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Exciting new vacation home location…Photos and more..

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Its easy for us to imagine how much we’ll enjoy time outdoors at our new three month booking in Costa Rica while on our way to South America after visiting family and friends in the US.

Twenty one months from now may seem like an eternity to some. For us, its a hop, skip and jump along the way in our world travels. Otherwise, we may not have booked this new vacation property as quickly as we did, shortly after it hit the vacation home market.

Based on its beauty and fair pricing, we figured it would be snapped up quickly when at times we’ve noticed, especially lovely vacation listings booked as far out as two years in advance in popular locations.

Another view of the pool and veranda.

In late May 2017, we’ll arrive in the US (18 months from now), arriving by cruise ship to Seattle, Washington where we’ll rent a car to make our way across the northern part of the US, across Yellowstone National Park, which Tom has yet to see. (I can’t wait to see his face when we drive through this amazing area, my personal favorite US location).

We’ll continue on making our way to Minnesota, where three of our adult children, their spouses, and our six grandchildren reside along with most of Tom’s siblings, other family members, and many of our friends. It will be a busy period and we’re considering accommodations for the weeks we’ll spend in Minnesota. 

We’ll certainly enjoy the hot tub on a moonlit night!

After leaving Minnesota, we’ll fly to Nevada, to visit eldest son Richard in Henderson and eldest sister Susan in Las Vegas, where we’ll stay for another week. As Nevada residents, we’ll renew our driver’s licenses and take care of any “business” matters best handled in person. Then, we’re off again.

We’d hoped for an Alaskan cruise at this juncture, but listings haven’t been posted this far in advance. We’ll see if it’s a possibility in the near future.

The spacious, comfortable living room overlooking the pool.

Hovering in our minds, knowing the above trip to the US is definitely on the itinerary, we’ve been considering possible plans when we’ll leave the US, no later than August 1, 2017. Serendipity. Safari luck. It all comes into play during our world journey.

Whether it’s good luck or fortuitous, we always grateful for the opportunities as they enter our lives.  n part, we always feel we play a role in “safari luck” in that our assertiveness and determination play a role in “being in the right place at the right time.”

Most likely, we won’t use this formal dining room, instead dining outdoors or at the granite kitchen counter as shown in this photo.  The property also includes an outdoor kitchen.

Thus, is the case of our newly booked vacation home with a deposit paid this morning for August 1, 2017, through October 31, 2017 (the day of our five year travel anniversary). We’re renting an exquisite house in Costa Rica, on our way to South America from the US.

How this property materialized is the magical part. While living in Kauai for four months, each month we attended friend Richard’s Full Moon Parties. At the second such delightful party, we met a lovely couple, Bev and Sam with whom we had an instant connection. They’ve traveled the world extensively with many exciting stories to share. 

One of two master bedrooms in the three-bedroom house.

Later, they invited us to their breathtaking home, located in a former botanical garden, for “movie night” in their outdoor “screening room” in a separate building on their grounds established as a technologically advanced movie theatre. 

On another occasion, they invited us to dinner at their home when sister Julie was visiting and we had another enjoyable evening with Bev and Sam. After we left Kauai, we’ve stayed in touch by email occasionally sharing tidbits about our lives and travels. 

Click here for link one and link two to Bev and Sam’s gorgeous home in Kauai for which we included two day’s posts.

The huge en suite master bath with large shower, soaking tub, double sinks and bidet.

From these several interactions with Bev and Sam, a friendship was born that we’ll always treasure, along with many others with whom we’d become close during that special, highly social four month period in Kauai.

Before we left Kauai, Bev and Sam had mentioned their recent purchase of another home in Costa Rica. We were happy for them in their obvious enthusiasm and asked them to send us photos when they could, allowing us to revel along with them in their excitement. Never did we think, for a moment, that their new home in Costa Rica would impact our lives of travel. 

A few weeks ago, I sent Bev an email to say hello. While chatting back and forth, she explained they’d recently listed their new home in Costa Rica on vacation rental site VRBO, (owned by HomeAway, the company we most often use for booking vacation rentals). 

View from the veranda to the valley below.  We don’t mind not having an ocean view on this occasion.

As we opened the link to their new home in Costa Rica, we did so as friends sharing in their joy in reviewing the listing, never thinking it would apply to us. Knowing their fine taste and the magnificence of their home in Kauai, it wasn’t even on our radar as remotely within our budgeted price range.

Once we saw the photos, we fell in love with the property; the location, the house and the grounds, each possessing unique qualities seldom found in vacation homes within a manageable price range.

Click here for the pricing and detailed listing for the home in Costa Rica on VRBO.

Expressing our interest in the property to Bev and Sam while curious if somehow it could work for us, they kindly proposed a three-month price for us that fits exactly into our range of affordability. 

As of early this morning, we paid the deposit and signed the agreement online for our negotiated price and entered the deposit with the management company they’ve employed to handle such matters. Its a “done deal.” We couldn’t be more thrilled to have this over-the-top property as our home for a full three months after leaving the US while as we begin our segue to South America.

The gorgeous grounds are professionally maintained.

It’s a reasonable flight from Las Vegas which after checking online shouldn’t be too difficult. Although the rental period is for 92 days, the visa stamp provided ton US citizens at the airport is 90 days. We’ll ask for the extra two days at the immigration counter at the airport and if unable to receive it, we’ll depart two days earlier. Our rental agreement is based on the month, not a daily rate.

We’re grateful to Bev and Sam for making this work for us, as well as excited to be able to spend three months in this special property, treating their home with the same care as we always do for any vacation rental we’ve rented throughout the world.

Costa Rica, known for its abundant wildlife and vegetation particularly appeals to our senses. Able to speak a little Spanish and definitely able to read the written word, it will be relatively easy communicating while there and later in South America. 

Today, we share a few of the photos of this fabulous home and will include many more once we arrive in Costa Rica. Also, today we’re updating our itinerary and budget to include this fine property. With several gaps to fill in our upcoming schedule, our work is cut out for us as always, an aspect of our travels we both find interesting and fun.

Enjoy the day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 4, 2014:

As the sun began to set, Tom wandered out to the jetty in front of our condo in Maui. With almost a month remaining on the island before departing for the Big Island, we leisurely enjoyed each day in Maui. For more details, please click here.

Obrigada, Gina, for a memorable day, seeing next year’s vacation home!…What a pleasure!

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View from the Garden Café this morning as we waited to disembark in Madeira, Portugal.
Gina and I in the kitchen. We can’t wait to sit on the barstools drinking coffee and enjoying the view of the sea from almost every room.
Another view of the wraparound veranda.
The drive as we left the house in the Riberia Brava area.
We entered one narrow tunnel after another on our drive around the island.

Today, reminded us why we chose to travel the world. Enmeshed in another culture while driving through the winding mountainous roads of the quaint villages of Madeira with expansive views of the ocean around us, we felt enriched and in awe.

Gina, owner of the home we’re renting next year was excited to show us the house.The 20 minute drive on the winding mountainous road was breathtaking.
The winding barely traveled road from the house was easy to navigate.
Gina said we are welcome to pick the fresh organic vegetables daily from the garden her fathers tends to each day. He’ll also deliver free range chickens to our door.

Our future home for almost three months beginning May 15, 2014, we looked at this port of call with different eyes than one would look on an excursion from the ship.

Another view of the garden from our future home.

Comfortable living room with leather sofa, WiFi, TV with some US stations, sound system and extraordinary view will make us feel right at home.

Cozy working fireplace in living room.  Unlikely, that we’ll use it during the spring and warm summer.

Gina, owner of our future home, albeit short term, met us promptly at the pier welcoming us in broken English with universal hugs while giddy with enthusiasm.  Warmth and charm exuded from Gina in a manner that captured our hearts as we all chatted on endlessly while listening intently to decipher the meaning of her words.

The well appointed kitchen had everything we need, including a bottle of fine red wine Gina will save for us.
The kitchen was well equipped with dinnerware, pots and pans, serving pieces, wine and beverage glasses along with many utensils.  Gina lives across the street and offered to bring us anything else we may need.  Of course, we’ll invite her and her husband Carlos for dinner. Carlos speaks no English, but perhaps by then, we’ll speak a little Portuguese.
Nook area off the dining room.

Somehow, we managed to communicate well enough to enjoy the hours we spent together in and out of her Citroen, touring the 35 mile long island, crossing its many bridges, traveling through its multiple narrow tunnels, all the while reveling in the unique design of its homes and buildings, entrenched in rich history and tradition.

Didn’t see too many of these in the US, although quite common in other countries. The home has three full bathrooms. Perhaps, I will select one exclusively for me, the one with the Jacuzzi!
Oversized bath with Jacuzzi. 
With three bedrooms, either of two could be the master with two en suite bathrooms as well as a third guest bathroom.
All areas are modern and well equipped.

As we maneuvered through the narrow winding roads on a 20 minutes drive, Gina took us to see “your house” as she frequently referred to the awe inspiring home we’ll be renting next year. 

Plenty of room for guests!
View from the veranda.
Third bedroom with king bed, private veranda and Jacuzzi bath.

Pulling into the tiny driveway, she steered us to the wooden front door to reveal the home exactly as it had been pictured on the rental website, that in person, illustrated a warmth commensurate with her charming demeanor. 

Intriguing stairway to second level.
Every turn presented an interesting view, The opposite side of the island was less desirable with cloudy and rainy weather.
The colorful narrow roads held one interesting view after another.
We’ll never tire of the quaint neighborhoods.
An outdoor restaurant in Funchal, known for its fresh local seafood was recommended by Gina.
We walked along the boardwalk in the town of Capanario, near “our house” as described by Gina.
More narrow roads, lined with upscale homes on the road to Funchal.
Many of the road were one-way and driving was on the US standard on the right side of the road.  There were many round-abouts, tunnels and bridges throughout the island.
The road, as we neared the Port of Funchal.
Our future home.  Perfect for us. I wanted to move in today, but we cheerfully tucked it away for yet a year to come with so much to anticipate in the interim;  a cruise to Dubai including a 13 night stay, a Mediterranean cruise, two to three month stays in homes in Tuscany, Kenya, South Africa and Morocco, all before we return to Madeira.
Colorful buses and tourist vehicles busily moved through traffic.

Ah, please pinch me.  Tom, on the other hand, easily settles into the reality of our lives on the move, while I engage in childlike wonder at the prospect of it all.  Together, we make a good pair of world travelers, filling in the blanks for one another while tempering the excitement to a manageable level.

View of our awaiting ship, the Norwegian Epic. 

Yes, obrigada, Madiera, for welcoming us to your little piece of the world.  Next year, we’ll share our stories with our loyal readers from all over the world. Obrigada dear readers, for sharing this journey with us.

Back to our current home, the Norwegian Epic, for seven more nights.Then, one night in a hotel in Barcelona. Then on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
For more information on this wonderful vacation home, please visit Gina at her Facebook page.  She’s quick to respond to email inquiries and uses Google Translate for English translations.

Our Las Vegas vacation home! Photos included…

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After searching the various vacation home websites for several hours, we found this house in the Green Valley Ranch area in Henderson Nevada, a highly desirable location, about 20 minutes (10.5 miles) to the Las Vegas strip and about 10 minutes (5.6 miles) to the airport.  

Based on requesting a rental for this prime season dates, December 21 to December 28, 2012 (our “vacation within a vacation” since we’ll still have the Scottsdale condo, soon to be posted), we didn’t make any effort to negotiate the price.

Why did we choose a vacation home as opposed to a hotel room on the strip? Cost was the major motivator.  Also, its more conveniently located to our family and friends, great shopping at The District (.4 miles), restaurants and theaters, all of which we will particularly enjoy during the holiday week.   

There were few affordable homes available in this prime area during the holiday week due to the fact that many owners preferring to spend their holidays in their own vacation property. 

Although not as exciting as many of our future rentals, this house will serve our needs, provide room for our visiting family members and keep us from the necessity of dining in restaurants each day.

Here are the estimated costs for one week, house verses hotel, assuming the nightly rates are the same:
     Vacation Home____                    __________Hotel___________
Rent:            $1,330.00                   Rate:                      $1,330.00
Groceries:          600.00                   Hotel Taxes & Tips:       332.50
Dining Out:        275.00                   Valet Parking:               280.00

Total:          $2,205.00                   Dining, Tax, Tips:       1,820.00
                                                      Total:                    $3,762.50   

Total Potential Savings:      $1,557.50  

Having calculated dining out for two dinners for the two of us, we factored in the cost of groceries for five of us (or more) including the additional expense of Christmas Eve (traditionally, steak and lobster) and a special (yet to be determined) Christmas Day dinner.

Yes, there is the ease of staying in a hotel with the prospect of feeling pampered. As we plan for the future, our desire to be pampered has “wafted” away as we look forward to our world travels over the next number of years.  

Both Tom and I have thoroughly enjoyed pampering one another over these many years together and this, I assure you, we’ll continue to do so wherever we’ll live.

Did I mention the $1000’s we’ll save without easy access to the gambling tables and slot machines???

Charming House with Pool, Spa, Bbq, Wireless InternetGreen Valley, Henderson, Nevada Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 301335http://www.vrbo.com/301335

Pool and SpaPool and spa
Master bedroom
Living room
Living room
Casual spot
First bedroom
2nd Living room
2nd Living room
3rd bedroom
3rd bedroom
Pool Table
Pool Table
Kitchen
Kitchen
Living room
Living room

Great service by Marriott and others…Tipping in today’s world…

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Billowing cloud view from the Madeira house, overlooking the sea.

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from a Marriott manager asking if we needed anything during our extended 70-night stay at this Residence Inn. If we think of something, we’ll let her know. She also asked why we are staying so long, requiring a lengthy explanation.

It made me realize why we like Marriott hotels so much. After all, we spent ten months in lockdown in Mumbai, India, during the pandemic and have stayed at many other Marriotts worldwide, never disappointed by the facility or the quality of the service. We are members of their rewards program, Marriott Bonvoy, and it was through that program that we got a better price for this current two-month stay.

Overall, we’ve had considerable success with quality service from all the rewards programs we use for credit cards, cars, vacation homes, and hotels. Even as Costco Premium members, we recently received a check for almost $200 for Tom’s upcoming hearing aid purchase.

Another recent example is that we used some reward points on a credit card to pay for the expensive hotel in Milwaukee this past weekend. During those times, it’s easier to digest paying premium rates using rewards points when few other options are available.

Speaking of good service, overall, we’ve found that service in the US has been excellent in most situations. That’s not to say that the service in other countries is inferior. It is not. We’ve had excellent service throughout the world from country to country, but we’ve noticed a variance in the expectation of servers receiving tips.

We have no problem tipping for good service. We consider ourselves good tippers, but we investigate what tipping customs and expectations are before heading to a new country. In Australia, for example, service people are paid a fair wage. Early on, when we embarked on numerous cruises in Australia, Tom attempted to tip the baggage handlers at the cruise terminal. In each case, they refused the tips, saying, “Sir, in our country, we make a living wage and don’t accept service tips.”

We spent two years in the South Pacific and found this true throughout Australia, including Tasmania (part of Australia) and New Zealand. In some tropical islands, the expectation for tips was comparable to the US, especially when wages were low in many island nations. We understood and complied accordingly. Then again, prices were low in many venues, whereas prices are higher overall in Australia.

In the past five months in the US, we’ve observed that tips are not only expected but often added to the bill with suggestions for the amount of tips based on the bill. But, on bills in some restaurants, we’ve also observed add-ons for the following:

  1. Credit card use fees as much as 3.5% of the total or more
  2. Health insurance and employee welfare as much as 3.5%
  3. Employee retention fees as high as 3.5%
  4. Tips are expected on the tax on top of the the basic food and drink items

We don’t calculate the tip amount on these extras. We only tip a percentage for the food and beverage amount, not these add-ons, nor do we tip on the sales tax or VAT. For instance, when dining in Minneapolis and other cities, there are city taxes, stadium taxes, and others. We don’t tip on top of these amounts. Why pay a percentage twice?

We may seem tightwads, but living on a fixed income that allows very little for cost of living increases with the current inflation rate, we must consider what works best for us. Of course, if one is wealthy and money is no object, they may never question this process.

This is not to say we don’t appreciate excellent service for food and beverage and the hard work of many servers throughout many fields of endeavor. We tip generously when the service is good, but only, as mentioned, for the service, food, and beverages provided to us.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, June 18, 2014:

When we went for a walk in Campanario, Madeira, we took this photo of the back of our holiday home. It was a fantastic home. For more photos, please click here.

Loving the new place for several reasons…Booking for the future

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Fresh seafood was available in a market in Madeira.

There’s no doubt we enjoyed Hyatt Place during several stays over the past years when we came to Minnesota to visit. The drawbacks were the lack of laundry facilities, the tiny bathroom, and a limited kitchen area with only a small refrigerator but no microwave. This resulted in us dining out most nights since few ready-made options suited us, adding to the cost of staying there. Management, maid service, and staff were excellent.

Also, the included breakfast at Hyatt was marginal, at best, with only processed eggs and no other options for me other than to eat a few hard-boiled eggs. Tom liked the donut holes. Plus, we liked the easy access to our streaming services with the smart TV with casting for all streaming services

Now, here at Residence Inn by Marriott, after only 48 hours, we’ve been pleased with several features that appeal to us, including:

  1. Easy-to-use laundry facility close to our room.
  2. We’ve seen an excellent breakfast with new offerings daily, which we’ve enjoyed over the past two mornings.
  3. Massive bathroom with walk-in shower.
  4. A coffee table is in front of the sofa, which is ideal for keeping our feet up, which is vital for me right now when my feet swell by the end of the day.
  5. Full kitchen with all amenities.

Drawbacks to Residence Inn: (None of which is a big issue)

  1. A queen-sized bed as opposed to a king at the Hyatt. Only king beds are located in units on the second floor, accessible only by stairs, which is unsuitable for me.
  2. There are no drawers or storage space other than a tiny closet. We’ve left our belongings in the shared large suitcase on a luggage rack for easy access.
  3. Smart TV only has Prime and Netflix, not Hulu or Paramount+. Instead, we have to hook up the other streaming services to our laptops using our HDMI cord.
  4. We must walk outdoors to the reception desk, breakfast kitchen, and laundry facilities. It’s been raining a lot lately.

Otherwise, we are happy with this facility, and only moments ago, we booked it for another 28 nights for when we return from Milwaukee after Sister Beth’s Jubilee celebrating her 70 years as a nun. The booking dates will be June 16 to July 14. While we’re here during the newly booked period, we’ll decide if we’ll stay for the final month before we head to Cleveland Clinic in August and book it accordingly.

When we booked Residence Inn months ago, we got a special rate of $84 a night. With summer here and hotel rates soaring, we had to commit to $134 a night for 28 nights, plus tax, for a total of $4092, which translates to $146 a night, with taxes. We used a credit we had an Expedia/Hotels/VRBO of $135 to get the price down a little.

This is more than we usually pay for long-term hotel stays, but there weren’t any affordable vacation homes or other hotels as nice as this in this convenient location. Also, we could book the next period for fully refundable rates if we have to leave up to three days before the commencement of the booking. That’s particularly important to us right now.

Last night, we had a good time at Billy’s Bar and Grill in Anoka and returned to the hotel in time to watch the basketball game with the Texas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves. Sadly, Minnesota lost, but it was fun to watch the game. We had a good night’s sleep and awoke refreshed and ready for a new day.

Soon, we’ll head to Cub Supermarket for groceries for the upcoming week. We’ll make our first dinner tonight since we left Apache Junction on May 1.

We’ll be back with you soon.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, May 25, 2014:

Would that I could! Pastries for sale in Madeira. Oh, how we find comfort and pleasure in such treats! It’s funny that eggs are also sold in this case. For more photos, please click here.

Still no definitive answers due to the holiday weekend in the US…

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Lovely elephant mom and baby. What a sight to behold!

We are still working on two vacation homes in two different states. It usually takes a few days to wrap up a rental, get questions answered, work on pricing, and ensure it has everything we need. Either of these two scenarios will be satisfactory to us but certainly have a bearing on where we’ll fly on December 14, so we’ve yet to book the flight.

Since we decided to fly out of Guayaquil instead of Manta, there are many more options, some with travel times of around ten hours, which works for us. We are so used to long travel times that comparatively ten hours is a piece of cake. Actually, Ecuador isn’t that far from the US, but there are no nonstop flights, which would be ideal if possible.

Packing will be easy here since we didn’t fully unpack our bags. I could do it if I had only two hours to get ready to go. Unfortunately, when we grocery-shopped on Wednesday, we hadn’t even discussed leaving early. I brought it up on the return drive from Manta, and Tom was on board.

As soon as we returned to the house, after finding out from Fybeca Pharmacia in Manta the pills I take for Afib, which are working for me right now, aren’t available in Ecuador. There are only so many drugs that work for Afib, and this was the only one that worked for me after trying others unsuccessfully. I’ll be running out of my current supply by December 18, so we need to get to the US in time to get more.

That was the biggest motivator for us to leave Ecuador earlier than planned. Ecuador doesn’t allow prescription drugs to be shipped into the country.

I planned to go to an urgent care facility to get a prescription. Still, today, with the prescription the cardiologist wrote, I could purchase a three-month supply, leaving plenty of time for me to see a cardiologist in the US at one of several good cardiac care centers. I need a second opinion and will plan from there.

ProgressiveRX processed my order this morning, and the medication will arrive at our mailing service, which can be sent overnight wherever we land in the US. I couldn’t wait another day to place the order to ensure the order would be waiting for us when we arrived in the US.

We are both doing okay with everything up in the air right now. We know we are doing the right thing by returning to the US to determine our next move. We have no intention of buying a house, furniture, or household goods. We have decided to continue living in holiday homes that supply everything we need. Plus, with our minimal luggage, we don’t mind moving every three months.

Once my health issue is resolved, it will be fun to tour the US, which we’ve talked about doing eventually, anyway. That doesn’t mean we won’t explore outside the US or stop going on cruises. We see cruises in our future, health providing. Of course, everything is predicated on health at this point in our lives. We’ll take one step at a time.

It is also good we’re returning to the US since I need to replace my laptop and most likely will do so using the balance on a gift card we got from Costco for booking a cruise through them. This setup I have with the broken monitor is cumbersome and annoying.

No words can express our gratitude for the many readers who’ve written to us after reading yesterday’s post here. We are so grateful for your thoughtfulness and kindness in taking the time to write. I am responding to the messages one by one, but with so many, it may take a while.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, November 25, 2013:

No photo was posted on this date, but the text may be read here.

Part 1…Photos and info about our temporary home in The Villages, Florida….

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At certain points along the golf cart path in The Villages, the scenery was lovely.

The house photos will begin tomorrow, but today we’re sharing photos from our first drive using the golf cart that came with the house to the closest shopping area in our Fernandina neighborhood of The Villages. It was pretty fun.

I am a little tentative right now after the Afib bout on the plane, but since we arrived, all is well. My heart rate and blood pressure are normal, with no issues whatsoever. Hopefully, it was a fluke. It may have been too soon to travel on a plane so close to the time I was released from the hospital, only four days earlier. The cardiologist gave me the OK to travel. My fingers are crossed that was the case. I have no interest in going to more doctors and having more pointless tests.

The golf cart paths are easy to navigate.

We had never used a golf cart except in Belize in 2013 when rental cars were outrageously priced. We rented a golf cart to get around when we discovered the first holiday home we rented was infested with insects and had running water only a few hours a day. We used the golf cart to drive to other properties until we eventually found the excellent property where we stayed for our remaining time in the country.

If you’re interested in reading that story about Belize, please see our archives for the first few days of February 2013. It was quite a strange experience when we first started out, but it ultimately resulted in a wonderful experience when we settled into the lovely Laru Beya property in Placencia, Belize.

Zoom in to see the golf cart traffic jam.

We only used the golf cart for a few days at that time. While here at The Villages, the golf cart will be our only means of transportation for almost three months. At first, before we got it going, we were hesitant that this form of transportation would be sufficient for us. But, after yesterday’s first outing, we feel okay about it and will do well getting around. It just takes a little longer than driving a car.

As it turned out, I downloaded a free app, The Villages, which provides easy directions to all locations. What was most important to us was the golf cart paths permitted for driving to any site. This app made it very easy for us to find our way to the restaurant where we had breakfast yesterday and found a Publix grocery store across the road.

The only problem with this particular Yamaha brand of golf cart which is in excellent condition is there is little room for groceries for the ride back to our place. This limits the number of groceries we can purchase at any given time. Now, we understand why so many residents use InstaCart and order groceries online. We may decide to do the same since I prefer to pick out our food. mainly meat and produce.

We inched closer to the row of golf carts and were moving along only a few minutes later.

Today, I am posting photos from our first drive with the golf cart, and tomorrow and for the next few days will add photos I took this morning of the interior and exterior of this lovely three-bedroom home. We love this property since it is in perfect condition, has central air, and is more equipped with supplies and “stuff” than any holiday home we’ve rented in the past.

Tomorrow, we’ll share photos of various storage areas in the house so you can see how thorough this owner is. Wow! It’s mind-boggling, and she told us we don’t have to replace anything we use while we’re here. Sure, we may run out of paper products and laundry soap, but we won’t have to purchase cleaning supplies and many toiletries she’s provided.

Tom had his eyes on the road while driving the golf cart.

We love sharing extraordinary holiday/vacation homes with our readers. We couldn’t be more thrilled with this property. If you are interested in renting this property in the future, you can find the listing here on VRBO.

Last night, Tom was still full from his huge breakfast at Bob Evans Farmhouse, while I had a small breakfast with an omelet. We purchased a whole-cooked chicken at the market and ate the dark meat with a salad last night. Tonight, we’re having soft-shelled tacos stuffed with leftover chicken for me and ground taco meat I’ll make for Tom. We’ll be using keto cheese taco shells we found at the market. They are only one carb each, so seeing how good they are will be interesting. I’d read about these taco shells but couldn’t find them in South Africa.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, May 2, 2013:

Sagrada Familia…Why is the Sagrada Familia so famous? Image result for Sagrada Familia La Sagrada Familia is a building that Gaudí masterfully designed. Despite not being finished, UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 1984 because of its unique architecture and how Gaudí created something so artistic and innovative. For more photos, please click here.

A new cruise booking…

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Detailed map of voyage route
The cruise itinerary, beginning in Leith, Scotland, in August 2023, will end in Amsterdam 16 days later.

Right now, for us, it seems cruises are a logical choice for much of our future travels. That’s not to say we won’t stay in various countries along the way. Again, the plan is to use cruising to get from location to location, enabling us to stay in holiday homes near the embarkation and debarkation points.

We both have been interested in spending time in Scotland. For example, this newly booked cruise in Scotland will be an excellent place to stay before the cruise. The UK allows us to stay for 180 days without a need for a visa extension. However, Norway and Europe are all a part of the Schengen visa, which only allows us to stay for 90 days.

As for the cruise ending in Amsterdam, it was in August 2019 that we were there for three or four days before a cruise. And had time to do some sightseeing. We were there six months after I’d had open-heart surgery and subsequently two surgeries on each of my legs due to an infection. I had an awful time walking the streets of Amsterdam, but somehow we managed to see quite a bit of the lovely city, including a boat ride on the canals.

We doubt we’ll stay in Amsterdam based on that visit, but many other exciting locations are within a short flight. In the future, we’ll begin booking vacation homes on either end of this cruise and the other five cruises we currently have booked.

Tom has always shown interest in this particular cruise, and like our official cruise planner, I didn’t hesitate when he suggested we book this cruise, although it was more expensive than most cruises we’ve been on in the past nine years. Once again, we booked this cruise through Costco and will receive a gift card for booking through them for over US $1280, ZAR 18451. We can use the gift cards for online and store purchases at any Costco store.

These gift cards cannot be used for future travel but certainly may be used to purchase any other products they carry, such as phones, laptops, and much more. I am sure we won’t have any trouble finding products we’ll need somewhere along the line.

The total cost of this cruise for the two of us is US $16,275, ZAR 234,559 (based on today’s value of the rand).  The cruise includes an upgraded balcony cabin on the Azamara Journey, tips, drinks, and WiFi for one device. Once we board, we’ll pay for WiFi for a second device. Shore excursions are extra.

Following is the full itinerary for this cruise:

Sailing Itinerary
Date Port of Call Arrival Departure
08/01/2023 Leith — 08:00 PM
08/02/2023 Cruising — —
08/03/2023 Stavanger 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/04/2023 Haugesund 08:00 AM 02:00 PM
08/05/2023 Olden 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/06/2023 Alesund 08:00 AM 10:00 PM
08/07/2023 Cruising — —
08/08/2023 Svolvaer 07:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/08/2023 Trollfjord 06:30 PM 07:00 PM
08/09/2023 Tromso 12:00 PM 10:00 PM
08/10/2023 Honningsvag 01:00 PM 08:00 PM
08/10/2023 North Cape 11:59 PM 11:59 PM
08/11/2023 Alta 09:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/12/2023 Harstad 10:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/13/2023 Bodo 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/14/2023 Trondheim 01:30 PM 10:00 PM
08/15/2023 Cruising — —
08/16/2023 Cruising — —
08/17/2023 Amsterdam 06:00 AM —

We are excited about this cruise. This booking added to our other cruise bookings provides us with a total of six cruises booked at this time. However, some of the cruises scheduled for 2022 may be canceled due to Covid-19. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

This smaller ship, the Azamara Journey, carries 690 passengers, as opposed to thousands on many other cruise ships. We both enjoy smaller cruise ships much more than the enormous ships on our other preferred cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

Of these six upcoming cruises, three are on Celebrity Solstice, two on Azamara Onward (690 passengers), and now the one on the Journey. These Azamara cruises will be our first experience with this cruise line. We’ve sailed several times on Celebrity Sol, a passenger capacity of 2850 but have always had great experiences.

It feels good to be booking plans for the future, although we accept the reality that anything can change with cruising during times of the pandemic. We continue to pay attention to how cruising is going throughout the world in light of Covid, but only time will tell.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 3, 2020:

DSC03394
These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. Tom at Stonehenge in England in 2014. For more, please click here.
DSC03395
Me, at Stonehenge England in 2014. These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. For more, please click here.

Here’s the latest newspaper story about us!…

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Former Chanhassen couple spends ten months under lockdown at hotel in India

By Lydia Christianson lchristianson@swpub.com
    12 hrs ago

More information

Here’s the link to the article as shown here today:

Learn more about the travels of Jess and Tom Lyman at worldwidewaftage.com

The Lymans

Jess and Tom Lyman have been traveling around the world for nearly nine years.

Submitted photo

Jess and Tom Lyman, former residents of Chanhassen, have traveled the world for almost nine years.

Nothing “short of death” has been able to put a stop to their adventuring, not even Jess’s emergency open-heart surgery, performed in South Africa in 2019.

But then, COVID-19 hit.

The Lymans were visiting the U.S. in January 2020 when they first got wind of COVID-19. They were leaving to travel in India, so they were sure to pack N99 masks to combat the smog. Little did they know they’d also be using them for other purposes.

The couple took a week-long trip on the Maharaja Express, getting off along the way to take tours. The first week of February, when the train ended, the Lymans had scheduled a private tour of India that included driving and flying.

“It was an extraordinary experience that it was just the two of us,” Jess said. “We were having the time of our lives.”

In March, the couple learned a cruise they had booked, which had prompted them to go to India in the first place, was canceled due to COVID-19. At that point, they decided to cancel the tour and go back to Mumbai.

The Lymans checked into a hotel that was already holding some of their luggage. They booked a flight to Johannesburg to get to Marloth Park, a wildlife sanctuary positioned on the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

The Lymans headed back to a hotel they stayed at in January, only to find out it was closing a couple of days later due to the pandemic. Arriving at the airport at 3 a.m. for red-eye out of Mumbai, they found South Africa had closed its borders. But, the hotel had arranged another place for them to stay.

“Hotels were closing so rapidly you wouldn’t believe it. It was like doors slamming one after another,” Jess said.

Upon arriving, not only had the hotel never heard of them, they were closing the following day. The Lymans had nowhere to go but tried to remain calm. They stayed in the hotel lobby for several hours, searching for hotels or vacation homes with the help of the concierge.

“He said the only hotels I can find for you are those that have COVID patients because there’s no room in the hospitals for them,” Jess said.

The Lymans
Buy Now

The Lymans were traveling in India before a nationwide lockdown was announced.

Submitted photo

Lockdown begins

Finally, the concierge found a hotel near the airport that they could stay at for the night. The hotel said they were open but couldn’t make any guarantees for how long, Jess said. It was March 24, the day a nationwide lockdown was ordered.

The Lymans spent ten months living at the hotel.

One of the restrictions of the lockdown involved a ban on alcohol sales. The hotel staff came into their room to empty the mini-fridge. The couple was also told they couldn’t go down to the hotel restaurant and that their food would be delivered to the room.

Neither of the Lymans eats Indian food. Tom is a “picky eater,” so he ate chicken penne pasta every night for dinner for eight months. Jess ate salmon and chicken on rotation for dinner for all ten months.

“I haven’t had a piece of salmon since we got out of there,” Jess said with a laugh.

The Lymans weren’t supposed to go outside because the hotel didn’t want them bringing COVID-19 back with them. However, they were allowed to walk around the floor they were staying on. Jess would walk five miles through the corridors while Tom walked the stairs.

Mumbai hotel
Screen capture of the view from the Lyman’s Mumbai hotel from a video Jess posted. The video of her walk through the hotel corridors can be found at bit.ly/hotelcorridor.

Photo from one year ago today, August 27, 2020:

This photo from this date in 2014, posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #157. My dinner at Bella Italia consisted of two small chicken breasts in a pot of red sauce with a side of grilled vegetables. For more, please click here.

Water back on for full use…Load shedding this morning…Getting ready for winter…

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Medium Daddy gave us “the look.” Notice his tongue sticking out in anticipation.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 4 warthogs – inc One Wart, The Imposter, Lonely Girl, Lonely Boy
  • 6 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Chewy, Bad Leg, Spikey
  • 7 kudus – inc. Bossy, Notches
  • 4 wildebeest – inc. Broken Horn, Crooked Face
  • 2 hornbills
  • 13 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 4 Frank and The Misses – they got into a fight. No one was injured.

It’s very cool this morning. With the water out since Sunday and finally fully restored late yesterday, I started doing several loads of laundry, including the warm pullover sweatshirt of Tom’s that I wore every day I was sick. It needed a wash, and it’s currently outside, drying in the breeze. Unfortunately, it’s so cool and humid; it may not dry today.

Three hornbills were dining on seeds.

This morning, I went through all of my clothes and couldn’t find anything warm to wear other than a long-sleeved tee-shirt. A jacket over it is not comfortable to wear all day. The wind is whipping around us right now while we’re seated on the veranda.

Vusi and Zef are in the process of getting the house ready for winter. Yesterday, Vusi cut down several large branches hanging over the braai (the firepit). Unfortunately, the dried-out branches above the braai created a fire hazard, preventing us from making a bonfire. Fire hazard is huge in Marloth Park, especially during the dry winter months. However, he did a fantastic job, enabling us to enjoy a bonfire while seated on the benches, especially when guests.

Medium Daddy was drinking from the birdbath.

Whenever we’ve gone to Kathy and Don’s house overlooking the Crocodile River, they’ve built a fire. We all pulled up camping chairs around the fire, staying warm and comfortable for hours on end, engaged in lively conversation. Also, Tom and I can enjoy a fire for the two of us on cold nights.

Don will be arriving in Marloth Park next week, and Kathy will come in July. We are looking forward to seeing them both and having many fun social events with them as well. As we’ve often mentioned, one of the joys of living in Marloth Park is the social life as well as the immeasurable pleasure of seeing the wildlife.

Medium Daddy was waiting for us to bring out some pellets.

Also, this morning, Vusi and Zef brought the outdoor gas heater over after getting it ready for us to use over for the winter. We used that same heater when we were at the Orange House in 2018/2019, and we look forward to using it again to stay warm on the veranda.

Next week, Rita and I are going shopping in Komatipoort to see if I can find a few warm hoodies to get me through the winter. It will be pretty unusual for me to shop with another female instead of the rushed feeling I have when Tom is waiting in the car, outside the shop, while I try to find something in a hurry. Of course, he doesn’t rush me, but I feel bad leaving him waiting.

Hornbills certainly enjoy the Frank and The Misses’ seeds.

As mentioned, I don’t drive here in South Africa (or many other countries) with only manual transmission rental cars, which would require me to shift using my left hand while driving on the left side of the road. I am not coordinated by any means, and this would be an accident waiting to happen.

This morning, I spent time reorganizing some of the kitchen cabinets. Rita motivated me when I noticed how tidy her cupboards were at the Hornbill house. In my old life, I never had messy cupboards and drawers. But, when we left our former lives behind, I also left behind my obsession for tidiness.

Our new regular “Go-Away” bird.

Lately, I noticed how hard it was to find anything in the kitchen cupboards, of which there are few.  So today, I tackled the long-overdue task. I’m still a cleanliness freak, but tidiness has not been a priority, although our vacation homes are always reasonably organized. Both of us are tidy in cleaning up after ourselves.

It’s been a good and productive morning.  We hope you have a meaningful day as well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 3, 2020:

Nisarga Cyclone Live Tracking: Know The Current Location of Cyclone, Get Movement Alerts
The weather map of the anticipated course of Cyclone Nisagra. As you can see, Mumbai is located on the map in the dark green area indicated as the cyclone’s path. For more, please click here.