The mozzies are back…Along with the heat…Summer is on the horizon in Africa…

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This is Fred and Ethel lying butt-to-butt in the garden with a helmet guinea-fowl looking om, hoping for more pellets.

Last night, there was a mosquito buzzing around my head every half hour or so. I covered as much of myself with the blanket, but it was hot in the bedroom, even though the aircon was on, set at 22C, 72F. Yesterday was a hot and humid day. Today is the same.

I ended up with one bite on my eyelid, leaving my eye half-closed this morning, and two bites on my hands which I had outside the covers most of the night. So here it is. Summer is coming in the bush requiring DEET repellent is applied at least three times a day and again before going to bed.

Two hornbills were standing on the veranda railing, enjoying some of Frank’s seeds.

This morning, Tom sprayed the bedrooms and bathrooms with Doom, and we now must keep the doors closed day and night to keep the flies and mozzies out of the bedroom, allowing us (mainly me) to get a decent night’s sleep. Tom is hard of hearing and doesn’t hear the mozzies, but they don’t bite him anyway.

Each warm season in the bush, Tom may get three mosquito bites without using repellent. Whereby I may get hundreds even though I use the repellent several times a day.

Spikey stops by five or six times a day, checking out the veg and pellet situation, which is often prolific when he arrives.

Tonight, we have Fiona and Alan here for dinner. For the sundowner starters, we have julienne fresh vegetables with Mediterranean hummus, crackers, and cheese along with a dish of macadamia nuts. I wanted to keep the starters light so we don’t get too full for the main meal.

For the main course, we’re making individual bacon-wrapped pork tenderloins on the braai, not the prepared versions at the market, but hand-wrapped butt bacon-wrapped well seasoned without chemicals and preservatives.

Big Daddy stops by a few times a week to check out the pellet situation.

Also on the menu is a big platter of roasted root vegetables, garlic buttered sauteed whole mushrooms, seasoned rice, and an enormous salad packed with colorful seasonal vegetables and feta cheese, with homemade salad dressing. No bread or dessert will be served since all of us are avoiding high-carb, gluten-rich dishes.

As of this time, close to noon, I have almost everything chopped, diced, and prepared for the meal. I am cooking the roasted vegetables ahead of time since they require lots of attention while roasting in the oven, turning them every 30 minutes during a 90-minute cooking time. All we have left is to cook the rice, saute the mushrooms and cook the meat on the braai.

When he doesn’t see any pellets, he positions himself close to us on the veranda to ensure we know what he wants. We comply.

After that, I’ll toss the salad and reheat the vegetables, and we’re good to go. It’s always been important to me not to be stuck in the kitchen once our guests arrive. Tom will attend to the meat on the braai while I do the rest. Plus, he always does the dishes, which is a massive help to me.

We don’t have a lot of new photos today. The past several days, with lots of social plans, including another fantastic dinner and fun evening at Jabula last night, chatting with Dawn and several other guests, we were back home before 10:00 pm and off to bed in no time at all. Unfortunately, once I turned off the light, the mozzie started dive-bombing me. A short nap might be on the agenda today.

We hope you have a pleasant Saturday, wherever you may be.

Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2020:

We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #165. This was the kitchen sink at the house we rented in Kenya in 2013. The kitchen was so small, two of us couldn’t be in it at the same time. For more photos, please click here.

A new cruise booking…

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Detailed map of voyage route
The cruise itinerary, beginning in Leith, Scotland, in August 2023, will end in Amsterdam 16 days later.

Right now, for us, it seems cruises are a logical choice for much of our future travels. That’s not to say we won’t stay in various countries along the way. Again, the plan is to use cruising to get from location to location, enabling us to stay in holiday homes near the embarkation and debarkation points.

We both have been interested in spending time in Scotland. For example, this newly booked cruise in Scotland will be an excellent place to stay before the cruise. The UK allows us to stay for 180 days without a need for a visa extension. However, Norway and Europe are all a part of the Schengen visa, which only allows us to stay for 90 days.

As for the cruise ending in Amsterdam, it was in August 2019 that we were there for three or four days before a cruise. And had time to do some sightseeing. We were there six months after I’d had open-heart surgery and subsequently two surgeries on each of my legs due to an infection. I had an awful time walking the streets of Amsterdam, but somehow we managed to see quite a bit of the lovely city, including a boat ride on the canals.

We doubt we’ll stay in Amsterdam based on that visit, but many other exciting locations are within a short flight. In the future, we’ll begin booking vacation homes on either end of this cruise and the other five cruises we currently have booked.

Tom has always shown interest in this particular cruise, and like our official cruise planner, I didn’t hesitate when he suggested we book this cruise, although it was more expensive than most cruises we’ve been on in the past nine years. Once again, we booked this cruise through Costco and will receive a gift card for booking through them for over US $1280, ZAR 18451. We can use the gift cards for online and store purchases at any Costco store.

These gift cards cannot be used for future travel but certainly may be used to purchase any other products they carry, such as phones, laptops, and much more. I am sure we won’t have any trouble finding products we’ll need somewhere along the line.

The total cost of this cruise for the two of us is US $16,275, ZAR 234,559 (based on today’s value of the rand).  The cruise includes an upgraded balcony cabin on the Azamara Journey, tips, drinks, and WiFi for one device. Once we board, we’ll pay for WiFi for a second device. Shore excursions are extra.

Following is the full itinerary for this cruise:

Sailing Itinerary
Date Port of Call Arrival Departure
08/01/2023 Leith — 08:00 PM
08/02/2023 Cruising — —
08/03/2023 Stavanger 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/04/2023 Haugesund 08:00 AM 02:00 PM
08/05/2023 Olden 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/06/2023 Alesund 08:00 AM 10:00 PM
08/07/2023 Cruising — —
08/08/2023 Svolvaer 07:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/08/2023 Trollfjord 06:30 PM 07:00 PM
08/09/2023 Tromso 12:00 PM 10:00 PM
08/10/2023 Honningsvag 01:00 PM 08:00 PM
08/10/2023 North Cape 11:59 PM 11:59 PM
08/11/2023 Alta 09:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/12/2023 Harstad 10:00 AM 08:00 PM
08/13/2023 Bodo 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
08/14/2023 Trondheim 01:30 PM 10:00 PM
08/15/2023 Cruising — —
08/16/2023 Cruising — —
08/17/2023 Amsterdam 06:00 AM —

We are excited about this cruise. This booking added to our other cruise bookings provides us with a total of six cruises booked at this time. However, some of the cruises scheduled for 2022 may be canceled due to Covid-19. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

This smaller ship, the Azamara Journey, carries 690 passengers, as opposed to thousands on many other cruise ships. We both enjoy smaller cruise ships much more than the enormous ships on our other preferred cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

Of these six upcoming cruises, three are on Celebrity Solstice, two on Azamara Onward (690 passengers), and now the one on the Journey. These Azamara cruises will be our first experience with this cruise line. We’ve sailed several times on Celebrity Sol, a passenger capacity of 2850 but have always had great experiences.

It feels good to be booking plans for the future, although we accept the reality that anything can change with cruising during times of the pandemic. We continue to pay attention to how cruising is going throughout the world in light of Covid, but only time will tell.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 3, 2020:

DSC03394
These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. Tom at Stonehenge in England in 2014. For more, please click here.
DSC03395
Me, at Stonehenge England in 2014. These photos were posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #164. For more, please click here.

Short post today…Tomorrow, an exciting new booking!…

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Franks gives us both so much joy every single day.

I just want to mention that I posted this main photo of Frank eating seeds off of the veranda railing, taken several days ago.

But, today when there were no seeds outside this morning and we were both busy inside the house, the door slightly ajar, was enough for him to push it open and come inside.

Tom was in the living room on the sofa working on his laptop, getting ready to go outside for the day. I was putting away folded laundry on the bedroom shelves. Tom yelled out to me, “You have a visitor in the bedroom.”

I looked down to the floor and saw Frank standing there looking at me, “Hey, I want some seeds!”

We only put seeds on the veranda when Frank arrives since if left there, the warthogs and bushbucks come onto the veranda and eat the seeds. They aren’t a good food source for them. We always pick them up and either put them on the table or back into the house.

Frank arrives by himself half of the time and with The Misses the other half, usually three times a day, oddly during human mealtimes. There are other Franks but we can easily tell them from our regular Frank. Also, they seldom stop by, compared to our regular Frank who will start a fight with the others if they dare to attempt to partake.

The noise four or five Franks make during an altercation is earsplitting and often leaves us in stitches. They don’t physically fight. Here is an audio clip of the noise made by francolins in the wild:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se_VSY1RjQ4

We both had a great laugh as Frank then escorted Tom out the door to put his seeds on the veranda floor. Frank then went about voraciously eating his seeds, making his usual mess on the veranda floor. We couldn’t stop laughing.

Last night, after returning from a fun gathering at Flo and JiJi’s home, for some odd reason, I didn’t sleep more than a few hours. I couldn’t shut my brain off and only dozed off a few times. Today, I am exhausted, but I managed a one-hour nap this morning after going back to bed after showering and dressing.

I texted Louise, asking her to have Zef and Vusi skip the housecleaning today. I need to nap more than having the house cleaned. Thus, today’s short and relatively uneventful post is all I can manage.

However, we’ll be back tomorrow with more new photos and information about a brand new booking Tom arranged yesterday that we are both quite excited about. Maybe the time has come that we can start planning for the future.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2020:

This photo is from the year-ago post while in lockdown in Mumbai, India on day #163. The full moon rising as it made its way through the clouds above Yorkeys Knob, Australia in 2015. For more photos, please click here.

Flight problems…Crocodile River photos…

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This photo was taken from the veranda at Buckler’s Africa Restaurant with several waterbucks in the Crocodile River.

When we booked our flights to the USA a few months ago using a company called, Fareboom, we had nothing but trouble. The various flights along the way were canceled, and we ended up in a scuffle with Fareboom to get our money back. Finally, after a week of back and forth and several pricey phone calls with hours of frustration while on hold for hours, we got it resolved.

Waterbucks, like much other wildlife, huddle close to one another.

This time, a few weeks ago, we found reasonable pricing at the site, eDreams, and alas, we experienced similar frustration. We booked the three flights to Phoenix: Nelspruit to Johannesburg; Johannesburg to Atlanta; Atlanta to Phoenix, and all seemed to be okay. We received confirmation from eDreams and attempted to book our seats.

Waterbucks were lounging in the sand at sunset.

When seats weren’t offered as “available at this time,” we didn’t give it much of a thought. We kept checking back. There have been occasions when we’ve traveled internationally that we haven’t been able to book our seats in advance and had to wait until we arrived at the check-in counter.

After a week passed, we became concerned when we noticed our credit card hadn’t been charged. Last night, at bedtime, I received an email from eDreams stating our flight had been canceled. When checking during this period, we saw their site showed, Your flight is processing.”

More waterbucks on the banks of the river.

During the worst of Covid, everything to do with travel was a mess (and sometimes, still is). Tired and ready to go to sleep, we both decided to wait until morning to rebook using the link on our site for Expedia, a company we’ve trusted and used on many occasions. The only difficulty we’ve had with Expedia was getting a refund from them for a canceled flight (by the airline, not by us), requiring we go to the airline directly to get the refund.

This morning, we rebooked the same flight at the same price, and all went well. We’ve booked our seats for two of the legs of the flights, but we’re never able to book seats in advance for South Africa AirLink, which we’ll fly from Nelspruit to Joburg, a very short flight. These are only obtained at the check-in counter at the time of the flight.

Locals say, “The waterbuck’s behind looks like they just sat on a freshly painted white toilet seat.” Note the two cattle egrets who often hang out with wildlife.

Right now, when verifying our flights with Delta, it appears, the “ticket is processing. We’ll have to keep an eye on this to ensure our flights are booked. Weird, to say the least.

This morning, Tom went to the salon to see about getting in for a haircut, but they were booked, and he’ll return tomorrow morning for his appointment. Tonight, we are heading to Flo and JiJi’s home in Komatipoort for sundowners, which will surely be another fun social evening. Soon, I’ll make an appetizer to bring.

The four of us thoroughly enjoyed the scene before our eyes.

Once again, this morning, the garden was packed with bushbucks looking for “breakfast.” Tom was busy serving them while I showered and dressed for the day. The weather is mild today. Yesterday was 90F, 32C, but today’s high will only be 72F, 22C, for a pleasant balmy day. It’s slightly overcast, with a 0% chance of precipitation, a perfect spring day in the bush.

A gregarious animal, the waterbuck may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. The various groups are the nursery herds, bachelor herds, and territorial males.

It’s hard to believe it’s September 1st already how the time has flown since we arrived last January. By the time we leave in October, we’ll have been here for a total of nine months. Without a doubt, we’ll return at some point. For now, we watch and wait to see what happens with our five booked cruises, scheduled over the next almost 11 months. Once we know more about these cruises, we’ll be able to plan for the future.

Have a pleasant “hump day,” everyone, and be healthy.

Photo from one year ago today, September 1, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #162. This is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. For more photos, please click here.

WiFi was out…Late posting…Great time at Frikkee’s Dam…

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Three kudus near the braai area at Frikkee’s Dam in Lionspruit.

When the WiFi is out in the house/area, the only way we can post is using the Google Fi data on my phone or using the phone as a hotspot to connect my laptop. In both cases, the cost is high, making posting for the day too costly when I’d be using data during the several hours necessary to complete the day’s story.

Miracle of all miracles, the WiFi was restored a few hours later, and now we can post as usual. As we’ve mentioned many times, “This is Africa,” and the infrastructure is unstable and unpredictable. It’s a factor that everyone who lives here must accept as a fact of life.

This kudu jumped over the fence to join us.

So, now that we’re able to post today, we’re pleased to be able to post photos from yesterday’s enjoyable party at Frikkee’s Dam, located inside Lionspruit, located within the borders of Marloth Park. We hadn’t been to Frikkee’s Dam since we arrived here in January but had during our past visits several occasions.

It’s a private gathering of a group of us that have attended over the years. Everyone brings food to share, potluck-style. We made our usual Brunch Eggs that were a big hit, with only a small amount left to get home. Since it had sat out all day, we decided not to eat the leftovers but instead feed them to the mongoose, who are carnivores, and the meat, egg, and cheese dish was a treat for them this morning.

Two curious kudus were checking out the humans. We didn’t bring along any pellets!

It was funny when Tom tossed out bite-sized pieces this morning, when Peter, Paul, and Mary competed with the mongoose for the leftovers. Generally, pigs only eat vegetation. But, on occasion, they show interest in bones and certain types of meat. There was bacon in the Brunch Eggs. We wondered how they enjoyed eating bacon, pigs that they are!

The time spent from 11;30 am until 5:30 pm when we finally packed up our stuff and left, was delightful every moment. The conversations were interesting and varied, and it was easy to join into any robust chatter at any point. It was fun to see people we hadn’t seen since the last time we attended a gathering at Frikkee’s Dam, back in 2018.

Another kudu is at the edge of the lake, looking our way.

It was interesting to hear varying views of Covid-19 and the vaccine. Some in our group didn’t believe the vaccine was safe, and it was fascinating to listen to their viewpoint. Most of the attendees were already vaccinated, but a few were not due to age or preference. But the conversation was always civilized and considerate, accepting one another’s opinions.

The Friskkee’s Dam braai area had been renovated in the past few years, providing a cleaner, more friendly space for a braai. We all enjoyed the new setting, which was easier to walk about with less awful tree roots causing tripping hazards in the past. Plus, the fence was lowered, and it was easier to see wildlife drinking from the lake while we stayed safely behind the fence.,

Tom took this photo of a bird with an orange head. Any ideas what bird this may be?

Back at our house (since we’d eaten very little at the event), we cooked a light meal of a few hamburgers (no buns) topped with cheddar cheese along with a small salad for me. We streamed a few episodes of a good show we’ve been watching on Hulu, Big Sky, finishing up season one’s episodes. Season two will begin in the latter part of September.

It was a busy morning in the garden. We were swamped, tending to the needs of our visitors. We had eight bushbucks, seven kudus, two duikers, 20+ mongooses, and as Tom said, a _ _ _ _ load of pigs. Of course, Frank and The Misses stopped by a few times, with the four Go-Away birds carrying on noisily in the background. Little was often seen hovering nearby, partaking in any morsels he could garner in the process.

Giraffe drinking from the lake with another looking on.

Rita and Gerhard have returned from their road trip to the Drakensburg Mountains, and today at 1530 hours, 3:30 pm, they will pick us up to head to Buckler’s Africa Lodge to watch the sunset, the Crocodile River for wildlife sightings, all followed up by dinner on their veranda. It will be excellent to see them again after almost two weeks since they left.

Have a lovely day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 30, 2020:

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #159. This was the shortest (height) car either of us has ever seen, spotted in youth Kensington, England, in 2014. I can only imagine that getting out of it would require rolling out the door onto the street and then standing up. For more, please click here.

Everything changed in a day…Bush braai today at Frikkee’s Dam…

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Five bushbucks waiting for pellets.

Yesterday afternoon, we stopped by Louise and Danie’s to drop off money for the three bags of game pellets they’d purchased for us.  A guy with a truck filled with pellets stops by most weeks to sell them to residents and holidaymakers staying in the various houses in the bush.

We purchase three bags which is close to the amount we go through each week. Each 40 kg, the 88-pound bag is priced at ZAR 230, US $15.62, considerably less than we’d pay in Komatipoort at various shops. Thus, the three bags cost ZAR 690, US $46.85, according to today’s exchange rate between the US dollar and the South African rand (ZAR).

We make this same purchase usually four times a month, although, on occasion, the pellet guy doesn’t show, and we have to purchase them at a higher cost at Obaro (hardware store) when we head to Komatipoort to the grocery store. When the pellet guy does show either on Thursday, Friday, or both, Louise always pays for our pellets, and we bring her the money to reimburse her. Then, Zef and Vusi deliver the pellets to us to prevent Tom from hauling the 120 kg, 264 pounds, and possibly injuring himself.

Four Go-Away birds making their funny noises with three in the tree and one on the birdbath.

Many people don’t feed the animals either due to the cost or their personal beliefs that wild animals shouldn’t be fed. However, pellets are entirely tailored to their eating habits, made with vegetation that is entirely suitable for each animal that partakes.

The animals that like the pellets are herbivores, and some are omnivores. Even the helmeted guinea fowls, omnivores (eat bugs and vegetation) love pellets, so it’s a challenge for the other animals when 20 or 30 of them are in the garden when we toss the pellets. We do not hand feed, nor do we ever touch the animals.

The sound from the Go-Away birds always makes us laugh.

We visited with Louise and Danie for a few hours, enjoying every moment. They informed us of the plan to have a “pot luck” braai or “bring your own meat” braai at Frikkee’s Dam this morning at 11:30. Low on food and supplies, with a plan to grocery shop on Tuesday, I was challenged to make and bring to the event.

In past events at Frikkee’s Dam, I have always made a big pan of Brunch Eggs, using eggs, meats, cheese, and vegetables I had on hand. Today, with plenty of eggs, I made the dish with precooked, fat removed, back bacon, onions, and 18 jumbo eggs. It’s cooking now as I write here.

The Brunch Eggs should be done by 11:15 am. We’ll wrap it up and be on our way to Liosnpsruit, the game reserve within Marloth Park where lions, Desi, and Fluffy reside, along with many other animals we hope to see while there. We’ve yet to see the lions, as is the case for most residents of Marloth Park. But, on many nights, since Lionspruit backs up to the rear edge of our holiday-home property line, we can hear them roar. It’s music to our ears.

This group of four Go-Away birds seems to hang out together each day. Three wait in the tree while one drinks and baths in the birdbath.

The timer on my FitBit is about to go off reminding me to take the Brunch Eggs out of the oven, wrap them up and be on our way. We’re bringing our two camp chairs, beverages, paper plates, napkins, and a spatula to scoop out portions. This dish is great finger food since its firm when fully cooked and holds together while eating.

That’s it for today, dear readers. Again, thanks to everyone for their considerate and kind comments and email messages supporting our up-and-coming trip to the US in less than two months, as a temporary waylay in our world travel journey while Covid-19 hopefully settles down throughout the world.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, August 29, 2020:

One year ago, photos were posted while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #159, from the Museum of Natural History in South Kensington, England, in 2014.  Insect displays in the Charles Darwin research area of the museum. For more photos, please click here.

It’s heating up!…Insects are back…

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Bossy is always thrilled to see us, hoping for morsels of pellets.

When it’s winter in South Africa, generally, the weather is cool, at times, even cold, requiring jackets and warm clothes. But now, as winter rolls into spring, as shown on these dates below, its already begun to feel warm and humid:

“Spring 2021 in Southern Hemisphere will begin on
Wednesday, 22 September

and ends on

Tuesday, 21 December
All dates are in South Africa Standard Time.”
Spring is warmer in Africa than it may be in many other parts of the world in the northern and southern hemispheres. Last night for the first time this season, we had to turn on the air-con when we went to bed. Although the previous few days were hot, we only used the fan running in the 90F, 32C. But, last night felt more humid, and air-con was a must if we wanted to get some sleep.
Over the next several days, cooler temps are predicted. This morning when I was baking a batch of lemon-poppy seed muffins for Tom and low-carb lemon poppy seeds muffins for Louise and Danie, I was sweating for the first time in months when the kitchen got hot from the oven being on for a few hours.
Once the weather warms and the humidity rises, insects come out of the woodwork. We’ve seen several huge spiders in the house in the past several days, with flies and mosquitos buzzing around our heads day and night. Again, in the evenings, while sitting outdoors, we now need to use insect coils and citronella candles.
Kudus and bushbucks were stopping by.
We keep an eye out for possible venomous insects that may have entered the house in warmer weather. So far, so good. Last night, I saw the enormous gecko I’ve ever seen on the bedroom wall, more the size of a lizard than a gecko. They are harmless and don’t cause any concern.
Africa would not be the best place to visit during the warmer months for those sensitive to heat with limited air-con options and who are terrified of insects. The cool winter months would be better, such as May, June, July, and generally, August when insect repellent isn’t as necessary as during the warmer months. The past few days, I have been using repellent when I’ve noticed some mozzies here and there.
One can never be too safe using repellent regularly in malaria-prone areas, as shown in this map below:

As shown in the right-mid portion on this map, where we are near Kruger National Park is considered a high-risk area. As mentioned in an earlier post, our dear friend, Alan, lost his wife to malaria a few years ago, and he was deathly ill for months. It should never be taken lightly.

We do not take prophylactic malaria medication since there are potential side effects when taken long-term. For short-term tourist visits, we’d highly recommend that tourists check with their doctors or local travel clinic for guidance in this regard. When we first came to Africa in 2013, we took malaria medication for eight months, the longest we ever had. As we spent more and more time on the continent, we decided to forgo taking the drug.

In total, we’ve been in Africa for almost three years of the nearly nine years we’ve been traveling. Our anniversary date is coming up on October 31, 2021. It’s hard for us to believe we’ve been traveling for so long, minus the 10-month interruption while in lockdown in India last year.

Speaking of which, we’ve had a fantastic response to our published newspaper article that came out a day ago. Here is the report,  in case you missed it yesterday, which we posted on our site at this link. We appreciate all the emails and comments we received from readers worldwide in support of our experiences.

You all mean so much to us. We appreciate how our worldwide readers have continued to follow our posts, year after year through many quiet and uneventful periods, especially since the onset of Covid-19, which had undoubtedly put a damper on our journey for now. Hopefully, once we’ve completed our next upcoming visit to the US, we’ll be able to move on to more exciting and adventurous times.

In the interim, stay safe, stay healthy and please continue to hang in there with us.

Photo from one year ago today, August 28, 2020:

This photo from the natural history museum in South Kensington, England, in 2014, was posted while in lockdown for ten months while in Mumbai, India, on day #158. A lizard that puffs up the frill around the neck to scare off predators. This could not be very safe. For more photos, please click here.

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Here’s the latest newspaper story about us!…

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Former Chanhassen couple spends ten months under lockdown at hotel in India

By Lydia Christianson lchristianson@swpub.com
    12 hrs ago

More information

Here’s the link to the article as shown here today:

Learn more about the travels of Jess and Tom Lyman at worldwidewaftage.com

The Lymans

Jess and Tom Lyman have been traveling around the world for nearly nine years.

Submitted photo

Jess and Tom Lyman, former residents of Chanhassen, have traveled the world for almost nine years.

Nothing “short of death” has been able to put a stop to their adventuring, not even Jess’s emergency open-heart surgery, performed in South Africa in 2019.

But then, COVID-19 hit.

The Lymans were visiting the U.S. in January 2020 when they first got wind of COVID-19. They were leaving to travel in India, so they were sure to pack N99 masks to combat the smog. Little did they know they’d also be using them for other purposes.

The couple took a week-long trip on the Maharaja Express, getting off along the way to take tours. The first week of February, when the train ended, the Lymans had scheduled a private tour of India that included driving and flying.

“It was an extraordinary experience that it was just the two of us,” Jess said. “We were having the time of our lives.”

In March, the couple learned a cruise they had booked, which had prompted them to go to India in the first place, was canceled due to COVID-19. At that point, they decided to cancel the tour and go back to Mumbai.

The Lymans checked into a hotel that was already holding some of their luggage. They booked a flight to Johannesburg to get to Marloth Park, a wildlife sanctuary positioned on the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

The Lymans headed back to a hotel they stayed at in January, only to find out it was closing a couple of days later due to the pandemic. Arriving at the airport at 3 a.m. for red-eye out of Mumbai, they found South Africa had closed its borders. But, the hotel had arranged another place for them to stay.

“Hotels were closing so rapidly you wouldn’t believe it. It was like doors slamming one after another,” Jess said.

Upon arriving, not only had the hotel never heard of them, they were closing the following day. The Lymans had nowhere to go but tried to remain calm. They stayed in the hotel lobby for several hours, searching for hotels or vacation homes with the help of the concierge.

“He said the only hotels I can find for you are those that have COVID patients because there’s no room in the hospitals for them,” Jess said.

The Lymans
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The Lymans were traveling in India before a nationwide lockdown was announced.

Submitted photo

Lockdown begins

Finally, the concierge found a hotel near the airport that they could stay at for the night. The hotel said they were open but couldn’t make any guarantees for how long, Jess said. It was March 24, the day a nationwide lockdown was ordered.

The Lymans spent ten months living at the hotel.

One of the restrictions of the lockdown involved a ban on alcohol sales. The hotel staff came into their room to empty the mini-fridge. The couple was also told they couldn’t go down to the hotel restaurant and that their food would be delivered to the room.

Neither of the Lymans eats Indian food. Tom is a “picky eater,” so he ate chicken penne pasta every night for dinner for eight months. Jess ate salmon and chicken on rotation for dinner for all ten months.

“I haven’t had a piece of salmon since we got out of there,” Jess said with a laugh.

The Lymans weren’t supposed to go outside because the hotel didn’t want them bringing COVID-19 back with them. However, they were allowed to walk around the floor they were staying on. Jess would walk five miles through the corridors while Tom walked the stairs.

Mumbai hotel
Screen capture of the view from the Lyman’s Mumbai hotel from a video Jess posted. The video of her walk through the hotel corridors can be found at bit.ly/hotelcorridor.

Photo from one year ago today, August 27, 2020:

This photo from this date in 2014, posted one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #157. My dinner at Bella Italia consisted of two small chicken breasts in a pot of red sauce with a side of grilled vegetables. For more, please click here.

Fantastic outing this morning…An old friend visits the garden…

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Notice the little spoked tuft of hair on the top of the email duiker’s head. So adorable.

Yes, it’s a late start to today’s post. At 9:00, Tom dropped me off outside Louise and Danie’s Info Centre, and friend Kathy picked me up. We headed to her favorite morning spot, Stoep Cafe, located on the main street in Komatipoort. Years ago, Tom and I went there every so often for breakfast. But, as of late, neither of us has been hungry for breakfast, and we haven’t stopped there at all since we arrived in January.

Once Kathy and I arrived at Stoep Cafe, Kathy’s regular table was waiting for her. She’s a frequent customer, and I was thrilled to share this particular time with her. This was the first time it had been just the two of us since she arrived in early July, and we couldn’t have been more chatty in catching up after not seeing each other much in the past two years, mainly due to Covid-19.

Old Man wasn’t looking his best.

The time flew by, and before we knew it, we were back at Louise’s parking lot where Tom was waiting for me after I’d sent him a message on WhatsApp. Kathy and I said our goodbyes, knowing we’d see each other again soon, while Tom and I entered the Info Centre to chat with Louis and Danie. As always, it was delightful to see the two of them, as well.

After sharing interesting tidbits about our mutual days and nights since seeing them for dinner a week ago, Tom and I headed back to our bush house to find several animals waiting for us in the garden, including an old friend from before we left for the US at the end of June, two wildebeests, Hal and his constant partner, Old Man, who must be the oldest wildebeest in Marloth Park.

Upon further inspection, we noticed his face and stunted horns were covered in mud.

As shown in today’s photos, taken only a short time ago, Old Man was a mess this time. His face and stubby horns, obviously diminished in size due to years of use, were covered in mud. We couldn’t help but laugh but, then again, we were saddened to see how he improvises in digging up roots for consumption, using the stubby horns he’s acquired over the years.

Tom tossed them several containers of pellets and paid attention to the several bushbucks in the garden along with one adorable female duiker, as shown in the photos.  Duikers are very shy, and the slightest noise or motion will send them off in seconds into the bush, never to be seen again.

Whenever Old Man visits, he brings this younger wildebeest with him that may be his son or even grandson, whom we call “Hal.”

Gingerly, Tom sent some pellets her way, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to take a photo of a duiker, especially a female with her adorable little tuft of hair on the center of her head, as shown in our photo and described here from this site:

“The common duiker has many common names, including common, grey, and Grimm’s duiker. The name ‘duiker’ is derived from the Afrikaans word ‘duik’ meaning ‘to dive’ due to its characteristic porpoising flight pattern. Common duiker is identifiable by their slate grey color, which in some areas varies to include shades of red and yellow. They have a tuft of dark hair between the horns, or just on the head in the case of the females as horns are absent, and a dark stripe down the center of the face. The preorbital glands in front of the eyes are conspicuous and exude a tarry secretion probably used in scent marking. Unlike steenbok, they tend to live in areas with lots of bushy covers, who prefer open areas. It is into this cover that they dart and dive when disturbed. They have excellent hearing, which alerts them to disturbances.”

A wildebeest’s eyes are high up on his face. Notice Old Man’s eyes by zooming in. Old Man wasn’t having a great day.

With only 56 days until we depart Marloth Park, South Africa. It was fun to be taking new photos of less common sightings when we consider how tired many of our readers may become of the endless flow of frequent sightings. We are especially mindful of every photo and story we post in the future.

Before we know it, our photos will be from Arizona, USA, where we’ll always be on the search for new and exciting photos. It won’t always be easy without wildlife surrounding us, but, as always, we’ll do our best.

Tonight, we’ll stay in and enjoy a quiet day and evening with our animal friends. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, we’ll listen to more music on our new speaker quietly enough to avoid disturbing the wildlife and any distant neighbors. Since yesterday, we learned more about the Bluetooth speaker. We paired it with both our phones and laptops. Now, anything we watch or listen to can be broadcast, loud and clear, a big boon for Tom’s hearing issues and also, when some streaming shows have a low volume, that previously required that we use a splitter to wear earbuds. Nice.

Have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today,  August 26, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago today while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #156. Although our room was more significant than a ship cabin, it was small, as shown in this photo. For more photos, please click here.

Excited about a new product…A must share with all of you…

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This is my new toy, A JBL Bluetooth speaker that works with voice activation from my phone. The sound is fantastic!

A week ago Saturday, we went to Alan and Fiona’s house for dinner here in the park. We were seated on the veranda enjoying fantastic “starters” suitable for my way of eating (Alan also eats low-carb) and watching the animals come to their garden for pellets, as they do to ours.

We sipped on our chosen beverages while engaging in lively and animated conversation. The weather was cool but not uncomfortably so, and as the evening wore on, Fiona handed me a wooly blanket which sufficed until we went indoors after dark for the main course. The dinner was delicious and prepared perfectly.

As we embraced the calm of the evening, especially when we were outdoors. Suddenly I heard music emanating from inside the house. I recognized Andrea Bocelli’s melodic voice in the background, so clear and concise. It sounded as if he was right there. I mentioned this to Alan, and he jumped up to show us where the music was coming from.

In his house, on a shelf was a small device, a JBL Flip Essential Speaker, that spewed out music as if it was coming from a powerful built-in sound system, similar to that we experienced at son Richard’s home in Henderson, Nevada. We were blown away when he suggested we ask “Alexa” to play a favorite song. In seconds, the music wafted through the air from speakers appropriately placed in the ceilings of every room in his house.

Now keep in mind that we’ve been “out of the loop” for many years, and although we were well aware of such technology, we didn’t have the “home” or suitable environment for such technology in our lives. However, I have  particularly enjoyed talking to my Google phone, saying, “Hey, Google, play a song or do this or that.” That technology alone makes me squeal with delight.

Then, in the past six months when I had my FitBit Sense and found I could talk to it as well, reading texts, WhatsApp messages, and incoming phone calls, again, I found myself tickled with the technology, using it often, especially for setting timers needed for cooking, by simply saying to the app on my Fitbit, for example, “Set a timer for 10 minutes.” Ten minutes later, my Fitbit vibrates, reminding me the timer is up. I use this feature almost every day.

I didn’t bother to read the included easy instructions that came in its box. All I did was have my phone pair with the device via Bluetooth, and voila! We had music!

But music? I’ve missed it. In our old lives, we had an older but high-quality “stereo system” from the 1980s that blasted out great music any time we’d like, but of course, wasn’t Bluetooth enabled to perform like systems of today. We had parties playing in the background, quiet romantic dinners with music playing in the background, and busy times performing tasks around the house with music playing in the background. I’ve missed those times.

So, when Alan showed us a birthday gift he received from his son, which plays music in a manner comparable to a primary sound system, I was particularly enthralled. He explained how he could “tell” his phone to play a song or album on the “free” version of YouTube Music, and seconds later, the piece (s) were emanating clearly from the little device.

Yesterday afternoon, Vusi dropped off the package containing the machine I had shipped to Louise and Danie’s office. Within minutes, I checked South Africa’s local equivalency of Amazon, Takealot, found the device, and ordered it without flinching. It was priced at ZAR 1999, US $133.80. If you are in the US, you can purchase this product for ZAR 1478, US $99, at this link on Amazon.com. (Imported items always cost more in South Africa). (It’s too complicated for delivery trucks to get to our house on the bumpy roads).

We opened the package, charged the device, and within a few hours, it was fully charged using the orange USB cord plugged into my laptop. It took me less than five minutes to set up the Bluetooth connection with my Google Android phone. It works with Bluetooth on most brands of smartphones. We suggest you check online to see if it’s compatible with your phone.

Moments later, I told my phone using voice activation, “Hey Google,” to play Barry White’s old song, “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.” It didn’t have to have the YouTube app open! The music played, clear as a bell bringing both of us down “memory lane.” Time after time, we requested old favorites. The lousy mood I’d been in for days wafted away. The music was such a boon to my state of mind.

Our dinner company arrived promptly at 4:30, Kathy and Don and Linda and Ken,  while I had an “oldie” playing. I couldn’t wait to show off my new toy. I only left it on for a few minutes. We had lots of catching up and didn’t want the music to drown out the conversation. Everyone shook their heads in wonder over my enthusiasm, and we went on to have a lovely dinner and evening in the bush, entertained by the great conversation and an endless stream of wildlife visitors.

With the 2200 hrs, 10:00 pm curfew in Marloth Park, the evening ended early. Tom did dishes while I cleaned up, and before too long, we were off to bed for a good night’s sleep.

We highly recommend this product if you’ve been longing for great-sounding music, whether or not you have Alexa, “Hey, Google,” or any other voice-activated phone that is compatible. It can also be used with laptops, tablets, and other devices, but I’ve yet to give that a try, so I can’t guarantee anything.

We’ll be “dancin’ to the music” yet again this evening as sunset falls. Of course, not too loudly. After all, it’s intended to be quiet in the bush.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 25, 2020:

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day#155, halfway through our confinement in the hotel. This building in London is the  Royal British Society of Sculptors. For more, please click here.