Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.

Big Daddy by candlelight.

Some days are easier than others. Today isn’t one of them for me. After a fitful dream-filled night’s sleep and feeling sluggish during my walks, I’m looking forward to a new day.

We spotted seven giraffes on the road on the way to the market.

The monotony of our routine coupled with the uncertainty of when we’ll move on hits me from time to time, and today is that time. Oddly, I have a bit of a headache which I never get, which surely must be from a lack of sleep coupled with a tinge of frustration. 

No, this isn’t easy, not for you, not for us. We’re seeing news from around the world that people are being allowed outdoors for exercise in most states, in most countries.

Giraffes in the bush in the neighborhood.

However, with Mumbai currently listed as a “hot zone” or “epicenter” and with mobility restrictions high, there’s no way we’ll venture outdoors. Also, we’re in the center of downtown Mumbai, an area that may not be safe to walk now or even after some restrictions are eventually lessened. 

Although crime in the streets has been dramatically reduced during this period, many desperate people lurk in alleys and narrow streets trying to figure out ways to feed themselves and their families. Who’d want to walk in these areas?

There have been reports of lockdown violators being attacked and even murdered. It’s a mixed bag, some are careless and venture out without regard for the safety of others, and some consider themselves to be vigilantes in attacking lockdown offenders. In any case, we won’t be going anywhere.

As for the 40 business people here in the hotel, we’ve yet to see any of them. We only go downstairs twice a day to collect our meals and no longer sit in the lobby when the room is being cleaned. Instead, we stand outside our door and wait for the cleaners to get done.

Female giraffes have hair at the end of their ossicones.  The hair at the back of the male’s ossicones becomes worn off from fighting for dominance.

Yesterday, I asked our cleaners (although they speak limited English) to go down to the second floor where the 40 guests are staying to clean those rooms. Emphatically, they both shook their head “no,” assuring us they had plenty of spaces to clean on this fourth floor.

Lots of bushbabies on the stand.

Here’s a photo I took yesterday while walking of the designated lift for the 40 guests. As shown, it’s taped off to prevent us or anyone on this floor from using it. The hotel sanitizes the lifts every few nights, but having our lift for this floor provides a little peace of mind.

I took this crooked photo of the lift’s door while walking by in a hurry when I noticed people coming out of their room. Although I wear a mask while walking, I steer clear of other people even if they’re also wearing masks. Some guests do not wear a mask.

As for the guests as mentioned above (in the photo’s caption) who do not wear a mask, I keep hearing on the news and podcasts that masks are most helpful in preventing “carriers” from transmitting the virus if they cough, sneeze or speak, not necessarily protecting those without the virus from contracting it from infected people.

This is a grouping of those dangerous caterpillars that can cause a severe reaction if they contact humans or animals.

There’s varying and conflicting information on wearing a face mask, and for now, we prefer to wear a mask. Medical information changes daily. I am sure at some point it will come out that “everyone” wearing masks aided in the reduction in the number of cases, of course, coupled with social distancing and hand washing.

That’s all I’ve got to say today, folks that aren’t necessarily uplifting, but reality.                                                                              

Photo from one year ago today, May 4, 2019:

A tower of five giraffes on the road in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.

A young male kudu at a nearby construction site.

Last night at 10:30 pm, our room phone rang. In the seconds until Tom answered and told me the nature of the call, my first thoughts were that the hotel was going to close down and we’d have to move out in the morning. 

Over and over, I heard Tom say, “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh,” as he carefully listened. The rich accent of the Indian people is often difficult for him to decipher since he’s hard of hearing after years of working on the railroad. 

He often hands the phone over to me, but this time, he doesn’t. I practically held my breath in anticipation. He hung up to tell me that 40 guests are checking in the hotel on Sunday (today) and will be on another floor with their designated lift. This morning we noticed a sign on their lift).

Vervet monkeys are cute and fun to watch but are highly destructive, especially if they get inside the house.

Wanting to know more, I called the reception desk asking myriad questions, hoping to diminish our risks of being in contact with these people from the outside world with any one of them potentially carrying COVID-19 without symptoms.

As we all know, taking temperatures, as they do here when new people check-in, is of little value when the vast majority of “carriers” don’t have abnormal temperature and no symptoms whatsoever.

The business group of 40 will each stay in their rooms with no sharing allowed, which makes little difference. Why would this be a concern to us if they are staying on another floor, using a separate lift, and dining in the dining room while we’re dining in our room?

A giraffe in the bush was checking out her surroundings.

For several reasons. As we’ve seen on the news regarding cruise ships, many staff members developed the virus and passed it on to guests and vice versa. It still goes back to the “carriers.” 

While these 40 people are here, the staff will serve their meals, touch their plates, and possibly some food. In addition, the team will clean their rooms. 

Although we see that all staff has begun wearing masks for the first time since we arrived on March 24th, our concern is that their hands will come in contact with these potentially infected individuals from the outside world.

A fish eagle, one of the most prolific eagles in Kruger National Park.

You may think we are overly cautious. But, if you’ve followed how easily and quickly the virus is passed on, especially in groups, our concern is well-founded.

Today, we ramped up our protection even further. No longer will we wait in the lobby while our room is being cleaned. We’ll wait outside the door to our room, standing in the hallway, wearing our masks. During this period, I’ll probably walk the corridors. 

Next, this morning, we advised the restaurant manager that we do not want any servers to handle our plates of food, now while the 40 people are here for five days or into the future. The cooks can place the food on plates and place them on the counter, and we’ll pick it up from there. 

Bushbabies…

At first, we used stainless steel covers. Now we won’t use the covers since a server would have placed them atop our plates. We will cover the food with a clean hand towel from our room.

Once they leave, we won’t have peace of mind until two to three weeks pass. However, now that this business group is checking in, we can assume other business travelers will arrive in days, weeks, and months to come. After all, this is a corporate hotel. 

This group is arriving from various parts of Mumbai, the biggest virus hotspot in all of India. Our concerns are not unfounded. Once domestic travel resumes, we can expect many more business travelers to stay at this hotel. 

This toxic caterpillar is to be avoided at all costs.  The hairs can cause a toxic reaction and considerable distress.

We must remain vigilant in our mission to avoid contracting the virus and diligent in our sanitation methods. Through Amazon India, I ordered more disposable face masks, disposable gloves, and hand sanitizer while it was still available. 

These items will arrive within ten days. In the interim, we have a sufficient number of face masks we’d purchased while in the US with the intent of protecting us from the smog in India. Fortunately, we’d selected masks that protect against viruses as well.

There’s nothing as pretty as a full moon.

Plus, the masks we’re saving for the airport when we fly away are N99 masks, even more, protective than the N95. When we purchased all these masks in December, we had no idea about the virus and never thought we were buying items needed by the medical profession. Now that we have them, we’ll certainly be using them.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Each day poses its new challenges, as we’re sure transpires for most of you. There’s no easy way to get through this. We each forge ahead in the best way we can.

Stay safe.

Photo from one year ago today, May 4, 2019:

Fish eagles often land on dead trees, which enables them to scour the area for food.  They also eat carrion and fish and are classified as kleptoparasites (they steal prey from other birds). Goliath Herons are known to lose a percentage of their catch to fish eagles. Their primary diet is fish, sometimes dead, but mostly caught live. Catfish and lungfish are seen most frequently. For more on this post, please click here.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.

Ah, it would be nice to go into a kitchen, do some chopping, and dice to prepare a lovely meal with a salad, a protein, and a few side dishes, mainly vegetable-based.

Even the cleanup wouldn’t feel like a task at this point. Instead, as discussed in yesterday’s post here, we have a new routine to ramp up our level of safety… dining twice a day in our hotel room. 

Dad (far left), mom, and ostrich chicks.

But, the staff is under enormous stress. They are away from their families, living in the hotel to avoid infecting each other and the few guests here. No doubt, they are grateful to have their jobs still, but this certainly must be a strain on them. 

Tom often sees figures of one type or another in cloud formations.  In this case, he saw an angel.

We never hear a whimper of dissatisfaction due to this situation when serving us, and they are always gracious and kind. It’s up to us to respond in like behavior to appreciate how well they are treating us and what they’ve sacrificed to be here. We often praise them for the great food and service for which we tip staff accordingly.

Luckily, we could get plenty of cash from an ATM before we arrived at this hotel on March 24th. Hopefully, it will last for a few more months. At this point, with the significant number of cases in Mumbai (over 10,000), going to an ATM would not be wise. (Although we can’t walk in the streets here, the hotel’s driver could take us to an ATM or pharmacy if necessary).

The sugar cane burning season has started once again, during which we get soot on the veranda and even into the house when the wind is blowing.

Anyway, back to last night’s dinner. We sat in the lobby for 15 minutes with our masks on, waiting for our food. No one was sitting near us. Finally, our dinner was ready, and each was placed on a very heavy tray. 

With my arms still not as strong as they used to be before surgery, I could barely carry my heavy tray loaded with a ceramic bowl of Paneer Makhani and another full-sized ceramic plate of sauteed cabbage and spinach. 

A mom and her calf cooling off in the river.

All the while, carrying the tray from the restaurant, up the lift, and down the long haul to our room, I felt as if I’d drop it. Tom had his tray to carry, and there was no way he could have taken mine.

As we advance, I won’t order the Paneer Makhani. It’s comparable to a big bowl of soup and too hard to carry on the tray. I’ll stick with the grilled chicken or salmon with two vegetable sides, which will enable me to carry one plate with the metal serving lid. This way, I won’t need to use the heavy tray.

Possibly, a mom and her two offspring, most likely born five years apart or more, which is typical for elephants.

Going forward, after mentioning last night’s delay to the restaurant manager, we’re anticipating our food will be ready at 7:00 pm sharp. This reduces our exposure waiting in the lobby.

This morning, I called to request our usual breakfast 15 minutes before heading down, again wearing the masks. We didn’t want to be locked into a specific time for breakfast which would require us getting up and ready by a particular time, which varies day by day. This morning it was ready when we arrived.

A young bull, most likely ostracized from the herd as he matured, wanders down the hill in Kruger to the Crocodile River.

We’re keeping flatware in the room and washing and drying it in the bathroom. This way, fewer staff members will be handling it. Tom insists on returning the dirty dishes to the restaurant (wearing a mask) when he didn’t want to leave the dirty dishes in our room or outside our door.

When I do my hourly walk, I put on a mask before heading out the door. When I encounter people in the corridor, I face the wall to avoid any head-on encounters. This is odd for me since I’ve always been so friendly. I’m sure many of you are facing this exact situation.

Each day, a mating pair of hornbills stop by and ask for birdseed which we place on the table and the container.  If we don’t quickly respond to their noisy request, they bang on the window glass until we do.

Comparable to the other routines we’ve established during this time of COVID-19, this dining routine will become second nature to us in the next several days. Life during this dreadful period isn’t easy for any of us.

Thanks to our readers/friends for all the positive and supportive email messages. All of you mean the world to us.

Photo from one year ago today, May 2, 2019:

We often see mongooses in the garden resting their chins on branches, rocks, or each other. For more from this post, please click here.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.

We knew this day would come. More guests have check-in the hotel. We’re only days or weeks away from Prime Minister Modi allows some businesses to reopen, although airports and public gatherings will still be in lockdown. We aren’t particular about hotel re-opening as yet.

A tree bark gecko in our garden.

Currently, some hotels only house people like us, along with a low number of Indian citizens who have no place to stay, like us. Other hotels are potential housing carriers of COVID-19 and those still in quarantine with confirmed cases requiring hospitalization. We’re grateful we didn’t have to stay in such a quarantine hotel.

Now, as we’ve noticed some staff members wearing masks that weren’t doing so a week ago, and in seeing a new group of four young Indians, we’re wondering if now is the time to ramp up our safety.

A massive bull elephant in Kruger.

Only yesterday, we noticed tape on the lift floor, designating where guests should stand when riding together. We refuse to enter the lift with any others, even staff we know.

This morning, we had a new server at breakfast. When we inquired, he stated he arrived at the hotel last night to take over for other servers who were allowed to return to their homes after a six-week stint during which they stayed overnight each night.

A rhino in Kruger.

We ask ourselves: Have new staff members been exposed to the outside world, and may they be the invisible carriers we hear so much about from the media? No symptoms. Highly contagious.

No, we’re not overly paranoid, but we are considering changes we may need to make, especially when servers may be carriers, touching our flatware, plates, glasses, and other food-serving apparatus.

Vultures are on the lookout for their next meal.

The government now requires any facilities that serve food to keep tables un-set until guests sit down to eat. No more linen napkins. No more salt and pepper shakers left on tables. This way, they can sanitize each table after guests have completed their meals.

But still, this is no guarantee of safety. Someone is handling all of these items. And isn’t that one of the many reasons so many passengers and crew became sick on all the cruises we hear so much about?

A parade of elephants crossing a dirt road in Kruger.

Last night, we discussed the following precautions. If we see more new staff and guests entering the hotel, we may have to begin eating our two meals a day in our room.

Today, another comfortable chair was delivered to our room, enabling Tom to stop sitting in bed. We made room for the extra padded chair without sacrificing any valuable space in the room. We turned the TV to watch the news and occasional episodes of Nat Geo, as we often have on in the background during the day.

Cautiously, they make their way across the road.

Besides, no room service is allowed during times of COVID-19. If and when we begin dining in our hotel room, we’ll have to pick up our meals from the kitchen, thus avoiding any servers handling our food. At that point, I think we’ll wash our forks and knives to prevent further handling.

As for the bad news about South Africa, several of our friends have informed us that incoming international travel won’t be allowed until at least December, six months or more from now. We expect India’s international flights will commence much sooner.

Intimidating mouthful of razor-sharp teeth.

We now accept the reality that we’ll need to fly somewhere else before we can plan on flying to South Africa. Our next booked cruise sails out of Lisbon, Portugal on November 10, ending up in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 2, which may or may not be canceled. We have no clue at this point.  

The final payment is due in July. We’ll have to wait and see what transpires with the Azamara cruise line in the interim and if that cruise will cancel down the road. 

Crocs don’t have sweat glands. They open their mouths at rest to cool off.

PS: After completing this post and preparing to upload it, I stopped to do my hourly walk. While in the corridor, I noticed a new couple with luggage entering a room. I spoke to Dash, a manager and also the main chef. The plan as mentioned above of eating in our room is now in effect as of this evening’s upcoming meal. Our dinner will be awaiting us at the service area, an open kitchen as seen from the restaurant, at 7:00 pm each evening. To avoid feeling rushed in the mornings, we’ll call 20 minutes ahead for our usual breakfast order. On each occasion, we’ll wear face masks, including the period during which we wait in the lobby while our room is being cleaned, where to date, we’ve never observed any other guests.

We all must be proactive in securing our safety and designing a plan that works for us, regardless of what others may think of our decisions. At this point, it appears social distancing, wearing a mask and washing hands frequently is a step in the right direction. For us, these added measures are a must.

Photo from one year ago today, May 1, 2019:

The Crocodile Bridge, one of many entrance points that leads to Kruger National Park. For more from this post, please click here.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.

Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.

At the end of yesterday’s post, we mentioned, we’ll be sharing what we’re missing the most during this time of COVID-19 besides the apparent aspects of missing family and friends. 

In speaking with our loved ones, we found that each person and family has their list of how lockdown has impacted their lives and what they are missing the most.

Two barn owls in the rafters at the Mugg & Bean Restaurant in Lower Sabie. For more on this year-ago post, please click here.

It has varied from socializing with family and friends to walks in the park, shopping in malls and local shops, dining in restaurants, to such basic needs as being unable to find favorite necessary foods and beverages.

For many business owners, they are sorely missing the much-needed revenue stream they typically see in their businesses, coupled with the fears as to how long they’ll survive financially if lockdown continues any longer.

For many, they miss the peace of mind they’ve experienced in the past and perhaps didn’t appreciate enough the freedom of not worrying about life-threatening illness befalling them and their family members and friends.

Female lions lounging in the shade

Regardless of what others have missed, our hearts go out to everyone during this difficult time. This is the first time in history that non-infected citizens have been quarantined. Sadly, this insidious virus cannot be detected in the healthy without a test. Taking temperatures is simply not enough. 

As more and more guests check in to our hotel (we’re now back up to about 20 guests), we wonder if they are carrying the virus, although their temperature was taken at the door when they entered. They could easily be carrying the virus without any symptoms at all.

What do we miss while living in this hotel in lockdown in Mumbai, India? Here’s our list, not necessarily in any particular order since it can change each day:

Dinner in Kruger National Park when friends Lois and Tom visited when we’d gone on a nighttime game drive.

1. The freedom to order products we need online, knowing a shipment may be on its way soon:
At this point, no international packages are being delivered in India, not through FEDEX, DHL, or any other service. Our mailing service rep, Eric at Maillinkplus in Las Vegas, Nevada, replied to our inquiry, stating that at this time, there isn’t a single shipping company in the world shipping parcels to India. However, oversized shipments from some companies are arriving. We have a package waiting to be shipped to us with essential supplies that we may not be able to receive for months to come.

2. Purchasing groceries and cooking our meals:
No doubt, I miss having a kitchen to create a week’s menu and shop and cook accordingly. As we mentioned many times, having the same meals over and over again is boring and unsatisfying. Thank goodness the hotel chefs are good cooks and the repetitious meals are flavorful. We both miss the variety.

Ms. Bushbuck is resting in the garden.

3. Beef, snacks, hard cheeses:
Neither of us has had any beef in over three months. This is a first for Tom, not so much for me. I’d love a grass-fed beef burger, minus the bun, with cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. Tom mentions roast beef, beef taco salad, meatloaf, steak, and hamburger. Snacks would be excellent.

4.  Wine for me, beer, or cocktails for Tom:
This speaks for itself.

5.  Paper towels, Windex, and disinfectant cleaner:
I’ve always been a paper towel person. Although I was always careful in not using them excessively. Now, I’d love to be able to wipe things down, although our room is immaculate.

A cute bunny on the road in Kruger National Park.

6. Freedom:
To be unable to continue on our travels as we have over these past 7½ years is frustrating, along with the uncertainty of the future. Here, we cannot go outside for a walk or sit in the garden (yard) for some fresh air and sunshine. We’re taking big doses of Vitamin D3 to compensate for the lack of sun.  Being unable to jump into a car and drive somewhere will be significantly appreciated sometime in the future.

7. Socializing:
It’s true, in some countries we don’t have an opportunity to make friends and socialize. But it’s been such a joy to engage in lively conversations with others and on cruises. Now, we only speak casually to the courteous staff, but it’s not necessarily considered socializing.

A pair of hippos and a couple of cape buffaloes.

8. Cruising:
A big part of the joy in traveling the world has been the pure pleasure of cruising to many exotic locations and frequently conversing with travelers from all over the world. The entire ambiance of the cruise experience has been a vital part of our lives, also in getting us from location to location, enabling us to avoid flying as much as possible. Will this ever be possible again?

9. Living in a more spacious environment:
Living in one room, except for a few hours a day, isn’t easy. We keep our room tidy and relatively clutter-free, but even so, it’s a small space.

.

A Nyala, the first we’d spotted in Kruger National Park.

10. Doing laundry:
We’re sure you’ve heard about our laundry situation ad nauseam, but I do miss doing laundry, providing more options on what we wear.

11. Sightseeing and taking new photos for our posts:
It’s been about six weeks since we were sightseeing in India, taking and sharing many photos along the way. We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. 

More Nyala in Kruger.

Sure, we miss all of the above-listed items and maybe a few more we don’t recall at the moment. However, we’re both holding up quite well. Our biggest goal through this entire process has been to maintain a good attitude with hope for times to come, regardless of the inconveniences we may be experiencing now.

We hope and pray for all of you as we each work our way through these difficult times. 

Stay safe.

Photo from one year ago today, April 30, 2019:

The only squirrel we’d ever seen in South Africa. For more photos, please click here.