Rental car hell…Disconcerting rules, regulations and conditions…

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Cows…they are cute.

“Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland”
“Sports are huge in Ireland. Irish people take their sports seriously and get very into soccer, hurling, camogie, and handball.”

We’re running out of photos and need to get out to take more. With the cold and rainy days this week, continuing today and possibly into Sunday, any remaining photos are at a premium.  

Today, we’re working on the various holiday houses we’ve selected for the 62 nights in England beginning on August 23, 2019, where we’ll stay while we are awaiting a transatlantic cruise to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ending on November 8, 2019.  

We’ll spend some time in the US visiting family and friends.  During this period, we’ll head to Nevada, where we’ll see son Richard and sister Susan, who live an hour apart and take care of some “business.”

We’ll need to renew our driver’s licenses and also our passports which will expire in 2021. It makes sense to renew our passports while already in the US, which requires us to mail in our current passports while the renewals are processed.  

Donkeys are highly regarded as rescue animals in Ireland.

We don’t want to send our passports to the US Department of State while in another country. It’s unsafe to be without our passports in hand and based on our history. We cannot depend on the mail getting to us in a timely fashion.

A few nights ago, we rented a car for our time in England.  Like those in Ireland, prices are higher than we’ve paid anywhere in the world over the past almost seven years.  

As we often do, we use tentalcars.com to book rental cars since we’ve found their prices to be the most reasonable. Also, we’re able to select a vehicle from the many providers they work with, including Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Europcar (our favorite), and others.

We recently booked the rental car from Rentalcars.com with a company with which we weren’t familiar Easirent.  In error, we failed to read the terms and conditions of their car rentals.

When we arrived in Dublin, Ireland, almost three weeks ago, we discovered a few disturbing shocks; one, the Easirent pick-up location was far from the airport, and when we called for the shuttle, they explained their shuttle was “down.” We’d have to take a taxi, paying out of our pocket.  

Shearing sheep is a popular business in Connemara.

This was ridiculous. I was determined not to let this fact slide. I spoke to a manager at Easirent and insisted they send someone to pick us up or we were going to cancel our three months rental. We waited outside for about 30 minutes for the arrival of a driver.

Once we arrived at the Easirent office, we were shocked once again. No doubt, our error wasn’t reading the terms and conditions in advance of making the booking.  Little did we know that this company charged an additional Euro 2800, US $3135.57 for the excess, a fee to cover costs in the event of an accident which were charged to our credit card, not just “held.”

After we paid all the fees (not including insurance) Euro 4826, US $5404.37 including a “fuel fee” (Euro 95, US $106.39), we were frustrated we’d had to have this entire amount charged on our credit card and…that it would take three weeks after returning the car for the excess to be returned to our card.

The actual cost for the car was Euro 1471, US $1647.29. What a ripoff! As we perused rental car options a few evenings ago, we bypassed every Easirent offering knowing full well it wouldn’t be acceptable. 

Europcar only charged a refundable security deposit Pound Sterling 250, US $316 and Pounds Sterling 1200, US $1517 for the “excess” (on a credit card hold on that portion of the credit card used) and fully released from the card a few days after returning the car.

Here again, the little horns are growing. Here’s a link on why some sheep have horns and others do not.

As a result of the differences and procedures for Easirent and Europcar (and Avis, Alamo, and Hertz), we will never book a car through Easirent again. The prices for the actual rental car itself are similar amongst all the cars, depending on the value and style selected. 

It’s all of these other charges that made a huge difference, along with the inconveniences we faced when we arrived in Dublin, exhausted from the long flights from South Africa and dealing with immigration in South Africa.

Today, as we book the multiple holiday homes in the UK, we’ll be mapping the various locations for the most convenient options. Once booked and approved by the owners, we’ll share some photos and details.

Once again, we’re reminded of the importance of reviewing the terms and conditions for all travel venues, whether rentals, cars, cruises, hotels, and flights.  

This was the first time we’d failed to review the terms and conditions, but we’ve learned our lesson and won’t avoid doing so in the future. I can only excuse us for being distracted when we booked the car only a few weeks before  Sleavingouth Africa for Ireland.

Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll have pinned down our time in England and have news to share.  

Have a fantastic weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, June 1, 2018:

Frank, our resident Francolin, who’s decided to make our yard his permanent residence.  Francolins are highly territorial and extremely noisy when other francolins invade his space, except, of course, for Mrs. Frank. They’ve been building a nest. Francolins are monogamous and mate for life. They nest in grass-lined low-lying shallows. The incubation period is from 18 to 21 days carried out by the female.  Once the eggs hatch, both parents tend to the chicks until their first winter.
We’re looking forward to Frank’s and the Mrs.’ chicks.  For more photos, please click here.

Figuring out where to stay in England at the end of the summer…

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A portion of the Twelve Bens mountains.

“Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland”

“Funerals are sad occasions in Ireland, but they are very seldom a sad event. Family members use funerals to speak about the deceased life and share memories. Funerals are held in churches and often include food and drinks. Many churches tried to ban alcohol years ago but failed in doing so, and now allow alcohol at each funeral and wedding.”
This morning we lit the fireplace using some of the plentiful supplies left for us by our thoughtful property owner, Eileen. There’s firewood, peat, and the equivalent of Duraflame logs. It was easy for Tom to start the fire.  

It’s 14C, 57F, and yet after 15 months in the heat and humidity of South Africa, we’re feeling the cold.  There’s a unique solar system for the house, which includes a range used for cooking and warming the house. Here’s a photo of the range, which we’ve seen now and then in photos of potential rental properties throughout the world.
This is a Rayburn range used for heating the house, cooking, and the water.

This is our first experience operating this type of system, and Eileen stopped by this morning to ensure it provided enough heat to keep us comfortable. She’d explained how to use it the day we arrived, but we were so exhausted after an overnight flight that we neither remembered how to use it except for the oven.

There’s a well-prepared loose-leaf binder here with instructions for literally everything in the house. But neither refer to these instruction booklets unless there’s an emergency after we’ve usually read it within days after our arrival.

Ireland is undoubtedly known for being green and aptly named “The Emerald Island” with its cool, rainy weather.

Now, with her instructions, we have heat in the house, certainly, enough to take the chill out the air and the fire burning in what appears to be an “insert” type of fireplace rather than an open hearth.

Yesterday, we continued the tedious task of finding where we’ll stay in England for 62 days, beginning on August 23rd and ending on October 24th. This hasn’t been an easy task.  

Connemara ponies as described here:  From this site:  “The Connemara’s origins are shrouded in mystery. Some believe that they are descendants of horses brought over by Vikings, and others that they are descendants of the Irish Hobby, which was once hugely popular but is now extinct. There is also a legend that Andalucian horses found their way ashore after the destruction of the Spanish Armada and bred with the local ponies. It is known that many of the ships which survived the initial attack subsequently were wrecked off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland (partly due to severe storms), and so it is at least feasible that some horses (and humans) would have made their escape to shore. This may be why Connemaras are notably finer than most native breeds, although there was also extensive cross-breeding in the 18th century, particularly with Arabs and also Thoroughbreds and Hackneys.”
Prices are high in the UK, and with our requirement of including unlimited WiFi and preferring a house, cottage, townhouse, or condo rather than an apartment, the challenges are escalating.

Yesterday, Tom had an ingenious idea (to us anyway) that rather than book one property for the entire 62 days, we should book three or four properties in different areas for sequential dates. At first, I hedged over his suggestion when thinking about packing and unpacking every two weeks or so.

But, after careful consideration, I agreed this was an exciting idea. Now the challenge is finding suitable properties in four distinct areas with dates matching accordingly.  

Gorgeous views of the countryside.

Over the next few days, we’ll continue the research, mainly using the HomeAway link on our website to take us to the thousands of listings in England. In the past few years, HomeAway purchased several vacation/holiday home websites, leaving them number two next to Airbnb as follows:  

“A major vacation rental website is HomeAway, and it is one of the main competitors to Airbnb. The company is now owned by Expedia (as are Vrbo and VacationRentals.com).”

“Which Is Bigger: HomeAway or Airbnb? HomeAway and its companies (such as VRBO and VacationRentals.com) have over one million listings in 190 countries. However, with 2.3 million listings worldwide, from 640,000 hosts across 191 countries, Airbnb is the clear winner of the size competition.”

Why don’t we use the larger company AirBnB?  We have used it a few times. But, overall, we prefer HomeAway because they have a more liberal deposit program as opposed to paying 100% of the cost for the rental at the time of the booking.

Sunset view from our house.

Occasionally, we may book a property a year or more in advance. We do not want to lay out the entire amount for a two or three-month rental so far in advance. Plus, Airbnb has a considerable amount of shared housing situations, none of which appeal to us.

So, back to the drawing board today as we continue our search. We hope that by the end of the weekend, we’ll have this wrapped up.

Tomorrow, we’ll share a frustrating car rental situation. Please check back then.

Enjoy your day, your weekend, and everything you do.

Photo from one year ago today, May 31, 2018:
Excellent nighttime viewing. Kudus seem to be intimated by zebras due to their powerful kicks and, thus, won’t join in on the snacks. For more photos, please click here.

Happy hour is back!…A good time to define our goals…

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A pair of look-alike cows, maybe a mom and a calf.

“Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland”
“Connemara is also the name of a brand
of Irish whiskey produced at the Cooley Distillery.”

Over the past four months, since Dr. Theo discovered my heart issues from a cardiac stress test done in his office on a Saturday morning, I’ve contemplated whether or not to continue drinking a few glasses of wine now and then.

I contemplated and researched dozens of studies on how red wine affects the arteries. I couldn’t find any consistency in the pros and cons of drinking a glass or two (no more) on occasion. After asking the three doctors I worked with, the surgeon, the cardiologist, and Dr. Theo, they encouraged me to enjoy red wine regularly.

Note the dots on this cottage. I refer to this as the polka dot house, while Tom refers to it as the nipple house. Typical male.
For over 20 years, I didn’t drink any alcohol, assuming it was better for my health based on my genetic profile. I only began drinking a bit of red wine in the past few years, mainly on cruises and then at happy hour in South Africa.  

The condition of my arteries, according to the doctors, occurred over the past 20 years or more. It didn’t happen overnight. Who’s to say that drinking wine or not drinking wine made a difference, especially after I abstained for over 20 years.

We see this larger fishing boat almost daily in Bertraghboy Bay, where we’re located.
Good grief, I’ve thought. I have multiple hereditary medical conditions, and according to the recent diagnosis, my prognosis for the future isn’t optimistic. I already restrict myself by eating a special diet for the past eight years. 

I haven’t had a cookie, a cracker, a potato, a pasta dish, or a sugary dessert all these years. The benefits of this low inflammation diet made me well enough eight years ago that we eventually decided to travel the world, which would have been impossible before the diet change.  

A painful heredity condition was eradicated through the diet, not necessarily “cured” but allowed for a pain-free lifestyle. But, through heredity, this drastic situation with my arteries ensued.

Fishing boat in the bay in front of our holiday home.
Thus, the thought of never drinking a glass of red wine again, as one indulgence of a few, makes sense since I don’t seem to have any ill effects from consuming a dry red wine. If it’s good for me, excellent. I’ll never know if it’s not since my ongoing cardiac issues won’t change either way.

I drank wine since the surgeries months ago last Saturday night at a pub/restaurant. It was such a joy to sip on the silky flavor of a good Malbec. I drank about 1½ glasses and must admit I felt a bit tipsy after not drinking for four months.

This Tuesday, when we grocery shopped, we purchased two bottles of red wine for me and a bottle of Courvoisier for Tom. Happy hour was about to begin again. It’s not so much about sipping the tasty liquids that appeal to either of us. It’s the ritual associated with setting aside time to talk, to dream of planning while enjoying our respective drinks.
Sheep on a hill.
We rearranged the living room furniture and put two comfy chairs with an end table in between in front of the big windows overlooking the bay. We can sit there comfortably for an hour a day and then switch to ice tea or mineral water for the remainder of the evening.

This one hour has already become special to us. It’s a perfect time to discuss the research we’ve done throughout the day. We haven’t ventured out this week other than to grocery shop in Clifden on Tuesday with inclement weather.  

Again, today, it’s foggy, misty, and rainy, hardly a day to inspire us to get out sightseeing. Hopefully, soon, as we get closer to summer, we’re hoping we’ll enjoy more sunny days.  
We don’t mind the cool weather. We’re accustomed to the hot weather in South Africa, often hot and humid throughout the day and evening. It’s quite an adjustment, especially with the clothes we have on hand. But it’s no fun touring on rainy days when the chill goes right through us.
There are numerous islands in the lakes in Connemara.
Plus, the remaining instability of my legs prevents us from walking on wet surfaces due to the risk of falling.  This is not exactly how we envisioned our time in Ireland, but this is a reality we’ve had to face.

So, now as we plan and dream for the future during our pleasant “happy hour” as we look out to the sea, we’ve begun to shape some goals of where we’d like to travel after January 2020.  At this point, we won’t necessarily be booking any adventure-type activities until we know my legs are fully healed.


However, we are researching where we’ll live for 62 days while in the UK between August 23, 2019, and October 24, 2019, while we await an upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise out of Southampton, UK.
On upcoming August 11th, we board a cruise out of Amsterdam to sail the Baltic Sea for 12 days ending in Amsterdam, at which point we’ll then fly to the UK for the 62 days as mentioned above. We’re hoping to wrap up a holiday home for this period this week.
That’s all, folks!  Have a great day!
Photo from one year ago today, May 30, 2018:
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, if you like, then you should have put a ring on it!” This wildebeest pose reminded me of the song by Beyonce at the 47-second mark in the video.  Watch the video to see what I mean. (Click the above link).  For more photos from this date, please click here.

Our new itinerary!!!…With a few gaps…In time, we’ll fill them!…

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Upcoming Itinerary – June 21, 2018, to March 1, 2021
 Marloth Park, South Africa  56 6/21/2018 – 8/16/2018
 Zambia – Chobe National Park – Chobe River  7 8/16/2018 – 8/23/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa  89 8/23/2018 – 11/20/2018 
 Leave South Africa for visa – not booked 7  11/20/2018-11/27/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa  89  11/27/18 – 2/21/2019 
 Marloth Park SA to Kenya – tour booked 15  2/21/19 – 3/8/2019 
 Valparaiso, Chile- hotel stay – not booked  15  3/9/2019 – 3/24/2019 
 Cruise – San Antonio, Chile – San Diego  14  3/24/2019 – 4/8/2019 
 San Diego – fly to Minnesota – hotel stay 17  4/8/2019 – 4/25/2019 
 Cruise – Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen  16  4/26/2019 – 5/12/2019 
 Ireland – Connemara – house rented 90  5/12/2019 – 8/9/2019 
 Amsterdam – hotel stay – not booked 2  8/9/2019 – 8/11/2019 
 Cruise – Baltic – Amsterdam to Amsterdam  12  8/11/2019 – 8/23/2019 
 England – rent countryside house – not booked 62  8/23/2019 -10/24/2019 
 Cruise – Southampton to Fort Lauderdale  15  10/24/2019-11/8/2019 
 Las Vegas, NV – Los Angeles, CA – Scottsdale, AZ  22  11/8/2019 – 12/3/2019 
 Ecuador – Galapagos – rent a vacation home – not booked 89  12/3/2019 – 3/01/2020 
 Peru – Machu Picchu – rent vacation home, visit site  30  3/01/2020 –  3/31/2020 
 The Pantanal/Amazon River Cruise – Brazil (2 cruises)  30  3/31/2020 – 4/30/2020 
 Gap – to be booked  134  4/30/2020 – 9/11/2020 
 Minnesota – family visit – not booked 14  9/11/2020 – 9/25/2020 
 Gap – to be booked  46  9/25/2020 -11/10/2020 
 Cruise – Lisbon to Cape Town  22  11/10/2020 -12/2/2020 
 Cape Town/Marloth Park   90  12/2/2020 – 3/1/2021 
 Number of days   983

 *Cruises are indicated turquoise shading

“Photo of the Day in the Bush”

At night, Little Wart Face lies down for a nap, exhausted from eating pellets and his busy day.

A few days ago, when we mentioned we’d be updating our itinerary and posting it in the next few months, we became motivated to get it updated now rather than wait. 

We attempt to post a recent itinerary every six months, but it doesn’t always work out that way when plans are still up in the air.  Although we have several gaps and un-booked events listed in the above itinerary, we aren’t concerned about booking these now, especially those out more than a year or two.

Lots of zebras in the yard after dark.

It’s possible but tricky to book anything two years out, other than a few cruises here and there, as indicated above. Most owners of holiday/vacation homes prefer not to commit to a booking so far out, mainly when we often request discounts based on two factors: one, our long term stays and…two, the frequent online exposure of their property, which may result in more bookings for them from our worldwide readers.

We fully understand the hesitancy. When we find a possible holiday/vacation home, we’re interested in renting, if the owner says, “Check back in a year,” we seldom check back. When we’re ready to book, we’re ready to book and prefer not to spend time “checking back.”

The same goes for cruises. When we find a cruise we’d like, we usually book it within 48 hours of discovering it to ensure the choice of our preferred cabin and to take advantage of any early booking promotions that may be offered at the time.

After the zebras left, female kudus and youngsters arrived.

The good thing about working with Vacations to Go is they offer the lowest possible price (with perks) up until the final payment date, which is usually 75 to 90 days before the “sail date.”

As we’ve mentioned in prior posts, Tom checks prices for any cruises we’ve already booked almost daily. If he finds a cruise we’ve booked at a lower cost and with better “perks,” he’ll contact Vacations to Go to request the price adjustments. Once completed, we’ll receive an entirely new “cruise confirmation” document with the latest pricing and perks.

Cute young kudu.  Note the bushbabies knocked over their cup of yogurt on the stand above.

This process has served us well. Over the years, we’ve saved thousands of dollars on cruises making the almost-daily extra effort worthwhile.  But many cruise passengers don’t bother to check (or their agency doesn’t offer this feature), and the cruise line will not do the checking for you.

Contact your travel agency or however you’ve booked the cruise for the price reductions. Again, many travelers don’t take the time to check frequently enough for “daily specials.” Once the special offering is gone, one may not benefit from its price changes.

This morning, baby zebra nursing.

Fortunately, price increases do not have any bearing on existing reservations. As for the six/seven cruises, as shown above, we have not yet booked the Amazon River and Pantanal cruises which we’ll book within a year.

As for the other cruises as indicated above, most will stay in place. We’ve yet to cancel a cruise we’ve booked. On a few occasions, the cruise line has canceled a cruise we’d booked, and we had to make other plans with little compensation for the change.

Cruising is an excellent option for us for many reasons. Generally, it’s a cost-effective opportunity to see more of the world, rather than flying from place to place. Plus, it’s a lot more fun to sail between countries than fly on airplanes. Often, we use cruises to get us from one country to another where we may stay for some time.

The zebras also stop by during the day, more frequently in this past week.

As for yesterday, we attended an excellent presentation at the home of friends and Marloth Park Honorary Rangers, Uschi and Evan that we’ll soon share in detail. It will take a few days to prepare the comprehensive post.

Today, we’re off to Komatipoort and Lebombo to the grocery shop. Tom always drives to Lebombo for carrots and apples for the wildlife while I shop at the Spar Supermarket and the meat market in the Spar Centre. This way, he doesn’t have to spend so much time grocery shopping with me, which isn’t fun. I’m a slow and deliberate shopper.  Can you imagine that?

We’ll be back with more tomorrow and wish all of our readers an excellent day and evening, wherever you may be, whatever you may do.

Photo from one year ago today, June 21, 2017:

Grandpa and Vincent at Cardboard Camp in Minnesota. For more photos of the cardboard camp, please click here.

Photos!…Pricing!…Exciting new booking…House in Connemara, Ireland for three months…

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What a view from our upcoming Connemara, Ireland vacation/holiday rental for 89 nights.

We still have dozens of sightseeing photos we’ve yet to post, but today we are so excited to share a new booking we secured yesterday, we decided to put those photos on hold for another day. We couldn’t be more thrilled with this new booking!

As we peruse our itinerary, there were a few occasions on which we felt the time was near to secure a booking for Ireland, from 5/12/19 to 8/9/2019, in a mere 16 months.  

This may seem to be a long time from now, but the best vacation/holiday homes in Ireland get snapped up quickly, especially during the warmer summer months. 

In researching HomeAway on our site without entering dates, we found at least half of the properties were already booked during our dates. Once we filtered for our dates, with no other criteria, we found few with ocean views in good locations for our planned upcoming research of Tom’s ancestry. 

This kitchen with three sinks, a center island, a dishwasher, and that fantastic stove will undoubtedly fit the bill for our home cooking!

We decided that renting a property located close to the middle line of the country, north to south on the west coast, will allow us to drive to any of the cities we’ll research within two or three hours. 

Over the past few days, after we began entering data on our Excel spreadsheets and Cozi calendar for the new itinerary, we spent a few hours each day looking for the perfect property to fulfill our objectives in Ireland. After location, the next important consideration for us, views. 

We longed for an ocean view which invariably has a profound impact on the price. We tossed out a few lowball offers on properties more expensive than we’d prefer to pay with no success. 

Property owners in Ireland know the desirability of their properties in the warmer summer months. The responses we received indicated they felt they would get higher prices in the summer and prefer to book one week at a time. Long-term, lower-priced renters like us would considerably impact their annual rental income. We certainly understood. 

Weather permitting, we may dine outdoors but won’t mind eating at this table. 

We continued the search, fearful we’d run out of options in no time or have to settle for a less desirable property, perhaps without an ocean view and the amenities we so much desire that makes long-term stays comfortable and fulfilling for our lifestyle.

Of course, we’d yet to research other companies such as VRBO, TripAdvisor, and others. In most cases, we prefer HomeAway for many reasons, including our familiarity with the site and their ability to arrange partial payment deposits rather than requiring the entire rental amount to be paid in full at the time of the booking.

It makes no financial sense to pay an entire three-month rental a year or more in advance, leaving our money tied up for so long. Can you imagine spending your rent or house payment one or two years in advance?  For what?  However, we have no problem paying one-third of the entire rental amount to hold it for an extended period and the balance closer to the onset of the rental period.


Whether it was fate or “safari luck” yesterday, after a few hours of thorough searching, I stumbled across today’s shown spectacular home in the Connemara area with views of the Twelve Bens mountain range and magnificent Bertraghboy Bay. The sunsets will be outstanding!

There are no big trees on the property, but the views make up for it.  Plenty of photos will follow once we arrive in Connemara, Ireland.

The house was perfect for us except for the fact it doesn’t have Wi-Fi. The owner has agreed to provide us with unlimited Wi-Fi, which wasn’t listed as available for this property. Without this, it just wouldn’t work for us.  Using a hotspot or dongle is very expensive.

Then, to top it off, the price is so reasonable, we didn’t ask for a discount for our long-term stay.  The total price is US $7,368.49 (ARS 140,325) for the 89 nights, including taxes, fees, and security deposit, for which we paid one-third down with the balance closer to the rental period.

This averages at US $82.79 (ARS 1,577) per night over the listed US $77 (ARS 1,466) per night, and also at US $2,518 (ARS 47,953) per month. Based on the fact that we often book wonderful properties for even less than this amount, it works out over the year to remain within our budgetary goals.

Eileen, the property owner, couldn’t have been more thoughtful and delightful to work with us in facilitating the booking process, and we have no doubt she’ll be equally kind and responsive based on all of the five-star reviews on the listing.

This house so well fits our perception of our goal of a “home in Ireland in the countryside with an ocean view” we couldn’t be happier to have found this home. Once we’re situated in Africa,  we’ll go back to researching other vacation/holiday homes/hotels we’ll need to wrap up for our newly posted itinerary. In case you missed it, the itinerary may be found here.

For today, we’re staying busy updating the budget with all of these changes and later head out for a walk and our nightly search for a good restaurant, which isn’t hard to accomplish in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, January 9, 2017:

Regardless of the roads we took to explore the area, and we were never disappointed in Penguin, Tasmania. This scene reminded us of what one may find in a painting.  For more Penguin photos as we began to countdown to move on, please click here.

Worthwhile itinerary changes added more time we can spend in Minnesota visiting family…Newly revised itinerary here today…

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Tom, looking good with his recent haircut and, of course, always with a smile on his face.
The smell of the white flowers on this tree was intoxicating.

Every few days, Tom checks prices on cruises we’ve booked.  A cruise booking benefit provided to US citizens (may not apply to citizens of other countries) is as follows: 

If a price drop occurs before the final payment’s due date (90 days before the cruise sail date), we can ask that the price be dropped to the new pricing on multiple occasions.  If the price increases at any time before final payment, it has no bearing on our final price.

Entrance to Jardin Botanico. No entrance fees are charged.

However, a stipulation on this benefit is that we are responsible for discovering these price drops.  Subsequently, almost daily, Tom checks prices online for all cruises we’ve booked, searching one by one.  Doing so has saved us thousands of dollars over these past five years.

A map was posted with the layout of the triangular facility.

Yesterday, while he was searching for price drops, he noticed a newly posted cruise: Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, April 26, 2019, a transatlantic crossing with an almost identical itinerary to the cruise we booked a few days ago, with a slight difference in dates and number of sailing days at considerably lower pricing.

A few remaining flowers blooming late in the season.

Immediately, he got to work to contact Vacations to Go to book this particular cruise based on two pertinent facts that particularly appealed to us:  one; we’d be able to stay in Minnesota with family for four more nights going from 13 nights to 17 nights and; two, we’d save a considerable sum.

A garden of stock-type plants.

In doing so, we eliminate the necessity of staying in Amsterdam for 11 nights. Instead, we’ll be staying three nights which is plenty of time to spend in the big city. Based on research we’d done, it would be costly to stay in Amsterdam for the prior extended period.

A statue of Julius Caesar.

Here are the changes we made yesterday: 

Originally booked cruise:
Celebrity Reflection 4/22/2019 – 5/6/2019
$4,497.10 (inc tax, no tips, no perks) (ARS 84,892)
$150 (ARS 2,832) cabin credit

Change to a different cruise:
RC Serenade of the Seas  4/26/2019 – 5/12/2019
$2,806.32 (inc. tax, no tips, no perks) (ARS 52,975)
$325 (ARS 6135) cabin credit
Includes two extra nights

Four additional nights in Minnesota:
4/8/2019 – 4/25/2019

We didn’t enter the information building.

Savings differences:
Difference between cost of two cruises:  $1,698.78 (ARS 32,068)
Difference cabin credit:  $175 (ARS 3,283)
Total savings:  $1,865.78 (ARS 35,220)

As a result of these changes, we’ve adjusted the itinerary we posted on January 3, 2018, as follows. To avoid confusion for those that closely follow our itinerary, we felt it was important to post the revisions as shown below:

 Location  Days  Dates 
 Buenos Aires – Prodeo Hotel 
20*
  12/23/2017 – 1/23/2018 
 Ushuaia – Ushuaia – Antarctica Cruise 
16
  1/23/2018 – 2/8/2018 
 Buenos Aires – Prodeo Hotel 
2
  2/8/2018 – 2/10/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
 2/11/2018 – 5/11/2018
  Zambezi River Cruise – Victoria Falls 
8
 5/11/2018 – 5/19/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
 5/19/2018 – 8/16/2018
 Uganda – See gorillas,  Visit “Cradle of Mankind” in SA
7
 8/16/2018 – 8/23/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
  8/23/2018 – 11/20/2018 
Mozambique, Africa (get visa stamped) 
1
  11/20/2018 -11/21/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
  11/21/2019 – 2/17/2019 
 Valparaiso, Chili 
36
  2/17/2019 – 3/24/2019 
 Cruise – San Antonio, Chili – San Diego 
14
  3/24/2019 – 4/8/2019 
 San Diego – fly to Minnesota – Family Visit 
17
  4/8/2019 – 4/25/2019 
 Cruise – Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen 
16
  4/26/2019 – 5/12/2019 
 Ireland –  rent country house – research Tom’s ancestry 
90
  5/12/2019 – 8/9/2019 
 Amsterdam – (wait for upcoming cruise) – hotel stay 
3
  8/9/2019 – 8/11/2019 
 Cruise, Baltic – Amsterdam to Amsterdam 
12
  8/11/2019 – 8/23/2019 
 England – rent countryside house 
62
  8/23/2019 – 10/24/2019 
 Southampton to Fort Lauderdale 
15
  10/24/2019 – 11/8/2019 
 Las Vegas, NV – Los Angeles, CA – Scottsdale, AZ 
25
  11/8/2019 – 12/3/2019 
 Ecuador – Galapagos – Rent vacation home 
89
  12/3/2019 – 3/01/2020 
 Peru – Machu Picchu – Rent holiday homes, visit site 
30
  3/1/2020 –  3/31/2020 
 The Pantanal/Amazon River Cruise – Brazil (2   cruises) 
30
  3/31/2020 – 4/30/2020 
 Number of days  
852

*When we prepared this itinerary on January 3, 2018, we had 20 remaining nights during the first stay at the Prodeo Hotel in Buenos Aires until we depart for the Antarctica cruise on January 23rd. We have 16 nights remaining until we depart, but we chose not to change the published itinerary reflecting this difference.

An alternate view of the information center.

Yesterday, we went sightseeing to the Carlos Thays Botanical Garden, a 10-minute taxi ride from our hotel. The cab fare was a paltry US $3.22  (ARS 60), but we walked back to the hotel on the perfect weather day with brilliant sunshine and temperatures around 72F (22C).

A statue of a wild dog nursing two human babies.  This statue depicts the Roman mythological story of Romulus and Remus.

The season of flowers blooming was late for the botanical garden since it’s mid-summer here now. However, we were able to take many good photos of plants, trees, and a few remaining blooming flowers. 

Unknown pods preparing to bloom.

We walked through the garden for a few hours. The garden is located in the city, and the 17 acres triangle-shaped facility was surrounded by busy roads on all sides, making our long walk a bit noisy. Nonetheless, we had a pleasant stroll through the property, leaving with many good photos.

Small flowers in a garden patch.

After leaving the botanical garden, we decided to walk the busy streets of an area of Palermo we’d yet to see.  The hustle and bustle of Saturday shoppers and a handful of tourists filled the sidewalks and roads. We had to carefully watch where we were walking due to the uneven pavement.

Bamboo tree.

After walking for some time, we took a side street to head back to our neighborhood, an hour-long walk. It felt good to be out and about in the fresh air, away from our laptops, after staying indoors in the comfortable lobby of the pleasing hotel where we’ve worked for many days on future planning.

A decorative pond with a statue.

By 6:00 pm, we headed out to dinner. We found yet another restaurant we’d yet to try. (Only one repeat thus far).  I had a glass of Malbec (wine), and Tom had a few beers. By 9:00 pm, we were back in our room to relax and read for a few hours. It was a great day, especially after we had the opportunity to extend our time in Minnesota with family and also save a good sum in the process.

These purple flowers, Agapanthus, looked familiar, and we remembered there were blooming wildly in New Zealand when we arrived in January 2016.  Thanks to friend Louise in Kauai for once again being a great resource for names of flowers, trees, and birds!

Next week, we’ll head out for more sightseeing.  For now, we’ll be sharing photos over the next several days from yesterday’s outing. As I sit here in the lobby now well afternoon, Tom is wearing his earbuds while watching football on his laptop as we fast approach the time for Super Bowl. With the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs, he is interested in how the competing teams are doing.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more. We look forward to “seeing you” then. Have a wonderful day, wherever you may be. 

Photo from one year ago today, January 7, 2017:

We saw Meerkats at a rescue center in Tasmania. These adorable creatures are marsupials in the mongoose family. For more details, please click here.

Finally…Itinerary for the next 852 days!…A daunting task yet to be fine tuned…

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We stopped at a gluten-free bakery, but there wasn’t an item I could have when they all contain starch and sugar.

After many days of research and discussions, we’ve finally pinned down our travel goals for the next 852 days.  This extended period is a lofty goal. We realize we’ve left out some parts of the world we’ve yet to visit, primarily China, India, and Japan which we’ll save for the future.

We’ll return to Europe to live in many other countries we’ve also yet to explore and would love to visit down the road in due time. The world is a huge place, and we pray for good health to make it all possible in years to come.

As you review this itinerary, you’ll note that we’ll be in and out of South Africa, staying for 89 days on each occasion. Our intent during these multiple stays is two-fold; one to “lick our wounds” from the upcoming pricey Antarctic cruise and two to savor our last foray in living in my favorite place in the world, the Conservancy of Marloth Park, where animals roam free around the bush houses.

So here it is, folks (cruises are noted in turquoise shading):

 Location 
Days
  Dates 
 Buenos Aires, AR – Prodeo Hotel 
20
 1/2/2018 -1/23/2018 
 Ushuaiai, AR – Ushuaiai,AR – Antarctica Cruise 
16
 1/23/2018 – 2/8/2018 
 Buenos Aires, AR – Prodeo Hotel 
2
 2/8/2018 – 2/10/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa – Bush home selected
89
2/11/2018 – 5/11/2018
  Zambezi River Cruise – Victoria Falls 
8
5/11/2018 – 5/19/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa – Rent a bush home
89
5/19/2018 – 8/16/2018
 Uganda – See gorillas and the “Cradle of Mankind.” 
7
8/16/2018 – 8/23/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa – Rent a bush home
89
 8/23/2018 -11/20/2018 
 Mozambique, Africa (get visa stamped) 
1
 11/20/2018 -11/21/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa – Rent a bush home
89
 11/21/2019 – 2/17/2019 
 Valparaiso, Chile – Rent vacation home or hotel
36
 2/17/2019 – 3/24/2019 
 Cruise – San Antonio, Chile – San Diego 
14
 3/24/2019 – 4/8/2019 
 San Diego, CA – Fly to Minneapolis, MN – Family visit
13
 4/8/2019 – 4/21/2019 
 Cruise – Fort Lauderdale, FL- Dublin, Ire (1-day hotel stay) 
15
 4/21/2019 – 5/6/2019 
 Ireland – Rent country house – Research Tom’s ancestry 
90
 5/6/2019 – 8/1/2019 
 Amsterdam, NLD – Hotel stay 
11
 8/1/2019 – 8/11/2019 
 Cruise, Baltic – Amsterdam, NLD – Amsterdam, NLD 
12
 8/11/2019 – 8/23/2019 
 England – Rent country home
62
 8/23/2019 – 10/24/2019 
 Southampton, UK – Fort Lauderdale, FL
15
  10/24/2019 – 11/8/2019 
 Henderson/Las Vegas, NV – Los Angeles, CA -Scottsdale, AZ 
25
 11/8/2019 – 12/3/2019 
 Ecuador – Galapagos – Rent vacation homes on islands
89
 12/3/2019 – 3/1/2020 
 Peru – Machu Picchu – Rent vacation homes, visit site 
30
 3/1/2020 –  3/31/2020 
 The Pantanal/Amazon River Cruise – Brazil (2 cruises)
30
 3/31/2020 – 4/30/2020 
 Number of days  
852

You’ll note we’ve added some locations we’d never mentioned in past posts for those avid followers of our site.  As we began pinning down places and dates, Tom continued searching for cruises that can get us from Point A to Point B in many instances.

In other cases, we included 89 or 90 day stays in countries before or after specific cruises. Additionally, one may wonder, why are we going back and forth to South America? This was a plan Tom had suggested long ago, which I didn’t think made sense.

Artistic painting on a wall on a narrow street.

Now, as we map this out and, based on available cruises, it makes all the sense in the world to me. In reality, there isn’t much “jumping around,” and after all, we’re doing it precisely as we see fit, not by some preconceived notion as to how we “should” travel.

As always, we’re doing it exactly as we’d prefer, always considering the best possible experiences befitting our tastes along with the most reasonable costs in the process.

Diners sitting outdoors at a local dining establishment

There are a few other points we should mention, including Ecuador one year from now. Through our extensive research over these past years, we’ve discovered we can rent vacation homes on three of the islands in the Galapagos, enabling us many private tours to the areas where wildlife is found, rather than going out on tour with lots of other tourists. This is especially appealing.

Another point to mention is regarding Machu Picchu…by staying in the area for one month, the experiences will be more comprehensive and rich in culture, and we’ll have plenty of time to acclimate to the high altitudes staying at varying points partway up the mountains.

It’s too early to book the cruise to The Pantanal in Brazil, the world’s most extensive wetlands (10 times the size of the Florida Everglades) and home to 3500 plant species, 656 bird species, 325 fish species, 159 mammals, 53 amphibians, and 98 reptiles. Our kind of place.

On a narrow road, we walked in the Serrano Plaza area.

From there, either before or after The Pantanal, we’ll cruise the Amazon River. This type of journey may not be for everyone, but it fits well into our objectives of experiencing nature at its fullest.

From there?  At this point, we aren’t even thinking of terms of what will be next. Indeed, we’ll visit family in the US.  By that time, we’ll have a handle on where we’ll go next, primarily locations we’ve never stayed in in the past.

This morning our friends from the UK left to head to their home in the UK, and now it’s just the two of us. We’ve been highly social with others since November 23rd, and now we’ll happily return to our normal happy state of being “just the two of us.”

Inside the mall near Jumbo market.

St. Petersburg, here we come! Tomorrow, we’ll be back with more, including some details of the Baltic cruise we locked in last night, one we hadn’t seen on the horizon for quite some time based on high prices. But, when we could get the balcony cabin for an excellent price, it was time to book it.

Five years ago today, we boarded the first cruise (for either of us), embarking from San Diego, heading through the Panama Canal (we recently transited the canal a second time during the most recent cruise), and ending in Fort Lauderdale. Here is the link from that first day!

Enjoy your day with any plans you may have on the horizon!

Photo from one year ago today, January 3, 2017:

Trespassers entering this field in Tasmania, thinking they could “get high” from the unprocessed poppy/opium, have died from doing so. For more details, please click here.

Part 2…Our year in review…Photos of us…Busy preparing new itinerary, ready for tomorrow’s post…

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In July, we had a great evening at The Elephant Bar in Henderson, Nevada, with friends that live in Las Vegas.

New Year’s Day proved to be another good holiday. We stayed busy posting until later than usual and then spent the rest of the afternoon making future travel plans.

Why do we plan so far ahead? Our lifestyle gives us tremendous piece-of-mind knowing what’s coming down the road. Also, it gives us an opportunity for good prices for upcoming venues.

Tom standing next to the Giant Bamboo tree to gain a perspective of its massive size. The vegetation at Zoo Ave in Costa Rica was almost as interesting as the wildlife.

Although we’ll post the itinerary tomorrow, we’ve yet to book all of the vacation homes for the upcoming visits to various countries, but the cruises are already booked. Over the next few months, once we’re in Africa, we start booking vacation/holiday homes in these various locations.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, cruises are a driving force in our decisions to visit certain countries, although as shown, we don’t hesitate to fly when necessary.

I used repellent while at Zoo Ave in Costa Rica but still got a few mosquito bites.

Planning is a daunting task, and today, we’ll continue with the preparations for tomorrow’s post. We’re happy we’d committed to posting the itinerary. It motivated us to “get the show on the road” and finally decide for the future.  

By no means, our failure to get this done wasn’t due to any lack of enthusiasm on our part. Instead, it was based on the simple fact that we’ve been rather busy this past month with the cruise and socializing. 

We set up the tripod to take this photo of us in Costa Rica on October 31, 2017, the fifth anniversary of our world travels.

All along, we have intended to post a new itinerary around the first of the new year. We’ll have this accomplished by tomorrow as we joyfully share it with all of our worldwide readers.

As for yesterday, New Year’s night, we ate the remainder of the food purchases we’d made for sharing with Margaret and Con. By 7:30 pm, once again, we gathered in a big booth in the Prodeo Hotel’s dining room with food which included roasted chickens, coleslaw salad which I made in our room, olives, cheese, meat, and nuts.  It was another fine evening.

On formal night aboard Celebrity Infinity only weeks ago. My teeth were purple from the glass of red wine I’d just finished.

By 11:00 pm, we were sleeping, and although intermittently, I feel hangover-free and refreshed today, ready to tackle a new day in Buenos Aires. In a short time, once we’ll upload today’s post, and we’ll head to a local barbershop for Tom’s haircut, which opens after 12:00 pm.

He hasn’t had a haircut since October. He’s facing “hat hair” on the upcoming Antarctica cruise when we’ll both be wearing hats for several hours each day. This is less of an issue for me when a few swipes with the flat iron and I’m back to normal. 

We were with our wonderful new friends, Lisa and Barry, whom we hope to see in June in South Africa.

But for him, his hair tends to be spikey when either too short or too long. He’s thumbing through past posts right now to see how short he wants it cut today. We’ll post photos soon.

Tonight, we’ll walk to Serrano Plaza, our favorite area for dinner. There are many restaurants we’ve yet to try.  After eating in these past few nights, we’re looking forward to getting out again. Now that the holiday season is over, we expect to find more dining options.

On the ship’s deck as we sailed through the Chilean Fiords on the most recent cruise.

May your new year begin and end with considerable contentment and joy in all of your endeavors, whatever they may be. Happy day to all 

Photo from one year ago today, January 2, 2017:

Green/spring onions were being processed for wholesale distribution at a Penguin, Tasmania vegetable processing farm. For more details, please click here.

Visit to Dover, Tasmania…Uncertainty in filling gaps in the itinerary…Worrisome?

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Turkeys crossing the road.

As we drove through the foreshore of Dover, Tasmania, it felt as if we could be in an oceanfront town in the world, even in the US. The only difference on a sunny day was the lack of traffic, sunbathers on the beach, and vendors pushing passersby to partake of their offerings.

“Hey, you guys!  Wait for me!”

From the web: “Dover is the southernmost town of its size in Australia, located on the western shores towards the southern end of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, south of the Huon Valley, southwest of Hobart, located on the head of Port Esperance in Tasmania.”

  After looking online, we couldn’t find the motivation for the name of this little town.  Any comments from locals? We veered off the main road to Police Point to find a few farms and turkeys walking on the road.

We’d heard about Dover from the butcher in Geeveston, who recommended we make a point of visiting the scenic ocean town. We weren’t disappointed. Our love for the sea is the driving force behind most planning in building our itinerary year after year.

Cattle on a hill seeking respite from the sun under the shade of a tree.

Now, as we review the upcoming itinerary, we’re well aware of a few holes we need to begin thinking about. (Please click here if you’ve missed our most recently posted itinerary because we’ve moved down the page a few lines since we posted it).

The word “foreshore” in Australian speak refers simply to ocean frontage/beach.

The most imminent gap is the month-long gap in Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning on Tom’s birthday on December 23, 2017, a mere 10 months from now. 

Sailboats moored in the bay in Dover, Tasmania.

Continuing for a period of one month, we haven’t yet decided how we’ll spend that month in Argentina as we peruse several possibilities. However, it appears the cost of vacation/holiday homes is high in this city, and its surrounding areas inspiring us may remain open-minded as to our options.

The tide was low as we drove through the town of Dover.

Based on the upcoming Antarctica cruise at the end of this one month beginning on January 23, 2018, and its outrageous cost, we must steer ourselves into a somewhat economical budget-friendly mode of living. We’re still researching.

Pier in Dover.

As for the gaps following the Antarctic cruise, we’ll be flying from South America to South Africa to begin a period of time yet undetermined. Where we’ll stay, there is also “up in the air” when Louise, our friend and past property manager, has promised to find us an ideal scenario in Marloth Park/Kruger National Park.

Pier in Southport, Tasmania.

Once we arrive in South Africa next February with no definitive plans booked for the future, we’ll begin to explore various expeditions we’ve long to experience while on the continent, such as the gorillas in Rwanda, Victoria Falls, and more safaris.

Occasionally, we discuss these particular gaps in our itinerary, but with plenty of time to pin down accommodations and activities for Africa, it’s more of a concern to begin searching for options in Buenos Aires.

More of these exquisite white sand beaches in Dover as well as in Southport.

Today, cloudy and foggy, we’re staying put while taking care of some business-related tasks, making another great meal (with a few photos for tomorrow), and contemplating plans for the future. 

See you soon!

Photo from one year ago today, February 10, 2016:

Surfing and kayaking are popular in both New Zealand, Australia, and of course, Tasmania.  For more photos, please click here.

Crabby?…Pillowcases and clothing…Change in plans effective in four days…What was the cost?

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Large visitor came to call after high tide during the night.    Look at these eyeballs!

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

This tiny white sail was able to pull this boat through the strong winds.

Why we decided to leave the villa five days earlier than planned wasn’t easy. We really enjoyed this place.    However, the practical aspect prompted us to think about how to manage the next few days with limited Wi-Fi access, until we left Bali after midnight on October 30.

We’ll arrive in Sydney on October 30th, (the red eye), spend one night in our usual hotel in Sydney located across the street from the port and sail away on the day of our fourth anniversary of traveling the world, October 31st.  What a day to celebrate what we’ll happily do aboard the ship! 

After the overnight stay in the Sydney hotel we’ll have recovered from the red eye (who sleeps well on a plane?) and be excited to embark on the 33-night cruise circumventing the continent of Australia on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas.

Our original plan was to take off from the villa for the four or five hour harrowing drive on Saturday where we’d stay for several hours, not a full night, before heading to airport as required at 10 pm to board the midnight flight to Sydney. With this plan, we wouldn’t have to hang out at the airport for hours.

A friend of Ketut made these two pillow cases to fit my new pillow that came in the last parcel. The cost for both of these was only US $3.07, IDR 40,000!

The cost for these two was just $3.07 USD, IDR 40,000!

Accordingly, we have booked a room at the exceptional Hilton Garden Inn Kuta which is close to the airport. We’d use the room as a resting point until 10:00 pm, to then depart for the airport for the nighttime flight. It made all the sense in the world when none of us wanted to sit around the airport for eight hours. 

We’ve stayed at this hotel twice in these past months and with their low rates, it was a no-brainer. Then a few days ago something came into my head. Why not go there a day earlier to make sure we had at least a good night’s sleep before the red eye? 

Neither of us ever sleeps much the night before departure from a vacation home when are minds are preoccupied with getting up on time, finishing last minute packing and getting on our way. Overall, our lives are comprised of some time constraints, other than departure dates. It’s easy to get carried away with the details when you can’t sleep last night.

After wearing a beautiful top like this when we dressed in Hindu attire as shown in this post, I decided to buy a few of these lace tops realizing this would be perfect for formal nights on cruises. Ketut has given me several colours to try. I ended up purchasing five colors at only US $12.29, IDR 160,000 each!  Now I’ll have to toss five items from my luggage to maintain the proper weight.

That conversation in the pool yesterday changed to the prospect of going to the hotel next Friday instead of Saturday. Then it all changed. We got out of the pool, showered and changed and tried over and over again to get online to add the one more night’s hotel stay.

Impossible to get online for several hours, even while restarting the router, we came to the conclusion that we should actually leave sooner than we had discussed in the pool.   the owners next door having arrived on Tuesday and their use of the shared WiFi router located between the two villas on a massive pole, we had a difficult time getting online.

We definitely do not blame the owners of this beautiful property. The property listing was clear that the shared signal was sketchy. Over these past almost four months we’ve somehow managed but now, with them sharing, it’s become all the more problematic. 

Ribud and the new guy who works next door, were raking the grass in front of the pool after a very high tide brought in debris overnight.

The weak signal is simply not strong enough to suit our needs while they’re  using it as well.  Nor would we ask them to do anything differently. After all, this is their property and they’re here only a few weeks.  Like us, they also need to be online.

After waiting a few hours, entertaining ourselves otherwise, (neither of us complains), we made the decision to leave for Denpasar (Kuta) five days earlier than planned.

Finally, around 6:00 pm, we managed to get online and book the hotel at the same unbelievable rate of US $50, IDR 649,149 per night for five more nights. (We’d already paid the same amount for Saturday’s non-overnight booking). This rate includes the buffet breakfast. See below for the five-night total:

Payment details
Price for room 1
Monday, October 24, 2016 $50.47
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 $50.47
Wednesday, October 26, 2016 $50.47
Thursday, October 27, 2016 $50.47
Tax recovery charges and service fees $42.40
Total amount paid $244.28

Click here for photos and amenities for this excellent hotel.

The hotel has a free airport shuttle, a coin operated laundry, an enormous pool and a beautiful affordable dinner menu.

Last time we dined at this hotel was on June 28th, (click here for the post with photos) when the chef had come to our table to confirm that I’d been happy with the special meal he’d made for me. 

We don’t leave here early flippantly. We’ve paid for these final days and won’t be getting our money back nor would we ask for it. We appreciate all the kindness and attentive care we’ve received each and every day by the beautiful and gentle Balinese people and our household staff of four.

Guy in the ocean at sunset.

Over the weekend, we’ll pack to prepare for Monday morning’s departure from Sumbersari at 9:00 am for the four or five hour harrowing drive. Once we arrive at the hotel, we’ll be happy the long drive is behind us. 

We’ll have time to get caught up on some future booking tasks we’ve had trouble completing while here with slower Internet and of course, on Monday once we arrive, Tom will be able to watch the Minnesota Vikings football game.

Prior to leaving the villa on Monday we’ll post our final expenses for the time we spent in Sumbersari. Then, on the final day at the hotel, we’ll do the post for the expenses incurred for the six booked nights at the hotel, meals, drinks, tips, and transportation.

Regardless of the difficulty of getting online, we’ll continue to post over these next three days as we wrap up our time at this lovely villa.

Be well.


Photo from one year ago today, October 21, 2015:

Fiji’s version of a “quick and easy,” or superette. Please click here for the year ago post.