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| A gorgeous countryside view as we drove toward Port Isaac from St. Teath (pronounced “breath”). |
Fascinating Fact of the Day About Port Isaac:
“Port Isaac’s pier was constructed during the reign of Henry VIII. A 1937 history said, “…Tudor pier and breakwater have now yielded to a strong new sea-wall balanced by the arm on the opposite side of the cove, and we do not doubt that the fishermen sleep more soundly in their beds on stormy nights.” The village center dated from the 18th and 19th centuries when its prosperity was tied to local coastal freight and fishing. The port handled cargoes of coal, wood, stone, ores, limestone, salt, pottery, and heavy goods, which were conveyed along its narrow streets. Small coastal sailing vessels were built below Roscarrock Hill.
Often, we strive to share the details of our daily lives, however uneventful and straightforward or exciting and heart-pounding. In either case, we share our dreams and hopes for future travel.
Over the past several months, with so much up in the air, the future unknown, our dreams were on hold while we tentatively booked only a few plans for the future. We’d lost so much when we had to cancel many plans losing tens of thousands of dollars in deposits we’d paid and flights we’d booked, most of which was non-refundable.
The tour I longed for the most, the comprehensive safari in Kenya for exquisite luxury tented camps and hotels including Little Governor’s Camp, Giraffe Manor, and the Maasai Mara (where we’d been on safari in 2013), had to be canceled. We were scheduled to leave South Africa on February 15th (when our visas ended), three days after I had the bypass surgery. We weren’t able to go until three months later when I was cleared to fly.
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| Port Isaac’s ocean views are stunning. |
And then, three months later, while attempting to leave the country, accompanied by copies of medical documents and doctor’s letters, we were determined to have immigration accept our reasons for the “overstay.”
Alas, they did not do so, and we were labeled in their system as “undesirables” and told we couldn’t return to the country for five years. However, we had the right to request a waiver based on the circumstances by filing copious documents with their “overstay” department at immigration.
We filed the documents well within the required seven-day period and have inquired numerous times to no avail. It appears our only recourse is to hire a South African immigration lawyer, which we are considering.
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| The Cornwall area is known for its craggy cliffs. |
We’d be less concerned about getting back into South Africa sooner than the five-year ban. Still, we have a cruise booked from Lisbon, Portugal to Capetown, South Africa, embarking on November 10, 2020, a cruise we’ve been excited to experience and for which we could lose the deposit.
This particular cruise with Azamara cruise line has an itinerary we’ll most likely never be able to experience in the future, an itinerary that may eventually be discontinued.
It sails along the western coast of Africa with ports of call to include: Casablanca, Morocco; Agadir, Morocco; Canary Islands; Banjul, Gambia; Abidjan; Ivory Coast; Takoradi, Ghana; Luanda, Angola; Walvis Bay, Namibia; Luderitz, Namibia, and then to Capetown where we plan to stay for three days.
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| Access to the ocean for swimming and launching small boats. |
Of the total 18 months we’ve spent in South Africa, we’d never visited Capetown when we didn’t want to leave Marloth Park any more than we’d have to for an “immigration stamp” allowing us to stay 90 more days.
Twice during this last 15-month stay in Marloth Park, we flew to Zambia and then visited Botswana. Zimbabwe returned to the airport known as Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger to have our visas stamped once again.
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| A typical narrow road in Port Isaac. |
However, our comprehensive May 2019 request for a waiver for the five-year ban and our status as “undesirables” has been ignored. We’ve decided if we don’t receive a result by this November, we’ll contact an immigration attorney in South Africa.
Ah, those who think that a life of world travel is easy are kidding themselves. Sure, a one or two-year adventure may be relatively uneventful, other than the joys of the travel experiences.
But, now, almost seven years later, we accept the harsh reality that life is complicated and may deviate from the desired path over which we choose, regardless of all of our best intentions.
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| A typical narrow road in Port Isaac. |
In the interim, we may have had to refocus our activities to accommodate my “new normal,” but our hearts and spirits stay strong and motivated to continue.
Please continue with us…
Photo from one year ago today, September 13, 2018:
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| This could be two females with this male lion or a female and a young male whose mane has yet to develop. There’s a male behind the male in front. For more photos, please click here. |