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| Hesborn, our houseman in Kenya, with his machete preparing to cut this thick stringy exterior off of the coconut before releasing the stringy brown interior that we’ve seen for sale at the grocery store. He willingly cut these for us whenever we requested. |
Today’s photos are from the post in 2013, while we lived in Diani Beach, Kenya, for three months. For more details from that post, please click here.
This morning I ventured downstairs to the reception desk to pay our food bill for the past 12 days (we’d already paid for the hotel for this period using priority points from Hotels.com on our site) and allow the hotel to put a hold on our credit card for the following number of days we have booked until October 3.
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| At dusk, Tom shot this Kenya sky. Rather impressive for the infrequent photographer. |
You’d think after living here for almost six months. They would dispense with the “hold” and charge our card for actual charges when it was time to pay again. I suppose they have rules and regulations preventing them from doing it any other way.
With little to no future travel booked, we have plenty of room on our credit cards which all have been at a zero balance due to paying them off quickly when the new hotel charges are posted. I guess it doesn’t matter since we don’t pay interest on holds, nor do we have to pay the amount of the delay.
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| In Kenya, I pulled up a chair close to the open wrought iron weaving (to keep us safe from the monkeys or other larger animals) surrounding our outdoor living room to take photos of the many birds singing in the yard. Instead, I could not capture many birds in my impatience, focusing on items that caught my attention, such as these branches in the shadows. |
Holds are there for security for the hotel that we don’t bail in the middle of the night without paying. That’s unlikely, let alone bailing at all, after spending the current bill. The security here is tight, not only for potential thieves who might try to escape without paying but to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.
Speaking of credit cards, in July, one of Tom’s card numbers was stolen while we’ve been in lockdown in India for an unauthorized purchase in the US. The credit card was immediately canceled, and a new one was mailed to us in mid-July via FedEx. Also, in July, we ordered a package from our mailing service that included our new second passports, among other much-needed items. Neither of these two packages has yet to arrive, although they arrived in India a few days after they were sent. They are just sitting in Delhi.
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| The red in the background is a bunch of flowers on the bush behind this palm. |
We’ve called FedEx. We’ve emailed FedEx. Each time, they say they are working on it. I am going to call again tomorrow, but now I need to get “mean.” I don’t particularly appreciate threatening and being forceful, but I can do this while staying calm, whereas Tom would flip his lid. Thumbing one’s lid never works.
We need these items. We need to receive these items before we leave here, or we’re in big trouble. We knew it could take four to six weeks to receive the packages but two months is ridiculous. We’ve often had such problems receiving boxes in various countries in the past and, in the future, we will try to figure out ways to avoid the necessity of receiving packages from the US, if possible.
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| The tall pointed thatched roof of the house next door to us. |
As for my recent change in diet, eliminating the carbs in my dinner each night, I am managing without the carb-laden meals instead of eating smaller portions of protein and healthy fats, such as eggs, salmon, and cheese. It will take quite a while for me to reap the benefits of a much lower-carb diet, potentially as long as two to three months. In the interim, I am experiencing what they call the “keto flu,” when your body starts burning its fat stores for fuel instead of those derived from card-laden foods.
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| The boisterous female of the yellow bird, the African Golden Weaver, is less colorful. They are elusive and sensitive to movement, making photo-taking a near impossibility for a novice like me. She seeks the bright yellow male capable of building a suitable nest. She landed in our outdoor living room, enabling me to get this crooked shot. |
It was this way of eating nine years ago that eliminated the pain I’d been suffering for years. Now, I am hoping my strict return to this manner of eating will serve me well once again. As a result of the diet change, the “keto flu” leaves me sluggish with a lack of energy. This will pass within a few weeks. After all, I have all the time in the world.
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| This coconut meat Hesborn prepared for us was exceptional, the best I’ve had. What a treat! Tom has no interest in eating this without sugar, so he passed it up. |
As hard as it’s been to continue walking right now, every 30 minutes, I force myself to get up and get out into the corridor to walk for yet another ½ mile until I reach 5 miles per day (8 km). With convention guests still here, we can walk only a short portion of the corridor (Tom walks, too). Hopefully, soon we’ll have access to the entire passage making the walks less boring.
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| As we were sitting in our outdoor living room that morning while writing, seven goats jumped over their stone wall behind our yard, directly into our yard only a few feet from us. They decided to dine on the lush leaves of the hibiscus bushes in our yard. |
I am still working on the edits/corrections for all past posts. Today, I’m on page #128 or #149 (I’m working backward. There are 20 posts per page), which means I’ll be done in approximately four months, 28 days. I hope by then, I’ll be finishing this considerable project from some other location. Good grief!
Photo from one year ago today, September 13, 2019:
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| A gorgeous countryside view as we drove toward Port Isaac from St. Teath (pronounced “breath”). For more photos, please click here. |