Another fabulous evening on the river with friends…

Note; Please excuse our lack of clarity in today’s photos, taken at dusk and from quite a distance.

With one delightful social event after another, we are reeling from the flurry of activity over these past many weeks. Tonight will be one more enjoyable event with dinner at dear friends Kathy and Don’s home, overlooking the Crocodile River. Soon, they will be leaving to return to their other home in Hawaii. We will miss them.

Many of our friends leave the bush for the holiday season, partly due to other commitments and partly due to avoidance of the heat of the upcoming summer. For some, they leave due to a plan they’ve made to spend many months here and then spend the remainder of the year in their other homes, often located in equally enticing areas.

We’re content we don’t have multiple houses in various locations, leaving us free of concern over upkeep and expenses necessary to maintain another home elsewhere. We love the fact that we don’t have the expense and maintenance of one home anywhere.

Renting holiday homes that include maintenance, utilities, and WiFi costs is a must for us. With nary a thought about how much our utility bills, property taxes, and upkeep costs will be, make our lives all the easier. Oddly, we don’t miss the feeling of being rooted in one location. We never give it a thought.

We realize this life is not for everyone. The only couple we’ve met in years that live like us is Carrie and Jim, who joined us at our house for sundowners over a week ago. After they return from a surprise event for Carrie’s birthday, we’ll be getting together again, meeting at Two Trees on the Crocodile River. The four of us have so many stories to share.

Last evening, we joined Louise and Danie and eight of their family members at the chalet they rented at resort Ngwenya for a week. We were honored to be included for a “family night” and have the opportunity to meet two more of Danie’s grown kids. They were all wonderful. I’d baked two low-carb cheese pies to bring, and they served a wide array of delicious foods and treats.

Not only was it fantastic to commiserate with all of them, all of whom live in South Africa, most from Cape Town. They were all curious about our way of eating, our time spent in lockdown in India, and our overall world travels. They flattered us when saying they hope to travel someday, like us, and of course, we encouraged them to do so if they could.

When we left, Louise loaded our chill box with a loaf of homemade bread and a popular South African dessert, Brandy Tart, both of which Tom loves and will savor over the next several days.

This morning Tom had the Brandy Tart with his coffee. South African’s love these types of desserts, anything with doughy tarts covered in a caramel-type custard sauce. It’s quite the go-to dessert in South Africa. Of course, I’ve never tasted it, but Tom said it was fantastic this morning with his coffee.

We were fortunate to take some good hippo photos last night from the veranda on their place in Ngwenya. The views from the veranda were outrageous!

This afternoon is easy peasy. It is hot again today but only with a high of 90F, 32C. We can easily handle that without even noticing. It’s funny how we’ve adapted to the hot weather as it’s gradually heated up. Next month and January will be another story.

Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.

Photo from one year ago today, November 11, 2020:

Tom’s beautiful bird photo, a small Green Parrot in Costa Rica in 2017. This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day # 233. For more photos, please click here.