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| A bunch of baby monkeys having fun.
Each day we’ve notice changes around us. After days of pelting rain, the trees, the flowers and the plants are thriving. Of course, the rain brings out the creepy crawly things causing us to keep a watchful eye inside our shoes, in our stack of clothes in the closet shelves, on the floor in the hallway, in the bedrooms and the biggest target, the bathroom.
Yesterday morning, Tom was up before me. Lying in bed I heard a tremendous amount of shuffling outside the bedroom door which we keep closed at all times. As it turned out, the moment he stepped outside the bedroom door, he spotted a huge black millipede, comparable to a photo we’d posted in our first week after arriving in Kenya.
Although relatively harmless, they can leave an annoying itch if they come in contact with one’s skin. He trapped it under a small trashcan leaving it near the gate for Hesborn to collect. Later, when Hesborn arrived, he giggled when he saw the familiar huge black “curly q” disposing of it for us.
My major fear of creatures in Diani Beach is that darned 46 legged poisonous centipede and the enormous buzzing black hornet that visits us several times each day.
I’d read online (torturing myself) that the carnivorous attack of humans by this centipede causes a toxic reaction similar to a wasp, hornet or bee sting, especially so for the allergic.
As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, Tom and I are both allergic to bees. We keep our EpiPens handy for such a dreaded occasion. Hans showed us a spot on his ribcage where he’d be bitten a few years ago, leaving an ugly permanent reddish bump, the size of a dime. He refused to go into graphic details of being attacked. However, he did reveal it happened in bed while he was sleeping. That, is our fear, rational and founded in facts, not based on an illogical state of mind.
Actually, the only times we think about it, is upon getting in and out of bed onto the dark stone floors, during the night or in the morning. Tom never gets up during the night and now, I’ve stopped drinking liquids after 7:00 pm, no longer getting up either. That was tremendous motivation!
Ah, but the beautiful things that surround us, the animals, the vegetation. We’ll never tire of the gifts of God and Mother Nature. In only 10 days we’ll be going on safari to finally experience the magnitude of these gifts on a much larger scale.
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| Apparently, most varieties of palm trees and plants flower and produce some type of pods within the center. Searching online I couldn’t find this specific type of palm plant in the gardens. This one is in the beginning stages of “flowering.” |
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| This palm has “flowered” revealing its unbelievable interior. A previously closed pod apparently, an animal tore this open to dine on its colorful interior. |
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| These are the spikey point on the above flowering palm. While attempting to get a good shot of the red interior, one of these points stuck my finger, leaving a droplet of blood. This tiny “sting” hurt for several hours, later to completely disappear. Most likely, given Nature’s brilliant strategies, these spikey points are intended to deter creatures from attempting to devour its luscious interior pod. It appears that in this case, the spikes were not enough of a deterrent. |
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| This papaya tree is tall, perhaps 12 feet off the ground. The tough exterior may be a deterrent for animal consumption, as is the case for the many coconut trees that surround us. Its hard enough for us humans to open a coconut, even using a machete. |
Hans explained that he had several mango trees removed in order to keep the monkey population under control on the property surrounding our two houses. Often, we surmise that monkeys are partial to bananas. However, as shown below in the photo, bananas and papayas stay untouched in the yard.
Today will be a lazy day with little to tackle other than looking for a house for next year in England which has proven challenging thus far. Prices are outrageous when located close to water or a town, both of which we’d like.
Tom will spend an hour or so loading more gigabytes to the mobile hotspot. The company, Safaricom, provides a small portion of free data time from 10:00 pm until 10:00 am if used in the first two weeks of purchasing the scratch off SIM reloading cards.
Last night we set up my laptop in the guest bedroom to download TV shows utilizing the free gigs. Its a slow process but left functioning overnight, its no big deal.
In most cases 3 one hour shows eats up 1 gig, preventing us from ever using XCOM Global’s MiFi which limits our usage to 150 megabytes a day, a puny amount for our substantial usage.
To our delight, we downloaded Season 4, Episode 1 of the UK version of Downton Abbey which won’t be available in the US until January.
Tonight, sitting on the bamboo sofa in our outdoor living room, wearing our BugsAway clothing, well coated with repellent, snacking on some of the finest nuts we’ve had so far, we’ll watch the show. Who’s to complain?
I love your itinerary and the 2 cruises you planned. We did one going to Iceland and loved it. On Jan 4, 2014, we are going on a 14 day cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale aboard the Crown Princess and cruising around the Caribbean. We have done this many times but love the beauty of the Caribbean. Wish you and Tom could join us but I know you are fully booked up.
As usual, your post today was very interesting. To be able to watch the monkeys laying around and playing, must have been very entertaining. And the huge raindrops, the beautiful palm trees, and the view from your outdoor living room were all really fun to see. It was surprising to hear that the monkeys are interested in the mango trees. Do they really eat the mangoes? That was a fantastic shot you took of the inside of the palm tree, how did you do that?
That was well put about having to endure the inconveniences to enjoy the beauty of where you now live.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Oh, and thanks for the Birthday wishes, it was a fun day.
Pat and Dan
Pat, wouldn't it be great if we could go on the same cruise? Maybe someday down the road. We enjoyed cruising the Caribbean, doing it more then once in our fist batch of cruises, sailing a different route each time. Its wonderful that you and Dan are going on another cruise. We love cruising and look forward to going again, as I'm sure you both are doing now.
Yes, monkeys do eat mangoes so we don't see many left on trees. So glad you liked the photo of the inside of the palm/cactus tree. Hans held it open for me to shoot the photo but I put my hand up to further assist and that's when it "stung" me.
Hopefully, today, we'll get more photos to share when I write later today.
Have a wonderful day and upcoming weekend. Happy to hear you enjoyed your birthday!
Warmest regards,
Jess & Tom