A must-watch mongoose mania video…Shocking drug prices in South Africa!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 19, 2023 with 0 Comment

Yesterday, when I arrived at the pharmacy to pick up the 12-month supply of medications prescribed by Doc Theo, the pharmacy was busy and hadn’t put the entire order together. However, about half of it was ready to go. After waiting in the queue for about 15 minutes, I told them I’d go to Spar and come back in another 15 minutes if they thought they’d be ready. They assured me they’d be ready.

I had dropped off the prescriptions last Friday, but they didn’t have enough of some of the meds to complete my order and assured me they’d have everything by Tuesday. They did, and I was grateful for their efforts in getting it ready as much as they did. It’s a very busy place.

By the time I returned 20 minutes later, the order was ready to go in several large plastic bags I had to take to the check-out counter to have the staff member check off every single item, one by one, to ensure nothing was missing. I waited another 20 minutes until she was done, but I could tell she was working diligently to complete it as accurately and quickly as possible. I didn’t complain.

We are always thrilled to see the mongoose stop by. They are cute, funny, and anxious to see what meat treats we may have in store for them. They love it! See the above one-minute video of them receiving their bits of paloney, a soft roll of baloney.

When I checked out, I cringed a little over the total of ZAR 12599.21, US $700.11, which also included a few toiletry items totaling about ZAR 225, $12.30. Let’s ignore those items for illustrative purposes today and go with the total for this post.

When we returned to the house, I looked online to see the pricing in the US for only one of the medications to use as an example. I visited Drugs.com at this link and was shocked by what I discovered. Only one of the multiple drugs shown in the bulk photo below included today is Premarin 0.3, a hormone I’ve been taking for years. I take one tablet each day. Here’s was I found:

“The cost for Premarin oral tablet 0.3 mg is around $715 for a supply of 100 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Quoted prices are for cash-paying customers and are not valid with insurance plans. This price guide is based on using the Drugs.com discount card, which is accepted at most U.S. pharmacies.”

This young Big Daddy couldn’t resist eating the bird seed off the feeder ledge.

Ironically, the 100-tablet cost for this medication is comparable to the entire bill I paid yesterday for multiple prescriptions for one year, not only 100 tablets of one drug. If I did the math for 365 tablets a year with the cost of 100 tablets, the total cost for the one drug would be as follows:

3.65 X US $715 = $2609.75 (ZAR 4753.66)

I could buy all the drugs for the 100-day supply and subsequent cost in the US for one drug. Wow.

No, I am not factoring in what a co-pay might be with insurance in the US. But since we have no health insurance in the US other than basic Medicare, which doesn’t include drugs, these figures are relevant to us. At that point, I didn’t start looking up prices for the other medications since my curiosity was satisfied by this one example in the lot. Surely, if I wanted to take the time and effort to research pricing for each drug, I’d find a similar scenario.

Now, it confirms the logic for us to purchase my meds in South Africa whenever we visit and perhaps even warrant future trips in years to come, let alone the enjoyment we glean from spending time in the bush with friends and wildlife.

Here is the receipt for the 12-month supply of prescriptions I picked up at the pharmacy in Komatipoort, totaling ZAR 12599.21, US $700.11.I also purchased nail polish and a battery-operated toothbrush included in the total.

The task now is to minimize the packaging as much as possible since, due to humidity in South Africa, most meds are individually plastic wrapped. It can take forever for me to pop out each tablet and put them in a container which I am doing with a few of them, which is why three large empty containers are shown on the right side of the photo.

Of course, I am bringing along the prescription Doc Theo wrote with all of these meds if questions are asked as we enter any country along the way. Also, I am including the more detailed receipts from the pharmacy to substantiate the excessive amount of tablets further. Hopefully, we won’t encounter any issues along the way, especially since the majority of these items will be in my carry-on baggage.

We’ve never had problems bringing large amounts of medication into a country, but one never knows, as we learned from losing our bags most recently when it hadn’t happened in the first eight years of our world travels. One can never take anything for granted.

Here is my 12-month supply of medication, three I regularly take, while many of the others are for allergy symptoms should they arise, as they did here in South Africa, due to dust, dander, and pollen.

Today, I am busy organizing the meds and also baking two cakes for tomorrow’s farewell party, one keto chocolate cake, and one regular cake, Tom’s mother’s delicious oatmeal cake with broiled coconut and almond frosting, which is exceptional. It’s baking in the oven now. When it’s done, I will make the chocolate cake but might leave the frosting to make tomorrow.

That’s it for today, dear readers. Thanks for joining us in our less adventurous posts as we wind down the time until we leave South Africa in 11 days.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 19, 2013:

The cruise line-owned beach is set up in Grand Turks and Caicos, with “pay for” cabanas. We didn’t care to bake in the sun in the sand and stayed behind on the ship to enjoy the quiet time. For more photos, please click here.

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

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 18, 2023 with 0 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be well.

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

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

Day 2, Change in a feature on our site started yesterday…Exciting trail cam photos….About us…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 17, 2023 with 0 Comment

The genet and Earl had an encounter at the veranda railing during the night.

For those who may not have read yesterday’s post here, we have changed a feature on our site regarding the “Photo from one year ago today…” at the bottom of the page. We’ve now changed it to “Photo from ten years ago today…” Further explanation of this change is documented in yesterday’s post, as shown in the above link. Otherwise, all other aspects of our site will remain the same.

It’s hard to believe it was three years ago, while we were in lockdown in the hotel room in Mumbai, India, that we hired our current web developer to make major changes to the format of our site. It was a time-consuming and frustrating process.

The genet started out on the veranda rail where Tom had placed some cooked chicken.

There couldn’t have been a better time to update the site with so few distractions other than posting daily, finding sources for photos, washing all of our clothes by hand, walking in the corridors, and living a very peculiar life for ten months in a hotel room, unable to interact with the outside world.

We think of this often, wondering how in the world we got through it with the grace we did. We never fought with one another, nor were there ever angry or frustrated tones in our voices to each other. We had a strong and loving relationship going into this odd situation and a strong relationship coming out.

They engaged in a “stare-down” for quite a while.

We’re often asked if it made us stronger as a couple or as individuals. Ideally, we’d say yes. But the reality is that we used the adaptation skills and strengths we acquired throughout our world travels, at that time, over seven years into it. Nothing changed other than our personal affirmation of our resiliency, which both of us have developed over these years of world travel.

We’ve had our ups and downs, although none of them were in regard to the strength of our relationship, which somehow remains interesting, exciting, playful, and fun. We spend almost every day and night together, seldom apart, and we never tire of one another.

Part of that may be because we each do our own thing during daylight hours. Sure, we talk and laugh while reveling in our surroundings. But, once we’ve been in a location for a while and the sightseeing tapers off, those quiet days are easy for us. We never feel frustrated over what one of us is doing or not doing. There’s no judgment or criticism.

We saw Norman visit in the middle of the night. We can tell it’s him by the colors of his legs.

Ultimately, we make happiness a goal for ourselves and each other. With that in mind, we rarely have disagreements except when stressed over travel plans or circumstances. Even that is a rarity. We’re lucky, and we know it. Then again, is it luck? Probably not. It revolves around a sense of self-confidence and emotional security that we’ve chosen for ourselves.

Neither of us operated this way in past relationships, although we each extrapolated lessons we’ve learned from failed past relationships, choosing happiness over “always being right.” Being right doesn’t matter. Making smart decisions does.

No, we’re not experts and have little advice for others. We’ve only allowed ourselves the privilege of making the most of every single day and night. Speaking of nights, this is when we come together after our daytime forays into activities that appeal to us individually. We listen to music, talk, laugh, tease, and often compliment one another, genuinely and from the heart. This is the glue that binds the quality of who we are together as a couple and as individuals.

As we spend days watching the behavior of wild animals, we often giggle over how much alike we are to them. They share pellets and loving nudges but then, at times, go off on their own, only to return later for more of the same. That’s us. Plain and simple.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 17, 2013:

My friend of 33 years, Colleen, had lived in St Thomas, USVI for many years. I was excited to see her when our ship docked at the Port of St. Thomas for a day. Sadly she passed away a few years ago from COPD. In this photo, she is shown with an oxygen tank, which was always at her side once she developed the awful condition. For more photos, please click here.

Change in a feature on our site starts today…Fun photos from the garden…Busy Sunday…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 16, 2023 with 2 Comments

Zoom in to see this bushbuck, closest to the tree, jump in the air when she was startled by the new baby duiker, an offspring of Delilah and Derek, whom we’ve named Damian.

After years of posting “Photo from one year ago today….” beginning on March 24, 2014 (see the original post here), shown at the bottom of each post, we’ve decided to change that feature. We are changing that feature to the following: “Photo from ten years ago today…

Making this change may add a new perspective for new readers and also long-term readers who do not readily recall so long ago, just like us, when we may have to look up past posts to remember where we’ve been and what we’ve done during a specific period. Our neatly arranged archives at the right side of the page make this possible with a particular date or period in mind.

There’s our boy Norman back from a week’s hiatus to enjoy the holidaymaker’s food. Good to see you, Norman!

Tom has an extraordinary recall of long-ago events, almost to the day, whereby I recall names of people, places, and expenses back to the beginning. Between us, we can remember nearly all of our 10½ years of world travel. For our readers who may or may not have been following along for extended periods, this may help you reference places we’ve been that may appeal to your objectives for future travel.

Also, we must admit, it’s fun for us to look back day after day, ten years ago, as to what we were doing at the time. Have we changed our goals and objectives? How much have we adapted? Do we handle hurdles and challenges with more aplomb than we did in the past? It will be interesting for us to see as well.

Nina and Natalie continued to visit while Norman was away, but it was nice to see the family reunited.

This morning, we didn’t go for our usual walk. My legs felt heavy after a poor night’s sleep, and navigating all those rocks on the roads just didn’t motivate me today. I felt a little guilty not going but decided to do the walking in the house, ensuring I get in enough steps with so many tasks on hand today, such as three loads of laundry, dinner to make for two nights, some organizing in cupboards with packing in mind and so forth.

Today, it’s a pleasant enough day with lower humidity and tolerable heat. We had a rash of visitors this morning, but now, close to noon, it’s quiet again, as it often is mid-day when the animals find shady spots to hide from the scorching sun. Then, later in the day, as it cools down, they start coming by again, and we cherish every moment when they do.

We do not doubt our minds that Natalie is a girl. As she matures, she looks more and more like her mom Nina.

Last night, we had another fantastic evening at Jabula. We met a lovely new couple on my side, and Tom spoke to a friendly new local on his side as we sat at our usual center spots at the bar where Dawn and David always put up a “reserved” sign for us. We always appreciate this special attention, but customers occasionally come to drink earlier in the day and are still there when we arrive. In those cases, we take whatever other barstools are available and move over when the others leave.

Our dinners were delicious, as usual. Tom had the filet with mashed potatoes and gravy, and creamed spinach. I had the grilled chicken salad, which I have enjoyed each time over the past few months. The salad is so packed with fresh veggies and chicken that I don’t need salad dressing.

Is Norman considering mating with Nina again now that Natalie is growing up quickly?

On the side, l have an order of steamed vegetables, including cabbage, green beans, and spinach. It’s all such a treat. I could easily make such a meal for myself, but somehow it tastes best when someone else does the cooking. We enjoy eating out twice a week and will continue to do so at The Villages.

We worked on our budget for our upcoming time at The Villages in Florida. With the high costs of food at restaurants in the US, with expected 20% tips and taxes, we are budgeting US $200, ZAR 3604, per week for meals out. With over 100 restaurants in the complex, trying new establishments each time will be fun. But we all know how that goes. We’ll find a social place we love with good food and go there most often. For us, socialization is more important than food. How we eat fresh, properly cooked, and seasoned food easily pleases our palates.

Bossy and some family members visit daily. Danie says kudus are like big pigs; they eat constantly and will eat anything. We’ve seen them take a few nibbles of the mongoose’s paloney when we set it out for them.

There are numerous options in each category. However, I am looking forward to visiting a few Mexican restaurants, while Tom particularly enjoys Chinese restaurants. Also, Tom, who doesn’t care for fish, will be happy for us to go to several seafood establishments, many of which are in the area. He eats some shellfish, and, after all, we’ll be in Florida, where fish and seafood are plentiful, if not pricey.

I’m off to get the last load of laundry out of the washer to hang on the outdoor rack. The sun has popped out in the past 20 minutes, so I’m hoping everything will dry before the end of the day. Often, with the high humidity, Tom has to haul the rack indoors when little is dry after a full day outdoors. It will be weird that soon I’ll have an indoor clothes dryer, although I’ll continue to dry some delicate items outdoors to ensure they last longer.

That’s it for today, folks. You all mean the world to us!!! Thanks for following along with us.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 16, 2013:

This platter of fresh meats and lobster tail was presented to us on the Carnival Liberty before we made our menu selections. The entire dinner was a fixed price enabling us to choose any items on the menu. For more photos, please click here.

Final Kruger photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 15, 2023 with 0 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

A lone elephant was grazing in the grass..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be well.

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

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

More Kruger photos…Dreaming of the future…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 13, 2023 with 2 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

“7. The Villages

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

A hippo transporting a few oxpecker friends at Sunset Dam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be well.

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

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

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

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 12, 2023 with 0 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We encountered several zebras on the move.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be well.

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

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

Happy Easter to those who observe the holiday….Happy Passover… and other holidays celebrated worldwide…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 9, 2023 with 0 Comment

Happy Easter to all of our family, readers, and friends worldwide who celebrate Easter.

After a hectic morning, cooking for tonight’s Easter dinner for the two of us, embarking on a longer walk than usual, and doing a few loads of laundry on an outrageously humid day, I have run out of steam, and it’s only noon as I write here now. It’s the humidity that’s gotten to me when today the temperature will be a high of 92F, 33, but the dew point will be a ridiculous 79. See the comment below from the National Weather Service:

“What dew point is uncomfortable?

General comfort levels USING DEW POINT that can be expected during the summer months: less than or equal to 55: dry and comfortable. between 55 and 65: becoming “sticky” with muggy evenings. greater than or equal to 65: lots of moisture in the air, becoming oppressive.”

2. “How high can the dew point go?

The dew point can never be higher than the air temperature. Similarly, as the air temperature rises and/or the dew point drops, the relative humidity decreases because the air is getting farther away from saturation.”

3. “What dew point is it hard to breathe?

66-70 is uncomfortable. 71-75 is oppressive. Higher than 76 is miserable.”

Thus, even if the temperature isn’t high, the dew point can make us miserable, as indicated above. Today is one of those days, and my inclination is to hide away in the bedroom with the fan and aircon running. But I won’t. I’ll stay out here on the veranda, hoping some of our wildlife friends will stop by.

With the holidaymakers here for Easter weekend, many aren’t leaving until tomorrow or Tuesday, so we may not see them until then. Good grief, it’s been two days since we’ve seen Norman and his family, and I have two bowls of “Norman’s lunch” waiting for his arrival, staying cool in the refrigerator. Certainly, Nina and Natalie are partaking of treats offered by the holidaymakers, which may or may not be appropriate for their digestive tracts.

Some human food may result in severe illness or be fatal to some animals, and we fear this is happening whenever the park is as busy as it is right now. Visitors aren’t educated about the well-being of the animals, or they don’t care, which is insufferable. To think of one of these precious creatures dying in the bush after eating mealie (corn) or other grain products is heartbreaking.

As for today being Easter, we decided to stay home, away from the crowds, and maintain our lovely peaceful existence on one of those days we aren’t being social with anyone but one another.

When searching online this morning about Easter, I stumbled across this site which has 20 Easter Traditions Worldwide that you may enjoy, which are lighthearted and not necessarily religious for those who don’t celebrate. We posted the first five of the 20 below, but if they interest you, click here to see the balance from Woman’s Day Magazine. (Not our photos. Getty Images).

easter traditions eating ham and deviled eggs

Getty Images

1. “Eating Ham and Deviled Eggs

The Easter Bunny isn’t the only one with a thing for eggs. Many people in America sit down around a dinner table laden with holiday favorites like ham and deviled eggs, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

Ham became a popular dinner choice years ago, mainly by default, since the pigs that went to slaughter in the fall would’ve had plenty of time to cure over those long winter months, making them ready for eating just as spring rolled around.

Similarly, deviled eggs are a popular choice because of the way eggs are used symbolically throughout the holiday as a symbol of rebirth.

easter traditions wearing easter bonnets

Getty Images

2. Wearing Easter Bonnets

Another Easter tradition in America is the donning of the Easter bonnet. This fancy hat became a popular addition to Sunday church attire because it represents a commitment to renewal when paired with new Easter clothes.

These head coverings are loosely tied with the end of Lent when they would be purchased assumably after a period of frugal financing where such luxuries were typically not purchased.

They’re also a great Easter craft for kids who want to DIY their way to a new holiday hat. In fact, at the height of their popularity in the 1990s, department stores would often sell kits for children, who would then enter their hats into a contest.

Getty Images

3. Dining on Hot Cross Buns

In New Zealand and parts of Australia, hot cross buns are more than just a tune you must learn as a kid; they’re an Easter favorite. The island countries enjoy eating these dense treats on Easter during their meteorological fall.

Once you know that Easter comes right before their winter, it makes more sense that they’d be drawn to this bit of comfort food over the holiday.

Getty Images

4. Dyeing Easter Eggs Red

In Greece, those who celebrate Easter through the Orthodox church forego the typical mix of colors when it comes time to dye eggs, instead focusing on a singular shade: red.

The crimson-hued eggs are doubly symbolic since they use the eggs to represent rebirth and the color red for Jesus’ blood, marking the triumphant return of the son of God.

People can get creative with their red eggs, creating different shades, intricate designs, and more.

Getty Images

5. Starting a Bonfire

In some parts of Europe, people will celebrate Easter by striking a match. In Northwestern European communities, it’s common to kick off a two-day celebration that begins on Sunday by starting a bonfire.

These fires are aptly named Easter Fires and were initially set to help chase the darkness of winter away. Over the years, they’ve become a fun way for community members to come together and celebrate the coming spring.

We have to imagine that they’ve kept their popularity over the years thanks to being the first big gathering following weeks of winter solitude.”

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 9, 2022:

Our balcony cabin on Celebrity Silhouette while still in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more photos, please click here.

Planning a party at a party…Oh, oh…is this a good idea?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 8, 2023 with 0 Comment

Not quite a Big Daddy with his horns still growing, this male sipped from the pool.

Danie always jokes when he says, “Don’t plan a party at a party.” Invariably, this often happens to us. It’s hard to avoid planning other social events while at a social event. One is more relaxed after a glass of something while hugs and lively conversations ensue, creating a party-inducing scenario.

Last night while at Jabula with the bar filled with many patrons who’d attended my 75th birthday party in February, Dawn and Leon suggested we have a farewell party poolside at their place. We resisted at first, but everyone said they’d attend and that having a farewell party was a must-do when we’ll be gone so long.

As of 11:00 am, the invitations have been sent, and although some of our friends have left the bush for a while, we’re expecting about 20 guests. As always, we could have invited more, but the space is limited, and we don’t want it to be too much work for Dawn, Leon, and the staff.

A young male kudu on the left and a female on the right.

We chose Thursday, April 20, at 1600 hrs., 4:00 pm, and asked everyone to bring meat to braai and their drinks while Dawn had her kitchen staff make salads and sides, including the ever-popular South African dish, pap and Sheeba. Here’s a link for details on how to prepare this staple dish served at most social events.

Neither Tom nor I eat pap and Sheeba. Tom won’t like it (I never tried it), and I can’t eat it with the sugar and corn in the recipe. I’d love this if I could eat these ingredients, but I’ve never tried it. (When it comes to living a keto lifestyle, even a bite is too much).

The other sides will be vegetables in one form or another. People in South Africa are used to bringing their drinks to parties. It is more the “norm” than not, and we’ve become quite accustomed to doing this. When in the US over the past several years, we’ve noticed that most often, the hosts provide drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

This forkl of kudus entered the garden looking for pellets. Due to the Easter holiday weekend, there are few visitors right now. It will pick up again on Tuesday.

With the high cost of alcoholic beverages in the US, I believe more people would entertain at their homes if they didn’t always provide ample wine, beer, and other drinks. Also, asking guests to bring their meat is as popular as it gets. When getting people together for socializing, it makes sense to let guests bring their meat and drinks.

Traditional, old-fashioned roles are observed here, more than we’ve seen in the US and other countries, especially today. Also, it seems that in South Africa, men gather around the braai, drinking beer and carrying on lively conversations. At the same time, the women often spend time together at picnic tables and hovering in the kitchen.

When the food is ready, typically in South Africa, the couples sit together while everyone dines on the delicious braai meats and side dishes.

We often see kudus when no other wildlife is around.

One of the reasons I prefer not to bring meat to a braai is because Tom often overcooks my meat when he’s having such a good time talking with the “guys” while hovering over the braai. At the last “bring your meat” party we attended a few weeks ago, I made chicken salad and coleslaw ahead of time for both of us, which worked out perfectly for us. Tom could still chat at the braai and didn’t have to worry about cooking our meat.

Even here at the house, he doesn’t love cooking meat on the braai. Often, he puts the meat on while I keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t get overcooked. It works out better if the meat is the type to slow cook. Let’s face it; Tom doesn’t care to do the cooking. But he does all the dishes, and I’ll cook anytime to avoid doing dishes.

We’ll have a dishwasher when we get to Florida and won’t have to worry so much about using electricity without load-shedding impacting electric costs. It will be great to use a clothes dryer once again. Also, it will be fun to shop at grocery stores where we can get some of the grocery items we can’t find here. It’s been a while since we had such conveniences.

Hmmm…We’re both OK about leaving at the end of the month and capping off our wonderful time here in the bush with friends at our farewell party. We couldn’t ask for more of a send-off. As of the completion of today’s post, almost everyone we’ve invited to our farewell party has RSVP’d.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 8, 2022:

Celebrity Silhouette Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review | CruiseMapper — One year ago today, we boarded Celebrity Silhouette for a transatlantic cruise. We got Covid-19 during the last two days of the cruise and had to cancel our next cruise while still testing positive and being very ill. For more, please click here.

Figuring solutions for potential obstacles…

Posted by worldwide-admin on April 7, 2023 with 0 Comment

Earl has been visiting each evening. Wildebeests are the only animals that poop in our garden. The rest go out into the bush.

The most imminent topic on our minds right now is getting our passports renewed as soon as we arrive in the US. We’ll arrive at our holiday home in the evening on April 30, hoping to get a good night’s sleep so we’ll be refreshed when we awake on Monday, May 1.

Once we get unpacked and settled that morning, we’ll begin applying for our new 10-year passports. We’ve decided to use a company in Washington, DC, since passport applications are also running behind in the US, again blaming the pandemic for this problem.

One of our kind readers, Cheryl, wrote to remind us by submitting a USA Today article about how the US is behind in processing applications. Although we were aware of this, which contributed to our concern about getting the passports on time for our cruise on August 1, we did considerable research.

We decided we needed to bite the bullet and pay for a passport/visa processing company to get them back on time. We will choose to receive the passports in 8 to 10 business days. The cost for this speedy service will be around US $1500, ZAR 27347 for both of us. We know this is an outrageous amount of money for this service.

You may ask, why did we wait so long? We’ve certainly known this date was coming up. If we don’t have the new passports on the sailing date, we wouldn’t be allowed to board the ship. We were informed we could apply in South Africa at the US Consulate. When their website wasn’t working to process our applications, we knew we had to devise another plan.

Then, suddenly, we were informed we had to leave early due to visa extension issues in South Africa, and everything changed. We should have done it while we were in the US in November, but we weren’t there long enough to receive them in time to fly back to South Africa. Ah, the dilemmas of world travel. We accept these realities and our responsibility for sometimes not being on the ball quite enough. Stuff happens.

Ruffles on the right side of the garden.

I can’t believe I managed to do the posts daily, let alone complicated paperwork. Most likely, I blame myself the most since I had a headache for 11 months since we got Covid-19 last April 20, and I couldn’t discipline myself sufficiently to get this done. I spent most days inactive and unmotivated.

The headache now? It’s gone! After a ten-day cycle of Prednisone and ingesting multiple allergy medications, I finally feel free of the headache. However, I am still feeling some allergy symptoms once I tapered off the drug while still taking all of the other meds. I feel confident once we leave the bush, my symptoms will improve significantly when free of all the dust, pollen, grasses, and dust mites prevalent in this area.

When we return in 14 months, it will be winter here when allergies aren’t quite as bad. We’ll see how that goes at that time. Once we return, we don’t plan to stay longer than six months simply when we aren’t interested in dealing with these immigration issues. We’ll do one visa “run” to get a new 90-day visa stamp, but we aren’t interested in doing more.

We’ve been taking our walks each morning after breakfast and are pleased we can increase the distance a little each day. Tom does fine and could walk for hours, but I still have problems with my legs hurting, making long distances an issue. Hopefully, as we walk more and more, this will improve. It feels good to be moving around once again.

Tonight, we’re off to Jabula for dinner. Tomorrow, we’ll have three weeks remaining until we depart, and we’ll continue to go right up until the last night since we leave on a Saturday. It will be unusual when dining out in Florida. Most likely, we’ll dine out twice a week while we’re there with over 100 restaurants from which to choose, all a golf cart drive away. That should be fun.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 22, 2022:

Tag: nomads

“7. The Villages