Hesborn, our houseman, stopped by Wednesday morning, after a full night of rain, to show us this carnivorous, stinging, dangerous creature which actually has less than 100 legs, and yet is still referred to as a centipede. He warned us not to walkin the grass after a rain. A sting from this ugly creature will require a trip to an emergency room. These not only walk but also climb up bedposts. Oh. |
The past few days have been interesting. On Tuesday morning our XCom Global MiFi wasn’t working, leaving us unable to post. Normally posting in the morning, the planned 10 am cab ride to grocery shop gave me no choice but to write in the early afternoon when we returned only at that point to have no connection.
This good-sized lizard came to call as we lounged in our outdoor living room. Thanks for the nice pose, Ms. or Mr. Lizard. |
The emphatic answer from the representative was a resounding “Yes!” as he pointed to a device, similar to that which we’d borrowed from Hans which we’d brought along with us in the event of a language barrier. He turned us over to a sales woman, who spoke very softly with a thick accent, difficult to hear and understand. Attentive and determined to be helpful we appreciated her efforts, continually thanking her for her efforts.
An hour later, Hans’ Hotspot no longer worked after the rep had removed the SIM card, disabling the device until Hans could late re-enter his PIN # which we didn’t have with us. Oh, good grief.
Hesborn referred to this as a millipede. We didn’t bother to count the number of legs. Apparently, these are harmless, although if walking on a person, they leave a trail of “itchy liquid.” |
A millipede in relation to the tip of my shoe. One wouldn’t want to snuff this out with their foot if discovered in the bathroom in the middle of the night“Wait |
“Let me ask,” the rep helping us stated, moments later to return with an emphatic, “No, it works only in Kenya.”
As Alfred drove us to the stores, we passed many similar buildings. |
Its these run down lean-to type shacks that depict the aspect of a third world country, many without running water and electricity. And here we are,in the upscale resort community of Diani Beach. |
Few of us can relate to the hardships of daily life in these sparse habitat. |
Next, we purchased two 18.9 liters of bottled water, the liquid at US $8.24, the empty returnable bottles at a total of US $23.79. All is all, we spent US $75.06 for beer and water out of the total bill US $301.12.
In a prior post I mistakenly stated that the VAT tax on groceries was 21% when in fact its 16%, the 21% applying to dining in a restaurant. Please excuse the misquote. Thus, the tax for our groceries according to the receipt was Kenya Shillings $3062 for US $35.04.
The Nakumatt grocery store is guarded with armed security who, for security reasons refused to be photographed. |
The parking lot as we waited the few minutes for Alfred to return to pick us up with our groceries. |
In almost every grocery aisle is an employee, friendly and anxious to assist with purchases and, as mentioned last week, good little salespeople, pushing certain products. With their warmth and attentiveness, it’s difficult although at times necessary, to turn down their often pricier suggestions.
This mother baboon was carefully watching us with her babies in the background as we stopped for a photo. Tom quickly shut the window when she approached the car to peer inside. |
Putting away the groceries was once again challenging in the small galley kitchen. I threw Tom out to tackle this on my own, having found a place for everything a short time later.
Baby baboon searching for morsels of food in the grass. |
With our shopping completed and put away, we had to begin figuring out why the MiFi wasn’t working and to find Hans to help us with his hotspot. A few hours later, now close to dinnertime, Hans arrived, easily getting the hotspot up and running.
The second baby baboon we excitedly observed as we stopped along the road on the return drive from shopping on Tuesday. |
Mama baboon as she lost interest in us and returned to her children. Oh. |
Gucci, one of Hans’ two small dogs, came by for a few scratches this morning which we’re delighted to provide. We love dogs. |