But, we busy ourselves in many ways. We’re grateful to be in this location during these challenging times. Sure, we’d rather be back on a veranda in South Africa feeding pellets to our wildlife friends in the heat with the bugs and possible snakes. But this, dear readers, could be a lot worse.

Thank you for traveling along with us, and now as we are stuck in this odd situation. We’re grateful you’ve stayed with us during our new website’s transition and this boring, travel-free scenario in Mumbai, India.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2019:

We met Chris, Barbara, a lovely couple through our friend Liz and Tom standing in the pub at the Boathouse in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, one year ago today. For more photos, including our meals, please click here.

The photos today are from this date in 2015 while in Trinity Beach, Australia. (We didn’t post any pictures on this date in 2014). Please see this link here.

Yesterday, there were more new cases of COVID-19 in India than in any other country in the world, as follows:

New cases in one day: India at 78,169; USA at 41,979; Brazil at 41,889;

Deaths in one day: India: 1025; USA: 1164; Brazil 1166;

Midday sunlight filtering through the trees.

India is slowly opening businesses, including bars, restaurants, hotels, government buildings, schools, and more, even with these outrageous high numbers. I agree with the re-opening of businesses throughout the world. However, when we look out the windows, we see no social distancing among the locals and little mask-wearing.

Our concern is that with these re-openings and the lack of responsibility among citizens, more cases will befall the country of India, and another deeper lockdown will be required, resulting in less likelihood of us being able to fly out of Mumbai to some other country. Of course, international flights remain unavailable except for repatriation to a handful of countries, none befitting our situation.

The full moon was rising as it made its way through the clouds above Yorkeys Knob.

Although liquor stores are open and delivery is available, neither have ever enjoyed having a cocktail or wine while sitting in a hotel room. Subsequently, we’ve decided to wait for our first “happy hour” when we’re in a new location where it will feel celebratory. Drinking alcohol in our room seems pointless. It’s the socialization we particularly enjoy, not just drinking alcohol.

It appears, at this point, we could go outdoors, although the hotel prefers long-term guests remain inside the hotel. If a business traveler stays here for two or three days and contracts the virus while in Mumbai, they may not exhibit symptoms and become infectious for a few days. They could be long gone at that point, avoiding infecting the rest of us here in the hotel.

The moon offered quite a show.

Going for a walk outdoors is not appealing to us with the number of people in Mumbai, the crowded streets, the traffic, and the lack of social distancing and mask-wearing. Besides, we are located in a less than ideal neighborhood for wandering about freely.

When I went downstairs yesterday to pay our bill, two men were encouraging me to enter when the lift arrived on the fourth floor. I waved them on without me. First off, Tom and I have agreed to avoid sharing an elevator with anyone other than each other, and secondly, one of the two men wasn’t wearing a mask. No way would I enter that elevator due to both of these scenarios.

The esplanade in Trinity Beach didn’t disappoint with accessible facilities for visitors of all ages.

Are we overly cautious? Perhaps. But, a year of inconvenience is well worth avoiding a death sentence when I am exceptionally high risk, as mentioned many times. Who cares what others may think of our hesitation and cautiousness in avoiding contracting COVID-19?

As time has passed, we know more and more people who’ve been infected and have suffered for weeks. My dear sister Julie, in California, has been ill these past two weeks. Thank God she didn’t get the respiratory illness often accompanying COVID-19. I was terrified of losing another sister. However, she had to seek help in an emergency room when she became so ill. I’m hoping now she’s on the mend since, finally, her fever has abated. One of my sons was infected and luckily recovered without severe respiratory symptoms.

Hotels, resorts, and vacation homes line the esplanade along with several restaurants.

At this point, in one way or another, COVID-19 has touched all of our lives. Whether it was the loss of a loved one/friend, a job loss, loss of income, loss of business, children out of school, or the inability to partake in the usual activities of daily life, it has impacted all of us.

If we were willing to take the risk, we could probably go outside. But, for this very reason, we won’t fly back to the USA. To avoid the massive infection rates, we choose to stay put. Standing in the hotel’s parking lot won’t provide us with any comfort or sense of freedom. Instead, we stayed safely ensconced in our hotel room, writing to all of you, reading, talking, laughing, eating our two meals a day, streaming our various shows, and making every effort to maintain a positive attitude.

There were plenty of shady spots for those who preferred to stay out of the sun.

In 17 days, we’ll have been in this room for six months. No doubt, we’ll mention this once more when that time arrives. Even in lockdown, we continue to observe milestones, anniversaries, and birthdays if only by mention to one another.

Thanks to our readers for your kindness and support. I’d be lost without being able to write to you each day. Sorry for the repetitive nature of our posts. Once we get out of here, everything will change.

It was quiet at Trinity Beach, with only a few more visitors than we’ve noticed during prior visits.

Stay safe and healthy and treasure every moment of good health.

Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2019:

View (overlooking an umbrella on the veranda) from the second level dining area at the Boathouse Pub and Restaurant in Falmouth, Cornwall, England. For more photos, please click here.