Tom was tossing pellets to Broken Horn and a young male kudu we call Medium Daddy.
This morning, we awoke to our usual band of mongoose looking for meat and fat, which we’d cut up into bite-sized pieces after last night’s beef roast Tom had for dinner. I have been eating soft foods until the loose temporary crown gets replaced on Monday when we return to Dr. Singh in Malalane.
Moments later, Broken Horn arrived in his ceremonious manner, scooting every other animal in his path to leave a clear spot in the garden for “his” pellets and carrots. A mongoose grabbed a big chunk of carrot, carrying it to the cement on the side of the pool, banging it over and over again, assuming he could crack it open to see what was inside. This always makes us laugh.
There are about 24 helmeted guinea-fowls that occupy our garden most days and in the early evening until they take off to hunker down for the night.
After a while, a warthog approached him and snatched the chunk of carrot, eating it while making loud crunching noises. It’s a laugh and fun fest every hour of every day. Now, as the days dwindle to our departure, I can avoid feeling sad about leaving, knowing we’ll return 14 months later.
Now, with this peace of mind, I can allow myself to embrace our upcoming trip to Arizona while we stay put for three months in Apache Junction until we fly to Florida in February for Karen and Rich’s wedding.
There were nine kudus in the garden, certainly not the most we’ve seen at once but enjoyable to see.
While we are in Arizona, I plan to meet up with my sister Julie (who lives in LA) to spend a few days in Scottsdale. We will drive to the airport to pick her up when she arrives, head to our planned hotel where he’ll drop us off. He’ll return to Apache Junction to spend time with his sisters while I am away and then pick me up when it’s time to drop Julie at the airport to return to LA. Julie and I hadn’t had much alone time together except when she came to visit us in Kauai in 2015.
We wish we could go to Minnesota, but it will be the worst of the winter there while in the US, so we may not head there this time. However, we may be returning to the US at the end of the booked cruise from Tokyo to Seattle in the spring, a much better time to go to Minnesota. As always, we have to wait and see what happens with Covid-19.
This “forkl” of kudus consisted of eight females and one young male shown in the forefront.
While cases of Covid-19 escalate to some of the highest-ever levels, we’ll be somewhat isolated in Arizona in the retirement community. Few “snow-birds” will have arrived while we’re there, and many, with fears of Covid-19, may stay away during the upcoming winter. There are still many cases of Covid-19 in Arizona, which is in the #10 position of the most cases of all states in the USA.
Of course, while in Arizona, we’ll avoid crowds and large gatherings and wear our masks anytime we go shopping or to public places. We hope to be able to get vaccine boosters while in Arizona at some point, based on the fact we had the one-jab Johnson & Johnson on the first of July, which means six months will have passed since the original jab by the end of December while we’re still in Arizona. Such a booster for J & J has yet to be determined.
Kudus are gentle and relatively non-aggressive, but caution must be exercised. They are wild animals and rather large, with males possessing massive, dangerous horns.
Tonight, as always, we’re heading to Jabula Lodge and Restaurant for dinner. We usually arrive at 5:00 pm (1700 hours) and hang around at the bar, chatting with owners Dawn and Leon and any other guests who happen to stop in. We are careful to maintain safe distances from other guests, particularly those we don’t know who may not have been vaccinated. A few hours later, we head out to the veranda to sit at a table for our meal at dinner-time. On occasion, we may eat at the bar.
Tomorrow night, Kathy and Don will join us for yet another evening at Jabula. Again, we’ll arrive at 5:00 pm, but they usually arrive at 6:00 pm. They are less inclined to sit at the bar and prefer having drinks and food at a table on the veranda. This works fine for us, giving us a little schmoozing time at the bar ahead of their arrival.
After most of the females wandered off, this lone young male and Broken Horn hung around for a while.
Sunday will be a low-key day. We’ll stay in, make Sunday dinner while I’ll continue to spend the better part of the day working on corrections. I am on a roll right now, getting through a full page of 20 posts each day or more. At this rate, I have 48 pages of 20 posts to complete. As of today, there are 41 days until we leave for Arizona. I am hoping to be done by the time we go here on October 21st. It’s a lofty goal but doable.
Well, folks, not much excitement around here right now, but we are content. We have power, WiFi, lots of visitors, lots of friends, and the weather will be cool, up until next Tuesday, according to the 10-day forecast. I have a few itching mozzie bites at this time, and we haven’t seen any snakes or many venomous insects in the house. What more could we ask for, living in the bush?
Oops, I have to go! Frank is back looking for his seeds, and Broken Horn is barking from the garden, looking for pellets and carrots! I’d better get this show on the road!
Happy day!
Photo from one year ago today, September 10, 2020:
This photo was posted one year ago while in hotel lockdown for ten months in Mumbai, India, on day #171. As we wandered through the busy local farmer’s market, open daily, it was hard to decide which vendor to choose for our purchases. We purchased the following for FJD 22, $10.12: two red bell peppers (also called capsicum here); six medium-sized aubergines (eggplant); three heads of cabbage; and eight large carrots. For more photos, please click here.
When we booked the cruise listed below, and Tom noticed the above cruise for a back-to-back, starting in Athens on November 19, 2022, a mere 14 months from now, he suggested we also book this cruise, adding ten more days our itinerary. It may not seem like adding ten days is a significant benefit, but with our desire to cruise as much as we can afford over the next few years, added some cruise ports we’ve yet to visit, it made all the sense in the world.
On this same ship, on 11/29/2022, we’ll change cabins and continue on the even more exciting second leg of this cruise, Lisbon to Cape Town, enabling us to return to South Africa and Marloth Park for a possible six more months with one visa stamp required for each of us, after the first three months.
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, this cruise, which we’d booked in the past and was canceled due to Covid-19, now has a slightly different itinerary but still fulfills our goals of visiting more countries in Africa and, above all, ending in Cape Town, South Africa on December 20, 2022, where will stay for a few nights and then head back to Marloth Park.
Here is the price summary of this first cruise. Notice the high amounts for taxes and fees.
Price Summary
Traveler 1
Traveler 2
Total
Cruise Package
$3,439.00
$3,439.00
$6,878.00
Taxes and Fees
$175.97
$175.97
$351.94
Total Package Price
$3,614.97
$3,614.97
$7,229.94
Based on previous bookings, we’ll need to change cabins between the two cruises. This isn’t a problem for us. We can pack and unpack in a matter of about 30 minutes. Below is the itinerary for the second cruise on the same ship:
This second cruise is more expensive, based on its 21-nights as opposed to the first cruise’s ten nights.
Also, for each of these two cruises, by booking through Costco, using our US $60/year (ZAR 878) membership card we’d purchased while in the US only a few months ago, we are receiving the following Costco gift cards: the first one for US $545 (ZAR 7743) and the second for US $1210 (ZAR 17192).
So far, after booking five cruises through Costco, we’ve accumulated US $4390 (ZAR 62047). We still get all the perks offered by the cruise line as if we’d booked directly through them or another agency. The gift cards are added perks only offered by Costco. As mentioned in an earlier post, gift cards cannot be used for future cruises, rental cars, and airfare, although some package tours may be possible. We have no doubt we won’t have trouble finding products for which we’ll use the gift cards. Also, customers won’t receive the gift cards until a few weeks after each cruise has sailed for apparent reasons.
These two cruises each offer US $1000 (ZAR 14137) cabin credit to be used at our discretion during the cruises. Premium drinks are included, along with taxes and gratuities. Most likely, we’ll use a portion of the cabin credits for unlimited WiFi for two devices.
Of course, all of the above is subject to the status of the pandemic at the time of sailing. One never can plan anything for sure during times of Covid-19.
There they are, folks, our two new bookings. At this point, we have eight cruises booked, but we are questioning if the first three cruises around Japan, upcoming in February 2022, will be canceled due to Covid-19. As always, only time will tell.
Dare to go for the adventure! We’ve all sat around too much!
Photo from one year ago today, September 9, 2020:
This photo was posted one year ago while in hotel lockdown for ten months in Mumbai, India, on day #170. This batch of vegetables was KES (Kenya Shillings) $150, US $1.72. The more we travel, the more we are amazed by, the lower cost of food in other countries compared to the US. For more photos, please click here.
Flowers bloom in the front garden on a cloudy day.
Right now, there is nowhere in the world that appeals to us more than the countries we’ll see on cruises we’ve never sailed on in the past. For us, visiting new countries adds so much to our worldwide experiences. During the pandemic, seeing countries via cruises might prove to be easier and more sensible than flying all over the world.
Although some cruise lines are allowing a certain percentage of unvaccinated passengers, looking at the future, that option may be a thing of the past. No vaccination? No cruise! The long delays at airports, layovers, and packed airplanes seem riskier than mingling about a cruise ship, especially if every passenger must be vaccinated.
In essence, whether we agree with this philosophy or not becomes irrelevant in today’s world. The bigger question is; how badly do we want to participate in specific venues allowing us to experience a wide array of travel options? Or, would we rather stay put and let this pandemic dictate what we can and can’t do regarding travel?
These look like gladiolus. Spring is in the air.
If we wanted to continue with our journey, we had no choice but to be vaccinated. We weren’t going to deny ourselves the opportunity to continue with our travel dreams to make a social point that no one would care about anyway. As many stand firm, avoiding the jab, they may just be preventing themselves from engaging in the world’s vast offerings. And for what? To rally for personal freedoms?
We’d feel more like prisoners if we weren’t allowed to fly on an airplane, attend a concert, or, in our case, keep traveling the world. Life is short. We are old. We don’t want to spend the “golden years” locked down, in quarantine, and unable to participate in the activities we’ve chosen in the past.
Are there risks in getting vaccinated? Yes, most certainly. But the risks for us are no more significant than the risks we’ve taken over our almost nine years of world travel, being vaccinated (along with boosters) for dozens of potentially lethal illnesses that could occur to us while traveling from country to country. Although minor, we had a few reactions to some of them that never required medical care. We never felt the government of anyone else was trying to “control us.”
Peculiar bulbs were growing out of a cactus plant.
As my favorite motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins, always stated in his seminars and books:
“THE POWER OF REFRAMING
Perspective is a powerful thing. When you can reframe a particular experience or interaction, you can often change what happens as a result.”
This message hit home with me when I attended many of his seminars in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s not always easy to change our perspective, but it becomes our only option if fulfillment and happiness are our primary objectives when we seek a different outcome.
So, as world travelers, we decided to toss aside the temptation to surround ourselves with conspiracy theories and do exactly what makes us the most fulfilled and happy. For now, it was being vaccinated and continuing our exquisite world journey.
These look like inpatients, which are popular for shady areas in the US.
With our changed perspective, we’ve decided that cruising provides us with the highest degree of satisfaction during times of Covid-19 and, as we’ve done most recently, spend precious time in one of our favorite places in the world Marloth Park, South Africa.
Thus, in achieving this perspective, yesterday we booked two more cruises, the second of which sails to Cape Town, South Africa, arriving on December 20, 2022, a mere 15½ months from now. From Cape Town, where we’ll spend a day or two, we’ll fly to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport and drive the 90 minutes back to Marloth Park.
No words can express how thrilled we are with this new plan. Yesterday, we informed Louise we’ll be back before Christmas in 2022 and save this house for us. We hope to stay another six months, with only one side trip required to renew our visas. No, we don’t know how the pandemic will roll out over the next few years. But we choose optimism. We choose hope. We choose not to allow this pandemic to hold us back any further.
Spending ten months in lockdown in a hotel room in Mumbai, India, taught us something that remains profound today…seek to live every day to the fullest, strive to accept situations over which we have no control, and seek to embrace each other and the gift of travel we’ve chosen as our fate during these waning years of life.
Tomorrow, we’ll share the pricing, itinerary, and information on these two new bookings. Thank you for being here with us.
Photo from one year ago today, September 8, 2020:
This photo was from Almanara Resort’s restaurant in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 2013, posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #169. This fantastic array of seafood was all grilled and seasoned to perfection. It contained lobster, prawns, octopus, squid, snapper, and a few chewy wormy-looking items I didn’t recognize but ate anyway. Need I say that I cleaned this plate as well? For more photos, please click here.
Broken Horn and Hal in a bit of scuffle over pellets this morning.
For days I was dreading the prospect of having my tooth pulled, only to discover that Dr. Singh decided to wait until next week when he seated a crown on another tooth that needed a crown replaced. That way, I wouldn’t have to have the anesthetic injections all over my mouth.
I appreciated his consideration. He prepared the bicuspid with the old crown, leaving me with a temporary crown until following Monday when he’ll seat the new crown and, afterward, pull the molar resulting in the necessity of only one injection. He had decided on a good plan suitable for me. A little over an hour later, I was out the door to find Tom waiting in the car for me. All seemed OK.
A closer view of Broken Horn and Hal.
After returning home, while preparing dinner, I felt an odd sensation in the tooth with the temporary crown. It reminded me of when I was a kid and a baby tooth was loose, ready to pop out. Oh, goodness, the crown was loose. There will be no Tooth Fairy these days.
Of course, I went to Dr. Google to find solutions on a reputable US national dental site to see if it was no big deal if the temporary falls out, preferably, not swallowed. I contacted Dr. Singh this morning, and he said, no worries, push it back in. It seems I have to do this every few hours but again, no big deal, until the following Monday. He said if it ultimately falls out, do not use dental glue. Either keep it out or push it back up there.
Moments later, they were getting along quite well.
Well, based on the placement of the tooth in my mouth, if it falls out, I will be pushing it back again. I don’t want to look like a “snaggle tooth” when I smile. I told Tom I could wear my mask when we are around people. See, those masks can be handy for more than Covid-19!
I’m OK with the new dental plan and hope to put all of this behind me soon. I only have one more tooth in my mouth with a silver filling and will have him replace that with white porcelain before we return to the US on October 21st. I wouldn’t say I like having dental work, but I have spent my entire life taking good care of my teeth, and I’m not stopping now. It will be a significant relief to have all of this done here soon. The total cost for the crown was US $318, ZAR 4560, a far cry from what it would cost in the US.
Several female kudus stopped by for a snack.
In the past few hours, Tom booked two more cruises. We are so excited and will share the details in tomorrow’s post. I can’t tell you how enthused we are to be building an itinerary once again. Before too long, we’ll make a new itinerary list to share here. It’s been a very long time since we’ve done that!
It’s been a hectic morning in the bush. I didn’t get started on todays’ post until three hours later than usual. But, it’s been worth every moment. What awoke us this morning was a barking sound coming from the garden. I jumped up to look out the bedroom window, and there was Broken Horn, asking for his pellets and carrots breakfast.
There are always several bushbucks hanging around in our garden.
We both jumped up to ensure he got his requested meal laughing all the while. A short time later, while we were both in the kitchen, we heard the funny chirping of the mongooses, only to find two they had stuck their noses in the door and managed to get inside the house. We scooted them back outside while Tom proceeded to cut up paloney for them. They were thrilled. Again, we found ourselves laughing out loud.
Four kudus, eight bushbucks, six pigs, Frank, and dozens of helmeted guinea-fowls later, we got back to the business of figuring out our future travels. As you can imagine, getting back to Marloth Park sometime in the future was certainly on our minds. Tomorrow, we’ll share if, how, and when we may return in the next few years. It makes me smile from ear to ear.
A mongoose was drinking from a puddle on the veranda floor after Vusi had hosed it down.
That’s the news for today, folks. We hope every one of you stays healthy and hopeful for the future, whether it’s travel plans you are longing to book or peace of mind into the new year. We are always thinking of you and appreciating how you’ve stayed with us throughout the years.
We’re not done yet!!!
Photo from one year ago today, September 7, 2020:
This photo was from a post from one year ago while in lockown in Mumbai, India, on day #168. The kingpin goat at the holiday home in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 2013. He nuzzled up to Hans when we entered the gate, remembering his early days when Hans fed him with a baby bottle. For more photos, please click here.
Sorry, but no new photos today. We’ve been preoccupied with online research and will get back to taking photos soon.
I wouldn’t say I like going to the dentist, especially when the appointment is about anything more than a standard cleaning, which isn’t too bad. Today, my last molar on the bottom right will be extracted after an unsuccessful root canal that wouldn’t heal. Each time I brushed my teeth, it hurt, indicating the tooth had to go after two months had passed since the root canal was done, along with a recent round of more antibiotics.
Soon, at 10:15 am, we’ll make the 35 to 40-minute drive, depending on Monday morning traffic which can be a real issue on the N4 due to an endless stream of trucks and never-ending road construction.
Thank goodness I didn’t allow myself to fuss over this upcoming appointment during the night, and I had plenty of sleep for a change. It was only about a month ago when Tom had two teeth pulled that were beyond repair. His fast recovery is encouraging, but then again, everyone is different.
The last time I had a tooth pulled was in 1967, after the birth of my first son. They said women would lose a tooth for each child they carried in those days, which proved to be a “wives tale.” They assumed the growing fetus depleted the calcium in the mother’s body during pregnancy resulting in the loss of a tooth.
In the realm of things, having one tooth pulled is no big deal. Can we even imagine how horrible having a tooth extracted was a hundred years ago or more? I shouldn’t give it another thought. But, as a borderline dental phobic, I don’t go into this procedure with ease and confidence.
Yesterday, I prepped tonight’s dinner for Tom and planned to have scrambled eggs or something similar for myself. We’ll see how it goes. As for the remainder of the day, I hope to feel well enough to proceed, as usual, working on more corrections as soon as today’s post is uploaded.
At this point, I have 50 more days required to complete the corrections, which will be finalized just about the time we arrive in Arizona. After doing these for over a year, I can’t tell you how thrilled I will be to have this behind me. Almost every afternoon during the past year, I’ve been working on them. After all, there have been over 3300 posts since we began posting in March 2012.
Right now, I have about 1000 left. Recently I increased the pace and can manage to do 20 post corrections per day, an increase from my previous 10. Sure, I’ve missed some days here and there and don’t fuss about it, but it’s often on my mind after uploading the new daily post.
Since I don’t have to concentrate quite as much while doing the corrections, as opposed to preparing a new post, I usually have a podcast or movie in the background on a split-screen. It helps me to stay entertained during the tedious process. I can’t imagine how wonderful it will feel in the future to have my afternoons free to do whatever I’d like.
In Arizona, the roads are evenly paved, and I will begin walking outside each day. I may do it comparably to the process I did in India while in lockdown by getting up and walking every hour, rather than one long walk. I will listen to podcasts as I’d done in those long corridors. Plus, it helps to get up out of a chair and move every hour instead of going out once a day.
I am looking forward to walking again, which I haven’t done much while in Marloth Park with the uneven pothole-ridden dirt roads. The cool crisp air in Arizona in the wintertime is pleasant for walking outdoors.
So, that’s it for today, dear readers. We hope you have a pleasant day. We’ll be back with updates tomorrow.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, September 6, 2020:
This photo was posted one year ago while we were in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #167. There we were, at last, in Kenya, Africa, on this date in 2013. We were hot and sweaty as we embarked on our first walk outside the gated complex, onto the main road, definitely a daytime-only event. For more photos, please click here.
We scurried indoors when this Big Daddy came right up to the door from the house to the veranda.
To all of our friends/readers in the US, we wish all of you a safe and pleasurable Labor Day weekend. Please drive safely, observe local Covid-19 restrictions and enjoy time with family and friends, cooking outdoors, fishing, boating, or whatever you choose to do during the long holiday weekend.
It was shocking to see how brave they were in approaching us. We stayed clearly out of range the entire time they were here.
As for the weekend here in the bush, Marloth Park is relatively quiet with some holidaymakers, mainly from South Africa, who have come to escape life in the big city and relax peacefully in the bush. Nowhere in the world have we’ve ever been offered the depth of serenity and peace than Marloth Park.
There wasn’t a lot we could do when he approached us, other than getting behind the door. If we tried to scare him off, he could have used his massive horns on us.
Although from time to time that may vary due to visit by those select few who see this magical place as a “party town” where there is minimal police presence with many opportunities to go wild, drinking, to drive fast, and to have little regard for others seeking the peacefulness of living among the wildlife.
I accidentally dropped a carrot which he couldn’t quite reach. He came around to the other side to get it.
Fortunately, where we are located, the property backing up to Lionspruit, we rarely hear any noise other than the weekday construction work on a house across the road. In Marloth Park, there are strict regulations about weekend and evening construction noises to avoid disturbing visitors and the wildlife. Most comply or face fines.
He was contemplating how to get the carrot before he came onto the veranda.
This morning, as I struggled to get out of bed after staying up until after midnight with only about 5 hours’ sleep, Tom came to the bedroom, hoping I hadn’t gone back to sleep to tell me to hurry and come outside. He didn’t want to awaken me if I dozed back off. But, I was wide awake playing a fun word game on my phone.
Such beautiful and majestic creatures! See how he was checking out the bag of carrots.
I bolted out of bed to head directly to the veranda, and there they were…four mature Big Daddy kudus, seeing what we had for breakfast. We couldn’t have been more thrilled. Sure, we get one or two Big Daddies from time to time. But, four was something we’d never seen.
There they were, the four adult male kudus munching on pellets we tossed into the garden.
Quickly, I ran to the kitchen for the remaining carrots from the considerable bag we’d purchased at the market last week, and we both started tossing thick, whole carrots in their direction. They gobble them up in minutes, leaving us grabbing for pellets to throw onto the ground. As always, we never feed wildlife by hand, especially not Big Daddies with their enormous horns that could easily eviscerate a human in seconds.
Kudus are not violent animals, but they can startle easily, push one another, or lunge unintentionally. Besides leopards, the occasional lion, or warthogs with razor-sharp tusks, they are the most dangerous wildlife in Marloth Park. Even the adorable male bushbucks who visit us all day and night are extremely dangerous with sharp and long horns. One can never be too careful around any wild animal.
Broken Horn was in the background, but he seemed to get along well with the Big Daddies.
It was quite a delightful experience to be among them. We felt very fortunate to be privy to this amazing visit. And even if they never return together again, we are grateful for the opportunity to witness such magnificence.
Last night, our friends Fiona and Alan came for dinner. Alan is a prolific writer of outstanding published books on Marloth Park. He is a wealth of stories and information about this magical place after living here for 20 years, and the time spent with the two of them is rife with fantastic wildlife and human stories.
They rarely picked up their heads for full-face photos.
We had a lovely evening on the veranda with them, with our new speaker spewing out music to highlight the evening. We kept the speaker indoors (not too loud) to avoid making too much noise in the bush. The dinner turned out well, and the evening flowed with ease. As always, I was glad I’d prepared so much of the meal in advance.
We had various visitors while they were here, primarily warthogs, bushbucks, and many mongooses, who’ve been hanging around with us for days. Once they arrived, we savored the starters. We then put the meat on the braai, cooked the rice, reheated the roast vegetables, and tossed the salad with the homemade dressing. We sent them home with a “doggy bag” of leftovers.
Hmm…another lovely weekend here in Marloth Park. Tomorrow morning, I have an appointment with Dr. Singh to have that problematic tooth pulled. If we haven’t posted before leaving here at 10:15 for the long drive, hopefully, I’ll feel well enough to wrap it up when we return.
Have a fantastic day!
Photo from one year ago today. September 5, 2020:
We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #166. We visited Blarney Castle as a port of call on a cruise in 2015. For more, please click here.
This is Fred and Ethel lying butt-to-butt in the garden with a helmet guinea-fowl looking om, hoping for more pellets.
Last night, there was a mosquito buzzing around my head every half hour or so. I covered as much of myself with the blanket, but it was hot in the bedroom, even though the aircon was on, set at 22C, 72F. Yesterday was a hot and humid day. Today is the same.
I ended up with one bite on my eyelid, leaving my eye half-closed this morning, and two bites on my hands which I had outside the covers most of the night. So here it is. Summer is coming in the bush requiring DEET repellent is applied at least three times a day and again before going to bed.
Two hornbills were standing on the veranda railing, enjoying some of Frank’s seeds.
This morning, Tom sprayed the bedrooms and bathrooms with Doom, and we now must keep the doors closed day and night to keep the flies and mozzies out of the bedroom, allowing us (mainly me) to get a decent night’s sleep. Tom is hard of hearing and doesn’t hear the mozzies, but they don’t bite him anyway.
Each warm season in the bush, Tom may get three mosquito bites without using repellent. Whereby I may get hundreds even though I use the repellent several times a day.
Spikey stops by five or six times a day, checking out the veg and pellet situation, which is often prolific when he arrives.
Tonight, we have Fiona and Alan here for dinner. For the sundowner starters, we have julienne fresh vegetables with Mediterranean hummus, crackers, and cheese along with a dish of macadamia nuts. I wanted to keep the starters light so we don’t get too full for the main meal.
For the main course, we’re making individual bacon-wrapped pork tenderloins on the braai, not the prepared versions at the market, but hand-wrapped butt bacon-wrapped well seasoned without chemicals and preservatives.
Big Daddy stops by a few times a week to check out the pellet situation.
Also on the menu is a big platter of roasted root vegetables, garlic buttered sauteed whole mushrooms, seasoned rice, and an enormous salad packed with colorful seasonal vegetables and feta cheese, with homemade salad dressing. No bread or dessert will be served since all of us are avoiding high-carb, gluten-rich dishes.
As of this time, close to noon, I have almost everything chopped, diced, and prepared for the meal. I am cooking the roasted vegetables ahead of time since they require lots of attention while roasting in the oven, turning them every 30 minutes during a 90-minute cooking time. All we have left is to cook the rice, saute the mushrooms and cook the meat on the braai.
When he doesn’t see any pellets, he positions himself close to us on the veranda to ensure we know what he wants. We comply.
After that, I’ll toss the salad and reheat the vegetables, and we’re good to go. It’s always been important to me not to be stuck in the kitchen once our guests arrive. Tom will attend to the meat on the braai while I do the rest. Plus, he always does the dishes, which is a massive help to me.
We don’t have a lot of new photos today. The past several days, with lots of social plans, including another fantastic dinner and fun evening at Jabula last night, chatting with Dawn and several other guests, we were back home before 10:00 pm and off to bed in no time at all. Unfortunately, once I turned off the light, the mozzie started dive-bombing me. A short nap might be on the agenda today.
We hope you have a pleasant Saturday, wherever you may be.
Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2020:
We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #165. This was the kitchen sink at the house we rented in Kenya in 2013. The kitchen was so small, two of us couldn’t be in it at the same time. For more photos, please click here.
The cruise itinerary, beginning in Leith, Scotland, in August 2023, will end in Amsterdam 16 days later.
Right now, for us, it seems cruises are a logical choice for much of our future travels. That’s not to say we won’t stay in various countries along the way. Again, the plan is to use cruising to get from location to location, enabling us to stay in holiday homes near the embarkation and debarkation points.
We both have been interested in spending time in Scotland. For example, this newly booked cruise in Scotland will be an excellent place to stay before the cruise. The UK allows us to stay for 180 days without a need for a visa extension. However, Norway and Europe are all a part of the Schengen visa, which only allows us to stay for 90 days.
As for the cruise ending in Amsterdam, it was in August 2019 that we were there for three or four days before a cruise. And had time to do some sightseeing. We were there six months after I’d had open-heart surgery and subsequently two surgeries on each of my legs due to an infection. I had an awful time walking the streets of Amsterdam, but somehow we managed to see quite a bit of the lovely city, including a boat ride on the canals.
We doubt we’ll stay in Amsterdam based on that visit, but many other exciting locations are within a short flight. In the future, we’ll begin booking vacation homes on either end of this cruise and the other five cruises we currently have booked.
Tom has always shown interest in this particular cruise, and like our official cruise planner, I didn’t hesitate when he suggested we book this cruise, although it was more expensive than most cruises we’ve been on in the past nine years. Once again, we booked this cruise through Costco and will receive a gift card for booking through them for over US $1280, ZAR 18451. We can use the gift cards for online and store purchases at any Costco store.
These gift cards cannot be used for future travel but certainly may be used to purchase any other products they carry, such as phones, laptops, and much more. I am sure we won’t have any trouble finding products we’ll need somewhere along the line.
The total cost of this cruise for the two of us is US $16,275, ZAR 234,559 (based on today’s value of the rand). The cruise includes an upgraded balcony cabin on the Azamara Journey, tips, drinks, and WiFi for one device. Once we board, we’ll pay for WiFi for a second device. Shore excursions are extra.
Following is the full itinerary for this cruise:
Sailing Itinerary
Date
Port of Call
Arrival
Departure
08/01/2023
Leith
—
08:00 PM
08/02/2023
Cruising
—
—
08/03/2023
Stavanger
08:00 AM
08:00 PM
08/04/2023
Haugesund
08:00 AM
02:00 PM
08/05/2023
Olden
08:00 AM
08:00 PM
08/06/2023
Alesund
08:00 AM
10:00 PM
08/07/2023
Cruising
—
—
08/08/2023
Svolvaer
07:00 AM
05:00 PM
08/08/2023
Trollfjord
06:30 PM
07:00 PM
08/09/2023
Tromso
12:00 PM
10:00 PM
08/10/2023
Honningsvag
01:00 PM
08:00 PM
08/10/2023
North Cape
11:59 PM
11:59 PM
08/11/2023
Alta
09:00 AM
05:00 PM
08/12/2023
Harstad
10:00 AM
08:00 PM
08/13/2023
Bodo
08:00 AM
05:00 PM
08/14/2023
Trondheim
01:30 PM
10:00 PM
08/15/2023
Cruising
—
—
08/16/2023
Cruising
—
—
08/17/2023
Amsterdam
06:00 AM
—
We are excited about this cruise. This booking added to our other cruise bookings provides us with a total of six cruises booked at this time. However, some of the cruises scheduled for 2022 may be canceled due to Covid-19. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
This smaller ship, the Azamara Journey, carries 690 passengers, as opposed to thousands on many other cruise ships. We both enjoy smaller cruise ships much more than the enormous ships on our other preferred cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.
Of these six upcoming cruises, three are on Celebrity Solstice, two on Azamara Onward (690 passengers), and now the one on the Journey. These Azamara cruises will be our first experience with this cruise line. We’ve sailed several times on Celebrity Sol, a passenger capacity of 2850 but have always had great experiences.
It feels good to be booking plans for the future, although we accept the reality that anything can change with cruising during times of the pandemic. We continue to pay attention to how cruising is going throughout the world in light of Covid, but only time will tell.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, September 3, 2020:
These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. Tom at Stonehenge in England in 2014. For more, please click here.
Me, at Stonehenge England in 2014. These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. For more, please click here.
Franks gives us both so much joy every single day.
I just want to mention that I posted this main photo of Frank eating seeds off of the veranda railing, taken several days ago.
But, today when there were no seeds outside this morning and we were both busy inside the house, the door slightly ajar, was enough for him to push it open and come inside.
Tom was in the living room on the sofa working on his laptop, getting ready to go outside for the day. I was putting away folded laundry on the bedroom shelves. Tom yelled out to me, “You have a visitor in the bedroom.”
I looked down to the floor and saw Frank standing there looking at me, “Hey, I want some seeds!”
We only put seeds on the veranda when Frank arrives since if left there, the warthogs and bushbucks come onto the veranda and eat the seeds. They aren’t a good food source for them. We always pick them up and either put them on the table or back into the house.
Frank arrives by himself half of the time and with The Misses the other half, usually three times a day, oddly during human mealtimes. There are other Franks but we can easily tell them from our regular Frank. Also, they seldom stop by, compared to our regular Frank who will start a fight with the others if they dare to attempt to partake.
The noise four or five Franks make during an altercation is earsplitting and often leaves us in stitches. They don’t physically fight. Here is an audio clip of the noise made by francolins in the wild:
We both had a great laugh as Frank then escorted Tom out the door to put his seeds on the veranda floor. Frank then went about voraciously eating his seeds, making his usual mess on the veranda floor. We couldn’t stop laughing.
Last night, after returning from a fun gathering at Flo and JiJi’s home, for some odd reason, I didn’t sleep more than a few hours. I couldn’t shut my brain off and only dozed off a few times. Today, I am exhausted, but I managed a one-hour nap this morning after going back to bed after showering and dressing.
I texted Louise, asking her to have Zef and Vusi skip the housecleaning today. I need to nap more than having the house cleaned. Thus, today’s short and relatively uneventful post is all I can manage.
However, we’ll be back tomorrow with more new photos and information about a brand new booking Tom arranged yesterday that we are both quite excited about. Maybe the time has come that we can start planning for the future.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2020:
This photo is from the year-ago post while in lockdown in Mumbai, India on day #163. The full moon rising as it made its way through the clouds above Yorkeys Knob, Australia in 2015. For more photos, please click here.
This photo was taken from the veranda at Buckler’s Africa Restaurant with several waterbucks in the Crocodile River.
When we booked our flights to the USA a few months ago using a company called, Fareboom, we had nothing but trouble. The various flights along the way were canceled, and we ended up in a scuffle with Fareboom to get our money back. Finally, after a week of back and forth and several pricey phone calls with hours of frustration while on hold for hours, we got it resolved.
Waterbucks, like much other wildlife, huddle close to one another.
This time, a few weeks ago, we found reasonable pricing at the site, eDreams, and alas, we experienced similar frustration. We booked the three flights to Phoenix: Nelspruit to Johannesburg; Johannesburg to Atlanta; Atlanta to Phoenix, and all seemed to be okay. We received confirmation from eDreams and attempted to book our seats.
Waterbucks were lounging in the sand at sunset.
When seats weren’t offered as “available at this time,” we didn’t give it much of a thought. We kept checking back. There have been occasions when we’ve traveled internationally that we haven’t been able to book our seats in advance and had to wait until we arrived at the check-in counter.
After a week passed, we became concerned when we noticed our credit card hadn’t been charged. Last night, at bedtime, I received an email from eDreams stating our flight had been canceled. When checking during this period, we saw their site showed, Your flight is processing.”
More waterbucks on the banks of the river.
During the worst of Covid, everything to do with travel was a mess (and sometimes, still is). Tired and ready to go to sleep, we both decided to wait until morning to rebook using the link on our site for Expedia, a company we’ve trusted and used on many occasions. The only difficulty we’ve had with Expedia was getting a refund from them for a canceled flight (by the airline, not by us), requiring we go to the airline directly to get the refund.
This morning, we rebooked the same flight at the same price, and all went well. We’ve booked our seats for two of the legs of the flights, but we’re never able to book seats in advance for South Africa AirLink, which we’ll fly from Nelspruit to Joburg, a very short flight. These are only obtained at the check-in counter at the time of the flight.
Locals say, “The waterbuck’s behind looks like they just sat on a freshly painted white toilet seat.” Note the two cattle egrets who often hang out with wildlife.
Right now, when verifying our flights with Delta, it appears, the “ticket is processing. We’ll have to keep an eye on this to ensure our flights are booked. Weird, to say the least.
This morning, Tom went to the salon to see about getting in for a haircut, but they were booked, and he’ll return tomorrow morning for his appointment. Tonight, we are heading to Flo and JiJi’s home in Komatipoort for sundowners, which will surely be another fun social evening. Soon, I’ll make an appetizer to bring.
The four of us thoroughly enjoyed the scene before our eyes.
Once again, this morning, the garden was packed with bushbucks looking for “breakfast.” Tom was busy serving them while I showered and dressed for the day. The weather is mild today. Yesterday was 90F, 32C, but today’s high will only be 72F, 22C, for a pleasant balmy day. It’s slightly overcast, with a 0% chance of precipitation, a perfect spring day in the bush.
A gregarious animal, the waterbuck may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. The various groups are the nursery herds, bachelor herds, and territorial males.
It’s hard to believe it’s September 1st already how the time has flown since we arrived last January. By the time we leave in October, we’ll have been here for a total of nine months. Without a doubt, we’ll return at some point. For now, we watch and wait to see what happens with our five booked cruises, scheduled over the next almost 11 months. Once we know more about these cruises, we’ll be able to plan for the future.
Have a pleasant “hump day,” everyone, and be healthy.
Photo from one year ago today, September 1, 2020:
This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #162. This is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. For more photos, please click here.
