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Whale watching day…Only hours away…Excitement is palpable…Two days until departure…Classic car hanging from a ceiling…

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Tall coconut palms often depict the tropical nature of islands throughout the world.

Last night I dreamed of whales breaching the water and being able to take perfect photos of the experience.  Today may prove to have been “in my dreams only” or, if we’re lucky, an exquisite reality. We shall see.

A fine view from our lanai of another perfect day in paradise.

In only a few hours, three as I write here now, we’ll make our way around the corner to the Maui Ocean Center, a mall with a handful of shops, none of which we ever visited in our six weeks here in Maalaea Beach.

Another magnificent view of the shoreline in Maui.

Having walked to the mall a few times, I’m familiar with the location where we’ll go to prepare to board the boat from the Pacific Whale Foundation for the excursion. We attempted to arrange an outing on a smaller boat, with the holiday weekend, it wasn’t possible, although we were willing to pay a premium to do so. 

We stopped in a local shop that used local essential oils in making soaps, balms, and bath products. With no room in our luggage, I walked out empty handed.

After all, we’re under budget for the stay in Maui by no less than $1500, mainly due to the estimated costs for dining out and grocery shopping. After a few feeble attempts at getting satisfactory meals in restaurants befitting my way of eating, we gave up, deciding cooking our own meals would be our best option during this short period in Maui.

Now, as we’ve used most of our food supplies and, after we mailed the big box to the Big Island yesterday for a meager cost of $18.55, arriving today to be left at the door for us, we’re down to bare bones in the way of food.

With lots of eggs, bacon, cheese, onion, and ingredients to make omelets, bacon, and coconut flour pancakes, we’ll happily have “breakfast” for dinner these next two nights until we depart on Monday morning for the short flight to Hawai’i, aka the Big Island.

A couple of times each week I walked across the lawn of the neighboring condo building to the local grocer, Tradewinds.

It’s confusing to call the Big Island, “Hawai’i” when all of the islands collectively are referred to as Hawaii. In the Hawaiian language with the excessive use of vowels and apostrophes, Hawai’i is spelled as indicated and is pronounced as “ha, vie, ee” as we often hear when speaking to residents and locals.

The owners of this small grocery store we friendly and helpful, ordering special items for me on several occasions. Their prices were comparable to most of the prices at the supermarket in Kihei.

This morning after posting here, we’ll go to the pool for our usual one-hour dose of Vitamin D to return indoors to get our shirts, shoes, two cameras, hats, sunglasses, and binoculars and, my phone with a copy of the tickets. 

The printer here in the condo wouldn’t work leaving us unable to print boarding passes, car rental confirmation, etc. instead, using digital copies as an alternative. 

Each day, the owners visited a local farm to pick up fresh produce.

Finally, many business entities are accepting digital copies of documents as opposed to the wasteful and cumbersome nature of using paper, especially for travelers with no access to a printer, such as us, since our printer died months ago.

Their shelves were lined with many popular food items. The store is always busy.

Today, we’re sharing an array of Maui photos we’d yet to share and tomorrow, we’ll be back with photos from our whale watching experience.

Recently, on Facebook, we’d seen photos of this car, a 1959 Cadillac convertible (woody) hanging from the ceiling at Hard Rock Café in Lahaina. On our return drive from Kaanapali Beach, we stopped to take a few photos of our own as shown.
Alternate view of the above photo at Hard Rock Café in Lahaina, Maui.

We hope all of our readers enjoy the remainder of their weekend doing exactly what they find most rewarding and meaningful. Isn’t that what “it’s” all about after all?

                                                Photo from one year ago, November 29, 2013:

As we prepared to leave Kenya, we posted a few of our favorite photos in the last few days. This lion was rested under this tree while mating. The female was across from him resting under another tree. We had the glorious opportunity to witness the mating process from less than 30 feet away. For details of this date, please click here.

Goodbye, Vancouver!…Hello, Hawaii!…Excited for the new cruise on our favorite cruise line…

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St. Andrew’s Wesley Church in downtown Vancouver.

The “to-do” list is complete. We did it all; the laundry filled the pill cases, did the mani/pedi, packed everything, and, notified the family. This morning we’ll grab a taxi for the short drive to the Port Metro Vancouver where the Celebrity Solstice will be prepared for boarding.

As on our prior nine cruises, we prefer to arrive at the pier an hour or two earlier than suggested in the documents, allowing us plenty of time to become familiar with the ship, meet with the maître ‘d regarding my restrictive diet, sign up for the ship’s WiFi, and relax for a while in the buffet dining room for a casual bite to eat.

The church across the street from our hotel. Photo is taken through the glass on the 30th floor.

In most cases, gaining access to the cabins is restricted until around 1:30 pm, allowing staff to prepare and clean the cabins from the last cruise that most likely arrived the same morning, making way for the new passengers.

Tom says this was a Ferrari we spotted in downtown Vancouver.

Checking in for the cruise is usually relatively quick and painless especially when our early arrival allows us to avoid long lines. A few days before each cruise, we check-in online in a similar manner as when flying. 

Vancouver is often a starting point (and often ending point) for cruises to Alaska which we’ll definitely book sometime in the future.

It’s unnecessary to print the documents when passengers are able to show the bar code from their tickets on their smart phone. With no cell service, until we purchase SIM cards, we’ve printed the documents although we’d always prefer to use digital documents.

Fountain, outside our hotel.

Later today, once aboard the ship, we’ll post again with photos of the ship, our cabin, and any special features that may catch our eye. Once the muster drill (emergency procedures) is completed, we’ll attend the Sail Away Party, hosted by the cruise line. Usually, there’s another party that we’ll attend, the “Meet and Mingle” which is intended for members of CruiseCritic.com, many of whom Tom has met online.

On the first day on the ship, we check out the main dining room’s reservation process. This avoids waiting in line to be seated. On this last Royal Caribbean cruise, we’d selected 8:00 pm, primarily due to the fact that we often have breakfast and aren’t hungry until later.

Much of the produce was imported as is the case in many major grocery stores in the US. This is unlike the organic produce we’ve enjoyed in many countries throughout our travels.

Most cruise passengers (during the school season) are senior citizens as opposed to families with children.  Many seniors prefer to dine by 6 pm. We’re still full from breakfast by 6 pm and prefer to dine at 8 pm. 

With “My Time” dining, we can select dining times that work best for us allowing us the opportunity to meet new people each night at “shared” tables. Other passengers may sign up for fixed dinnertime, sitting with the same group each night.

We’re also able to choose to dine with people we’ve met when we’re arranged a time to meet in the dining room. On this last cruise, on three evenings, we dined with new friends in the specialty restaurants but, could easily have dined with them in the main dining room.

We were surprised that prices on produce were less than we’d seen two years ago in the US.

The social frenzy of cruising is the aspect we enjoy the most. As social butterflies we love meeting new people, learning from their travel experiences, and sharing our own. A cruise is the most appealing social venue we’ve encountered in our travels.

We’re grateful for all the fabulous friends we’ve made from all over the world on our most recent cruise and also, those on the past eight cruises in 2013, many of whom we happily remain in contact.

Tom eyeballed the baked goods, especially the doughnuts but decided against trying any when the cruise is imminent, a virtual food fantasy on Celebrity.

Look for us tomorrow morning which will include the itinerary for this cruise. Hopefully, we won’t have the WiFi issues we’d experienced on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas when I was unable to get online. We’ll be out to sea for the first five days of this cruise making it necessary to access to the ship’s slow connection. As always, while in port we’ll be able to use XComGlobal’s MiFi for a strong connection and ease of use.  

Happy Day to all!

                                    No photo was posted one year ago today, September 23, 2013:
Ironically, we posted the cruise itinerary for the cruise we disembarked on September 14, 2014. For details of the post, please click here.

More new photos today…New artistry photos tomorrow from a visit to a neighboring home…Cramming it all in!

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Beautiful steeples dot the scenery at the tops of hills in Madeira.  It was cloudy on the day of our boat trip.

Yesterday, when we were buying produce from the produce guy, Gina hollered down to us from the house above the wall, which she and her husband Carlos own among others. She had new guests coming to stay and was busy cleaning.

At the marina in Funchal as we waited to board the catamaran.

We’d yet to see that house which Carlos had designed and built. She invited us up to see it. We dropped off our veggies and headed over-anxious to see the gorgeous home. Once inside, we were enthralled by the unbelievable artwork on the walls that we’ll share in tomorrow’s post with photos. 

We never tire of the terraced farms and gardens on the hillsides in Madeira.

It’s funny how we continue to stumble on new story and photo ideas as we make our way through each day, doing a bit of this and that.

There’s a long bridge over a gorge in the background of this refinery.

When we returned home, Judite was busy cleaning the house so we decided to get out of her way, taking off on a several hour drive long along the shoreline. We were able to get a number of photos of unexpected scenery we’re excited to share on Sunday. Please check back over the weekend for two refreshing topics with photos.

A better view of the long bridge.

With only 13 days remaining in Madeira, we’re hoping to spend as much time as possible savoring in that which we loved so much about living in Campanario; walks up the steep hills, trips to the local market, spending time on the veranda simply relishing in the scenery, explorations to other villages, and a fine sense of appreciation for the often unique (to us) vegetation and flowers.

This restaurant may have formerly been a lighthouse based on its design.

When we look back over countries and homes in which we’ve lived I think we both would say we’ve loved Belize at Laru Beya only a few steps from the sea, two of the homes in which we lived in Marloth Park, South Africa with the wildlife roaming free and here in Madeira with an exquisite view of the sea. 

This house has been perfect for us. Click here for the link to Gina’s listing on Homeaway if you’re interested in a fabulous Madeira holiday/vacation sometime in the future. 

The low lying mist and clouds are ever-present in the hills of Madeira, even on otherwise sunny days.

Yesterday while on our drive, we discussed how Madeira is an ideal vacation or holiday location. The people are friendly, the scenery is beyond belief, there’s plenty of activities for those that prefer to constantly be on the go and, then there’s the weather, a temperate climate, never uncomfortably hot. 

Passengers were less interested in the scenery than possible marine life sightings.

If one is seeking a “baking in the sun” type of experience, such as can be derived from a trip to Mexico, Madeira may not be the best choice. At times, the cool temps may deter a visitor from sunbathing. 

Although the catamaran had only 54 passengers on board out of a possible 98, it still was crowded, making photo taking a challenge when everyone stood during the marine life sightings.

Another factor we’ve loved is how safe we’ve felt everywhere we go. We’ve yet to see any run-down areas or areas of high crimes. Of course, one can never be too careful, locking doors when leaving, keeping money and documents in secure places, and driving with the utmost of caution.

Oceanview vantage points are the location of many resorts and hotels.

As for the hills, they may not be for everyone or those prone to carsickness. Luckily, other than the first week of our arrival when I had a sinus infection, I’ve had no problem, even with Tom’s occasional jerky driving when he was first driving up the steep hills in the rental cars with manual transmissions.

Funchal, the capital of Madeira, is a busy harbor with many barges, fishing and pleasure boats.

The sounds, as well as the sights in Madeira, have been a source of great pleasure; the goats next door baaing all day; the musical food trucks driving through the hills; the church bells and clock towers ringing; the roosters crowing and often the sounds of chatter and laughter wafting through the hills. We’ve loved it all. 

This could have been a condo or apartment complex or a hotel, designed to maximize the ocean views.

With 13 days remaining, we’re cherishing each moment, trying to avoid projecting too far into the future, making an effort to remain present at the moment as the time quickly withers away. 

As we approached the airport to swap rental cars, we drove under the runway. Madeira’s runway at the Funchal Airport has won awards for its design but, is still considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

Today, we share the final photos from Tuesday’s outing and look forward to sharing more stories and photos.

It’s an experience in itself, driving under this sophisticated artfully designed runway structure.

Have a glorious weekend. Stop back when you can.

Photo from one year ago today, July 18, 2013:

The vegetable truck arrived once a week in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy as it does here every Thursday morning around 10 am with fresh organic produce. We can count on the arrival time here in Madeira but it Boveglio, it played no music, arriving at inconsistent times. Thus, in Italy, we made purchased infrequently. Here in Campanario, we’ve purchased produce every Thursday morning since we arrived. For details of the story from that date, please click here.

Exploring the island with a change in terrain…Making errors, a fact of our lives…A year ago…Unrest in Izmir Turkey…Did we go in light of this risk

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We finally arrived at Boa Morte, a small neighboring village.

Last night Gina stopped by with some documents she had to complete with our travel and passport information as a regulation for property owners and managers when renting properties to foreigners on the island of Madeira.

When doing so, her records indicated that we were leaving on July 31st as opposed to August 1st our intended date of departure. Thank goodness, we’d had yet to book our flight out of here. 
We headed out on the good roads through the heavily treed area. With no place to stop, I had no choice but to take this photo through the windshield glass.
Now, we’ll have no choice but to arrive in Paris one day early. Shucks! One extra day in Paris.  It will cost us another night, but one must pay for such errors. Once again this was my error, the second this week. 
No, I’m not suffering from dementia. I make errors from time to time, two coming to light this week with a total of three (two for me, one for Tom) since leaving the US. Actually, we’ve probably made many more errors than we take credit for!
As beautiful as the trees were, we wanted to get a peek to see the villages at a distance.
Booking and documenting every single aspect of travel month after month, year after year is challenging.  Making errors is inevitable, as I say this to myself to justify my error, once again.

Any error we made sure is fixable, no matter the complexity. However, fixing an error always requires time and most often, money. Tom made an error while we were in Kenya, paying in full for the hotel in Paris when all we needed to do was reserve our room. The two weeks (to become 15 days after we’ll book July 31st later today) booking was US $3124, EU $2308, and it made no sense paying in full 10 months in advance.

On occasion, we’d find an opening enabling us to take a photo.

I wasn’t upset or even annoyed when he’d made the error. It easily could have been me. Unfortunately, Tom made himself crazy worrying needlessly for days with frequent reminders from me that it was no big deal. 

As the time nears, we’re thrilled to have paid in advance, lessening the outlay for the combined total month we’ll spend in Paris and London, from July 31st to August 31st. Our added expenditures will be for the London hotel which is comparable to the rates for the Paris hotel, meals, entrance to tourist sites, cab fare, and tips. 

With towering trees cast shadows on the roads.

My error will result in our paying for one more night in the Paris hotel which will be US $223, EU $164. Today, as I researched at the rental agreement for this house in Madeira, I see that the rental did in fact end on July 31st.  If this was a “job” and I had a “boss” this would have kept me awake at night.

Tom doesn’t so much as squeak, as I didn’t when he prepaid for the hotel. We only have to deal with self-recriminations for our occasional incompetency which I’ve done and will let go.

The dense forest reminded us of Boveglio in Tuscany, Italy.

Yesterday, we drove through a long tunnel we’d yet to enter to see where it would take us. The further we drove, the more it reminded us of Boveglio, Italy where we spent last summer from June 16 to September 1, 2013. 

The winding roads, hairpin turns, dense forests with towering trees, and drive up higher and higher into the mountains was interesting and a lot less unnerving than in the past. From the scary four hour drive in Belize to the winding roads here in Madeira, we’re becoming more comfortable on these less than ideal roads.

The billowing clouds are ever-present on Madeira.

It wasn’t easy taking photos with narrow roads without a shoulder. Plus, the dense forest made it difficult to see through the trees. We drove a long distance to find a turn around spot with no road returning to Campanario, other than the road in which we drove into the village.

After our few hour drive, we returned to Campanario for a stop at the local grocer where we purchased two free-range chickens that had been delivered that morning. As we noticed in our travels chickens aren’t as meaty as they were in the US. 

We spotted a lush green valley in an opening on the road.

Without the use of chemicals and grain-based feed, chickens don’t grow as meaty and plump. The two chickens we purchased for US $10.83, EU $8, were well cleaned with little fat when not fed grains and are allowed to roam freely to peck at the ground for food sources.

Finally, we spotted an expansive view.

I guess it further proves that we were created to take advantage of unprocessed foods readily available in our environment for our hunting and gathering or in the modern age, for others to hunt, breed, and gather. 

Oops! We hear music coming our way. Tom is on the veranda saying that he can see and hear the music of the produce guy coming down the road. Gotta go!

These tall flowers grow wild in Madeira, are often blue and occasionally white.

____________________________

Photo from one year ago today, June 11, 2013:

The night before our ship was scheduled to enter the port of Izmir, Turkey, the following letter was on our bed when we returned from dinner causing us to question if we should go on the excursion. Determined to see the ancient city of Ephesus we decided to continue with our plans.  We returned safely after a full day’s outing and a number of unusual experiences. For details on that date, please click here.  More on the tour tomorrow.
This letter was in our cabin the night before we docked in Izmir, Turkey where we were scheduled to go on an excursion to the ancient city of Ephesus. For the story and photos of Ephesus please click here. Photos of the tour will follow in this section tomorrow.

Good morning, Marrakesh! With open arms, you welcome us into your enchanting world…

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Here’s the guy with the wheeling cart hauling our luggage through the Medina with Adile at his right. When checking our bags in Johannesburg, it was required to have all of our luggage was wrapped in plastic for security reasons.

Entering the Medina with our luggage, where motorized vehicles are not allowed.

Where do we begin?  We won’t bore you with too many details of the misinformation we were given by the gate agent in Johannesburg that we’d have to collect our luggage in Casablanca, take it through customs, and recheck it for the final flight to Marrakesh. 
 The views from the plane became more and more interesting the closer we flew to the city of Marrakesh, Morocco.

The city of Marrakesh presented an awesome sight as we approached the airport.

When the four bags didn’t appear in Casablanca, we imagined they were lost. Trying to stay as calm as possible, which we did rather well during the entire 29 hours of travel time, we tried to get answers. We couldn’t find anyone who spoke English well enough to explain our dilemma. 
 Most of the eight ascents and descents in the 29 hours, required Tom breaking down six pieces of hand luggage including the cart when we had to use to steep outdoor steps when the planes are parked on the tarmac. Rarely, are the tubes used in many countries. On two occasions we had to board a bus in order to get to the tarmac to access the steep steps. Cumbersome.
Honesty, with our worldly possessions well insured, we were more worried about the time and inconvenience it would cost us than the loss of our stuff. We had all the important electronics, documents, and prescriptions in our carry on. Finally, we found am English-speaking agent at the counter for our final flight to Marrakesh that said, “No worry. Your bags have gone on to Marrakesh.”

The man with the car and Adile (pronounced “Agile”) as they began to enter the Medina.

After an hour of worry, we were able to make it to the final gate and breathe a sigh of relief. Oh well, if that was the only thing that happened in 29 hours, we were happy. Yes, there were other incidents of misinformation but, we’ve learned that it goes with the territory.

 As Samir explained when we asked about the customs of Morocco, we are not to take photos of the faces of locals without their permission.  his is a custom we’ve experienced in other Muslim countries which we will honor and respect. Going forward, we’ll make a point of capturing the many sites, with more time to stage the photos.
Tom, a former hothead, amazes me in his commitment to avoid ever being viewed as the “ugly American.” In doing so, he stays calm and unruffled in the worst of situations. I’m the eternal optimist avoiding ruffled feathers at all costs.  Practicing calmness actually has made us calm. It’s funny how that works.
 Adile, as he opened the front door of our new home.
Upon picking up our luggage at the Marrakesh airport using the “free” luggage trolley (we have yet to pay for a cart at any airport outside the US), we made our way to the entrance of the airport to look for Samir, our houseman for our new home, Dar Aicha. (Residences have names in Africa as you may have noticed from our past posts). 
 Upon entering the door to Dar Aicha, our private home for the next two and a half months, we were taken aback by its majestic charm. This center courtyard is surrounding by the many rooms of the house and is open to the sky. 
In no less than 30 seconds, there stood a tall, handsome young man with our names on a white sign. Samir immediately took charge, loading a new SUV with all of our belongings. The driver, Hamouda (spelling?), will be at our service as needed, having worked for Dar Aicha for many years. 

 With three floors of living space at our disposal, we have to choose where to lounge as we write here today. 
Once we arrived at the Medina, another 20 something male house employee, Adile, guarded the cart as it was traversed by the man in the above photo, for the 15 minutes it took to work our way through the crowded Medina, through the souk, to the house situated amid the awe-inspiring activity of the old city. 
 This morning I caught Tom off guard as he exited the bedroom to join me to begin our day. Many more house photos will be posted in the near future as we settle in.
As we made this walk, the exhaustion flew away while the adrenalin was pumping with our excitement. We couldn’t get enough as our eyes were flying from left to right, our nostrils flaring with the mouth-watering aromas, and my fingers itching to touch the gorgeous silks and fabrics.
 In Dar Aicha, birds are free to come and go into the house at their leisure.
Unfortunately, we were on a mission to keep up with the guy with the cart and didn’t want to detain the three of them with our tourist-like gawking. We’ll soon go out on our own, anytime we want. The photos shown here today, taken of the Medina and the souk were done in haste while moving quickly through the crowded narrow vehicle-free streets. I promise many more will follow.
 Last evening, candles were lit to add to the already inviting ambiance.
Once we entered Dar Aicha, considered a small palace on three levels with a staff of four overseeing to all of our needs, we were in awe. Oh, good grief! Our needs are few: meals, bottled water, clean towels and bedding, clean house, and clean laundry. 
 This sideboard displayed a series of lit candles in the dining room, specifically for our enjoyment.
There are multiple buzzers for us to ring, on each level if we want something. We can’t imagine ever pressing it. But, one must consider the customs and the fact that service help is standard in much of Africa providing jobs for many of its citizens, from what we’ve experienced in the three countries in which we’ve lived thus far; Kenya, South Africa, and now Morocco. 
With the original intent of dining out frequently now down to perhaps once a week, we’ll be more than happy to dine in, content that Madame Zahra knows how to cook for me. Tom, bless his heart, is totally on board with dining in, after last night’s fabulous dinner. Tonight, fish is on the menu which Tom rarely eats but after last night’s dinner he’s prepared to try anything.
We’ve decided we’d like dinner at 6:30 pm as opposed to 7:00 pm for a few reasons; one, we don’t eat much during the day and two, Madame Zahra will be able to leave earlier.
The vegetable first course, served to us by Madame Zahra last night. More food than we could eat, we stuffed ourselves, delighted when everything presented except the bread in the upper left corner, was befitting my restrictive diet.  
 
With the language barrier and the crowds, it will be difficult to inquire about my way of eating from food vendors on the streets. I’m here in yet another country having the time of my life rather than living in a wheelchair constantly in excruciating pain. Do I complain or even think about what I’m missing in foods? Never! I’m grateful for every moment of my life. 
Madame Zahra, Dar Aicha’s resident cook for many years, arrives before 9:00 am each morning and stays until after she serves dinner and cleans up. This morning only minutes after arriving, she delivered a tray with fresh grounds-free French pressed hot coffee to the salon (the living room) where most likely we’ll spend most of our time when not out and about or sleeping.
Last night, with a little trepidation, we were seated at the table in the dining room at precisely 7:00 pm, Madame Zahra’s usual serving time. Worried that Tom wouldn’t like the spicy foods and that food befitting my way of eating would be difficult to prepare, within minutes our worries wafted away when plate after plate of delicious foods was presented at our table; the varied vegetable dishes first and later, the grilled seasoned chicken which she cooked over an open fire on the rooftop.
Last night’s dinner clearly illustrated that living in Dar Aicha with Madame Zahra in the kitchen will only add to the joy of our experiences in Marrakesh. When we read the many five star reviews on Dar Aicha, we observed how other guests also preferred to dine in, after trying her delicious meals.
This grilled chicken was perfectly cooked and seasoned to perfection.
After a great night’s sleep in the 50F, 10C, cool to us weather, bundled under a fluffy down comforter and blankets, it was hard to stay in bed long.  With a two hour time difference from South Africa, I was up and about at 5:00 am and Tom shortly after, both of us anxious to begin the day.  

By 6:00 am this morning, I finished unpacking and Tom, a borderline procrastinator, will be done by the end of the day.  Now, at 10:30 am, our laundry is being washed, our bathrooms are cleaned with the smell of pine, and our bed is neatly remade. (I always keep my clothing and toiletries in another bedroom to avoid waking Tom when invariably I arise earlier). 

And yes, once again we had to decide as to which room we’d sleep in and which one I’d use for my things. Once again, it took us a half-hour to make a decision, especially considering yesterday’s tired state of being when our brains weren’t fully operational in our tired state.
This morning, on the rooftop, our first glimpse daybreak.
What’s my excuse for asking Tom where certain rooms are in this spacious home, invariably starting out in the wrong directions? I never had a sense of direction anyway. Why would that change now?
Soon, we’ll get out to explore this culture-rich diverse city, much of which begins at our doorstep. Also, we need to locate an ATM and a pharmacy since all of the shampoo and conditioner were squeezed out of the bottles in my suitcase when it was tightly plastic-wrapped at the Johannesburg airport.
There is no way that living in Marrakesh will ever result in a boring day, unsure of what to do with ourselves. Then again, we’ve haven’t had a dull day in the 16 months since leaving Minnesota on Halloween, 2012. Actually, to be more specific, we haven’t had a dull day in almost 23 years.

Note: The WiFi in Marrakesh is inconsistent and slow at times. On occasion, as shown today, we’ll have formatting issues over which we have no control. We apologize for the inconvenience and kindly ask you bear with us. Thank you!

Off to Nelspruit to purchase a laptop…A frustrating 24 hours…I admit it, clumsy me!…

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It was yesterday morning, about this time, that I turned on my screen-damaged laptop to discover an error message warning that it was about to crash. It suggested I run a backup and a subsequent system restore.

The problem was that I couldn’t get a live screen that would allow either to occur. (I won’t bore you with the details on performing either of those, which many of you know and some do not).

After several hours of trying to reboot over and over, I finally got in and was able to backup all my valuable Outlook email, photos, and all files to our two terabytes external hard-drive. However, the system restore utility wouldn’t work. By 5:00 pm, all of my data was on the external hard drive after a stressful day.

During the lengthy “waiting” periods for the system to reboot, I used Tom’s computer to search for possible online resources in order to purchase either a tablet or a laptop locally. The reasons for the necessity of purchasing locally is explained in yesterday’s post.

Louise and Danie each stopped by during this period, offering suggestions that were helpful, saving a considerable amount of more time trying to shop online, which proved to be pointless. Without my own South Africa ID# on one of the two possible sites, I wasn’t able to place an order. The other site indicated a 10 day shipping period after it left their facility for another three to five days. We could be gone by the time it would arrive.

Louise suggested I call the location in Nelspruit, Incredible Connection, the largest digital equipment store in the area, order and pay over the phone and she’d sent a courier to pick it up who charges a minimal cost. I was hopeful after hearing this.

After she left, I called the store to discover phone orders are simply not a possibility, due to the risk of fraud from stolen credit and debit cards. I get this, but was further frustrated. My only option was to go to Nelspruit, an all-day outing, certainly not my choice while we’re so enjoying our continuing time at Khaya Umdani. So it goes.

As for the iPad concept or tablet concept many of you may suggest for me: With all the travel and financial documents and spreadsheets that we have saved on the external hard drive using both Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, there is no way I’d want to spend the time to make this available in an Apple or other non-MS Windows-based product. I love these products, have used them for years and at this point, don’t want to change. 

On many occasions, I’ve sent a Microsoft based document to others using an iPad or other tablets only to discover they are unable to open them. We’ve found that family members are also unable to use Skype with an adequate connection using an iPad or tablet.

During last night’s fitful sleep, I made the decision that I must purchase a new laptop. Undoubtedly, based on research online at the website, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll have the most current models. Computers are not manufactured here in South Africa. Everything is imported, requiring import fees and VAT taxes (value-added tax).

This may not be an uncommon dilemma for the business traveler with this same predicament; a broken or stolen laptop or tablet. What do they do? Most likely, what I’m doing today, traveling to the big city to make a new purchase.

Right now, I’m using Tom’s laptop which he uses throughout the day checking on financial matters, communicating with family and friends, and updating his favorite hobby, ancestry.com. I didn’t feel it was fair to use his computer for too long.

Last night, we watched a movie on his laptop after I’d downloaded all the saved TV shows and movies onto the external hard drive. With the loss of only a few apps that are nagging at me, I can now live with the fact that this morning, my almost totally defunct laptop will not let me access anything at all. It’s OK. I can now say goodbye.

On the return drive from Nelspruit with Okee Dokee (Tom is not going with us), I’ll stop at the little house and retrieve the disks for the above Microsoft products. 

We expect to return by 5:00 or 6:00 pm. I’ll make dinner and then begin the process of reinstalling all the apps I need and transferring only the necessary data I need to function. There’s no need to use up many gigs of storage with our 1000’s of photos. They can remain in both Dropbox and on the hard drive for double security.  Perhaps, I’ll even load all the files on whatever cloud comes with the laptop that I purchase.

Hopefully, when I write tomorrow and post some amazing awaiting photos, I’ll feel at ease knowing this is behind me. In the past year, I’ve dropped both my new expensive smartphone and a laptop, breaking them both. What’s the deal? Clumsy perhaps? Or simply, too preoccupied to pay enough attention to things in my hands? Most likely, both of these. 

After all, isn’t clumsiness, just not paying attention? I suppose it is. Can I train myself to pay more attention as to what is in my hands? I don’t drop dishes, glasses, or other items. Just expensive digital equipment. I’m certainly motivated to change after these two harrowing experiences.

I always justify the breaking of these two pieces of vital equipment, by saying, “It could be worse.” And, without a doubt, we’re grateful that it wasn’t. Very grateful.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back into our usual routine of taking photos, posting online, and cheerfully going about our remaining 23 days in Marloth Park. The time is flying!

OMG!…I dropped my laptop and broke it!!…What now?…Plus, a funny video!…Photos from the river at dusk…

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Sunset at dinner on the Crocodile River. Notice the Crocodile swimming across the river in the lower left. We watched for a considerable time, hoping he’d exit the river. Instead, he languished in the water, eyes revealed while waiting for his dinner.

Wednesday afternoon, while carrying my laptop from the first floor to the second-floor loft which we use as a living room on hot days, (it has AC), for no reason at all, the laptop fell from my hands dropping onto the stone floor.

This lower-right corner of my laptop broke when I dropped it, disabling the touchscreen feature. There are numerous hairline cracks throughout the remainder of the screen.

Horrified, I bent down to pick it up, as shards of glass skittered about the floor. Oh, oh. I felt sick to my stomach as it set it down to see how severe the damage and if it would still work.

The sky over the Crocodile River manages to be more beautiful than many other areas.

Immediately turning it on, I was amazed to find it working. The damage was to the touchscreen which no longer works and there are cracks across the screen affecting the viewing of the screen. It was clear that I’d need a replacement.

As the night fell, with the distance across the crocodile, it was tough to get clear shots. This was the first time we’d seen more than one waterbuck at a time.

Tom and I have each had our own computers since 1992, when we decided that sharing was not an option when we both enjoyed being online simultaneously, frequently talking, laughing, and sharing tidbits of information we gleaned in the process. 

Sorry for the blur. These photos were taken from a vast distance near dark.

Now, 22 years later, we are online at about the same time, ensuring neither of us is ever annoyed when the other is spending extended periods online. Currently spending a half a day, each day, writing here and posting photos, and, later working on photos for the next day, there’s absolutely no way we would or could share.

Luckily, this funny video intended to offset some of my angst over dropping my laptop on the stone floor, breaking the touchscreen monitor. 
Wednesday, when my 14-month-old Acer Windows 8, 15.6″ Touchscreen laptop hit the floor, the thought of having to share with Tom in order to continue writing our story, was the first thought in my mind. 

If it was completely destroyed, all of my files were backed up to the free cloud, Dropbox, leaving me with no worries about losing the 1000’s of photos and documents relative to our travels and financial matters.

View from the veranda of the Serene Oasis Restaurant as we watched the Crocodile cross the river from the Marloth Park side to the Kruger National Park side.

For Tom, as a part-time researcher and proofreader for our site, having to share his computer would result in our world becoming upside down until we could figure out a replacement. Looking online I panicked when a comparable replacement with fast international shipping would be well over US $1000, ZAR $10,921. 

A waterbuck and white bird hanging out on the river bank.

Our laptops serve as not only a source of writing about our world travels, but also as a means of staying in touch with family and friends, banking, financial matters, tracking our expenses, and current and future planning.  Plus, without watching TV, it’s a significant source of entertainment when we’re not out and about.

When one only cooks dinner four times per week, has the house cleaned by others twice a week, has all the laundry washed, dried, and folded by others twice a week, one must have a source of distraction for several hours each day rather than staring into space. These services were all included in our rental.

A pair of waterbucks, posing from afar.

Our primary source of entertainment each day since arriving in Marloth Park on December 1st has been the glorious experience of sitting outside on the veranda, waiting for wildlife to visit. Although much of our time is spent scanning the bush, we still have ample hours to peruse online while we wait.

Yes, we do go out no less than three or four days/nights each week, loving every moment. We all have some downtime to fill. Perhaps for us, with no household chores to tackle, no lawn to mow, no garden to weed, no snow to shovel, we have more free time than most. I’m not complaining. We love it!

Five waterbucks walked across this shallow area of the Crocodile River to visit this island.

We discovered that purchasing a comparable laptop online, presented its own share of issues: international shipping and customs fees, add as much as 25% to the price. Also, a mailed computer could easily get stuck in customs upon entering South Africa, never arriving before we leave in five weeks.

If anything were to go wrong with the replacement, dealing with it from afar would be cumbersome when Skype is our only means of making phone calls. 

After all this time, I still haven’t had the broken screen on my smartphone repaired after I dropped it on the cement by the pool in Belize last March. With the inconvenience of arranging for service from outside the US, it wasn’t worth the trouble. Yeah, I know. I’m clumsy, breaking both a phone and a laptop in one 12 month period.  Tom says I’m “a bull in a China shop.”

Finally, darkness fell and we went indoors for dinner.

Bless his heart, Tom didn’t say a negative word.He knew I was torturing myself enough for both of us.He offered to swap laptops with me, but I refused. Why should he have to deal with this? 

We contacted Louise, our lovely property manager, asking if there was a nearby computer store. Alas, we were in luck. She told us that there was a quality store in Komatipoort and to ask for her friend Jorge. We were heading there for groceries anyway, so this was perfect. 

Off we went at noon with Okee Dokee. She knew exactly where the computer store was located, tucked away down a long alley in the back of other stores. If we’d still had a rental car, we’d have had a heck of a time finding it.

Meeting with Jorge, I explained all the specs I wanted, basically a newer model replacement of my touchscreen computer which sells online in the US for around US $700, ZAR $7705.39. Jorge, a very kind man, said he’d call or text later in the day when he got a quote for the replacement.

A few hours later, Jorge sent a text with the price for the replacement, which proved to be twice our original cost, twice the current price online in the US. His price was US $1350, ZAR $14,860, all-inclusive. I flinched.  Yes, this would avoid shipping and some customs fees. And, we may have considered it, if it had been any other brand name than offered, not worthy of a bashing mention here.

Later, back at home, I decided to make a serious assessment to determine if I could live with the damaged computer. Last night, we watched a movie after returning home from dinner. After a while, we got used to the cracks in the center of the screen.

I can still use the computer using keystrokes to maneuver, as opposed to the ease of using the former touchscreen. I can get past the cracks and the continuous dropping of small shards of glass. I can make it work until we get to Boston in less than eight months where we’ll make a new purchase if it holds up until then.

At least it wasn’t a snake bite. Or, a centipede sting! In the realm of things, having to pay for a replacement laptop is merely an annoyance and unexpected expense. By the time we get to Boston, our laptops will be two years old anyway and we both may be due for a replacement. 

We’ve been very blessed in our travels these past 15 months. Who’s to complain? Not I!

Typical day in the life…

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The blue in this photo is a small kiddy pool on the shared patio next door.  We don’t use that area due to the plants surrounding it that seems to attract more wasps and bees than on either our private patio or veranda. By the way, we do not take photos of topless sunbathers, often seen lounging on this shared patio.

A number of our friends have asked, “What do you guys do all day?”

With no yard work, no major cleaning, no visitors, no dog to walk, no nearby store or health club, no family coming for breakfast or dinner, no cable TV, and no English speaking neighbors to chat within the yard, how in the world could we possibly keep from getting bored?

This is not exclusively our dilemma.  Many retirees eventually move to a low maintenance lifestyle in warm climates far from family and friends, facing a similar situation. 

While living in Scottsdale, Arizona from November 4 to January 1, 2013, we were entrenched in such a lifestyle.

Tom’s sisters and brothers-in-law were living only a half-hour away in Apache Junction Arizona as they did each year to escape Minnesota’s rough winters. Connecting with them each week or so was a respite from our daily flurry of activities as we prepared to leave the US.

Switching back and forth between two local restaurants for breakfast every few mornings, dining out for dinner each week, and occasionally attending a local comedy club created a pleasant break in our daily routine.

During that two month period in Arizona, we were busy preparing documents to enable us to leave the US for an extended period, learning to use our new digital devices, preparing our taxes, and spending a week in Henderson Nevada with family over Christmas.  Actually, we visited Henderson on another occasion, to babysit our grand dog Monty while son Richard traveled out of town.

Without a doubt, it was a busy two months, not unlike the busy times spent with many of our retired friends who have condos in warm climates, living a rewarding and fulfilling life.

As for us living in Boveglio, it was a culture shock to realize no one and I mean no one speaks English. Not at the grocery store, not in the street, not a neighbor, not our landlords, not our cleaning lady, no one. Adapting to this reality has been challenging.

Much to my surprise, now when a person speaks to me in Italian I am able to decipher the gist of the conversation, although not able to translate word for word nor respond in other than a few Italian words I’ve managed to learn. 

Today, I researched the word for “thick” in Google Translate.  The butcher at the deli slices the bacon (US type) too thin, resulting in in cooking too quickly and well done. There are several options for “thick” in Italian: “spesso,” “denso,” “grosso.” We’ll see how it goes when we shop for groceries in the next few days when I attempt to explain the preferred thicker slicing of the bacon.

Two to three times per week someone rings our doorbell immediately speaking to me in Italian. (Tom refuses to answer the door, understanding less than my feeble attempt). They are either selling mops, brooms, and dustpans, frozen foods, looking for an address, looking for a person, or our kindly Santina, dropping off yet another bag filled with vegetables from her garden which we cook daily, never seeming to run out.

A few days ago, Tom and I chuckled over the fact that we’ve had more surprise visitors at the door in the past seven weeks since we’ve arrived in Boveglio, than we had in the prior seven years in our old lives, with each exchange challenging my language skills.

The point well-made: Not speaking Italian has had an enormous effect on the activities if our daily lives. So, how do we stay busy each day?

Here’s the rundown of our activities today.  Tom’s day is similar spending more time online than I do. (I’d be curious to hear from others as to their daily activities.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re similar.  Please do share).

7:30 am
Bolt out of bed.  Turn on the coffee. Shower and dress for the day.  Make the bed together.

8:00 am
Start a load of laundry.  Then, drink coffee and fire up the laptop, checking in.  Put away dried dishes from last night’s dinner.  (In my old life, I never left a plate to dry in the sink overnight).

8:30 am
Make breakfast: sausages, bacon, and eggs. Eat breakfast.

9:00 am
Do dishes. Decide on dinner. Hand cut the cabbage and carrots for the coleslaw, a daily task. There’s no pre-cut coleslaw mix here. Cutting it fresh each day seems to add to its crunchy texture. Slice and dice any other veggies for dinner.

9:30 am
Removed all the food in the freezer stacking it in the kitchen sink to begin the process of defrosting the freezer for the third time since we’ve arrived. The freezer is tiny. We need every inch of space for our next shopping trip. 

10:00 am
Tom poured the hot tea water into a pan, placing it in the freezer to aid in the defrosting process, repeating three times. Within a half-hour, the freezer was defrosted. I replaced the food, noting what we have on hand for the upcoming shopping trip.

10:30 am
Took the laundry out of the washer, starting another load of whites, hanging it outside on the patio (where the bees congregate). Quickly hung the laundry, in another successful attempt to avoid being stung.

11:00 pm
Made hot tea, taking it out to the veranda with my laptop in hand, to begin writing this post, while responding to email, etc. Continued to check the laundry. When the sweat started dripping off of me, I switched to iced tea, capping off the liter container. Used the remaining hot water in the coffee machine to make a new batch of iced tea.

11:30 am
Observed topless woman arranging her chaise lounge on the patio next door. Mentioned this to Tom. Using his monitor as a mirror, he checked it out to no avail. Turning around would have been tacky and obvious. I had a better vantage point.

11:56 pm
Heard twelve clangs of the clock tower next door, always four to five minutes early, repeating at 11:58.  Removed the second load of laundry from the washer heading out to our patio to hang today’s final load. Finished making the pitcher of iced tea, chilling it in the fridge. Back to the veranda to work on my laptop.

1:00 pm
Laptop batteries were almost dead. Returned laptops to the kitchen table to recharge and began downloading TV shows and movies from Graboid for tonight’s viewing. Sat in the living room, playing Gin with Tom while English speaking international news program played in the background.  He won.

2:30 pm
Laptop batteries recharged, Tom headed back to the veranda while I read my latest mystery novel on my smartphone while lounging on the lumpy 100-year-old sofa in the living room. It was 95 degrees and steamy yesterday. Today it was only 90 but steamy as a gentle breeze wafted from the living room window, the opening now covered with mosquito netting, keeping the bees and flies at bay.

4:30 pm
Tea time, a daily ritual, hot or not. Tom had already showered and returned to the veranda with his charged laptop.  I brought in the now dry laundry from the patio while once again batted off the bees, folded everything, and put it all away.

5:45 pm
Begin final prep for our dinner, planned as usual for 7:00 pm. Yesterday, I prepared, but didn’t cook our dinner for tonight, a common practice with no microwave, making two night’s meals, cooking one each night for optimum freshness and enjoyment. Chopped more zucchini, to soon be cooked in olive oil with fresh garlic and herbs from the garden.

6:00 pm
Arranged the clean and dry tablecloth onto the kitchen table, setting our places for dinner: linen napkins, forks, and sharp knives.

6:15 pm
Mixed up the coleslaw dividing it into two batches and placed them back into the refrigerator to stay cold.  Preheated the oven to bake the cheesy chicken/bacon roll-ups, a recipe I got off Facebook, which I modified with local ingredients. Chopped the sausage and onion for the stir fry side dish. Prepared the fresh green beans. It’s a good thing that Tom does the dishes with so many pots to wash. Good thing there are enough pots in which to cook.

6:30 pm
Put the chicken in the oven. Started the stir fry sausage and onions.

This is the pan of yet to be cooked bacon and pancetta-wrapped chicken scallopini (thin slices of chicken breasts pounded by the butcher) that I stuffed with seasoned ricotta cheese and chopped herbs from our private garden, wrapping them in in the two versions of “bacon,” Tom prefers regular US-style bacon and me, loving the thin-sliced pancetta.  These cooked for 30 minutes at 375 degrees (180 centigrade). I topped this with an Italian pesto sauce I’d made using ingredients from the garden.

6:45 pm
Started the green beans. Reheated the zucchini. Tended to the stir fry as it cooked.

7:00 pm
Served dinner with each of us easily moving through the kitchen to fill our various plates with a wide array of food. Sat at the kitchen table eating our meal while watching a show, a favorite ritual when its just the two of us. Again tonight, we watched another episode of the current season of  “America’s Got Talent.” More light entertainment we find to be rather humorous and entertaining.

7:45 pm
Having enjoyed our dinner with the show over, Tom washed the mountain of dishes while I cleaned off the table the stove, and the countertops.

8:15 pm
Set up my laptop in the living room in order for us to watch two shows tonight, the final first season’s episode of The Killing (AMC) as well as episode 5 of House of Cards (Netflix production). Positioned ourselves as comfortably as possible on the lumpy 100-year-old sofa. 

9:45 pm
Finished watching the two shows.  Downloaded from Graboid, there are no commercials reducing the actual viewing time. It’s at this time, I usually take my smartphone to bed to read until Tom comes to bed.  (I read my downloaded ebooks on the same smartphone I’d dropped on the cement in March in Belize. Never having had the screen repaired due to the inconvenience of shipping it back and forth, I quickly read the first sentence at the top of the screen which was the most damaged area. Once past that first sentence, the remainder of the reading is a breeze.

11:30 pm
Tom came to bed, his smartphone in hand to read his book while I attempt to go to sleep. By midnight, he turns off his phone, lightly snoring a few minutes later.

12:00 am
Tossing and turning I struggled to find a comfortable spot for my still painful but improved right shoulder.  Within a half-hour, blissful slumber overtakes me only to be interrupted by dreams of having to get up to go to “work,” driving in the snow, office politics, deadlines, trying to achieve the impossible, a true “frustration dream” often similarly repeated several times a week. 

Does this mean I feel guilty about our simple life, our never boring routine? I don’t feel guilty, but I do still pinch myself every few days as many retirees may do, asking themselves, “Am I really free? Is it true that I don’t have to go back to work on Monday morning? May I now enjoy Sunday afternoons, angst-free, knowing that Mondays are just another “typical day in the life?

Part 1, Rainy day road trip to the walled city of Lucca…

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Lucca aerial view in the “borrowed” photo.  The remainder of the photos are all ours, some blurred due to the pouring rain.

After commenting in Sunday’s post regarding the recent lack of soaking rain, we took off on Monday morning amid an ominous looking sky. Would our long-awaited road trip to Lucca be spoiled by rain?

We were driving around the walled city of Lucca in the pouring rain looking for a parking spot.
As we made our way around the exterior of the walled city of Lucca, we traveled under this canopy of trees.

Halfway down the mountains, we realized that we should have brought the umbrella in the stand by the front door. Do we turn back calling it a day or forge ahead risking getting soaked?

As we waited our turn to enter the one-way road to gain access inside the walled city. We’d waited long enough for the rain to stop and the sun came out.  We were anxious to get inside before it started again.
The walled city piqued our interest to the point that we were determined to find a decent parking spot close to the entrance. The rain was pelting the windshield and we didn’t want to walk any further than we had to without an umbrella.
I took a photo of this street sign near where we first parked outside the walled city of Lucca in the event we had trouble finding the car later.  This is the general location that Tom perused looking for a place to get change for the required parking sticker.

With the unpredictability of the weather changes in these hills, we hadn’t bothered to check the weather report having found it be relatively inaccurate when doing so. 

Once inside the walled city, we encountered several dead-end one-way roads requiring that we back up long distances. Cars were only allowed in specific areas with no signs indicating dead-end roads. Patience prevailed.

Sunday was by far the hottest day and night we’ve experienced since arriving in Boveglio six weeks ago. The night was steamy. The fan and opened windows offered little relief as we tossed and turned most of the night.  Monday morning, as we prepared to take off on our road trip the heat and humidity were unbearable. 

Would the rain ever stop and would we find a place to park?


The more we drove around, the more the rain picked up.

Hoping to leave around 10:30 am, we decided to leave early if only to get into the air-conditioned car. I can honestly say I don’t recall being that hot and uncomfortable since the day we visited the White Mosque in Abu Dhabi while I was sick with that awful virus and required to wear the long black abaya while the temperature was well over 100 degrees. 

Having poorly planned for the rainy day, our frustration level grew as we drove around looking for a place to stop.  Surprisingly, we both stayed calm and cheerful.  Gosh, that helps in these situations, doesn’t it?
As we maneuvered our way down the mountains through the usual hairpin turns Tom was mindful of the numerous signs warning “roads slippery when wet.” As the rain began to fall on the windshield in giant drops, we looked at each other wondering if we should have postponed our trip after all.
It was raining too hard to open the door or the window of the car to take a photo. Instead, once we were parked in this free parking spot by this church, we were within running distance to the restaurant where we had lunch while waiting again for the rain to stop which eventually it did, although not entirely.

“Ah,” Tom said, “we’re already committed. Let’s continue on.”

I agreed. Less than an hour later we arrived in the walled city of Lucca, rain pelting so hard, my attempts at photos taking were considerably hindered. Then the fun began!

Many of the old buildings were homes for local residents.  We wondered where they were able to park their cars.  We never encountered any hotels within the walls of the city although they may have existed. Outside the walls, the remainder of the city was hustling and bustling with tourists, restaurants, and lots of traffic.

Finding a parking spot in Lucca was an adventure in itself.  Keep in mind that Tom is not the most patient guy on the planet.  His frustration level exacerbates, minute by minute when he can’t find a spot causing him to drive too fast to be able to grab a suddenly available spot. 

As you can see, Tom was not thrilled with the Italian menu and lack of options befitting his picky taste buds. Too many items included many vegetables and an abundance of squiggly seafood, none to his liking. On the ships, he was more adventuresome eating escargot and Oysters Rockefeller. What happened?  He cringed when he saw the octopus tentacles on my warmed seafood salad.
This restaurant had an extensive menu, most in Italian.  All Tom wanted was a pizza with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and olives. When his pizza arrived it was uncut with a crispy thin crust making it difficult to cut. The sausages looked like rounds of hot dogs. To say the least, he wasn’t thrilled with the pizza, only eating a small amount.  My meal was extraordinary, full of seafood, perfectly cooked, and seasoned.

Desperately trying to bite my tongue and yet be of assistance as we drove around the walled city of Lucca in the pouring rain was challenging. 

Finally, after lunch, we began our three-hour walk through the walled city of Lucca.  Apparently, this building is a name according to Google Translate.

Gaining access to the walled city can be tricky when attempting to park outside the massive two-mile-long wall surrounding the entire city of churches, historic buildings, restaurants, and shops.  There were a limited number of access points requiring a substantial walk-in in most cases.

This is actually a stuffed pug in the window of a shop in the walled city. So cute!

Alas, we found a spot within a 15-minute walk. With the pouring rain and no umbrella, no hoodies, no plastic bags nor any hats we were stranded for a while. As we sat in the car, again Tom suggested we go back home and reschedule for another day. 

The side view of the Church of San Michele in San Michele Square.
The front view of the Church of San Michele in San Michele Square.
This statue is of Francesco Burlamacchi.
A more detailed view of the steeple on the Church of San Michele.

Mutually agreeing to wait in the car for the rain to let up, we thought we’d give it an hour. After all, we had come all this way. We watched other more ambitious tourists walked toward the walled city with their umbrellas, wildly flapping in the lofty breeze while getting soaked from the sideways rain.

This restaurant and outdoor café look appealing but we’d already had lunch.

After waiting 30-minutes, the rain let up enough that we exited the car to begin the walk to the city. Five minutes into the walk, Tom suddenly stopped at a ticketing type machine situated on a large post indicating (in Italian) that one must purchase a parking ticket before leaving their car unattended or they’d be towed. Oh, good grief! 

This may have been Piazza San Giusto.

Could we even imagine the nightmare of coming back to find the “sold” rental car towed away?  I thought it was weird that no other passersby were purchasing parking tickets at the machine.  The cost was Euro $1 an hour.  Estimating that we’d be in the walled city at least three hours, the cost would be US $3.96, not too bad after all.

The bigger problem was that we didn’t have a single Euro coin on us.  All the Euros coins we’d had were inside the plastic bags we’d hung on the windows and doors to scare off the flies. 

Tom handed me the car keys so I could go back to wait in the car to ensure we wouldn’t be ticketed or towed while he’d find a place to get change.  I began imagining that a cop would come by instructing me to move the stick shift car.  I hadn’t driven a stick shift vehicle in 25 years. 

This was my favorite statue in Lucca, Giacomo Puccini, famed composer of Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, and more. In the background are his house and a now-closed museum. His statue seemed to attract the most tourists, especially us opera lovers. Unfortunately, opera season is winter.  Otherwise, we would’ve seen a few, no matter how far we’d have had to drive.

And if I had to move the car after I made a fool of myself in Italian traffic, how would I tell Tom who was running around to find change? This was one of those times, a working cell phone would have been handy. But it was also the first time we’d be separated from each other in a public street. (Next country, we’ll be getting local SIM cards).

This mime painted white, as we’ve seen in other European cities attracted a considerable amount of attention, many tossing coins into his gold bucket on the ground.

I headed to the car. Tom took off across the street to find a place for change for a $5 Euro bill. While sitting in the car waiting I made a special point of watching to see if anyone, anyone at all, put money in the ticket machine to pull out a sticker to place on their parked car. Not a one! But that was the least of my problems.

The Pretorio Palace Clock.

When 20 minutes passed and Tom hadn’t returned, I started watching the only clock in my possession which was on the camera. When 30 minutes passed, I was looking at the Lucca map as to the closest police station.  What was taking so long???? What if something happened to him? What if two hours passed and he still hadn’t returned? A million possibilities ran through my mind.

We were in a busy commercial area of shops, bars, and restaurants.  I’d noticed a bank as we approached the parking area. Was he stuck in one of those “revolving bank tubes?” Was he kidnapped? Was he injured?

Matteo Civitali (1436-1502) was an Italian sculptor and architect.

The minutes dragged on. I promised myself to do nothing other than wait until a full hour passed.  hen I’d get into action, calmly and resourcefully.  My fear was for his well being, not for me being stranded without him. 

Overreacting would not be helpful. I’d made a plan that I’d leave a note on the inside of the windshield, stating that I’d gone to the police station a few blocks away and to look for me there. The clock ticked away. My heart thumped in my chest.

Finally, at 40 minutes, I saw Tom briskly walking in the returned rain down the long sidewalk, anxious to get into the shelter of the car. Sighing a sigh of relief, explaining my worry about him, he proceeded to tell me his awful experience at the bank across and down the street, a long convoluted story of waiting in line. 

He was behind a customer in line who appeared to be purchasing a home while a solitary teller was busy copying page after page of documents, one at a time, with the printer in another room, having the customer sign one page at a time. As time marched on and not wanting to give up, he waited impatiently, all the while waving his $5 bill, hoping someone would help him. I get it. I wasn’t mad, just worried.

As we woefully looked at each other, the rain now furiously pelting passersby, having not yet put the money in the machine, we decided to take our chances and drive inside the walled city, unsure if this was even possible or if there would be a place to park.

Finally, we were inside in one of the limited interior peripheral free parking spots with the rain still pouring down as indicated in some of our photos.  Within the running distance of an opened restaurant coupled with the original plan on having lunch in Lucca, we ran for it. 

The restaurant, overflowing with customers coming in from the rain, was a quaint red checkered tablecloth kind of eatery.  Within 10 minutes we were seated at a table busily figuring out the Italian menu. 

I loved my gluten -ree warm seafood salad with mussels, clams, calamari, and octopus on a bed of steamed vegetables.  Tom didn’t enjoy his pizza, a medium-thin crispy crust pizza arriving uncut with sparse toppings, a far cry from our homemade pizza.  With a few menu items he was willing to eat, mostly seafood, he varied from our strict GF diet (with no ill effect for this single occasion).

US $35 later, we were out the door, as the rain gave us a welcomed reprieve to begin our long walk through the walled city.  Our parking spot by the restaurant didn’t require payment with us free to park for the entire period of our self imposed excursion. 

With an excellent map of Lucca in hand, kindly given to us by our new friend Michela, we were able to peruse the majority of the walled city visiting most of the highlighted areas of interest.  The rain was off and on, the heat and humidity consistent but we were content to explore, take photos, and the time rushed by.

Three hours later, we’d seen everything we’d hoped and were anxious to get back into the air-conditioned comfort of the tiny stick shift car. 

In Europe, taking a leak is an issue. One cannot walk into an establishment to use their “WC.”  One must make a purchase and then may pee.  Tom and I have learned to plan accordingly, drinking only one cup of coffee this morning, peeing before we leave the house, drinking no hot or iced tea before leaving and bringing only one bottled water to share, taking small sips as necessary in the heat. 

If we weren’t careful, we’d have had to put “pee” expenses into our budget.  No, thank you.  Pee should be free. We have a receptacle suitable for either of us, that we keep in the little car in the event of an emergency, which, I should mention, has been utilized.  Enough said.

Lucca was an interesting city.  The history of the walled city is here. Rain or no rain we had a good day experiencing yet another aspect of the rich Italian history.

Stop back tomorrow for Part 2 with the remaining photos and commentary.  Thanks as always, for stopping by!

Finally, in our new home for the next few weeks…On Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas!…

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The pilot boat approaching our ship to let the pilot on board to guide us out of the Port of Barcelona

Prior to leaving the Hotel Grums at 10:30, we asked the reception desk to order us an SUV type taxi.  Within two minutes a small taxi appeared on the street with a taxi driver insisting that he was the one called. 

This five mast sail boat was touring with passengers when we stopped in Mallorca Spain on the way to Barcelona.

With our multiple bags on the curb, we waved a hand showing him how much we have and he claimed in unintelligible Spanish that he could fit us and the bags into his small cab.  Not possible.

Views as we pulled away from Barcelona

As we shook our heads “no” a second equally small cab appeared saying he was the taxi called.  He commenced arguing with the first driver.  Another 60 seconds later, a larger SUV taxi appeared just as I began to walk back into the hotel to ask for their help.

The Windjammer Buffet, very nice, great food, comfortable ambiance.

The three cab drivers stood on the street yelling profanities (from what I could determine) at one another.  The hotel desk guy came running out into the street yelling at the first two cab drivers, explaining that he’d ordered the SUV taxi not the two smaller taxis.

Four of them were yelling all at one.  Finally, after an obscene gesture by cab driver #1, the two drove off in a huff, leaving us grateful to the hotel guy for interceding in our behalf. 

Apparently, they all heard the request for a cab at the same time, scuttling to our location hoping they’d be chosen.  Twenty Euros (US $26) later and a short 10 minute drive we arrived at the Porte of Barcelona.

The process of boarding Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas was disorganized and time consuming.  This was our worst boarding to date with over 2000 passengers boarding speaking in at least 10 languages all seeming to arrive at the Port of Barcelona, earlier than the suggested 1:00 PM arrival as stated on the cruise documents.

Arriving at the pier at 10:45, our nine items were tagged and quickly whisked away including one of our two rolling luggage carriers which we kept to hold our carry on bags:  our prescription bag, two computer bags, my handbag and one small bag with a newly broken zipper. 

View from the ladies room by the Windjammer Buffet. 

At this point, we proceeded to the lengthy line waiting to go through the first round of security, with a newfound interest in paying special attention as to what we put into the white plastic bins and what came out after the knife incident (see post of May 1 about this incident).

With our vitamins scattered throughout our bags, now checked we felt at ease going through security.   Our year’s worth of prescriptions were in my hand as always in a wrapped cloth bags with accompanying documents in a computer bags.  We made it through without a hitch with two more checkpoints yet to go.

A full three hours later we used our new key card/ship credit card to unlock our balcony cabin with nary a moment of disappointment as to its amenities. Roomier than most other cabins, it was clean, comfortable and well stocked.

In the casino this glass floor was a sight to behold.

Soon, our delightful Chinese cabin attendant, Jing, stopped by to see to our needs:  ice daily, morning and night, a few laundry bag (we had hand washed small items but had 16 days worth of wash with no laundry facilities on board the Epic nor here on the Mariner of the Seas.

Shortly after unpacking a few items, we were herded of to  our muster station to be left standing in one spot for over an hour while they waited for dallying passengers to appear for the mandatory emergency evacuation training.  In our minds, they should have begun on time requiring the late comers to attend a separate training.

It was frustrating and annoying as unconcerned passengers lollygagged to the area at their own pace with little regard for the process.

More of the playful décor in the casino.

However, the passengers on this ship is of entirely different demographics, mostly retired travelers, (although over half are non-English speaking), leaving us feeling more comfortable in the less noisy, less rowdy party-like crowd we experienced on the Epic, especially over the last four days of the cruise when many new passengers boarded in Barcelona.

With our diminished inventory of clothing after ridding ourselves of five large suitcases since April 13th, we can’t go for long without getting our dirty laundry washed. Today, we loaded 25 items into the ship provided laundry bags, handing them over to Jing to be returned to us tomorrow, most likely at a cost of over $100.

Right now as I sit here in the Café Promenade along the “street” inside the ship, entitled the Promenade, I am wearing a nice tee shirt and my solitary remaining pair of workout capris. Literally all of my few remaining casual shorts and jeans are being laundered.

The Savoy Theatre where we attended two seminars today.

Ugh!  Tonight is dress-up night.  We will be forced to wear casual dressy (if such a thing exists).  Tom’s suits and sport coats where shipped to Julie, my sister in LA, and I donated all of my dressy dresses, leaving me with but a few casual dresses to dress up with costume jewelry.

All future photos of us will be with us wearing the same darned clothes over and over.  Sorry.  Its the nature of the beast. Tom always comments when he’s wearing the same shirt over and over in photos.  We’ll wear these clothes until they fall apart, replacing them one item at a time.  I even donated five of my bathing suits, leaving me with a tiny inventory.  Oh well.

The Promenade, an actual street with shops, bars and restaurants.

So, this ship?  Do we like it?  Love it? Or what?  Its early to say for sure, but so far, we love it!  It reminds us of our favorite Celebrity Century, although its 1000 passengers larger.  Its an older ship like the Century possessing the “old Hollywood charm” we so much love.  We’re content as we could be.

More treats in the Café Promenade, none of which we could eat.

In two days, we’ll arrive in Alexandria Egypt.  At 7:15 am we join a shore excursion to see the Great Pyramids, Giza ad the Sphinx at $179 per person.  The 12 1/2 hour expedition requires hats, sunscreen and bottled water, includes a buffet lunch in a fancy hotel in Cairo, five to six hours on the bus and…a three and a half hour walk in the desert, mostly uphill to arrive at our destinations. Oh.

Café Promenade “outdoor” bar.
Café Promenade, all foods and beverages are included in the fare.

This morning, after a seminar on our upcoming ports of call: Egypt, Jordan and United Arab Emirates including some history of these countries, I headed to the health club to test my ability to walk uphill for on the treadmill for 40 minutes.  All went well but in the upcoming 100 degree heat, the desert sands blowing in our faces, it will be a totally different experience than walking on a treadmill in air conditioned comfort.

Décor in the playful casino.

There many passengers much older than us with walkers, wheelchairs and medical conditions affecting their ability too walk.  If they can do the 3 1/2 hours, so can we.  The key will be staying hydrated during the entire period.

If we are back with photos on Friday morning, then we made it. We’ve heard many stories of the difficult hike.

Another pool view later in the day as it warmed up slightly.  Brave souls in the cool air.

As we’ve determined, we won’t be riding the camels after hearing many horror stories of people being thrown off the camels or, the camels being run out further into the desert by their swindling owners in order to rob unwary passengers, left to fen for themselves miles from civilization. Then there’s the stories of the camels turning their long necks to bite the riders, leaving many severely injured.  No thank you.

While in the Savoy Theatre today.

Tonight, we’re meeting our new friends, Adele and Wally for dinner at the Sound of Music Dining Room.  We met them while at the Hotel Grums in Bareclona this Sunday, only to discover that they were also boarding this ship on Monday.  Small world.

As for dinner last night…heavenly.  Yes, they also will require me to pre-order for the next night but, they are more accommodating than any other ship, running circles around me to provide me with the perfect three course dinner.

My view this morning while working out on the treadmill.  To the left of this photo is the bridge which we can peer into through windows down a short flight of steps.

The food was fabulous:  a seafood salad made with homemade mayonnaise and excellent seasonings, a dinner salad of fresh greens, vegetables and giant chunks of perfectly cooked rare sliced tenderloin with a side of steamed veggies.  For dessert:  a plate of cheese comparable to the fine cheeses I devoured daily in Belize from Cavesbranch Cheese Factory in Belmopan.

Tom enjoyed his dinner as well.  The service is extraordinary everywhere we’ve been on this ship in the past 24 hours. Perhaps, its a little early to say we love this ship although, we have a feeling the pleasure will continue all the way to Dubai.

The health club, well-equipment, good views.

We’ll be back tomorrow, Wednesday and again on Friday with photos and stories of our adventures to Egypt, the only remaining ancient Wonder of the World.  Gee…sounds like us, ancient wanderers of the world.