One day and counting…Final expenses for 14 months in South Africa…

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Bossy’s baby suckling while another female looks for pellets.

Today, I started totaling the expenses we had incurred since our arrival here in Marloth Park on January 13, 2021. As I reviewed all the costs and started totaling them, I realized what a daunting, time-consuming task this would be. We still have a lot to do to be ready to go tomorrow. Plus, I need to do my walking after missing several hours while we were gone this morning for our Covid-19 PCR test, a trip to the pharmacy, and breakfast at Stoep Cafe.

Subsequently, the following figures are within 10% of accuracy in an attempt to get through today’s post in a timely fashion and rounded off to the nearest US dollar.

  • Final Expenses – 14 months*
    Marloth Park – January 13, 2021, to March 23, 2022
    US Dollar             ZAR
  • Rent & Hotel                  $ 38,056             566144
  • Air, Train, Ferry                  8,975             133533
  • Taxi, Car Rental, Fuel        8,256             122836
  • Entertainment                       898               13361
  • Dining Out                         4,760               70799
  • Groceries                         12,040             179079
  • Shopping (Misc.)               4,080                60684
  • Tips                                   2,460                36587
  • Legal Fees-Visa Ext.         2,280               33910
  • Medical, dental & Ins.      13,300             197810

TOTAL                                $95,105           1414487
Monthly Average                  $ 6,793             101029
Daily Average                       $   219              3245

* Included in these totals was the cost for the one-month trip to the USA in July and a 5 night stay in Zambia for a visa stamp.

Two moms and two babies.

When totaling up these numbers, I was surprised by how much we spent. But, since we arrived here, we’ve had several expenses that brought up the totals to the result. The trip to the US was three times higher than what we’d have spent living in Marloth Park. Also, we had expensive hotel bills, more expensive rental cars, and dining out daily (also included in these totals). When we left for that month, we kept the house and paid rent while we were away.

It makes more financial sense for us to be in Marloth Park than living in the US or many other countries. Prices are rising here but nowhere near as quickly as they are in the US.

Of course, I am busy as I can be today, making sure everything is in order, including what we’re taking with us and what we’re leaving behind, including clothing and household goods that we’ll use later when we return. Trying to get the walking accomplished today will be the biggest challenge. As I write this now, it’s already 2:00 pm, 1400 hrs, and we’re heading out the door at 4:30 pm, 1630 hrs to meet Louise and Danie at Giraffe for one last night together.

These moms often visit, looking for treats.

They returned ten days ago from their trip to visit family in Cape Town, and we’ve yet to have a moment to hear about their trip. With the school holidays in full force in South Africa now and all of their properties full, they’ve had their hands full with visitors at the houses and to their Info Centre.

The Info Centre is indeed a fabulous place for tourists and locals to stop to arrange safaris and other events and hear about what’s going on in the park. They loan out books and puzzles at no charge. What a fantastic resource for visitors! It’s a wonderful place to stop and meet Louise and sometimes Danie when he’s not out at building sites.

An impala mom and her baby visit our garden. Impalas are very shy around humans, so I had to take this photo through the screen door, or they’d run away.

This morning’s trip to Komatipoort accomplished everything we expected, except our expectation of finding a large plastic tote with a lid. If a person wanted to buy these, they’d have to make the long drive to Nelspruit, the same drive we’ll make tomorrow when we head to the airport in the afternoon for our flight to Johannesburg to begin the long journey to Florida, USA.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 22, 2021:

These same three wildebeests are lounging in the driveway right now. They were happy to see us when we returned from Komatipoort today. For more photos, please click here.

Final expenses for 89 nights in Ireland…Highlights of our stay in Connemara…One day until departure……Last favorite photos…

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It was fantastic to have friends Lisa and Barry and friend Chuck visit us in Connemara for a few days!  We met Lisa and Barry on a cruise in November 2017.

Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland 
“There are around 82,600 speakers of Irish who use the language at home daily. Contrast this with Polish, where 119,526 speak the language at home, making it the second most spoken language on the island!”

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do everything we’d planned while in Connemara, Ireland. Perhaps someday we’ll return and stay in another area with a better opportunity to explore and see the sites.

What an adorable sheep with his budding horns.

But overall, we felt our time here was enjoyable and worthwhile as we came to understand the culture, the terrain, and the unique personality of this particular location.  

The views across the bay were stunning, even on cloudy days.

Also, we experienced visits to a few museums, a history center, a castle, a famous fish shop, a world-renowned food truck, an exciting visit to the quaint town of Oughterard, a renowned craft shop, and a tour of the popular Roundstone area.

We spent endless hours driving through the countryside reveling in the stunning views, including seeing a vast number of adorable barnyard animals, including sheep, goats, donkeys, cattle, horses.  

Various ruins of homes, barns, and castles pepper the landscape.

Each evening we took time to relax while gazing out the big picture window to scan the sea for boats, people, birds, and wildlife. A few days ago, we spotted two otters close to the shore.  

We visited a museum in Clifden, the Station House Museum.

On many evenings we giggled over the cattle in our side yard. For those growing up in this area, none of this would be exciting. But for us, we loved every moment.

We dined in only a few restaurants but thoroughly enjoyed cooking our meals at “home” with the vast array of foodstuffs we hadn’t had access to in a long time. Even a trip to the supermarket was a delightful experience.

The museum has a wide array of well-preserved antiques indigenous to the area.

This stay provided the best access we ever had to delicious fish and seafood, most of which we purchased at our front door from dear friend and fish guy, John. Tom had a chance to have the finest fish and chips he’d ever had by a short drive to John and wife Theresa’s takeaway seafood shop in Carna, Flaherty’s Seafood.

A Connemara pony, unique to the area.

We ate authentic scallops sauteed with butter, olive oil, and garlic for a taste-tempting treat like non-other.  I sauteed the finest calamari rings I’ve ever had in the same manner as the scallops.

We met beautiful people everywhere we went, including Eileen, our property owner, Ann, our house cleaner, and the fine people at every shop, restaurant, and stop along the way.

We couldn’t help but love this pretty cow’s horns.
We lived in a comfortable house which may be found here that provided every amenity we required and then some.  When I asked about a blender for my daily protein smoothies, it was waiting for us when we arrived. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Yes, I’ve struggled with the steep spiral staircase to the bedroom level, which ultimately proved to be a good exercise for me. Although I still push myself to get upstairs, once there, my heart rate recovers quickly.

Cute little rabbit stopping by on a sunny morning.

Tomorrow morning, at 10:00 am, we’re leaving the house to drive to Dublin, where we’ll spend the night. Once we arrive and get settled into our hotel, I’ll prepare a short post, the last from Ireland.  

The following post will be prepared in Amsterdam, where we’ll stay for two nights awaiting the 12-night Baltic cruise. From there, we’re off to England to fulfill a dream of living in the English countryside, in this case in four different locations over two months. 
At the bar in the restaurant Tigh Mheach.  (I dare you to pronounce this!)

From there, we’re off to the US for a two-plus-month stay in several locations in three states; Minnesota, Nevada, and Arizona.

Watch for a post tomorrow, a few hours later than usual, allowing us ample time to drive to Dublin.

Below is the total expenses for the three months we spent in Connemara with one night in Dublin:

Final Expenses – 89 nights*
Ireland 5/11/19 to 8/8/19 
                                       US Dollar             Euro   
Rent + Hotel                   $ 7500.36           6700.70
Air, Train, Ferry                  3853.17           3442.56
Taxi, Car Rental, Fuel         2967.03            2650.37
Entertainment                     275.00              245.68
Dining Out                          378.35              338.01
Groceries                          3434.90            3068.68
Misc., Tips, Cleaning           1046.81             935.20


TOTAL                             $19955.62         17381.00
Monthly Average                  6651.87           5967.95
Daily Average                        224.22             200.27

*In this case, the expenses were higher than initially budgeted due to the cost of the business class airfare for me for the long flight from South Africa to Ireland.  In the majority of cases, we both fly coach.

Enjoy the day and evening!
Photo from one year ago today, August 7, 2018:
Four hornbills loving our birdfeeder.  For more photos, please click here.