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| Most weekdays, Josiah stopped by in the morning to wash and sweep the veranda, rake the garden and clean the pool. No more than an hour after he’d done, the veranda would dirty again with leaves from the trees, pellets residue, and soot from the burning sugar cane a few kilometers away. Tom was constantly sweeping to keep us from tracking the house’s dust, dirt, and debris. By the end of each day, the bottoms of our bare feet were so dirty we’d have to shower again before getting into bed. Today’s photos were from this post two years ago. |
Today’s photos are from two years ago today at this link.
With the US closing its borders to all immigrants over the next several months to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are faced with the reality that many other countries will follow suit.
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| If we’d been in Kruger National Park, we wouldn’t have been able to gain access to this area. |
Currently, almost every country worldwide has closed its borders to international travel and its airports, and travel is at a standstill. Today, I asked Tom, “How long can we hold out here?”
Duh, I get that. But at some point, the Mumbai International Airport will open, and the challenge for us at that time will be where we will be able to go? What country will allow us to enter after living in India for three to six months (or more)?
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| Taking photos through the fence in Marloth Park was tricky, so we got what shots we could. At times, we were pleasantly surprised at the finished product. |
It may not be South Africa if they, too, impose a ban on all foreigners entering the country for an extended period. Right now, all we’ve heard so far is May 31st. But we don’t have a lot of faith that they’ll allow foreigners to enter even at that date.
But, the magic of our lives is the fact that we can go anywhere we’d like that will be open to our arrival, which we’ll confirm in detail before we book a flight and accommodations.
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| Male elephants are kicked out of the herd (parade) when teenagers. When we saw large numbers, many were unlikely males except for those youngsters yet to reach maturity at 13, 14, or 15 years of age. |
We can pack and be out the door in a few hours. We both believe that we’ll have some options within three months if South Africa isn’t one of those. We can always go there later when the airports open.
Tom’s dear sister Colleen kindly offered her place in Arizona if we returned to the US. However, as we’ve mentioned many times in past posts, we have no interest in returning to the US at this time.
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| A mom was fussing over her offspring. |
Even in months from now, the virus in the US will still be rampant, nor do we want to live in the high heat in Arizona during the summer and fall months, there again, stuck inside all day.
There are many other countries we’ll be able to travel to at some point. Fortunately, as much as we don’t like wasting valuable time as we age, we are prepared to stay in Mumbai as long as necessary to get us to a suitable location where, perhaps, it will feel more like a continuation of our world travels than trapped in the lockdown.
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| Neither the elephants nor the waterbucks seem to mind one another’s presence. |
Oddly, we are OK, as we’ve mentioned. Nor do we expect our emotional state to change as time marches on. We are doing what many are doing now; reading, watching the news, streaming shows, listening to podcasts: and for me, exercising throughout the day while eating a healthy diet.
For us, accepting the realities of this dreadful virus and the consequences facing all of us has provided us with a sense of peace while reducing stress and worry.
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| Each day these two females stop by several times with two piglets, most likely several months old. The two females may be sisters, a mother, and a daughter from a prior litter or, who knows, another relative of one sort or another. This particular morning the two of them played a nose-to-nose game while the two piglets busied themselves with pellets. |
Now that DIL Camille is on the mend and sister Susan has been allowed to stay in her assisted living facility (for now due to COVID-19), I can breathe a sigh of relief and make every attempt to live in the moment.
What are you doing today to bring you comfort and reduce boredom? We’d love to hear from you!
Photo from one year ago today, April 21, 2019:
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| An elephant in the bush was watching us take photos. For more photos, please click here. |