Medical concerns mount, worldwide and “at home”…

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Elephants on the Crocodile River in Kruger National Park in 2013. 
Five years ago today, we continued to be wrapped up in the growing albatross chicks nesting in the yards of homes in the neighborhood. This was our favorite Laysan Albatross chick, named “Joy,” who usually sat facing the wall.  She was practicing clacking when we stopped by the previous day, although we were at least 15 feet from her.  On this particular day, she wasn’t facing the wall, as she often does, as did her parents.  For the post from that day five years ago today, please click here.
Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.

For those who may have missed the post with SW News Media’s article on our story, please click here.

My sister’s situation has escalated over the past 24 hours. She now has no choice but to go into a rehabilitation center or, even worse, a nursing home, many of which are dealing with cases of COVID-19. 

She cannot care for herself sufficiently to return to her assisted living facility, which only offers minimal care for its residents, such as dispensing medication, health checks, meals, and cleaning. At this point, Susan is being prescribed “palliative care,” which focuses on improving their quality of life.

This cannot be accomplished while living in an assisted living facility. If the fears of the virus weren’t prevalent at this time, this entire scenario would be much easier.

It’s hard to believe that these fluffy balls will eventually grow into the adults’ beautiful pristine white and gray feathers.

I’m doing what I can from afar, but it’s a difficult situation with several family members involved, each trying their best for a good outcome that doesn’t look promising.

It breaks my heart to think she could be permanently separated from her beloved Yorkie, Chase. This will be the most challenging part for her. Little dogs are often allowed in assisted living facilities but never in rehabilitation centers or nursing homes. In the next few days, we’ll see how this all rolls out.
 

I have no doubt many of our readers have been faced with these types of situations. Both Tom and I experienced it with our aging parents, who now passed away long ago. Overseeing even a part of their care is disheartening and sorrowful for all family members.

Could this chick be any cuter?

On India’s national news, there are considerable speculations on how India will go forward when the lockdown ends on April 14th. Numerous options are being presented; including the extension of the lockdown based on the fact, there has been no reduction in the number of cases in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Today, India has 5356 cases and 160 deaths based on this report which is considerably less than the US with 400,500 cases and 12,857 deaths. South Africa has 1749 cases and 13 deaths. These numbers will not be accurate since reporting is limited in some countries.

It appears we won’t know what India will do for several more days but, even if the lockdown ends and the airport reopens, there isn’t a country with its borders open we’d care to visit. Subsequently, we will stay here until there are possibilities that work for us. This could be months away. We are prepared for this eventuality.

A Brown Gecko is hanging out in this plant with sharp thorns, a safe hiding spot for sure.

The hotel routine continues day after day. We go to breakfast between 8:00, and 9:00 am. While our room is being cleaned, we sit in the lobby with our laptops and return to the room. 

I walk the corridors of the fourth floor once an hour until we go to dinner. We each listen to podcasts, the news, or stream shows on our respective laptops during the daytime.
 

Back in our room after 7:00 pm dinner, together we watched two episodes of Showtime’s TV series: Homeland, The Affair, Ray Donovan and then tried to sleep. Usually, by 11:00 pm, we’re drifting off to awaken the following day to do it all over again.

This peculiar tree was growing in the neighborhood where the nesting albatrosses were located.

As much as we’d like to shake it up a little, there’s no real opportunity for change. Although many of you housebound have similar restrictive activities, you have the added concerns when venturing out to shop. We haven’t left this hotel once in the 15 days since we arrived. 

We could potentially be saying the same thing in one, two, or three months from now. We shall see. Tolerating this situation is a mindset we hope to maintain for as long as we stay ensconced in this (or another) hotel.

Here’s a new tidbit of information we discovered: Close the toilet’s lid when you flush, at home or when out (avoid using a bathroom when out). COVID-19 spores can spread through the air from toilet contents when flushing without the lids closed.

Stay safe.

Photo from one year ago today, April 8, 2019:

Little’s Friend…His tusks are even tinier than Little’s. For more photos, please click here.

Closer to home than we think…A personal story…Five years ago, a little shop in Kauia, Hawaii…

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We could watch and hear the church bells when we lived in Boveglio, Italy, in the summer of 2013. This particular video is viral on our YouTube page. Click here for the post on which we included this video.

As I wrote today’s post, starting with the headline, I smiled. “A personal story?” All of our stories are personal in one way or another. Today is no exception.

At times, people ask, “How do you feel comfortable revealing so much of your personal life online?”

My answer is always the same, “One of the reasons people all over the world read our posts is due to this very fact. If this were just a travel blog with photos of tourist locations, hotels, and restaurant reviews, we wouldn’t have kept the interest of readers for so many years.”

It’s the raw reality of our daily lives that inspires us to keep writing each day, that so quickly comes from the heart, enabling my fingers to fly across the keyboard with barely a moment of concentration or forethought. “Writer’s block” doesn’t dwell herein.

This is the only health food store, Healthy Hut, within a half-hour drive of our holiday home in Kauai, Hawaii. The inventory is ripe with fresh, locally grown organic produce, grass-fed meats, free-range chickens and eggs and food and health supplies one would find in a much larger location in a big city. Pricey? Yep! For the full story from five years ago today, please click here.

Yes, many of our prior posts suggested where to go and what to see in various parts of the world. We love sharing those tidbits of information with associated photos and links.

But, now, in isolation, without being “out there” sightseeing, shopping, socializing and feeling a “part of the world,” an entirely tunnel-vision-type approach has overcome me. It’s all about us and what we’re thinking, feeling and experiencing while locked down in a hotel room in Mumbai, India for an indefinite period.
Certainly, most of our readers can relate to our isolation when you, too, are literally trapped in your homes, facing the complexity of myriad problems, which include emotional, physical and financial concerns.
I was surprised to find many of the products I needed to make my recently posted recipe for Low Carb High Fat Protein Bars, my new favorite recipe. Click this link if you missed the recipe.

In many ways, it’s easier for us. Sure, I’d like to be able to cook a meal, have a glass of wine, do laundry and stay busy around the house. But, we have little responsibility other than staying active, eating two meals a day, and paying for our hotel and dinners (breakfast is included). 

Financially, this lockdown doesn’t impact us one way or another. We’d be paying rent for a holiday home, groceries, supplies and the occasional dinner out. Our hotel bill here is no more than we’d have paid for a holiday home and the dinners, not much more than we’d have paid for groceries and dining out.

But, for those of you out of work as you continue to incur household and living expenses, this dreadful time can only be worrisome and frightening, along with fears about the virus impacting your family and friends. Our hearts go out to all of you.

Of course, we worry about our family and friends, but based on frequent communication it seems everyone is hunkered down to the best of their ability, wearing masks, social distancing and frequently washing their hands.

Although our situation is not dire at this point, we aren’t exempt from worry and concern. My dear sister Susan, who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada who’s been bedridden for many years with various severe medical conditions, took an awful fall a few days ago, one of many she’s experienced over the years.

Seeing pumpkins and squash reminds us of crisp, cool fall in Minnesota as I stood admiring this at a comfortable 82 degrees.

She is now a coronavirus-free hospital after hany tests that determined she has been suffering numerous small strokes, causing her to fall over the years, often incurring brain bleeds and injuries. In addition, she has COPD, congestive heart failure, and severe chronic pain syndrome. (Bad genes in my family).

For the past nine months, she has been living in a lovely assisted living facility in Las Vegas, which, to date, hasn’t had any cases of COVID-19. I spent many delightful afternoons with her when we stayed in Nevada in November 2019. 

I baked a few of her favorite desserts (from our childhood) at son Richard’s house in Henderson and brought them to her when I visited each day. We laughed and told stories while cherishing every moment together. On December 9th, when we left Nevada it was hard to say goodbye, not sure we’d ever be together again.

Based on US Medicare requirements when a patient/senior is hospitalized and still a bit unstable, they require the patient to go to the rehabilitation center before they can return to their former living arrangements.

With all the news of COVID-19 impacting rehab and nursing facilities, my dear sister is terrified of being forced to go to one of these facilities before she can return to her assisted living facility where she’s been content and comfortable.

The shelves were packed with beauty products, snacks, and treat, none of which we purchase.

My sister Julie, my niece Kely, Susan’s adult daughter, both of whom live in California, and I, have been on the phone trying to attend to her care the best way we can. No visitors are allowed in the hospital to avoid the risk of spreading the virus. She was injured during the fall and is in considerable pain along with the chronic discomfort of her other medical conditions. This is heartbreaking.

We are trying to avoid her going to the rehab facility, which emotionally would be devastating for her. Although we are grateful she doesn’t have the virus, ishe wouldn’t survive f she did become infected  

Many of you are experiencing similar situations throughout the world with family members alone in the hospital without the possibility of visitors and other medical conditions that require care and treatment during this difficult time.

These are challenging times for all of us in our own ways. We pray for toursafety and well-being fnd all of our loved ones wherever they may be. May this devastation soon end.

Photo from one year ago today, April 7, 2019:

This morning, this Hornbill stood on the top of the door to let Tom know it was time to eat. Tom came running outdoors to comply with his fervent request. For more photos, please click here.

The kindness of friends with the best intentions.. Can we stop writing about it?

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As mentioned in yesterday’s post, each day we’ll include one of our videos along with the link when we originally posted the video. Here’s the link to the post in which we had the above video with the whole story, from December 29, 2013 with another video and more photos regarding the female’s making the tree frog’s nest, and the mating process. 

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Please click here for those who may have missed the post with SW News Media’s article on our story.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post here, in the future, during the lockdown, we will include one of our past videos as the “main photo” each day with a link to the date the video was initially posted. 

We’re adding videos from the furthest dates, eventually working toward the present day. We may not include every video, but instead, use those we’ve deemed may be of most interest to our worldwide audience.
 
It’s fun for us to add this feature during lockdown which once it’s over and we’re on the move again, we’ll return to posting one of our favorite photos of the day. As you can well imagine, we aren’t taking any photos right now. We’ve already posted hotel and staff photos leaving us no options from there since we cannot go outside.

On another note, many of our friends/readers have been sending us links and information regarding how the US State Department is assisting American citizens in getting out of India via chartered flights from Delhi, Goa, and Mumbai.Gosh, we appreciate everyone’s concern and also, we are well aware of the State Department’s efforts to repatriate US citizens who are in lockdown all over the world. We spend all day, every day, watching local and world news and reading copious amounts of news online. No new facts about the virus pass by us in our heightened state.
Beautiful orchid we spotted in our travels from this post.
This flower baffled me with nothing online similar, making it possible to identify.  How unusual. Any ideas out there?

For us, the fact remains consistent. We have no intention of returning to the US to live while waiting out the virus. There are many other countries we’d head to once the international travel bans are lifted, none of which include the US and its territories.

In many weeks or months away, our goal is to head back to South Africa, a military intervention to prevent its citizens and residents from movement beyond lockdown. Some harsh punishments have been enacted, including imprisonment, impounding vehicles, and being shot at with rubber bullets.

The people of India are also being arrested and jailed for disobeying the lockdown. Of course, this type of punishment is harsh, but the president is determined to keep the virus cases at bay. Only time will tell if these stringent tactics are effective.

We feel safe here. We would not feel safe flying to the US to face the 336,830 cases (as of today) with almost 10,000 deaths. As of today, India has 4314 cases and 118 deaths. India is one-third the size of the US in square miles but has four times the population.

Also, in this scenario, locked down in a hotel, we don’t have to go out to shop or make any purchases. We needed a few toiletries, and yesterday. I placed an order with Amazon India for a May 4th delivery date. We have no doubt we’ll still be here in May.

Suppose the airport opens in Mumbai for international flights and South Africa is not accepting incoming international flights. In that case, we have several other countries in mind that we’d fly to while we wait it out, again, with many fewer cases per capita. 

With the help of the internet, it’s easy to determine which countries continue to keep their borders closed. In the worst-case scenario, if none of the walls open, we’ll stay here in Mumbai until they do. 

Everything is predicated on the fact that we continue to have a place to stay in Mumbai while waiting it out. We’re feeling this hotel won’t “put us on the street” if they close and will find an alternative for all of us remaining here.

It appears that five guests from the UK will be getting out on a UK government-chartered flight sometime in the next few weeks. We appreciate their desire to return to their homes. 

But, with the national healthcare system on dangerous overload in the UK, along with the high number of cases, as eighth-highest in the world with 47,806 points and almost 5000 deaths, we’d undoubtedly stay put here rather than travel to the UK.

Plumeria, found in many tropical locations throughout the world. We took this photo in Hawaii.

For us, the bottom line… One, where are we the safest? And two, where are we the most mentally, physically, and financially most comfortable? For now, it’s Mumbai, India, staying at the Courtyard Mumbai International Airport for as long as we are allowed. 

Each new day I ask myself, “Can I stop writing about COVID-19?” I wish I could. But, like all of you and the rest of the world, it’s hard to get it off our minds and in our lives.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 6, 2019:

Mongooses pose in cute positions in hopes their adorableness will inspire us to feed them. It always worked. For more photos, please click here.

Overly cautious combined with a touch of paranoia?…More five year ago photos…

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Not quite sunset, sunny views over the Kenomane Bay in Kauai across the street from our condo in Princeville. Photos today from this post on this date five years ago.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.
Please click here for those who may have missed the post with SW News Media’s article on our story.

With more guests in the hotel with 35 rooms now occupied, I must admit I’ve become a little paranoid about walking in the halls while passing staff and guests on my ten walks a day. 

Most of the occupied rooms are on the fourth floor along with ours, and I’ll likely pass from one to four people while walking each time. The hallways aren’t wide enough to allow for ample “social distancing.”

As a result, I’ve started wearing a scarf covering my face, leaving only a slit for my eyes. I may look like a fool, but I don’t care. Breathing through the heavy layers of the cotton scarf (one of many we were given while on the Maharajas Express) is tricky while walking fast but, I manage to breathe just fine.

Once an hour, on the hour, until my last walk at 6:30 pm, I put my shoes back on, cover my face, grab the room key and my phone with earbuds, and head out the door for the five minutes it takes to do the circuit of the halls, swinging my arms in the process.

Undoubtedly, doing so is saving my health and sanity more than anything I could be doing while being cooped up in a hotel room. I’m the person who always said I didn’t like spending time in the cruise ship cabin or a hotel room unless it was to shower and dress or head to bed.

Not quite sunset, sunny views over the bay.

Although my total combined walking is less than an hour a day, doing so every hour to avoid sitting for long periods seems to be highly beneficial for me. No timer is needed to remind me, nor do I miss any sessions, having our two meals a day in between.

The biggest motivator is watching the progress I’m making on my FitBit, which recently popped up a message that read, “Your fitness level is excellent for a woman your age.” Whatever that means.

But more than anything, the psychological benefits are even more profound during this confinement in a small space. Dining twice a day is our highlight of the day.This morning, one of the kindly restaurant managers approached us, saying there will be an activity near the pool this afternoon at 4:00 pm for all the guests. I questioned the safety of a group activity. He dismissed it, saying “social distancing” would be in force. We won’t attend. 

Why take the risk when we have been so diligent to avoid contact with other guests other than speaking a few niceties across the room? But, this is the mentality of many… Get together, but stay at a distance. Our belief is “don’t get together!” Nada. Never. Not under any circumstances.

A pair of Nene birds, Hawaii’s state birds, wander around the golf course they seem to love.

Is it paranoia on our part? Perhaps it is. But, the concept of getting the virus and ending up alone in a city hospital in Mumbai is terrifying, even more than it might be if we were in the US, ending up in a set-up auditorium alone and terrified.

If this isn’t enough to inspire people to stay locked down, I don’t know what else we can say. We see over and over on Facebook various “friends” getting together with family and friends, claiming they are “social distancing.” Doing so is nearly impossible even with only two people in one house. Why don’t they get it?
 
Also, I don’t understand why people go out shopping every two to three days. Most people we know have the availability of food being delivered. Yes, there is planning required to order online and, in most cases, a delivery fee. Why take the risk of going out?
 
Yesterday Google posted a report of the whereabouts of everyone with a cell phone with their “location” turned on. This is an option a user can choose if they like. Here is the link to see how your area is doing in reducing its levels of activity. This is fascinating.
 

In reading this report, checking your country and your state, and then cross-referencing this with the number of cases in your state/country at this site, it’s easy to determine that lockdown is vital to control the spread of the virus. It will be more meaningful in the weeks to come since lockdown is relatively new in most areas.

This appears to be a papaya tree. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Many are complaining about their civil rights being spied upon by Google. If that’s how you feel, you can easily turn off this feature in the settings on your phone. I guess at this point. I am not so worried about my civil rights as I am at the end of the spread of this dreadful virus.

Please forgive my preaching, dear readers. If only one of our worldwide readers gets the message from this post and stays at home with only those who live in the house with them, imagine how many lives that one person can save. Remember, the virus started with one person…
 
On a lighter note, starting tomorrow, we will be posting one of our videos from our 7½ years of world travel each day in place of the “main photo.” Some are heartwarming, some are shocking, and many will give you a good chuckle. Most are only seconds long, so take a look and share them if you’d like. 

Please take care.

Photo from one year ago today, April 5, 2019:

We were visiting the hornbill. We hadn’t been able to put up the bird feeder for a few days due to the vervet monkeys monopolizing all the seeds. Finally, they took off, and this regular visitor was thrilled. For more photos, please click here.

COVID-19 stats…Watching the numbers can be good and bad…Nature photos from five years ago…

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While in Kauai, Hawaii on this date, five years ago, we speculated, based on appearance, that there’s some sort of permanent pouch beneath this shedding skin of this Green Anole.  We had difficulty finding details on the shedding process of these lizards. For more on this post from five years ago on this date, please click here.

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

Please click here for those who may have missed yesterday’s post with SW News Media’s article on our story.

We’re all functioning in our ways during these stressful times of this pandemic. Some prefer to be glued to their TVs and internet for updates, while others find they can maintain a lower stress level by avoiding news and stats.
Of course, news mediums can send any of us into a tailspin with doomsday scenarios which can play over and over in our minds, as they replay them over and over on TV, while we continually wonder when this will end and if we can ever return to life as we knew it. For us, as world travelers, we can imagine the possibility of our lifestyle changing forever if future international travel becomes dangerous and foolhardy amid the constant risk and fear of becoming ill with the virus or, in the worst-case scenario, other potential viruses.

We don’t dwell on that thought. Instead, we both believe that in time this awful virus will pass, and we’ll embrace a “new normal” of extra precautions, which may include those we’re embracing now: wearing face masks when out and about, frequent hand washing, and social distancing at public venues.
One possible change in the future may ultimately consist of avoiding cruises altogether for perhaps years to come. We’ve often cruised as a means of getting from one country to another. 
The loss of this means of transportation would significantly impact our travels when the only alternative is to fly from country to country, which in itself is highly risky at this juncture and possibly well into the future.

Regardless of how frequently we check the news or online stats, we can’t shelter ourselves from the harsh facts. COVID-19 is escalated in most countries right now, particularly in our own USA.

It’s been impossible for me to avoid checking the stats each day using this site which appears to stay up-to-date for each country, state, and worldwide. Please click here for this site, Worldometer. There is no cost to use this site, nor do you have to enter any personal information.

This is a Brown Anole,

If avoidance is your preference, without direct contact with others than those in your household (which should be the case for everyone worldwide at this point), keeping the TV off and sticking to streaming shows and entertainment could be a reasonable means of keeping it off of your mind to some degree.

Many are suffering emotionally and rightfully so from fears regarding loss of income, possible loss of jobs, paying bills, and in many cases, simply putting food on the table, along with the constant fear of acquiring the virus.

Of course, for most, the most significant concerns are for those who have contracted the virus and facing death in its wake or, in passing the virus on to others with whom they’ve come in contact, including family members in their own homes.

Many free online resources are available for those experiencing extreme stress they feel they cannot manage independently. For the rest of us, reaching out to family and friends via chat programs, free online call apps, and face time resources may be beneficial. We are all in the same boat, one way or another, and staying in touch with those we love can be an instant stress reliever.

For me, knowing the numbers is essential. After all, I am an information junkie to the extreme. On the other hand, Tom kindly asked me to stop quoting figures to him a few days ago. He knows what’s going on from being online but prefers not to be reminded. I complied and now keep the numbers to myself.

Do the numbers make me worry more or less? Neither. From all the reading and listening I’ve done thus far, I’ve accepted the reality that this virus may continue for months to come and that the lockdown scenario may continue well into the summer months.

This morning at breakfast, Tom asked me again, “Are you bored?” 

“Not yet,” I answered, but it’s still early days. 

Discovering this is Green Anole, not a gecko, was quite a thrill.  Perhaps, some of our readers may find us goofy for our enthusiasm when seeing such a creature.  We find all animals and vegetation fascinating in one way or another.

We’ve only been living in self-isolation in hotels (3) since March 12th (minus two trips to the airport) and in government lockdown since March 25th in this hotel, Mumbai Courtyard by Marriott, when we checked in on March 24th. 

Walking once an hour helps. Doing our posts helps. Texting with friends and family members helps. Streaming mindless drivel on my laptop allows while using an earpiece so Tom can listen to his shows simultaneously.
 
And above all, staying away from people, staying inside, washing hands, not sharing the lift, honoring lockdown rules, and staying optimistic all play a vital role in keeping us on track, especially in the event this could last for months to come.
 
There are few times in life we have the opportunity to be “heroes.” Now, at this time in history, we can all choose to be heroes by staying indoors and giving this dreadful virus a chance to dissipate. 
 
Correction from a prior post: I misquoted the number of rooms in this hotel. It’s 334 rooms which as of today, 35 rooms are occupied with guests. More guests have arrived since we checked in. The hotel staff explained that these new guests came from other hotels closed where they’d also been in lockdown.
 
It’s problematic to the original group and us that new guests have been allowed to check-in, which has required us to be diligent until their two to three-week lockdown period passes. However, as more and more hotels close, we expect more guests to check in here, thus increasing the risks.
 

Stay safe, stay indoors. Wash your hands. Wear a mask when grocery shopping. (Preferably order food and prescriptions online, planning well in advance for supplies to replenish). 

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

Kudus is in the garden awaiting our return.  Big Daddy is patiently waiting for his turn. For more photos, please click here.

Reflecting on one year ago today…Five years ago, photos from Kauai…

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Today’s photos are from five years ago while we were in Kauai, Hawaii. This scene made us squeal with delight!  How magical! Click here for the link. See below for more.
Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.

Each day, while preparing a new post, I read the year-ago post when adding the “year-ago photo” at the bottom of the page. When I read the post today, I couldn’t believe what we went through a year ago in South Africa.

I had just come out of the second surgery on both of my legs that had become infected after the triple coronary bypass surgery that transpired on February 12th. The elevator (lift) was stuck, and I couldn’t return to my room to be with Tom and finally eat and drink after no food or water all day.
 
It’s hard to imagine that the infections manifested for so long, but as we treated them with medication and sterile bandages, day after day, it only became worse, not better. 

It wasn’t until this late a date, many weeks later, that the doctors felt I had to be admitted to the hospital for more surgery by a plastic surgeon. It wasn’t for a “cosmetic effect,” as one may assume, hearing the new surgeon was indeed a plastic surgeon. It was to save my legs and possibly my life. 
We thought it would be gone in seconds.

Plastic surgeons are specialists in serious wound management, performing surgery, and then the ongoing treatment, which in my case, lasted for many months after the two surgeries.

For that post, one year ago, please click here.

And here I am now hunkered down in a hotel in Mumbai, India, due to a lockdown due to the virus, and I’m walking the halls to the tune of 6000-8000 steps per day (it’s hard to hit the supposed magic number of 10,000 steps walking the halls of a hotel) without pain, adding strength every day. 

Over this past year, I failed to walk this much daily through building strength and agility, which I should have. I have no excuses other than sheer laziness and, overall, being a person who doesn’t love walking alone due to the boredom factor. 

Now, with the help of my FitBit, my resting heart rate has gone from an average of 65 beats per minute to an average of 58 beats per minute. In this short period walking the halls with vigor, once an hour throughout the day, my heart health has improved to this degree.

We assumed this was its final descent, turning to walk back inside.

Of course, a low resting heart rate can be achieved through medication or exercise. Since I don’t take medication to lower my heart rate, exercise is the best option. An efficient, lower heart rate indicates better heart health. Now, this motivates me more than anything.

We could be sitting in this hotel for the next several months during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. Continuing this walking will only prove to be a benefit for me in the long run. I needed to do this.

Once an hour, I check my watch. I leave my comfortable shoes on all day to quickly head out the door with the room key card in my hand and walk. It takes only four minutes to complete the hallway “course.” 

In time, I may add a second round, ramping it up to eight minutes. But I don’t want to force it at this point when it’s going so well. I’ll continue to monitor my heart rate to stay within limits recommended for my age, a target maximum heart rate of 128 beats per minute. 

As I began to turn off the camera and cover the lens, Tom gently spun me around and said, “Wait, Sweetie! It’s peeking out from the clouds below.”

My goal at this point is to stay within that 128 beats per minute as I walk vigorously, swinging my arms. I’m now listening to podcasts on my phone to fend off boredom, and yes, most of them are news on COVID-19. It’s hard to focus on anything else right now. Today’s photos are from our blissful time spent in Kauai, Hawaii, five years ago. These sunset photos remind us of the beauty we’ve been blessed to experience throughout the world over the past 7½ years of world travel.

And, we’re hopeful that the time to continue our travels is on the horizon with the same blissful joy we experienced when we saw this sunset five years ago today.
Stay safe. Stay indoors—social distance.

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

This frequent visitor, a male bushbuck, has the “Got some pellets” look in his eyes. For more photos, please click here.

The days turn into nights and the nights are never ending…A day in the life…

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Beautiful statue at the beach in Pondicherry.

At some point, we’re going to run out of photos to share of India. In that case, we’ll have no choice but to post without photos or add a few photos of the same date years ago.

 Let’s face it. For all of us in lockdown, our days and nights are relatively uneventful at this place in time. We eat, we sleep, we read, we watch the news, we stream shows, we play games, we talk, and we laugh. Click “replay.” It happens all over again.

For those of you with homes that are most of you, you do laundry, clean, make repairs, rebuild, re-do, re-design, cook, sit outdoors, talk on the phone, or whatever one does when trapped in your home.
A church we visited in Pondicherry.

In some ways, it’s easier for us. We don’t have a wall staring at us pushing us to paint it, a closet to clean, a garage to reorganize, or windows to wash. All we have to do is hand wash our clothes each day, prepare the day’s post, answer countless email messages from our readers, and pay our credit card bills at the end of the month. 

Are we bored? Surprisingly, we’re not. We could do this for many more months if necessary. We’re bracing ourselves for that possibility. As long as we are safe and have a roof over our heads, we can handle it. How about you?

We awake later than usual due to the darkening drapes in our room, often as late as 8:00 am. The routine for us is simple and uninspiring. We take turns showering and dressing, then head downstairs to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, often ordering the same items as long as they remain available.

Our Lady of Angels Church is the fourth oldest church in Puducherry, a Union territory in South India. The original structure was built in Greco Roman architecture by Napoleon III in 1855, with the architect being Louis Guerre. The only church offers mass in three languages, namely French, Tamil, and English.

Back up to our room after breakfast, we go online, checking the news for updates, often shocked by the new number of cases in the US that were calculated while we slept.

We work online, with me preparing the day’s post and Tom reading and reviewing his points of interest, often looking up facts and figures for me as I write.

When the cleaners come, we head downstairs to the lobby until they’re done. Once we return to the room, I begin my daily practice of walking in the halls, once every hour, to continue to build strength in my legs.

The stunning interior of Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Pondicherry.

Usually, by 1:00 or 2:00 pm, I have completed and uploaded the post. Tom proofreads it for errors (we often miss several) and forwards a “text-only” email copy to his blind brother Jerome, who reads it daily from his talking computer.

From there, Tom listens to his favorite podcast, Garage Logic, from Minnesota while I watch mindless drivel on my laptop, simultaneously playing with my phone. 

As somewhat of a reality TV junkie, I’m currently watching “Married at First Sight,” the Australian version, and I am on episode 5 of season 7. At least 25 episodes remain. I can stand to watch two episodes a day. 

Entrance to the cemetery in the French Quarter in Pondicherry.

When I get through season 7, I’ll backtrack and start watching earlier seasons. That should keep me busy a few hours each day in-between stopping to walk the hallways.

Today, while it’s the middle of the night in the US, I will stay on hold on the phone for what may be hours in a continuing effort to get a refund from Kenya Airways when we were turned away for our flight to South Africa last Friday. 

I’ll do this while watching my show, setting the phone down with the speaker on while it’s still plugged in. It’s a toll-free number, and I can wait for hours as long as I stay busy doing something else. 

At 7:00 pm, when the restaurant opens for dinner, we head down to sit at the same table each night. By then, I’m starving. When we’re living in a holiday home, if we get hungry for a snack, we grab a piece of cheese or raw veggies. Now we don’t have such a luxury. The snacks in the minibar aren’t suitable for my way of eating, so no help there.

A shrine on the interior of a temple in Pondicherry.

We aren’t ever hungry at lunchtime, and we’ve always waited for dinner for the next meal. But during the late afternoon, I often find myself thinking of something to snack on. 

Oh well, this is our life right now, and we must make the best of it. Usually, a cup of tea or two gets me through those few hungry hours. In the realm of things, it’s no big deal. Tom never seems to get hungry for a snack, so this is not an issue for him.

After dinner, it’s back to the room where we’ll get comfy and stream a few episodes of our favorite shows, currently Survivor and Seal Team. By 11:00 pm, we’re off to sleep to awaken the following day to begin it all again.

What about YOU? We’d love to hear how some of you are spending your days and nights during the lockdown. Please post a comment at the end of each post for all of our readers to see. It’s comforting to know we are not alone. Feel free to do so “anonymously” if you so choose.

Stay home. Stay safe. We’ll all get through this!

Photo from one year ago today, March 27, 2019:

Check out the muscles on this huge animal, a male kudu. “Little” is taking a drink from the cement pond in the background. For more photos, please click here.

Go figure…I did today’s post and it disappeared…Here we go again…Lockdown continues…

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When I originally took this photo of Tom’s dinner a few weeks ago, he said, “Don’t post that. It looks disgusting.” Now, it’s starting to look appetizing to both of us.

As each day passes, we become more and more hopeful that this stunning hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott (see photos) close to the Mumbai Airport, will remain open for the long haul.


Of course, under these difficult circumstances, there is no guaranty. The decision to close will be up to their upper management based on continuing loss of revenue with so few guests on the premises.

This building was shown in a scene from the movie, Life of Pi, filmed in Chennai, India.

As an international conglomerate of hotels, we’re thinking Marriott just may stay open since they are more well-capitalized than the small local hotels where we stayed over the past few weeks. Our fingers are crossed.


And, regardless of how difficult it becomes with limited services offered due to tightening their budget and government Covid-19 restrictions, we’re determined to stay here regardless of the circumstances, as long as we have air-con and WiFi.

The two statues of a revered couple who were highly instrumental in doing good works for the Indian people.

The biggest challenge we’re experiencing as guests is the lack of food inventory which continues to dwindle rapidly when suppliers simply aren’t delivering food to hotels right now. That may change down the road, but for now, the dining options are restricted.


Each night at dinner they hand us a newly printed menu with the number of options shrinking exponentially. Soon, there will be little either of us can or will eat.


In that case, we may just resort to eating one big meal a day, preferably having breakfast-type meals midday to hopefully hold us through the evening. For the sake of maintaining my health and keeping Tom’s sanity, this may end up being our best option.

This woman, on the side of the road, was shaking seeds out of a basket to be used in making vegetable oil.

Last night Tom was able to order a chicken and penne dish made with a white sauce. I ordered a paneer dish (which is a soft cheese, cut into cubes and referred to as “cottage cheese” in India, but doesn’t resemble cottage cheese as we know it, at all) mixed into a spicy starch-free tomato sauce. 


Since the bowl of sauce and paneer was small, I also ordered roasted chicken and received two tiny pieces of pale-looking unseasoned chicken. It wasn’t that appetizing. I have no doubt, this restaurant is wonderful under usual circumstances.


But, we are in difficult times and they are doing the very best they can with the products they have on hand to cook for these 20 rooms of guests. We have no doubt the options will continue to decline over the next many days. Somehow, we’ll manage. If we have to we both can eat eggs, lots of eggs to carry us through.

Tom’s meal from a few weeks ago, also looks appetizing.

We’re grateful we are safe and in air-conditioned comfort with a strong Wi-Fi signal. During the day we can each stream our favorite shows/podcasts without any issues which manage to help us get through the long day.

 
In the evenings, after dinner, we stream a favorite TV series until it’s time to go to sleep. Much to our surprise, both of us are sleeping well, as much as eight hours a night, odd for each of us. Maybe it’s nature’s way of helping us to tune out of this peculiar situation for a while. My nights are filled with wild dreams and convoluted stories.
 
As of today, since we received the cruise cancellation notice from Viking Cruise Lines, we’ve been self-isolating for two full weeks. The only times we’ve been out have been when going to at an ATM, traveling to various hotels, to the airport to fly from Madurai to Mumbai and again to the airport and back last Friday when we were turned away for our flight. 
An artfully designed temple built over 1000 years ago in Chennai.

In each instance, we wore face masks and sanitized/washed our hands obsessively. As each day passes, we continue to hope we haven’t been infected with both of us feeling well and energized. I continue to walk the hallways, never encountering any other guests, although all of us are situated on the fourth floor.


The pool, the bar, the health club, and another restaurant continue to stay closed, due to governmental order. We look forward to the day when all of this can change and all of us can continue on with our lives. When will that day come? No one knows. Except, logic dictates, that total lockdown is the answer.


Stay safe.

_______________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, March 26, 2019:

This is my boy, Little. How does a person fall in love with a pig? For more photos, please click here.

Holding our breath..One day at a time…

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The scene we traveled on the Toy Train.

In the past several weeks, each time we’ve been required to venture out of the safe cocoon of a hotel room, we can’t help but wonder if we’ve been exposed. At this point, we only leave the sanctity of our space when it’s time for breakfast or dinner.

All of the employees at this beautiful hotel live on-site and aren’t allowed to leave the premises. The staff is minimal, and food supplies are dwindling. This morning, the restaurant manager explained meal options are rapidly declining when they can’t get deliveries.

Sunset in Bandhavgarh National Park.

As we mentioned, there is no laundry service, and we’ve begun washing our clothes in the shower or the bathroom sink and then hanging them on the window ledge to dry. We decided to wear the same clothes repeatedly for as long as possible to avoid having a big pile of laundry accumulate. 

We’re hand washing our underwear daily and will hand wash shirts and pants when we swap out those we’ve been wearing. Blue jeans are tough to squeeze dry, but we’ll figure it out.

Memorial for fallen soldiers in Delhi.

Thank goodness we have air-con and WiFi. India is fast-moving into its hottest season, and we notice temperatures rising each day. If the power goes out, we’re in big trouble. So far, nothing indicates that the infrastructure will fail.

Mahatma Gandhi’s burial site and memorial in New Delhi.

Today, the mandatory 21-day lockdown began in the entire country of India. As seen in this article, people will be arrested if found outside of their activities aren’t covered by exemptions. So far, the government is not requiring all hotels to close, only those who choose to complete as stated in the above link:

” Exemptions: Hotels, Homestays, lodges, and motels which are accommodating tourists and persons stranded due to lockdown, medical and emergency staff, air and sea crew.”

A herd of sheep on the road.

This notice came out this morning and gives us a degree of comfort, but many hotels continue to close due to low occupancy and subsequent loss of revenue. If this hotel closes and as long as we have a hotel to move into, we will be fine. It’s the prospect of not having anywhere to stay that is terrifying, as we had feared after yesterday morning’s incidents.

None of the dozen or so holiday homeowners I’ve contacted online have yet to respond to our inquiries except one, who stated they aren’t renting their property during this crucial period.

A sambar deer sighting.

Most likely, this will be the case for most holiday property owners and managers. They don’t want to be exposed to any travelers who may be infected, nor do they want their properties to be a “hotbed” of germs they’ll eventually have to clean.

This morning at breakfast, an Englishman approached our table (at a distance of several meters). He said he recognized us from Madurai, where we stayed in isolation for four days before our last flight to Mumbai a week ago today. His group of three is in the same spot we’re in. They are unable to leave Mumbai due to closed airports and India’s total lockdown.

She was crossing a river in Kanha National Park.

They are hoping to return to their home in the UK with over 8000 cases as of today. Here again, Heathrow Airport would potentially be another dangerous airport. Our plan continues to wait it out until we’re able to enter South Africa, which currently has 554 cases. Tomorrow, they are also implementing a total countrywide lockdown.

The wait could be extended, especially when South Africa has confirmed they won’t accept any foreign nationals entering the country until after May 31st. If we get lucky, and this hotel stays open, we’ll be fine here until then. Time will tell.

The restaurant at Tuli Tiger Resort in Kanha.

None of us knows what will transpire over these next weeks or months. We’re all in this together, regardless of our circumstances. We must stand together as a unit in our commitment to “social distancing,” ensuring we are continuing to avoid passing this dreadful virus onto others.

Stay safe. Order groceries online. Stop shopping at warehouse facilities. Stop getting together with relatives, friends, and neighbors. Wash your hands. Cover your cough or sneeze. Stay home, world, please…

Photo from one year ago today, March 25, 2019:

Such a handsome kudu bull. For more photos, please click here.

A morning from hell…OMG…OMG…

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An older man was walking his cow down the road.

Last night when we went to bed, we assumed we had a solid plan in place. By noon, we’d have our bags packed, have paid our hotel bill, and be ready to head to the Espresso Hotel, which had booked us a room for a month, according to the Sun-N-Sand staff.

At 8:00 am, having slept later than we’d expected after awakening several times during the night, the phone rang. The front desk informed us that our checkout had been moved to 10:00 am, not noon.

We bolted out of bed to begin to take turns showering, dressing, and packing. By 8:45, we headed to the restaurant for our final breakfast at the Sun-n-Sand Hotel. It appeared we were the only remaining guests in the hotel.

At the reception desk, we asked why we were rushing for a 10:00 am checkout. They didn’t say much other than, “We’re closing earlier than we’d planned.”

A Marwari horse with curly ears at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Service was slow at the restaurant, although we were the only patrons. By 9:30, Tom went back to our room to finalize the packing while I approached the front desk to pay our bill. He told me to go back and wait in the room until they were ready for us.

I refused to go back to the room. I insisted on waiting for Tom in the lobby after the bellman had been ordered to pick up our bags. The man at the desk seemed nervous and confused, telling me to “go wait in the room until they were ready for us.” Again, I refused.

This worried me. I insisted on paying the bill. Moments later, Tom came off the elevator wheeling our bags. The bellman hadn’t arrived in time to help him. He joined me at the desk to assist in sorting out the bill.

As it turned out, we had a credit when we paid for an entire week last Friday and still had three nights remaining. The only charges we’d incurred were for dinners and one batch of laundry. They paid us several thousand rupees in cash rather than put it on our credit card. 

An Indian Roller.

After completing the transaction, the man handed us a piece of paper with the name of a different hotel, The Orchid, explaining that’s where we were going. A reservation for one month had been arranged for us, and we were to leave right away. They’d managed to find a driver to move us to the new location instead of using a police vehicle as mentioned yesterday.

We checked out The Orchid, a hotel online, and it looked very nice. We were satisfied it would work for us. Tom was disgruntled about this last-minute change from one hotel to another without notifying us, but based on our situation, we had little choice but to move along. Hotels all over Mumbai were rapidly closing, one after another.

With the roads empty of vehicles, we arrived at the beautiful Orchid, feeling relieved as soon as we drove up. Although all bars, most restaurants, pools, and facilities in hotels had to be closed, we’d be content with a room with air-con, WiFi, a comfortable bed, and a place to eat breakfast and dinner.

Our bags were unloaded from the van, we paid the driver, went through security, had our temperature checked, and approached the desk to sign in for our one-month reservation.

Statues made from stone and granite are offered for sale to locals and tourists.

They had no record, whatsoever, of any reservation in our name, not for one night, let alone one month. Nor were they able to book us a room when they are closing tomorrow. Sun-n-Sand had pulled the wool over our eyes to get us out the door so that they could complete.

There we were, hotels closing like dominoes falling, all over Mumbai, along with owners of holiday homes not responding to our inquiries and nowhere to go. My heart was pounding in my chest. Tom kept reminding me to stay calm while we figured something out.

As much as the staff at The Orchid wanted to help us, there was little they could do. The fantastic hotel manager/concierge, Mr. Wesley Fernandes, immediately worked with the utmost effort to find a solution for us.

I had visions of us standing outside the US Embassy in Mumbai with all of our baggage, pounding on the door, trying to get help. 

Gorgeous leis of flowers offered for sale for offerings.

Partway through Mr. Fernandes’ diligent calling, he approached us and said he’d located a hotel the government had required to stay open… For suspected cases of Covid-19 required quarantine. 

Tom and I had agreed that, no matter what, we would not stay in one of those toxic situations. Mr. Fernandes didn’t think we’d willingly remain in such a facility. Subsequently, he continued the search. After a highly stressful hour, he found us a hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott, close to the airport.

He suggested we book it online right away, which we did, after which he spoke to a reception staff member who confirmed the reservation had come through and we were good to go.

Not only did Mr. Fernandes make these arrangements for us, but he also arranged a complimentary ride using a vehicle owned by The Orchid. Finally, we breathed a sigh of relief. Moments later, we were on our way to the most beautiful Courtyard by Marriott we’d ever seen.

Women were weeding the peanut fields.

During this entire stressful period, we both wore face masks. With lobbies of most hotels in Mumbai not air-conditioned and the high heat and humidity, we were both sweating profusely.

The kindly reception staff member at The Orchid,  Deeptka, provided us with both will bottled water, and we were on our way. The staff at the Courtyard by Marriott were welcoming, but here again, they made no assurances as to how long they’d stay open. Also, they explained there is no laundry service now or soon.

Today, we’ll begin contacting more owners of holiday homes to see if they’ll take us last minute, next time we have to move, which we expect will happen within the next week or so.  

Whew! Now, we’re comfortably situated in a beautiful hotel with all services suspended indefinitely except for an open coffee shop that will serve us breakfast and lunch. We’ll stay in our room unless we’re dining.

A termite mound in Kanha National Park.

If this hotel stays open, we could be here a month or two or longer, depending upon when South Africa opens its borders and when international flights are available in Mumbai. None of us know our fate at this point, and indeed every one of us feels cooped up and uncertain about the future.

If and when you visit Mumbai, we’d highly recommend staying at The Orchid. Nowhere in the world have we seen this caliber of customer service at a hotel, let alone the fact we weren’t staying with them.

Temporarily, we dodged a bullet, for how long? We have no idea. Stay safe. Stay indoors. We continue.  

                        Photo from one year ago today, March 24, 2019:
Fourth Baby, who’d been separated from his family, often sits in this goofy pose when eating pellets. This was how we knew it was him. The others kneel but don’t set their butt down while eating. He was never reunited with his family, from what we could determine. For more photos, please click here.