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| When visitors first come to Africa, they often confuse cheetahs and leopards. Cheetahs are easily recognized by the dark “tears” coming down their faces. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Yesterday afternoon, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to see a giraffe in our garden. He took off quickly when he saw us, so this was the best photo I could take. |
Thank goodness we have a JoJo tank in our garden that provides water from a tall tank and pump. Otherwise, this would be our second day without water. It’s unfortunate for those who don’t have a tank and must use bottled water for all their needs over these past few days.
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| For new visitors, male lions have the big mane surrounding their faces, whereas the females do not, as shown in the photo we took in Kruger. |
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| Two females and one male enjoying the shade under a tree in hot weather. |
Of course, we’re grateful for the tank, and it does provide heated (not drinkable) water for anything we need. Tom goes outside to turn it off when we go to bed. It makes a loud motor sound every few minutes and is located close to the bedroom window. It’s loud enough it would keep us awake.
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| I believe this is a bateleur we spotted in Kruger. |
The aircon makes various loud noises throughout the night, but we’ve had plenty of time to become accustomed to these sounds, and they no longer awaken us during the night. Speaking of awakening during the night…oh, I had a rough night last night.
I was awake from shortly after midnight until 4:30 am and finally dozed off, awakening every half hour or so until I finally gave up and got up. I suppose I can blame my thoughts on keeping me awake. I couldn’t seem to shut off my brain while thinking about the upcoming long travel day with three flights and two layovers.
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| Last October, Tom and I were at Aamazing River View when friends Lois and Tom visited for three weeks. |
I also thought about our immigration issue and if we’ll have trouble exiting the country when we never got a response from the immigration department regarding our requested extension. Most likely, we’ll have to pay a stiff fine if they won’t allow our accompanying documents to support the reasons for overstaying.
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| Lois and Tom, friends from the US who came to visit us for three weeks last October. We had a fantastic time when they called and stayed with us. We hear from them often. |
Then, of course, I was thinking about the issue of further treatment on my leg when we get to Ireland. After considerable research, it appears there are no wound facilities within a 90-minute drive from where we’ll be living in Connemara. The closest such clinic is in Galway, and we’ll have to make the drive every other day for treatment which could last for a few more months.
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| Three elephants on the river. |
The doctor says the wound is too severe for us to handle it on our own. Only the next few days will determine if there is even a remote possibility we could take the care of the wound on our own if, based on some miracle, it’s improved since Friday, which I doubt.
I want to be optimistic enough to say these three scenarios don’t worry me, and I can sleep like a baby. Still, until we have the three more doctor appointments here in the days before we depart and finally arrive in Ireland, our minds won’t be at ease. That’s the way it is.
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| Lilies are beginning to bloom in the river. |
Yesterday, hobbling about the bedroom, I packed all of my clothing from the drawers and closet into my one large suitcase. There still is plenty of additional packing to tackle, but I feel I have a good handle on the most challenging part, my clothing.
Shortly after I was done, we had two surprise visitors, Sonja and Rob, the owners of this house. It was delightful talking to them and sharing stories of beautiful experiences we’ve had in their lovely home and garden.
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| Lounging lion laying low… |
As renters for the past 15 months, we had plenty to share as they did as well for their lives in Africa, living in the bordering country of Mozambique. We thanked them profusely for letting us stay so long and especially for designing the perfect veranda for wildlife viewing.
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| Hyenas are necessarily handsome-looking dogs but are fun to see in Kruger. |
Most homes in Marloth Park have ground-level verandas, and some require walking up a flight of stairs or two to get a glimpse of the wildlife. It has been perfect here, a scenario that served us well.
Today, I’ll do a little more packing of only a few items in the cupboards we can take with us. After all the unexpected expenses we’ve incurred as a result of the surgeries, there’s no way we’re willing to pay for overweight luggage by taking food products with us.
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| Happy hippos… |
It’s hard to believe that we’ll be settling into our new home in Ireland a week from today. Although we have these various items on our minds that we must deal with over the following months, we’re hopeful for the quality time we’ll spend reveling in the peaceful and exquisite environment of Connemara, Ireland.
May your day be spent reveling in your surroundings wherever you may be.
Photo from one year ago today, May 5, 2018:
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| This gorgeous feta, onion, and lettuce salad served by Louise and Danie was enhanced with edible flowers, indicative of the attention to detail and creativity these two fine hosts possessed when we joined them for dinner at their home. For more photos, please click here. |