Off to Komatipoort for our final teeth cleaning, trip to Spar and pharmacy…

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Broken Horn’s tongue when he notices cut veggies on the ground in the garden.

Our teeth cleaning appointments begin at 11:00 am this morning. We’ve already had breakfast and taken our walk. The walk continues to be painful for me, but it improves a little each day. Walking on rocks is hard on my legs, and every five minutes or so, I have to stop for a minute or less and stand still to recover. This issue is due to the surgery I had twice on both legs after heart surgery and my unstable spine.

Following is the bill for today’s two teeth cleaning appointments in Komatipoort:

Today’s ZAR teeth cleaning bill for each of us was ZAR 640, US $71.06, for a total of US $35.53 each. What a deal!

Each day when we return to the house, I am glad we did it, and I got through yet another walk on the rocky dirt roads in Marloth Park with many potholes. Over the many years we’ve lived here, I always hesitated to walk on these roads for fear of falling. Once we get to Florida and we can walk on smooth paths and paved roads, I will have built up endurance after walking on these hazardous roads. I am looking forward to that.

Last night, I spoke to my dear friend Karen (and Rich) in Florida, and we planned a time to get together in early May. They will stop for lunch or dinner on their way to see Karen’s mom Donna who lives a few hours from The Villages. It will be wonderful to see them again after an entire year since we last stayed at their home in Apollo Beach, Florida.

Now, as we head to Komatipoort, we’ll not only get our teeth cleaned but also head to the pharmacy to pick up my year’s worth of prescriptions and then to Spar for a few more essential grocery items we need to make the cakes for our upcoming farewell party on Thursday. Dawn is doing all the side dishes, and guests bring their meat to braai, a popular tradition in South Africa.

With lots of wine left from my birthday party, we plan to bring a box of wine to set up for the guests to enjoy at the party, which starts at 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., and will continue well into the evening, knowing this lively group of friends. We expect about 20 guests, including Dawn, Leon, and us. They only have so much room poolside, so we kept the number of guests small for this event.

Kudu foreplay. It looks as if Big Daddy has been digging in the mud.

We just returned from our trip to Komatipoort. Tom filled the little car with petrol while I headed to the pharmacy to pick up the 12 months of prescriptions which included some drugs “just in case” that we may not use during those 14 months we’re away. A few items had to be specially ordered, but fortunately, everything arrived in time for today’s pickup. It took quite a while for the pharmacists to put the entire large order together.

It will take me several hours to go through all of it and remove much of the unnecessary packaging. Some tablets will have to stay in bulky plastic packages since humidity can deteriorate certain drugs. In Florida and South America, plenty of humidity will inspire me to keep them in bulky packaging.

When arriving in certain countries, it can get tricky at some security check-in areas. I got a copy of the prescription Doc Theo had written in the event I am questioned about carrying so many drugs, none of which are narcotic or mood-altering. When arriving in certain countries, based on the fact that our checked baggage had been lost several times in the past few years, I will be carrying all of these prescription medications in my carry-on bags.

In tomorrow’s post, I will share the unbelievably low prices of the medications we picked up today. You won’t believe the prices compared to prices in the US and perhaps many other countries. It was mind-boggling. It’s unreal! For us, it will be worth it to return to South Africa for the enjoyment of the wildlife and the people and the low prices of all these medications.

Jasmine, the mom, was standing in the garden while her son, Little Johnny, was lying by the fence.

We stopped at Spar for a few last-minute items we needed for our remaining 11 days in Marloth Park. We won’t need to shop again. I’ve started doing a few organizing tasks toward getting the packing done, including handling the prescriptions and toiletries we’ll be bringing with us as opposed to items we may leave behind.

We’re allowed to check two bags each at 23 kg, 50.6 pounds. We’ll be weighing everything as we go along in the packing process.

That’s it for today, folks. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 18, 2013:

Parrots posing for us as we walked along the boulevard in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more photos, please click here.

Final Kruger photos…

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It isn’t easy to fully appreciate the tiny size of this baby elephant in this photo. It was so sweet to see this little one.

On this date, one year ago, Covid-19 (Omicron) was detected on the cruise during the transatlantic crossing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Southampton, England. Five days later, we tested positive, along with many other passengers. We were extra careful upon hearing about the outbreak, but we still interacted with other guests during meals and at the bars at night. We weren’t careful enough.

It’s only been in the past two weeks, almost a full year later, that finally, I am free of most of the symptoms of long-haul Covid. I can confidently say that after a 10-day course of Prednisone, my headache and facial pain are gone, gone, gone. I’m still suffering from allergy symptoms, but mainly, I believe these started when I got Covid and haven’t gone away during this high allergy time in the bush.

Wildebeest family.

Dust, dust mites, pollen, and grasses are the allergens that impact me the most after being tested over 40 years ago. I was on a seven-year regime of weekly immunological injections, but I believe that after all this time, the efficacy has worn off. At this point, leaving two weeks from today, I expect the allergy symptoms to diminish in short order once we leave the bush.

Doc Theo put me on a few new allergy meds that are keeping me from being miserable after the Prednisone wore off, which I’ll continue to take once we arrive in Florida, hoping I can eventually wean myself off of them. But Florida is also a hotbed of allergens, so we’ll see how it goes. At least, I’ll be well-armed with the few meds that I know help to some degree.

This time, leaving Marloth Park isn’t as hard as it’s been in the past, except for leaving our wonderful friends and, of course, our animal friends, mainly Norman, and family. Nina and Natalie have visited daily during the school holidays, but Nomran stayed away for one whole week, only returning at least five times yesterday. I can only imagine what he’d been eating.

A lone elephant was grazing in the grass..

Norman’s belly looked full. He’d been eating well…not necessarily healthfully, but certainly in volume. We knew he wasn’t hiding away during the commotion made by holidaymakers when almost every day, we saw photos of him on Facebook posted by tourists rather than locals whose names we would recognize and who often post animal photos on Marloth Park Sighting Page.

Norman and family are the only nyalas in Marloth Park, including their son Noah, who was forced to find a new territory of his own when Natalie was born five or six months ago. When visitors see them, they often take photos and post them on Facebook. So, Norman stayed away for seven days, but at least we felt comfortable that the lions hadn’t gotten to him when we saw the photos online.

A lone zebra in the savannah.

When he showed up yesterday, I was beside myself with joy. Nina and Natalie were with him, and we fed them lots of pellets and healthy produce. I stayed busy off and on during the day, cutting up carrots and apples and tossing them to him and the girls as they patiently waited in the garden. If a nyala can look happy, Norman did, staring into my eyes, paying more attention to me than the food.

You may scoff at this assessment, but connecting with these animals here is not much different from connecting with your dog. In a short time, they learn the name we’ve given them and the sounds of our voices, even keywords that mean something special to them, such as food offerings and affection. No, we never touch him or the other animals.

The beautiful scene at Verhami Dam.

Norman’s massive horns could eviscerate a human in seconds, as could any male bushbuck, kudu, male or female wildebeest, or other horned animals in the wild. A warthog’s tusks are razor-sharp; these and other animals could easily kill a human if provoked or even startled. We proceed with caution and respect for the fact that they are truly wild.

Many criticize the animals here for having an easy life in Marloth Park, with plenty of vegetation and humans feeding them pellets. But, there are numerous leopards and currently eight lions in Marloth Park. Carcasses are often found as remnants of a meal of a big cat kill.  All the wildlife has to stay diligent in preventing being taken out. There are warning calls when such predators have been spotted, and we’ve heard those sounds from time to time.

Our last trip over the Crocodile Bridge as we exited Kruger National Park in the next 14 months.

We continue to hear from more and more residents of The Villages who’d like to get together, many of whom have been reading our site for years. One couple is from the town where we lived in Minnesota almost 11 years ago. Wow! This is exciting. Rita and Gerhard are connecting us with some old friends who live there. Please keep the messages coming from people who’ve found us through our site or other friends.

Tonight, we’re off to Jabula again for what surely will be another fun night like last night and others before that. We’re never disappointed, not in the people, not in the staff, and not in the fantastic food.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 15, 2022:

Finally, the ship’s chef got my dinner right with this delicious seafood dish. For more photos, please click here.

More Kruger photos…Final visit to Doc Theo….Already hearing from residents in The Villages…

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The face of a crocodile in Sunset Dam.

Gosh, it’s fun hearing from residents in The Villages in Florida who’d like to get together during the three months we’ll be there. Also, we are hearing from family members and friends who live within a few hours’ drive of The Villages who also may come to visit, staying with us for a few days. This foray into a massive retirement community might be more fun than expected.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us now or in the near future if you live in or near The Villages and would like to get together. We are excited to meet new people and build a busy social life while we’re there. In the first few days after our arrival, we’ll submit our passport applications, but once that is done, we’ll look forward to socializing.

It was hard to determine precisely how many crocs rested in the sand at Sunset Dam.

This morning, we’re returning to Doc Theo to get my prescription to be filled for one year. The pharmacist, Eugene, the pharmacy owner, has agreed to fill them for such an extended period because once we leave Florida, we will mostly be in remote areas/countries where getting them may be difficult.

Sure, we’ll be back in the US in September for three weeks, but we don’t want to have to pay exorbitant prices for a doctor to prescribe them who most likely wouldn’t do so for extended periods anyway. None of my prescriptions are scheduled narcotics. In the US, getting refills isn’t that easy, and the prices would be four times more than here in South Africa. The handwriting is on the wall.

Wildebeests and zebras were grazing in close proximity. Wildebeest have poor vision and prefer to hang around with zebras, who are quick to spot potential predators.

Besides, Doc Theo is my doctor and the only doctor I’d want to contact if something that wasn’t life-threatening came up.  He’s stated emphatically that I contact him on his private WhatsApp number if I need him. How many doctors do this? It gives me great peace of mind, feeling as if he’s traveling along with us. I will miss him.

Some countries won’t accept prescriptions from foreign doctors. Ecuador, where we’ll spend quite a bit of time beginning in late September or early October, doesn’t require prescriptions for non-narcotic medications, but we’ve found these pharmacies often don’t carry the meds I take.

Elephants at Sunset Dam are accompanied by a cattle egret who often hangs out with elephants, picking at undigested morsels from their poop. 

Of course, I will bring my meds and a copy of the prescriptions in my carry-on bag. After losing our luggage so many times in the past few years, there’s no way we’ll take a chance putting anything so important in checked baggage.

After Doc Theo, we’ll head to the pharmacy to get everything filled. They may not have everything on hand but can order and receive them in a few days. We are returning to Komatipoort on April 25 for our teeth cleaning appointments and can pick them up at that time if necessary.

A breed of stork I was unable to identify online. Any suggestions with its pinkish bill and pink legs?

After that, a quick stop at the Spar Market for a few odds and ends we need to get us through the next two weeks until we depart on April 29, such as eggs and salad ingredients. We still have plenty of meat in the freezer and don’t need to purchase meat or chicken.

Our farewell party is a week from today, and with a great response to our invitations, we’re looking forward to a fun event to wrap up our time with many friends who are still here in Marloth Park. Many have left to return to their home base and embark on other worldwide travels, some of whom will return while we’re away for those long 14 months.

A short-tusked elephant is grazing in the tall grass.

Tonight, we’re off to Jabula for dinner as we begin to wind down our social life in Marloth Park. It’s been such fun, and we thank our wonderful friends for making every day so special.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 14, 2022:

Due to a weak signal on the ship, there wasn’t a post one year ago on this date.

More Kruger photos…Dreaming of the future…

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A Cape buffalo was scratching an itch.

A short time ago, we returned from our walk. Walking on the rocky dirt roads hasn’t been easy, but I keep forging ahead. Since the multiple surgeries on my legs, which became grossly infected after open heart surgery four years ago, my legs don’t work as well as they used to, especially trying to navigate on the rocky, uneven dirt roads in Marloth Park.

When we spent ten months in lockdown during the pandemic in the hotel in Mumbai, India, I worked my way up to five miles, eight kilometers each day. Hopefully, when we get to The Villages in Florida, walking on the smooth pavement will be much easier.

Munching on tall grass.

Walking on rocky, dirt roads adds stress to joints and muscles, requiring more effort. I’ve noticed my muscles tense and spasm when walking on the roads here, but I only have to do it for a little more than two weeks until we depart South Africa on April 29.

Once we arrive in Florida, get a good night’s sleep, and submit our passport renewal applications, we’ll start walking every day. By the time we arrive in Florida, the weather will be very similar to what we’ve experienced here in the summer, hot and humid months. If it is too hot there to walk outdoors, I’ll join the local health club, walk on a treadmill, and lift some weights.

We looked on the map for The Villages, and it looks like the closest health club is no more than a ten-minute golf cart ride. If I sign up, most likely, I’ll go five days a week and walk with Tom on cooler days. Based on my weather app, it appears the temperature in Florida during the period we’ll be there is comparable to the weather here in South Africa, hot and humid with a high dew point.

“Let’s try on this side,” he says.

We’ll be there at the beginning of the rainy season and the tip of the hurricane season. Hopefully, we won’t experience much in the way of hurricanes since the location is 35 miles inland and 75 feet above sea level, as mentioned below. I found this interesting guide to the ten locations safest from hurricane activity, in case you are interested. See here for the full details. The Villages is listed as #7 as indicated below:

“7. The Villages

The number seven spot was previously held by Naples on the Western coast of Florida. However, due to the recent impact of Hurricane Ian, Naples has moved down on the list. The Villages now holds this spot as it’s located 35 miles from the nearest coast and has an elevation of 75 feet above sea level. The Villages is a large, gated, 55 and over retirement community of 81,000 residents in central Florida.”

A hippo transporting a few oxpecker friends at Sunset Dam.

It’s fun for us to do research for our next holiday home location. It’s been a long time since we booked a holiday home when we’ve spent the past 2½ years in and out of South Africa since we were able to leave India after the long lockdown. Before that,  the last holiday home we booked was in Shirenewton, Wales, in 2019.

The rest of the time was spent on cruises, staying in hotels (including the ten months in Mumbai, India), and spending a few weeks with friends Karen and Rich in Apollo Beach, Florida a little over a year ago.

Once we’re settled in Florida, we’ll start planning our upcoming adventures in South America for about a year until, again, we return to Marloth Park in June 2024 for a shorter stay, no more than six months total. We’re discussing possibly returning to Kenya to get a new visa stamp after the first 90 days and to embark on more safari adventures.

Seeing some elephants on our sparse sighting day in Kruger was great.

It’s wonderful to be thinking about the future with enthusiasm once again, especially now that we’ve received a clean bill of health for both of us. No, it’s not always easy, and we must continue to adapt to new locations and their nuances. From time to time, we experience health issues we must address, as may be the case for many seniors who travel frequently, but that isn’t putting a damper on our future goals and objectives, at least, not right now anyway.

Regardless of our age, none of us can guarantee what the future holds, but we can dream, can’t we? (Hmmm…that reminds me of a song from long ago).

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 13, 2022:

Due to a poor signal on the ship, there was no post one year ago.

Our last visit to Kruger National Park, this time around…

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Finally, one of the hippos exited the Sabie River in Kruger National Park.

With time flying by quickly toward our departure date on April 29, and finally, with the holidaymakers gone and crowds thinning out, we decided to head to Kruger National Park today when we awoke to perfect weather. The sun was shining with a few clouds, low humidity, and no rain predicted.

By 8:30 am, we were out the door and on our way to the Crocodile Bridge entrance, an easy 20-minute drive. Since the school holidays had ended on Tuesday, we expected to see few vehicles in the park but were surprised by the number of vehicles accumulating whenever there was a sighting of any wildlife.

Hippos are always fun to watch, but waiting for that open-mouth shot can mean hours of waiting. Tom isn’t patient enough to wait for such an event.

Our expectations were low to avoid disappointment, and we were wise with that state of mind. We didn’t experience a single outrageously exciting sighting, but we were content with what we saw, taking photos of simple and familiar scenes we’ve encountered many times in the past.

However, the drive was lovely, and the breakfast at Mugg & Bean was predictable, with its usual less-than-stellar service. We each ordered omelets, and Tom had his usual strawberry shake with two pieces of white toast (his one slice plus mine), the thinnest slices of bread we’d ever seen, to which he added butter and strawberry jam. I had decaf coffee with real cream. Again, our expectations weren’t high, and we weren’t disappointed.

This fish eagle posed for this photo.

After breakfast, we headed to Sunset Dam, where we encountered a few good sightings but nothing spectacular. So please bear with our less-than-exciting photos of scenes along the way during the four hours we spent in Kruger National Park.

Back at the house by 1:00 pm, 1300 hrs., we had only a few tasks on hand for the remainder of the day. I’d already made tonight’s salad before we left the house and had defrosted tonight’s chicken in the refrigerator overnight. At dinnertime, I will cook the chicken, to which we’ll add the salad and Tom’s white rice. After dinner, we’ll have a piece of the keto strawberry cake I made yesterday, which was delightful.

We encountered several zebras on the move.

Besides making the rest of dinner, I only had to do today’s post and update our expense reports after uploading the post. This evening’s time on the veranda will be comfortable with the temperature so tolerable. This morning, Nina and Natalie stopped by before we left, but nowhere was Norman in sight. We haven’t seen him since last Friday, although we saw that many photos had been posted on Facebook with his image.

The holidaymakers were feeding him something extraordinary to keep him away from the mundane healthy vegetables, fruit, and pellets we offer. Hopefully, later today, he’ll stop by. Many other animals have visited in the past 24 hours as the holidaymakers left Marloth Park.

The first wildlife we spotted was a solitary giraffe hidden behind a bush.

I haven’t started packing yet, feeling I don’t need to start making a mess until next week, although I have been paying a lot of attention to our food supply and analyzing items we’ll take and other items we’ll leave behind. I could pack everything in one day if I had to, but I always like to prepare well before our departure date.

Next week, I will begin. Tom only needs to pack his clothes and the digital equipment, while I will figure out what to take and what to leave in the totes for our return in 14 months. I am not stressed by this at all. I never get stressed about packing and unpacking. My only concern is that we remain within the airlines’ weight restrictions on any particular flight.

More Kruger photos will follow in days to come. That’s it for today, folks.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 12, 2022:

They brought me this when I asked for some grilled fish for dinner on the cruise. Chef Gordon Ramsay would have been horrified if he had been served such a dish. For more photos, please click here.

We’re all set to go except for packing…Posting plans for 90 days The Villages in Florida…

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Mom and son, Jasmine and Johnny.

This morning, filling my 28-day pill case with my three prescription meds and vitamins, I started organizing and assessing how many tablets I’ll need to last while we’re gone for 14 months. I still have a little remaining inventory, and when Doc Theo writes me a one-year prescription for the others, I’ll be good to go until we return in mid-June 2024.

I disposed of a massive batch of useless packaging materials and reduced the amount to bring with us, which I’ll do again when I get the years’ worth next week. As for the supplements I take, I will buy those in Florida, most likely from Costco or Amazon. There’s no point in paying to haul those with us.

Each day, I plan to go through a cupboard or drawer to thin out what we’ll need to bring, what we can toss, and those items we’ll leave behind in the black plastic bins in the storage room. Again, there’s no point in paying to bring all the spices and condiments we’ve accumulated in the past 11 months in this house.

This is Jasmine, Johnny’s mom.

We’re trying to use up as much food as possible and won’t be grocery shopping again unless we need a few items for our meals, such as bacon, eggs, and salad ingredients. We’re working our way through all the meat in the freezer.

On top of that, we have lots of wine left from my birthday party, but each time we have sundowners, I have one small glass of regular wine (not light) and perhaps have a second glass of low-alcohol wine with 75% less alcohol than traditional wine. We’ll store the rest of the unopened bottles for our return, along with some items Tom drinks. All of that will stay fresh without a problem.

Also, we’re both leaving some clothing behind. When we return, it will be winter, and we’ll need some warm clothing. However, we’ll need warm clothing for the upcoming cruises to Norway, Greenland, and Iceland, where it will be cool even during the summer months. Also, it could begin to be cool when we arrive in Boston and Minnesota in September.

Johnny was on the other side of the garden while his mom was visiting. He seems to like it better on that side.

One thing I am looking forward to while living in Florida is easy-to-access products we use for cooking and general items one may pick up at a Costco or Target store. Plus, we’ll be able to place orders from Amazon and receive orders while staying at The Villages.

Speaking of The Villages, as mentioned in yesterday’s post and today’s heading, we look forward to sharing the details of what life will be like while living in one of the most popular and desired retirement communities in the United States. We’ll share photos, pricing, and information about many of the venues we’ll experience at our leisure, including dining out, shopping, and entertainment.

Perhaps our expectations are too high for meeting people. We plan to partake in as many activities as possible to improve the odds of making new friends. Plus, we expect some of our readers to live there, and we’re hoping those who do will contact us for dinner or a drink out at our location. How fun that will be! Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you are there and when we can meet.

Jasmine and Gordy seem to get along quite well. Could he be Johnny’s dad?

Even if you live outside The Villages and if it’s convenient, perhaps you could visit us for sundowners on the veranda at our new place. We also have a lot of old friends who live in central Florida, and we hope to get together with some of you while we’re there if it works out for them.

Of course, we plan to see friends Karen and Rich at some point. Karen’s mom Donna lives nearby, so surely we’ll see each other when they get together. Many of our “snow bird” friends will have left Florida for the summer months, and we won’t be able to visit with them. But we’ll see how it goes. Some may stay through May. We’ll be leaving at the end of July.

Once we arrive, we’ll be busy getting our passport applications mailed to the US State Department. We’ve already completed the forms, so all we have to do is send them to the appropriate address. Once we get one good night’s sleep, this will be on our agenda.

This morning, after an excellent breakfast and a few tasks completed, including booking transport from the Orlando International Airport to our holiday home for US $33, ZAR 600 per person, we went for our walk, which we’ll continue until we leave and pick up again, once we arrive and get a night’s sleep in Florida. It feels good to be walking again, but it may take a while to build my stamina after being relatively inactive this past year.

The weather has begun to cool considerably. No longer are we plagued with zillions of insects and courageously high humidity. This could change in a day. After all, TIA and one never knows.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 6, 2022:

Tom’s photos of this morning’s sunrise from the veranda of our bedroom at Karen and Rich’s home in Florida. For more photos, please click here.

Busy booking into the future…Details coming tomorrow…Routines…Delilah’s new baby…

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Only moments ago, these three giraffes zipped through the garden so fast it was hard to take a photo.

We haven’t felt this excited about booking into the future in a long time. Although we’ve left South Africa several times since we arrived in January 2021 during the pandemic, most likely, we’ll be gone for one year, returning with much enthusiasm at the time. Today, we’re finalizing the details and will get back to you in tomorrow’s post, outlining everything we’ve booked and why we’ve booked them.

A lot will transpire over the next year, and soon, we’ll update our itinerary to post here. This morning, we were busy researching and handling bookings since I find once I’ve uploaded the post, I want to be off of my laptop and have less motivation to research than I do first thing in the morning.

I’ve always been a morning worker, with my mind fresh and alert, allowing me to zero in on important projects. But, by early afternoon, my interest fades, and lighter work is more appropriate. Also, this morning, I baked a double batch of my flax and coconut bread, which I have every morning with two fried eggs and keto barbecue sauce, a weird combination I’ve come to love.

Delilah’s new little boy.

Tom always has four eggs and about five pieces of streaky bacon, all of which I cook for him, making my meal simultaneously. I’ve gone a good routine and can knock off the two plates of food in about six minutes. I cook Tom’s eggs in a large skillet and mine in a little non-stick pan. He likes his eggs over-easy, and I like mine well done.

Tom gets up a lot earlier than me and usually has keto blueberry bread with coffee when he first gets up, and we have breakfast a few hours later. The bacon cooks on a plate (no paper towel) for 5½ minutes on high in the microwave while the two pans of eggs are cooking on the gas stove top. The single piece of keto bread is popped into the toaster and is done when the eggs are done. It’s all a great start to the day.

Today, we did our walk before having breakfast since Vusi arrived to clean earlier than usual, and we thought it would be nice for him if we were out of the way. It all worked out. When we returned from the house, Vusi was just about done.

Please zoom in to see his adorable budding horns.

The keto bread loaf is out of the oven, and I’ve already sliced it into 24 pieces, placing them into sandwich bags of three and freezing them. I take out one bag every three days and use one slice daily, keeping it in the refrigerator. With the humidity here, it keeps better in the fridge for a few days rather than sitting out. Toasting makes it taste perfect.

Oh, I love the simplicity of our daily lives. The routines are rewarding and familiar, while the amazing interspersed travel experiences and adventures are a welcome break from that routine, often making us appreciate it all the more.

Each step of the way in our travels is cherished for its uniqueness and opportunity to expand our horizons, our knowledge, and our vast experiences over these past 10½ years since we began, totally oblivious to what the future held. Now, all this time later, with many tumbles along the way, we feel more in touch with our lives, each other, and the world around us than we ever imagined.

Ruffles, due to her ruffled ears, stopped by again this morning.

Sure, sometimes it’s tough, and sometimes decisions are hard to make, as you’ll see in tomorrow’s post. But, somehow, we always manage to figure out our next best move and carry on with love and hope in our hearts for a full and rewarding future, for however long we’re granted to continue in this dream of ongoing world travel.

We’ve even surprised ourselves that it’s been so long. We never imagined we’d travel for more than a few years, let alone for as long as it’s been now.

Oops, I just had to jump up to take the main photo today, three giraffes walking through our garden. What could be more heavenly?

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 4, 2022:

Tom hadn’t eaten baked beans in years. Along with the chicken and ribs, green beans, and salad, it was a perfect meal at Karen and Rich’s Apollo Beach, Florida home. For more photos, please click here.

Busy Monday…Time to do passport renewals…

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An adorable young male kudu was resting in the shade. Notice his tiny spikes of budding horns. Cute, eh?

We have a lot of work to do today. Today’s post will be short and to the point, as opposed to my usual chattering on and on. We’ve already had breakfast, gone for our walk, and I’ve made a fresh salad for tonight’s dinner. Last night, we thoroughly enjoyed my slow-cooked lamb neck (I ate half of it) and Tom’s separate big pot of roasted short ribs; it was all finger-licking good.

It’s not easy to eat those two types of meat without using one’s fingers when the meat is tender and falling off the bone. When meat in South Africa is butchered, they leave on a lot of fat that locals savor as a specialty. As Americans, we’re used to well-trimmed meat with little fat and don’t quite have a taste for the fatty portions.

As a result, as we ate, we used our fingers, me more than Tom, to ensure we got every delectable portion of the meat minus the fatty parts. It was one of the tastiest dinners we’ve had lately, although many have been quite good. Louise and Danie introduced me to lamb neck when they invited me for dinner at their home while Tom was away. I loved it!

When Tom returned from the US, we went to the local meat market in the Bush Centre, and I was able to buy a lamb neck. It was ZAR 150, US $8.38, enough to feed me for two nights, unlike when I dined with Louise and Danie, and I ate the entire thing in one sitting! For me, it was like eating candy.

After dinner, we sat outdoors for a while until the mozzies got bad and then headed indoors to stream a few shows and call it a night. Since today, I took the last dose of Prednisone; my sleep has been fitful the past ten days since I started the medication. It tends to cause insomnia. Last night, I slept through the night for a total of 7 hours and 38 minutes, according to my Fitbit. This is the most sleep I’ve had in weeks.

Nina, Norman, and Natalie have been in the garden several times each day. Note the two kudus in the background.

This morning on our walk, I noticed I had more stamina for the first time, and we went a little further. After being immobile this past year with this head and sinus thing, I spent too much time lounging, never getting much exercise. I feel more confident walking fast and getting my heart rate up after knowing my cardiac condition is excellent after Friday’s stress test. Gosh, peace of mind is worth everything.

For many, a spiritual aspect of our lives is vital to our sense of well-being. We always say if one has their health, they have everything, but as seniors who’ve lived long and full lives, we know this is only true in part. Many other life circumstances make us feel like we have everything; good relationships, financial stability, an active social life, mental health, physical health, and well-being.

If one of these above areas is lacking, we can find ourselves unhappy and distraught, even if we have good health. Occasionally, any of us may be wrought with sorrow associated with the loss of any of the above. As resilient human beings, we have it within our power through love, support, spiritual resources, and sheer will and determination to overcome such sorrows in time.

It’s not easy, by no means, but we all possess the ability to learn, to grow, to recover. and eventually, to move on. When I think back to times when the challenges felt like they were too many to conquer, somehow, most often out of a sense of responsibility, I muddled my way through, as all of you have done at different times in your lives as well.

Now, we’re off to work on the passports, and we’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 3, 2022:

Tom and Lois (who visited us in Marloth Park in October 2018) and the two of us at the biker bar, Nav-A-Gator Bar and Grill, in Arcadia, Florida. For more photos, please click here.

Conversation with immigration attorney…Not good news…

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Little Johnny, again this morning.

Late yesterday afternoon, I received a return call from the Cape Town immigration lawyer we hired to assist with our extensions. Keeping in mind, Tom has a 90-day visa he received when returning from the US weeks ago after his brother’s funeral. He can stay until June 15 without incident.

After yesterday’s post about new rulings, which may be found here, a recent ruling from South Africa’s Home Affairs (immigration) stipulates entirely new guidelines for visitors who’ve applied for extensions, such as us. We requested we could stay until our planned departure date of June 8, 2023.

Big Daddy seems to appear each time we see Norman.

That’s out the window now with the new rulings, which are vague and unclear, as admitted by the lawyer who clearly understood our concerns and confusion. She, too, is confused by the lack of clarity regarding dates we need to exit the country. Unless some clarification comes through in the next ten days, we must Africa by April 30, 2023. That leaves us one month to make travel plans and to clear out of this house.

As it turns out, there are 7000 visa extension applications, such as ours, in the works. Based on staffing issues after the pandemic, there is no way they will be able to process all of the applications. Hence, we fall into the category of having to leave by April 30 or be considered “undesirables” if we go one day later.

Initially, when we filed, the rulings stated we could stay without issue until the extensions were granted. At that point,  three months ago, the lawyer felt confident we’d have our approval in plenty of time, based on history. Filing earlier wouldn’t have helped since they don’t allow earlier applications.

Our boy Norman waits for us every morning.

So now, we are facing April 30 as our departure date. As the lawyer explained, our only option is to leave the country, not to a bordering country, and try to get back in, as we’ve done many times. Right now, we are discussing our options and will report back here what we decide sometime in the next ten days; when we commit to each other, we’ll make a decision.

Last night, I contacted Louise and asked her if we left the country would this house be available for us upon return? No matter our plans, we have to be in Edinburgh, Scotland, by July 31, the day before we sail away.

Here we are once again, trying to figure out immigration issues when we’d settled into peace of mind that the extensions would work out well. I guess we were wrong. Unless the South African government clarifies its rulings in the next few weeks, no matter what, we are leaving here on April 30.

Gordy and Norman were sharing pellets peacefully.

The lawyer explained that if we continued to stay and wait to see if they ever get to our application, if we had to leave and it wasn’t approved, again, we’d be considered “undesirables.” We’re not willing to go through that again when it occurred when we overstayed after my heart surgery four years ago.

Many would say, “Why bother? It’s too complicated to stay for longer periods in South Africa.” The reasons are many. Those of you who have been reading our posts for years certainly understand, but I won’t get into that again today.

Soon, we’re off to Koomatipoort for our appointments with Doc Theo. This will be my first cardiac stress test since the surgery, and I will be glad when it’s over and done; praying for good results. Tom is having the same test, and we’ll receive his test results from the past week. We’ll report back tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago, March 31, 2022:

A marina in Apollo Beach, Florida. For more, please click here.

Lots of visitors in the garden…Second beautiful sunny day…

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Four antelope species in the garden, impala, bushbuck, duiker (hidden behind the impala), and nyala (Norman). A fifth, a female kudu, was standing outside the fence (not shown in the photo).

No words can describe how enjoyable it is to experience these more comfortable days in South Africa. The sun is shining, and the high today will be 93F, 34C, but the humidity is low at 25%, although the dew point is high at 78. With the lower humidity, there seem to be fewer mosquitos buzzing around my head as I sit outside preparing today’s post. What a relief after all these months.

That’s not to say we won’t have many more hot and humid days in the near future, but for now, it’s ideal. This morning, we had our usual breakfast of bacon and eggs. The bacon here is excellent and turns out perfectly made in the microwave. This morning I made extra bacon for tonight’s dinner of bun-less burgers on the braai topped with purple onion, tomato, lettuce, and homemade keto ketchup, along with a side salad and rice for Tom.

We decided to make the same meal tomorrow since we’ll return to Jabula on Friday and Saturday evenings and didn’t need leftovers from Thursday.

African morning dove sitting atop the birdseed trolley.

On Friday, we go to Doc Theo, where both of us will have cardiac stress tests. I am a little nervous about having this test since I haven’t had any heart-related tests since surgery four years ago. I don’t have any heart symptoms, but I can’t help being apprehensive about having this test which Theo says is more accurate than most scans. So, we’ll see how it goes for both of us and report back on Saturday.

Tom had numerous blood tests and an aortic aneurysm screening test yesterday in Nelspruit. We’ll know the results of all the tests by the time we leave his office on Friday.

Two female kudus staring at us for pellets.

Yesterday and this morning, we had dozens of wildlife visitors, including the fun main photo of four different species of antelopes in the garden simultaneously. It was exciting to see them all together. Speaking of antelopes, Norman, often accompanied by his family, has been here no less than six times a day over the past several days. It’s always such a joy to see him and, of course, Nina and Natalie.

We realize we are taking a significant risk by not booking where we’ll be staying in a little over 60 days when we leave Marloth Park for a year. But we have so much to deal with before we go. Once we get my visa extension, we can apply online for our US passports. If anything goes wrong with applying in Pretoria, we may have to fly to the US to do the renewals.

Pleeeeease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom got his visa renewed for a new 90-day period when he left for the US for his brother Jerome’s funeral weeks ago. We can’t apply for the US passports until we get my visa extension; otherwise, it appears I am here illegally, and we’d have trouble getting the passports renewed in South Africa if I appear to be an illegal alien. Thus, we’re leaving everything up in the air until we have the visa extension.

In the worst-case scenario, if we can get the extension and the passports, we can easily plan a trip to a preferred location while we wait for the next cruise out of Edinburgh in August. We are confident it will all work out. We no longer feel we need to plan far in advance as we had in the past, especially since we don’t want to risk losing deposits or prepaid venues.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a fantastic Wednesday! We’re planning on it!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 29, 2022:

The sideyard view of Karen and Rich’s Apollo Beach, Florida property. For more photos, please click here.