Tag: Our Story

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Today, we’re published on Dr. David Perlmutter’s website, Grain Brain! ..See article below…

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After hitting our top numbers of over 100,000 readers on our site, the opportunities for us continue to grow.  In addition to attracting the interest of new advertisers (we’ll be posting new links in the next few days, removing the old), we also have the opportunity to share our story on related websites. 

A few weeks ago, I suggested a book I’d read, Grain Brain, by Dr. David Perlmutter, a renowned neurologist, backed by years of diligent scientific research that further exemplified the reasons why I’ve gone to the extremes of my restrictive diet for the past 2 1/2 years.  This diet ultimately changed my health to such an extent, that finally I could be mobile, able to travel the world.

After reading Dr. Perlmutter’s book, I contacted him and his media department who enthusiastically asked me to share my story of renewed health with his readers. 

Please click here for our now published story, part of which is listed below. 

Recently, Dr. Perlmutter appeared on the Dr. Oz TV show.  Click here and scroll down the page for the informative and surprising video about brain health.

Jessica L. Grain Brain Success Story

Jessica L.

Jessica’s story is truly inspiring. Her battle back to better health is the kind of empowerment I hope to facilitate with Grain Brain. Adopting a Grain Brain-friendly lifestyle not only gave Jessica back control of her health, but her entire life. – Dr. Perlmutter
As a travel writer with a somewhat unusual story of having sold everything my husband and I valued and owned, with no storage, on Halloween, one year ago, we left our lifetime home, family, and friends to travel the world and write about our daily adventures and share photos.
Just one year prior to that, I wasn’t able to go to any of our grandchildren’s ballgames, unable to sit on bleachers, due to excruciating pain that encompassed my entire body due to severe spinal degeneration.
Having been told the only solution was a total spinal fusion from C1 to L5, I spent an entire year researching medical studies online in search of an answer for my unbearable pain, horrible lipid profile, pre-diabetic state and recurring abnormal lymphocytes and neutrophils, requiring 2 bone marrow biopsies revealing abnormal bone marrow regeneration but, luckily, no cancer. Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia are rampant in my family history.  My own memory was fading fast (I am now 65 years old).
In August 2011, after reading Gary Taubes, Dr. William Davis, Dr. Michael Eades and dozens more, along with suggested links to studies, I was determined that a change in diet was my only hope. Immediately, I embarked on a low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, starch-free and sugar-free diet.
It took 3 months to see a change. One morning I awoke and could actually stand up when I put my feet on the floor, a first in years.  The pain was gone, never to return in 27 months.  I never consume a morsel of food that doesn’t fit my criteria, basically everything you describe in your book.  Of course, I tested negative for celiac disease, as you mentioned many do.
Several months later, I had a new lipid profile completed.  The year’s long abnormal lymphocytes and neutrolphils were normal.  All other tests were normal, something I hadn’t experienced in over 20 years. My HDL went from 38 to 72.  My triglycerides went from 256 to 52.
As a result of this phenomenal change, in January 2012, my husband (who also follows this manner of eating, lost weight and no longer has IBS, acid reflux, gas, etc), and I decided that on October 31, 2012, his retirement date, we would liquidate everything we owned; house, cars, household goods, clothing, jewelry to travel the world for years to come.  In a few days, it will be our one year anniversary of “living in the world” with no home to return to and we couldn’t be happier.
Finally, I fulfilled my lifelong dream of writing, of seeing the world. I could now travel, sit in an airplane, walk the streets of Venice, visit the towers of Dubai and make the long difficult trek to see Petra in Jordan.
As part of my blog/website, starting in March 2012, I’ve often discussed how to live in places such as Tuscany, Italy where we recently spent this entire last summer, without a taste of bread or pasta, never feeling deprived. For example, today, I posted last night’s dinner of Crusted Coconut (flour) Parmesan Chicken, a favorite recipe I created (I’ve always been a foodie). We’ve also been following “Oil Pulling” by Dr. Bruce Fife, using coconut oil as a daily mouth rinsing and yesterday, we began your suggestion of swallowing a teaspoon a day.
Yesterday, at the end of my post, I suggested your book, Grain Brain, which I downloaded a few days ago and couldn’t put down. You, Dr. Perlmutter, have put on “paper” the epitome of the gift of life I’ve been given by changing my diet.  Dr. William Davis, Dr. Robert Lustig and Jonathan Bailor have been a few of many who’ve been instrumental in my following this path.
Now, with your book, here is another amazing fact…my memory is better today than when I was in my 20′s.  About 10 years ago, I had a brain MRI showing a large portion of my frontal lobe missing. I know little about brain loss but I imagine that I’d have continued on the path of brain shrinkage had I continued eating “whole grain” products and high carb foods, (although I haven’t consumed sugar for many years). Instead, I consumed high carb fruits and vegetables and grains such as winter squash and corn, equally filled with sugar, all foods of my past.
As I sit here in the humid heat in Diani Beach Kenya, batting off the bugs and flies, I need only remind myself of the amazing safari we took in the Masai Mara only a few weeks ago, bouncing around on bumpy roads for 8 hours a day in the heat.  I couldn’t ride in the car for a 45 minutes drive to visit family or friends in my “old life.”
At 65, this way of eating is has given me back my life.  I’ll never go back.
-Jessica L.

Settling back into our routine…Quiet, not dull…New travel plans in the works…Eclipse of the sun today…

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The Indian Ocean, clean, white sand beaches only cluttered with seaweed coming ashore during the rising and falling of the tides.

Having returned from our mini holiday 48 hours ago, we’re settled in and at ease. Everything is unpacked and Hesborn has returned our freshly washed, dried, and neatly folded laundry. Jessie and Gucci, our temporary dogs, are at our feet and we’re all content.

We’ve washed everything in sight that may have been contaminated by the exterminator that was here while we were gone and, blessed be, the crawling insect population has been greatly reduced. Of course, those that fly cannot be eradicated.

With summer in Africa fast approaching on December 21, the temperature rises a little each day and along with it, the humidity. We seem to be tolerating it well, living outdoors 18 hours a day. Even the three days of available AC at the resort didn’t matter to us as much as we’d anticipated, staying outdoors most of the time.

Walking the beach near the resorts, felt safe with security guards visible at every resort property. A reality we’ve found at other beaches in the world is the vendors freely approaching trying to sell their wares. This can be annoying, but we both respect the hard work of the people of Kenya. With no government assistance or food stamps, the work ethic is strong and when work can be found, the Kenyan people will go to any lengths to support themselves and their families. 

Now, we’re back to “work” researching where we’ll spend the “free” month we’ll have after living in Madeira, Portugal, from May 16, 2014, to August 1, 2014, a mere nine months away. 

On August 31, 2014, our ship sails from Harwich, England to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to Boston, MA as we work our way back to the US to hook up with our family for Christmas 2014. Taking our time, enjoying the process is the utmost in our minds as well as carefully planning as much stress-free travel as possible.

Figuring all of this out is more complicated than it sounds, for example:
1.  Where do we spend the “free” month after leaving Madeira that fits into our budget and time frame?
2.  Where else in Europe that we haven’t visited are we most interested in.  Do we break it up into a few places or stay put to keep our costs down?
3.  How do we get to the pier at Harwich, England from wherever we’ll be, which is somewhat of a remote location, a three-hour drive from London?

Hopefully, in the next few days, we’ll have all of this figured out sharing the details here. 

Although our luggage is greatly reduced, we still have two large, heavy suitcases, two smaller suitcases, two laptops bags, and a handbag, too much to haul easily with me unable to hold up my end with the bad shoulder. Also, it doesn’t all fit on our one remaining luggage cart.

Many times travelers simply hop on a subway or train to get around but we keep in mind, that most often, travelers only have two weeks of luggage with them, not everything they own, like us. 

There’s no way in the world, we could maneuver our bags down the steps of a subway or into a car of a train when one must change trains. (We read on CruiseCritic that the train from London to Harwich was a nightmare, travelers hauling their bags up and down long flights of stairs when required to change trains). Why create such stress? For approximately another US $150 over the cost of the train, we can take a private shuttle. For us, it’s a no brainer.

The end result of these limitations, we pay a little more and take easier modes of transportation. Once situated in a hotel or vacation home we’ll take trains and subways to see the sights that without hauling our bags will be fun and easy.

From the first day we left our old lives in Minnesota, our goal has been as we’ve represented in our motto at the heading this site, “Wafting Through Our Worldwide Travels with Ease, Joy and Simplicity.” 

When one’s goal is ease, joy, and simplicity, there’s a price to pay. We’ve budgeted for that. There have been no surprises. Does that make us “travel snobs?” Hardly. It makes us mindful of keeping the stress to a minimum in an effort to avoid us getting “tired” of world travel. 

We continue to be as excited and enthusiastic now as we were the day we left, enjoying where we are at the moment, anticipating the next location and adventure, and loving our life “on the road.”

In a short while, we’ll walk to the produce stand to get fresh vegetables which are delivered daily from the farm by motorcycle. Fresh, grown without pesticides or fertilizers, there is a certain amount of waste, worms, and bugs to remove. But, once cleaned and washed using bottled water, they are as good as one might pick from their own chemical-free garden.

Tonight for dinner (after a disappointing dinner out last night), we’re having steak taco salads minus the shells, minus the sugary taco seasoning packets, instead of using real spices.  We’ll top the meat with hand-grated cheese, diced onions, olives, tomatoes, and avocadoes atop a batch of shredded head lettuce, the only lettuce we’ve been able to find in Kenya. 

Today is a total eclipse of the sun which will only be partially visible in Kenya, totally visible in Uganda. Later today, we’ll go to Hans’ and Jeri’s third-floor veranda to get a better view, well aware one cannot look directly into the sun. Point and click may be possible.

Finally!…Our own photos of the Colobus Monkey…Taken poolside…And, more photos…

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Finding the Colobus Monkeys beside us at the pool put me on a photo-taking frenzy. No more “borrowed” Colobus Monkey photos for us!  Could this guy have given a more appealing pose?
Note this Colobus’ long white sideburns. 
I felt like a kid in a candy store while taking these Colobus Monkey photos.
Another Colobus with the long swatches of hair.  Not all of them had this particular marking.

When we first arrived at Diani Beach, Kenya on September 3, 2013, within our first several days we’d posted several baboon photos. There were monkeys in the yard, along the highway, and swinging from trees.

After returning from the pool where the umbrellas provided too much shade, Tom did a quick 20 minutes on one of the chaise lounges in our front yard.

On September 8th, a monkey ran through our yard that, most certainly, was a different breed than a baboon, with its distinct black and white hair. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the camera handy to capture this fast-moving monkey. Researching online, we found that most likely, it was a less common Colobus Monkey.

The chaise lounges at our ocean cottage where fresh towels are delivered each day.

With no photo when we posted on September 9, 2013, as you’ll see clicking on this link, I copied a few photos to post, noting in the caption that these were “borrowed” photos and not our own. 

Grass in Kenya is an odd variety of grass, tough underfoot, appearing as crabgrass. With most of the soil imbedded with coral with only a shallow layer of dirt, allowing only this type of grass to grow.

Since our original sighting, we hadn’t seen another Colobus. Nor had we seen any while on safari in the Masai Mara where we saw a few baboons with babies but no other breeds. 

In the late afternoon, while on the veranda this Sykes Monkey came to call.

Having seen and photographed so many baboons since arriving in Kenya, we’ve become used to seeing them, as have the locals, hardly giving them any attention. I suppose it’s comparable to of us in other countries paying little mind to dogs unless, of course, they’re dog lovers.

Stopping for a nibble before getting too close to us.

Shortly after checking in at The Sands at Nomad Resort yesterday morning on a three-day anniversary celebration of our traveling for one year, we knew we were in for a treat when not only Sykes monkeys frequently appeared on our veranda, but we ran into several families of Colobus Monkeys while we lounged by the pool in the afternoon.

Outside the cottages, these troughs are kept filled freshwater and flowers, enabling the guests to rinse their feet when coming in from the beach. This trough also provides fresh drinking water for wildlife. This visiting monkey took a hearty drink before making the official appearance.

Apparently, the proximity of many dense trees surrounding the pool provides a natural habitat for the Colobus.  No more than 5 minutes after we were situated in the padded shaded lounge chairs, Tom said his usual, “You better get the camera ready!” as he pointed in the direction of multiple Colobus Monkeys playfully swinging in the trees. I squealed with delight, putting my hand over my mouth to avoid disturbing them.

Finally, she was ready for a photo, not hesitating to make eye contact.

Although used to seeing humans in this busy resort, they are not willing to allow anyone to get too close including familiar staff members. With strict rules to avoid feeding them due to biting risks and to maintain their natural foraging instincts, they remain wild animals, not domesticated playthings intended to entertain tourists.

Early this morning as we left our cottage for breakfast in the main restaurant.

Keeping this in mind as we’ve learned, I kept my distance, gingerly stealing close enough to take these shots.  They didn’t seem to mind at all but refused to be complacent by giving me more than I deserved of their time. 

Our time here at The Sands at Nomad Resort is heavenly; the service, impeccable; the food, divine; the scenery, breathtaking; and the ocean, constantly changing colors, tides, waves, and winds, our eyes affixed to its mysterious wonder.

A sunny view from our veranda to the sea.

Three days will go quickly, but leaving here will not be filled with “end of vacation dread.” Our mail is handled, our bills are paid, our house is clean. After a 10 minute trip to the produce stand, we’ll be stocked with food for another week, having planned well in advance. 

A morning view of our tucked away ocean cottage.

Our two little temporary dogs, Jessie and Gucci, will be waiting for us and once again in no time, we’ll be settled in,  finding contentment wherever we may be for our last month in Kenya.

Thank you, Colobus Monkey! Now I can go back to my search for the Dung Beetle!

This cat came to visit today as we sat on the veranda of our beach cottage.

We’re on vacation!…Come see…More wildlife photos tomorrow…Lucky on our first day on “vacation” for excellent close ups…

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Within the first half-hour in our cottage, unpacked, dressed in our swimsuits, this guy stopped by for a visit outside the window of our indoor living room.
Most likely she/he, a possible Sykes Monkey knows there is a welcome fruit plate given to new guests.  Giving food to the monkeys is a bad idea, reducing their interest in foraging for their own food, which is plentiful here. We had no trouble resisting the temptation.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve visited many of the resorts in Diani Beach hoping to find the perfect spot for our three-day one year anniversary of leaving our old life behind to embark on a new life traveling the world. 

Tom spotted this monkey outside the window.  I couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. Surprisingly, he didn’t move when he saw me.  Apparently, they have become used to humans at the resorts.
Look at her/him looking for our fruit plate!

Carrying the love and support of those we left behind with us, we’ve found this experience to be a bounty of learning experiences, life-changing lessons, all enriched with endless surprises.

When we arrived at The Sands at Nomad Resort, we were welcomed with flower leis and orange mango juice. (I politely declined, but Tom enjoyed his).

This morning, after moving into a private beach cottage on the beach of the Indian Ocean at The Sands at Nomad, we knew we’d selected the resort that most fulfills our desires for this special celebration.

This pool bar is open 24-hours a day for the middle of the night drinkers.
The sun so close to the equator is scorching. We spent 2 hours by the pool with only 20 minutes in the sun. The remainder of the time it was comfortable in the padded lounge chairs under the shade of a giant umbrella.

We were heartily welcomed to out beach hut.
The window to our view of the ocean.  We’ll take a better shot soon with less of a glare.
The bathroom is well-equipped with plenty of towels, toiletries, robes, and a bidet, of course.
Our new living area with comfortable furniture and a TV!
Side view window of the living area.

Our plans for our three-night stay is simple; relax, walk the beach, lounge at the pool where there are many shaded areas, take scenery, food, and wildlife photos, stay cool in AC from time to time, dine in the fabulous outdoor restaurants, meet new people, and celebrate the first year of our “stepping outside the box” to explore countries we’d never dreamed possible.

This is the beach in front of our cottage.
The varying shades of blue of the ocean and the sky make a colorful contrast. This photo was taken as the tide was going out.
Tom, catching a few rays in the scorching sun. Not too much though. We’ve seldom lounged in the sun these past 5 months for our former “usual one hour” since arriving in Italy on June 16th due to the bees and flies. In Kenya, the only sunny areas are directly on the grass where the likelihood of a bee sting is greater. (Both of us are seriously allergic to hornets, certain bees and, wasps. A bite can be life-threatening which surely attributes to my skittishness of being around biting insects. More than once I’ve been rushed to an emergency room as a result of a sting. Tom’s only been stung once, but also had to go to a hospital for treatment. Thus, our excessive caution).
Every so often, we look at one another and say, “Can you believe we are in Kenya?’ We shake our heads and smile, never taking our current location for granted.
Lounge, with WiFi and a reading area. The WiFi is actually high-speed at no charge which we found to be the best connection we’ve had in Kenya thus far. Thank you, The Sands at Nomad.

Tom’s retirement party was a year ago…Photos…Problematic ATMs in Kenya…Suggested reading for the medically curious…

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This photo was taken the night of Tom’s retirement party on October 27, 2012. At this point, we only used our smartphones to take photos. Little did we know at that time, how much would change, how much we would change, how important clear photos would mean to us, and how much we had ahead of us.   How does one unload their entire lives and travel the world for years to come?  Now we know.

Tom’s retirement party was a year agoIts hard to believe. We so appreciated all the wonderful friends and family that joined us for a highly memorable event. 

A special thanks to daughter-in-law Camille for all of her hard work at the party while I was busy trying to communicate with guests after losing my voice and still feeling poorly.

Here’s the link from the post for the night of the retirement party if you’ve never read it or would like to see it again.

This was the cake I had made for the party by an amazing cake decorator, surprisingly edible, depicting Tom’s 42 years on the railroad and our plan to travel together to see the world. Little did we know what adventures were yet to come. Little did we know how happy we would be.


When traveling for the usual vacation periods of one or two weeks, most tourists have little need to go to an ATM during their stay other than to use it to exchange a small amount of the local currency required for locally-owned standalone restaurants, tips, and taxi fare (always paid in cash in Kenya). 

With the universal acceptance of credit cards worldwide and preparedness with some cash from their home location, there is little need for additional cash during their stay other than those listed above.

Many resorts and hotels, especially the larger chains, may accept certain forms of currency. From our experience, overall, they prefer the use of credit cards. On occasion, as in the case of dinner a few nights ago, the restaurant didn’t accept any form of cash. We’ll see more and more of this in the future with the growing amounts of counterfeit money and also, the risk of theft from cash drawers.

However, in Kenya, we’ve found we frequently need to use cash, Kenya Shillings (Ksh or KES), to pay for many services. Most assuredly, this is a result of our long three-month stay. For security reasons, we’ve chosen to visit an ATM more frequently rather than carry large sums of cash with us.

At a cost of US $5 per transaction charged by our bank, we felt the security aspect has well been worth the added expense, totally approximately US $50 over the three-month period, a small price to pay for the security of carrying lesser amounts of cash at any given time. It’s important to determine the fees one’s bank charges in foreign countries (as well as in one’s home country!).

The issue we’ve experienced, not uncommon worldwide, is finding an ATM that:

a.  Works
b.  Is located in a generally safe, well lighted public area
c.  That doesn’t have “hidden” charges

In Kenya, we’ve been able to easily determine “b” and “c.”  But, “a” has been tricky, as in the case last night on our way to dinner.

With our upcoming mini-vacation beginning on Tuesday, we knew we’d need more cash for the many tips for service personnel which may not be added to credit card charge slips in Kenya. Whether it’s a waiter for dinner, a bartender, a hotel valet or maid, or a guide, cash is the only method of payment.

On our way out to dinner last night, we asked Alfred to drive us to an ATM we’d never visited in the past, less of a drive from the resort we were visiting for dinner hoping to save a little on cab fare and driving time.

Knowing full well that there was absolutely no reason our cash request would be denied, we still approached the machine with a degree of hesitation; the location wasn’t ideal and, would the machine work?

Entering Tom’s card, we hesitated. When it promptly kicked out the card but still proceeded with a request for the PIN and desired amount of cash, we became worried. It began the processing including the rifling sound of money dropping down, but none was in the slot. With our hearts pounding, we waited.

Moments later, a receipt popped out, saying “transaction incomplete.”  We left, asking Alfred to take us to our usual ATM near the Nakumatt Grocery at the local Barclay’s Bank, a known reliable ATM. Once there, we received our desired amount of cash without incident, and moments later, we were heading in the direction toward our reservation.

Had a new tourist had such an incident, they may have assumed that none of the ATMs would work (or that something was wrong with their card), although it clearly stated that our type of card was accepted. If this resulted in an inside visit to a bank, the fees would have been considerably higher, both in exchange rates and service fees.

Thus, it certainly is worthwhile for tourists to have a “backup plan,” in this case another cash machine location. Also, it would be wise to try an ATM directly at a bank that is open, should anything go wrong.  In our case, it was Saturday evening at 6:00 pm. The bank had been closed since noon.

We’d found this link for local ATMs but didn’t choose to take the time or expense of taxi fare to try more of them.

With our ready cash in hand, tomorrow we’ll pack the same duffel bag for me and the same carry on bag for Tom that we used to go on safari, although this time, our mini-vacation won’t require safari boots and BugsAway clothing. Tuesday morning by 10:00 am we’ll be off, sharing photos and stories each day.

It’s with no disappointment that we’re not embarking on another safari at this time, keeping in mind that life will be comparable to one long safari when we move to Marloth Park/Kruger Park, South Africa where we’ll live for another three months while many animals will visit us at our new home at the rather remote location and we can take daily game drives at will.

We’ve made a point to continue to enjoy every remaining moment of our remaining 34 days in Kenya, as we lounge in our outdoor living room on another sunny, hot, humid day with the precious little dogs, Jessie and Gucci at our feet, the birds singing, the monkeys occasionally swinging through the trees and bugs nipping at our bare feet. Life is good.
_________________________________________

P.S. A few of our readers have asked that we share photos and recipes of meals befitting my diet. For dinner this evening, we’re making one of our favorite dinners, Coconut Crusted Parmesan Chicken. Tomorrow, we’ll post the recipe and photos of our meal.

Also, I downloaded yet another excellent book detailing the medical research that has been discovered over a period of many years as to why my diet is so highly instrumental in vastly improving health (and coincidentally, weight issues) in many ways including preventing and possibility being instrumental in healing brain deterioration (dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease).

The book is entitled:  “Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar – Your Brain’s Silent Killers” by Dr. David Perlmutter, a renowned neurologist, and researcher. As I read this book,  I’m beginning to understand why my memory has also improved 100% in the past few years since adopting this way of eating. Interesting.

Hawaii here we come!!!…New Big Island, Hawaii house photos to share…

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Aerial view of home (middle house).

Aerial view of both houses we’ve rented in Big Island Hawaii. The larger gray roof is the second house we booked the day we left for safari, putting our minds at ease.

Here is the link to this listing on the Homeaway website for pricing, more photos, and additional details. Once we are in the house, we’ll post additional photos.

Leaving Minnesota, after a lifetime for Tom and 42 years for me, was hard for only one reason, leaving family and friends behind.

We don’t miss the snow, the cold, the erratic weather in summers, the power outages from storms, the mosquitoes, or the traffic. We don’t miss house maintenance; snow blowing, house cleaning, window washing, or leaky basements.

Tom doesn’t miss pulling out all of the heavy lawn furniture from the garage in the spring or putting it back in the fall or hauling the dock into the lake in the spring and taking it out in the fall or, constantly making repairs (he was diligent and an expert at all of this).

We don’t miss cable TV problems, huge heating and electric bills (we pay no utilities in vacation homes), enormous property taxes, or paying over $500 a month for a car, house and umbrella insurance. We don’t miss car payments, maintenance, and gasoline expenses.  Nope.  None of that.

The first of the two houses that we booked over a year ago.

Panoramic view from the living room.

 We’ll stay in this house by ourselves until we move over to the other house on December 20, 2014, returning back here from January 3, until January 15, 2015

Here’s the link to this listing on the Homeaway website for pricing, more photos, and additional details on this house that we booked over a year ago. Once we are situated in the houses, we’ll post additional photos

Surprisingly, I don’t miss the endless cooking for entertaining guests; the hours of shopping, the hours standing in the kitchen, a menu in hand while cooking often printed on pretty paper to be placed at each guest’s elaborate place setting, for a multi-course gourmet meal, at the time lovingly prepared, now so far from my reality that it’s all but a distant memory. Nope. None of that either. 

We miss the people.  Period.  The people.  Our family.  Our friends.  We chose missing them to be free of angst or sorrow, instead, a simple fact, a warm memory of their faces, their laughs, their smiles.

In December 2014, a mere one year, one month, and 28 days from today we’ll see our grown kids, their spouses, and our grandchildren once again. Comparing it to the period we’ve been gone from Minnesota (it will be 1 year, in 9 days from today), it will be here in no time at all. 

But, when we think of all we’ve done in the past year, the countries we’ve visited, the places we’ve lived, the sites we’ve seen, the 8 cruises we’ve taken, and the people we’ve met, it seems much longer.

With the size of our group, 13 of them, we decided that we needed to rent 2 houses, not one. Coincidentally, (similar to our safari good luck) we found 2 houses next door to one another, one we’d booked over a year ago and the other on the day we left for safari on October 5, 2013, paying the deposit, wrapping up the details. The luck of finding this scenario of 2 separately owned houses, directly next door to one another, is uncanny.

Over a year ago, we shared the photos of the first house we’ve booked.  As time moved on and more and more of our family members were able to arrange time off work during Christmas 2014, we came to the conclusion that one house wouldn’t be big enough. 

A month ago, after they all discovered they could in fact come to Hawaii, the search began.  Go figure.  We stumbled on the house next door, available during that same two week period. Tom and I and a few of the adults will be in one house, the remainder in the other house.  It will all work. 

Covering the expense of airfare, one car, and groceries on one house had been an expense we’d entered into our budget long ago.  Now, the budget has been revised for the 2nd house, the 2nd car, and the added groceries. The kids will cover their own baggage fees, activities, excursions, sightseeing, and dining out costs.  It will work out well for all of us.

Today, for comparison purposes, we’re including photos of both houses, including an aerial view of both.

As it turns out, our cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii arrives in Honolulu on October 5, 2014, less than a year from now, where we plan to stay for no less than one week in order to visit the local sites including Pearl Harbor.  

On December 1, 2014, we’ll be moving into the 1st of the 2 houses. We have yet to book the week in Honolulu or the remaining 50 days between finishing up the week in Honolulu and moving into the Big Island house on our own.

With each of our own WiFi devices up and running with no less than 25 gigs of remaining data until we need to purchase more, we have the necessary data to begin searching for that time period. “Searching” uses tons of data due to the tremendous number of photos popping up on the various vacation rental websites.

Also, having completed the time-intensive process of logging and posting all of our safari photos and stories we now have more available time to begin the search. We’re almost ready to begin.

Sure, we don’t have maintenance, snow blowing, yard work, or window washing. But all of that has been replaced by a litany of responsibilities for constantly logging our expenses, budgeting for the future, booking for the future, searching, searching and more searching. 

The difference? We like searching for more than blowing snow and washing windows and, more than anything, we love living in other people’s houses all over the world. 

Life continues on after safari…Tom gets a haircut…What is making noise upstairs in the house?…

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This is what I heard flying around in the 2nd story of the house, hard to access with a narrow steep winding staircase.

The afternoon after returning from safari, I told Tom I heard a peculiar noise emanating from the second floor of our Diani Beach house. Going partway up the steps he looked around, dismissing my concern, saying “I don’t see anything.”

A short time later, I heard it again, insisting we climb the treacherous stairs and check it out, taking the camera with me. Little did I suspect, we’d get this shot of an owl which could easily have been trapped since we’d been on safari.

Hesborn managed to steer it outdoors much to our relief. Who knows how long this owl had gone without food or water?  In any case, we were thrilled to be able to capture its beautiful plumage that looked like a short sleeve shirt Tom used to have in his closet.

The moon is a crescent on the bottom portion when this close to the equator. Who would have ever thought of this?  No, so far we haven’t seen the toilet flush in the opposite direction as it does in the US.  We took this photo on October 9th.

It’s a tough act to follow, those 13 posts with photos of our safari. In a funny way, writing about it all these days seemed to extend the safari time for us as, day after day, as we relived our varied experiences.

Diners at Madafoo, as well as most other resort properties are welcomed to sit outside, near the beach and in some cases at their pool. 

After considerable feedback from email and comments, we are filled with joy for the experience we’ve been able to share. Thanks to all of our friends, family, and readers from all over the world for “traveling along with us” adding to this special experience.

While we sat near the ocean at Madafoo’s a few vendors approached us, relentlessly trying to encourage us to make a purchase. Watching the windsurfers was fun but seemed more befitting the younger crowd. We only observed one person possibly over 40 partaking in this activity.

The story of life in Kenya continues on…

It’s Spring in Kenya now with the seasons the opposite of that in the US.  The subtle increase in temperature each day, oddly, is obvious to us, as we continue to live outdoors for 16 hours a day.  The rainy season has passed. Hopefully, a dryer climate will bring less humidity and fewer bugs.

We can see Tom’s head right after his haircut when I cut his head off in this shot.

Returning to our house in Diani Beach gave us a renewed sense of how much we need to get out more often during our remaining 6 weeks until leaving for South Africa.  With few nearby activities suitable for use with our bad shoulders, our obvious choice is to get as close to the beach as often as possible, which is literally across the street from our compound, albeit a long walk down a long narrow path we’d shown in an earlier post.

Madafoo’s is known for what they call “Kite Surfing.”  In checking out a nearby sign, it appeared the cost to rent the equipment was approximate, US $100 per hour. Lessons were less.

We decided that the solution is to visit the many fabulous resorts on the ocean earlier in the daylight hours rather than wait until darkness while still booking a reservation for 7:00 or 7:30 pm.  Hanging out for a few hours, taking photos, relaxing in their lounge chairs is exactly what we need. 

Reviewing our budget we’ve determined that we can easily visit three or four times per week. The cost of the cab plus food, drinks, and tips rarely exceed US$60 when ordering any main course off the menu. With our remaining budget of US$200 per week for entertainment and dining out, this is a no brainer.

Most of the resorts have resident dogs that keep an eye out for strangers approaching. The more upscale resorts/restaurants we’ve been visiting also have guards on the beach day and night.  These dogs are well fed and friendly to customers.  This guy looks like he’s been getting plenty of bites of food from diners.

We’d hoped that Madafoo’s bar and restaurant would fill this bill. Although their prices are lowest in the area plus they have free WiFi, we’ve found their food not quite working for my restrictive diet and, compared to other resorts. During daylight hours they have almost as many flies as we found at the Kenya Tanzania border.

Oh, heck, I’ll admit it, as you know, I’m not big on any bugs. Who is? Flies bite me leaving a swollen itchy mess for days. Let’s face it, we’ve been chasing scary biting insects away since the “no-see-ums” when we lived in Belize starting at the end of last January. 

As the sun went down at Madafoo’s, we enjoyed the views.

After arriving at our house in South Africa, we’ll have a reprieve with screens on all the windows, an indoor living room, and air conditioning which we’ll use from time to time. Surely, we’ll lounge outdoors by the pool most days watching the animals that will visit the house. But, when we need a break we’ll have the option of cooling off indoors while escaping the flying, crawling, walking, and slithering things that are also in abundance in both Marloth and Kruger Parks.

The first night we returned from the safari, Alfred, our taxi guy, delivered us to Madafoo’s for a light dinner and WiFi around 6:00 pm. Still wearing my now clean BugsAway clothing and hat, literally not a fly or mosquito bothered me as the sun soon went down.

The sunbathers left as the sun began to set and we moved to the restaurant for dinner,

After that positive experience, we decided to try it again this past week, this time wearing shorts and tee shirts, with me covered in repellent only to be bombarded with flies during the daylight.  The ocean was exquisite.  Watching the windsurfing was mesmerizing but batting off the flies caused us to decide we couldn’t return during daylight hours.  Once it was dark, the flies disappeared while the mosquitoes replaced them.

This adorable guy, a part-time resort resident belonging to one of the windsurfing trainers, hung around with us during our dinner looking for morsels.  Once we gave him several bites and he saw our plates were clean, he moved over to the table of other diners with full plates. 

Madafoo’s serves food all day as well as in the evenings. The constant flow of food attracts flies and mosquitoes. Many of the finer resorts only serve meals at certain times perhaps reducing the fly and mosquito population. Considering this fact,  plus my food issues, we don’t plan to return to Madafoo’s, although it’s a great spot for many tourists as both a resort and a restaurant.

With all of our clothes washed and neatly folded by the Olonana staff, we quickly unpacked upon returning from Madafoo’s that evening. We were anxious to grocery shop the next day and, to begin the process of telling our safari story online as we began sorting through over 600 photos.

The moon at Madafoo’s second night we visited upon returning from the safari, then on October 15th, was almost full.

The next morning, on October 9th, I walked onto the grass to the clothesline in the back yard to hang up a few items. Apparently, during that short walk, something (which I didn’t see) crawled up the leg of my shorts, biting the upper inner part of my thigh, leaving a stinger in place.

After sterilizing our tweezers in boiling water, I was able to remove the stinger. Luckily, I didn’t have an allergic reaction requiring the use of the EpiPen or further medical care. It was hot, red, and swollen for a week during which time I iced it several times a day. Finally, the pain stopped leaving an ugly bruise which is still visible 10 days later. I would have taken a photo but most girls wouldn’t like to take a photo of their upper inner thigh and post it online.  Right?

There’s something magical about the moon. 

Tomorrow, we’ll explain why we returned the XCom Global Mifi to the US on Tuesday this week, and the WiFi system we’ve implemented savings us $100’s per month that may work for you also when traveling. Also, what was in the box of supplies that resulted in our paying DHL a US$458 shipping fee? Please stop back!
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Here’s Tom Kenya haircut at US $19.98 including tax and tip.

Tom, before the haircut.
Ibrahim is chatting with Tom during the haircut.
The business card from the salon.
Josephine chatted with me while we waited.  Alfred, our cab driver, waited in a salon chair reading a magazine waiting for Ibrahim to finish so we could be on our way. 
 Tom’s final result.  Now he doesn’t have to think about a haircut again until we’re living in South Africa.

The Maasai Village…Chief Richard…Rightfully proud of his village, his people…

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Chief Richard posed inside one of the houses with us.
With our flight leaving at 1:30 pm, we knew the only time we had available to visit the nearby Maasai Village was Tuesday morning. (Maasai is spelled with two “a’s” when referring to the tribespeople, with one “a” when referring to the Masai Mara)
Had we decided not to visit the village, we could have embarked on one more morning safari with Anderson.  Enthralled with the enormous number of animal sightings and the stories that followed, it was time to round out our Masai Mara experience, especially after several other guests suggested a visit to the village was definitely worthwhile.
The entrance to the Maasai Village sealed off at night when no tribespeople may leave. The danger of wild animals is high at night and the utmost security is implemented. These fences made of sticks and cow dung provide a barrier to deter the intrusion of mostly lions and elephants. Years past, the Maaasi were allowed to kill invading animals (using handmade spears the men carry at all times. Now with conservancy efforts by the government, killing any animals in the reserve is strictly prohibited. If invaded, Chief Richard must contact the rangers for assistance. As a result, he is the only villager required to carry a cell phone, neatly attached to his colorful clothing which he proudly showed off as the only modern convenience in the village.

The village was located less than a five-minute drive from the camp. We certainly could have walked deciding instead to accept the ride offered by Camp Olonana with our limited time frame, preferring to spend the time with Chief Richard.

Chief Richard warmly greeted us at the entrance to the village.

After a delicious breakfast, our first actual breakfast eaten at the lodge, we were ready to see the Maasai Village.  Almost completely packed, with our ride to the landing strip scheduled to depart at 1:00 pm, we’d left ourselves plenty of time to have a stress free departure, which is always our ultimate goal when moving from one location to another. 

One of Chief Richard’s two wives. Each wife has her own house, made by women only hands using cow dung and mud. The houses will last for 9 to 10 years before they begin to crumble. The tribe moves to a new location every 9 to 10 years, leaving behind all the houses, taking along all their household goods, livestock (cows and goats) and they begin building a village anew.
Conscientious Concierge Christine informed us during breakfast that our flight time had changed from 2:00 pm to 1:30 pm with no apparent bearing on our 1:00 pm departure from the camp. The landing strip was a 20-minute drive from Camp Olonana but we were stopping at a nearby resort to pick up our pilot, Edwin, who was having lunch and needed a ride. Oh.
The roofs of the homes are made by the women-only using cow dung, dirt, and grass. Stepping on cow dung is considered a sign of good luck and we were encouraged to do so as we wandered through the village. I decided to step on it as much as possible after hearing we’d be picking up our pilot for yet a smaller, single-engine plane ride back to Diani Beach. Apparently, it worked, right?

Anderson had hoped to be able to take us to the landing strip himself, rather than another staff member. This would require him to complete the morning safari on time. 

As we entered the village the wives of the warriors designated by two bands on their ankles as opposed to one band for single women, unmarried or widowed, waited to perform the ritual welcoming dance as Chief Richard familiarized us with their simple yet hardworking lifestyle.

We were hopeful, wanting to spend any last minutes with him going over our glorious safari. We had left a generous tip for him the prior evening in the event he wasn’t able to drive off to the landing strip. Of course, knowing Anderson, he doesn’t disappoint and at 1:00 pm he was helping us load our bags into the Land Cruiser.
As more guests from Camp Olonana arrived, the women and children waited patiently to begin their welcoming dance.
The children were included in the welcoming dance dressed in their finest colorful garb as we all waited for the other guests to arrive.
These dogs, staying awake at night to protect the village from invasions by elephants and lions, slept under the shade of a tree. The sun was hot. I also took refuge under the shade of this tree.
The villagers, appreciative of the visits from guests at various camps throughout the Masai Mara, in no manner, had “commercialized” their village in an attempt to make more money. Their net worth, Chief Richard explained is totally determined by the number of cows they own. When a guest asked how many cows they had, Chief Richard explained that they do not reveal the number any more readily than we’d disclose how much money we have in the “cash machine.”  (He was familiar with “cash machines” as opposed to an actual bank).
Chief Richard also waited for the remaining Camp Olonana guests to arrive in order to tell his story of life in the tribe.
Finally, the other guests had arrived. The tribeswomen gathered us into their “dance line” hoping we would chant and dance along with them.  Feeling a bit overheated, I hesitated to join in but Tom reminded me discretely that they may be offended if I didn’t. He grabbed a bottle of water for me. I took a big chug and joined in the line, later glad that I had.

When the ritual dance and chanting werecompleted, Chief Richard enthusiastically shared the story of his village, his life, and his people. 

Once hydrated and “beaded up” I actually enjoyed the ritual singing along in my usual awful voice, having never been able to carry a tune or in this case, a chant.

At present with two wives, he finds himself preparing to take a third wife, yet to be chosen, although his wedding plans are in motion. She must be from another tribe. His first marriage was arranged by his parents, his second wife chosen by his first wife and, he is allowed to pick his third wife. He was excited about this fact, chuckling and rolling his eyes in playful anticipation.

Upon sharing his marital status with us, he began asking the four women in our group as to how many family members, we have in our immediate families, including if applicable, how many husbands we’ve had.

The tribeswomen were anxious for us to attempt “mashing” the cow dung with the stick used for that purpose. Actually, I was adept at this task and the Maaasi women were pleased.

The larger the family, the more the women cheered. None other than me mentioned more than one husband.  When my turn to disclose arrived, I unabashedly stated that I’ve had three husbands, Tom is my best and last. 

A “street” in the Maasai village of 56 tribespeople from 4 families, was neat and orderly. The business of selling their jewelry generated from the nearby camps enabled them to purchase more cows which ultimately made life easier for them with the ready food supply.

That comment, “brought down the house” with laughter, cheering, and clapping in unison. The Maasai women are only allowed one husband, where the men may have multiple wives at any given time. I quickly chimed in, telling them that I didn’t have all 3 husbands at once. Again, they erupted in laughter as we all laughed along with them. Chief Richard explained that my multiple husbands made me special in their eyes.  Gee…finally someone thought that was cool.

Boys are circumcised at 15 years of age with no anesthetic. Their manhood is determined by their ability to withstand the pain of the cutting with the man-made tool.

Women were no longer subject to the barbaric ritual of “genital mutilation” for which the 4 women in our group clapped. So often we’d heard of this cruel ritual still practiced in many tribes worldwide. 

One of the most interesting facts Chief Richard shared with us was the Maasai diet which consists entirely of the following:
1.  Beef
2.  Beef blood, only from healthy cows
3.  Milk from cows and goats.

They consumed no fruit, no vegetables, no grains, no sugar, no processed foods in any form, subsisting on a low carb, gluten-free, sugar and starch free diet. Tom and my eyes darted to one another as we heard this.  

Fifty-five of the 56 members in the tribe were all slim and fit with the exception of Chief Richard’s big belly. We surmised he was either partaking in other foods in his dealings with the local safari camps or eating too much meat, milk and blood. Perhaps, it was expected that the chief is rotund as a sign of wealth. We didn’t ask.

Tom and I later chuckled about their diet. The only differences in my diet is the addition of non-starchy vegetables and the deletion of drinking blood and milk, neither of which I care to consume.

Chief Richard explained that his people live long lives, often over 100 years, although they didn’t celebrate a birthday and speculated on the age of an “elder”. Seldom did illness befall his people. If they did become ill, they were quick to use medicinal plants readily available in the area. Midwives aided in childbirth as well as the women providing support to one another during pregnancy and childbirth.

This is the area in which the cows are herded at the end of the day after grazing in the bush.

He stated that if a tribe member fell prey to animal attacks or an accident requiring medical care they would seek assistance from traditional medical care in the area. They value life, limb, and well being, not foolishly avoiding care in emergencies due to tradition.

We weren’t sure if this was the bathroom.
Chief Richard explained the quality of the work-women-ship (as opposed to workmanship) in the support system for the roof.
This is the bedroom where a husband with more than one wife will sleep with the family as he switches back and forth to houses. To signify his presence for the night, he leaves his spear outside the door at night. The round white circle to the right is a window, the only source of outside light for the two-room house other than the entrance. 
The kitchen where they cook the meat. With no means of refrigeration, meat is always cooked, never eaten raw. There are no accompaniments to the meals other than the blood and milk. They do not eat lunch, only meat, milk, and blood in the morning and again at dinner.
The door, which is closed at night offers light during the daylight hours.
The other guests often stated, “I don’t know how they can live like this.” In our travels this past year, we’ve seen more sparse lifestyles. The Maasai were happy people, full of life and laughter mixed with a bit of whimsy. They looked healthy as did their children. Their children were attending a local school, learning to speak English, often sent to universities to expand their education. In Diani Beach, we see many professional Maaasi people holding jobs and living a more traditional Kenyan lifestyle. They are recognizable by their colorful clothing and their kind and courteous demeanor. 
Women are forbidden to enter the tabernacle, a place or worship, and conducting tribe business. During a meeting, women may wait outside of the structure on their knees and may pose concerns and questions. They are forbidden from offering input for resolution. As we approached the tabernacle I stepped back to honor the traditional. Chief Richard invited me and the other women to enter along with the men in our group.  He explained, that as visitors, we were welcome to enter and take a seat.
The handmade ceiling of the tabernacle as well as the remaining structure was made by the men.  It didn’t include the use of cow dung.
This man could have been anyone we’d see out in the world, as opposed to being a Maasai warrior living in this small village of four families with 56 residents.
Chief Richard asked this young man to show us how quickly he’ll build a fire using only wood and straw. The participants on “Survivor” should pay attention to this simple method, actually requiring a second participant as the wood becomes hot quickly.
After only a few minutes of twisting the stick into the small hole in the piece of wood, there was smoke. There was no flint, only the two pieces of wood.
The addition of the straw quickly aided the few sparks to ignite.
Working the dry grass in his bare hands, facilitated the fire in igniting.
It’s a fire! Wow!
As our visit to the Maasai village came to an end, we were invited to visit the house with the beaded jewelry which we could purchase if we chose. There was no pressure to do so. 
Instead, we chose to give Chief Richard a donation as a thank you for his and his people’s willingness to share their village and the story of their lives with us, willingly and openly.
Without a doubt, the visit to the Maasai village rounded out our safari in an enriching manner, leaving us ready to return to our own simple life in Diani Beach, Kenya, with a smile we still can’t wipe off of our faces and a special memory in our hearts to remain with us forever.
Tomorrow, the final review on Camp Olonana and many photos we’ve yet to post. Hope to see you back!

Writing comments…Please do…

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To the right, is Hesborn’s quarters where he lives until Saturdays at noon, returning early on Monday mornings.He boards the local matatu, a rickety old van bus service in order to visit his family in Mombasa. The 2-hour drive and ferry ride to Mombasa is Kenya Shillings $400, US $4.58 round trip, often breaks down en route. Although Hesborn is gone, we continue to have security on-site around the clock, as is always the case, 7 days a week.  

When we began writing this blog in March 2012, our intent was to keep a diary of our travel experiences to share with our family members and friends.  At any time they could type in our web address: www.worldwidewaftage.com to see what we’re doing today.  Today’s post is #411. We’ve been gone for almost a year!

The locked and guarded gate to ours and Jeri and Hans’ house.

After a few weeks of posting about the process of a retired couple planning to travel the world for years to come and the endless preparations, we discovered much to our surprise, that readers were reading our posts from all over the world, now at almost 100,000 and growing rapidly.

As readership continued to grow worldwide, we added advertisers to offset the continuing costs of maintaining a website and registered Worldwide Waftage as a business, enabling us a few benefits from time to time.  Now, we’ve found we’re able to receive small discounts on occasion as “travel writers.” 

As you can see, we often write reviews for places we’ve stayed, visited, and restaurants.

It makes sense with the tremendous amount of vegetation around us, that mosquitoes are impossible. With intermittent rains, the mosquito population continually thrives.

Only a handful of readers has signed up to receive the automatic email as shown on the right side of the page. These are a few folks who’d prefer to get the most recent post in an email, rather than go to their bookmark each day. Many prefer not to receive an additional email which is entirely up to you. 

Since the most recent post doesn’t usually arrive by email until the day after posting, many prefer not to sign up to receive it. Creating a bookmark is easy, allowing the reader to look for it within a minute of my posting it. Tom and I have tested this and it’s almost instantaneous. Either way you prefer is fine with us.

These pods are fascinating.  They look like pea pods but no one seems to know if they’re edible.  To be safe, we won’t use them in a stir fry.

Never, at any time will we take away the personal nature of our postings. After all, it’s very personal to us, often sharing the most minute details of our daily lives, our thoughts, our difficulties, and our dreams for the future. 

Yesterday, our post held a special meaning for us. Two of our regular readers, both of whom have posted comments at the end of posts in the past, both posted comments yesterday. 

Each of their observations meant so much to us. If you’ll go back to the post from yesterday, September 27th, you can read their much-appreciated comments and our response at the end of the post: Click here please and scroll to the end of that post.

These were often seen in pots in the US.  Here they are almost the size of a tree.

We encourage you to comment.  If you agree or disagree with us, if you have suggestions for us, if you have warnings for us, or if you simply want to say “hi,” share a recipe, share a travel experience or for that matter, share any experience, we’d love to hear from you.

We publish and respond to every comment we receive except those of a pornographic nature, those that may offend others for any reason, or those that are promoting unrelated websites that serve no use to our readers.  This will never be a place where we’ll “hound” our readers to buy something. 

Away from our family and friends, which may prove to be for extended periods, we have few interactions each day except with one another, while living in many remote areas.  Our world is not only that which surrounds us each day, but is also, every one of YOU.

If you don’t travel or can’t think of anything to say, tell us about a new TV show or movie we should download, or the weather where you live, or if nothing else, tell us your mindless drivel as we tell you ours almost each and every day.

We’ll be back tomorrow with photos of our outing tonight.  See you soon!

Part 2…The surf, the sand, walking the beach along of the Indian Ocean…Its all good…

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This is where we’ll lounge in the chaises at Madafoo’s in a guarded area, overlooking the Indian Ocean each Wednesday going forward. If it rains, we’ll either wait until it stops or go the next day.

It’s Friday morning. The sun is shining. The temperature is currently 82F, 28C the humidity is about 75%. There’s a slight breeze. If we listen carefully, we can hear the singing of no less than 10 bird species, many with what have become familiar “tunes.” 

This appealing view enticed us to make Madafoo’s a regular spot to visit.

The goats in the yard are silent at the moment soon to begin their intermittent “baaing,” pleasing to our ears. A few days ago, the mom goat, jumped over the stone wall, running around the neighborhood. With the homes enclosed by the tall security gates and walls, she’d be found. Hesborn searched, finding her a few hours later. While she was gone, the baby goats cried constantly, loudly, persistently. We couldn’t help but laugh.

A nearby rooster crows throughout the day, not only in the morning. The doves don’t start their cooing until after 1:00 pm, continuing until dusk.

The swing that visitors are welcome to use.  Guards hovered in this area patrolling both the resort and the beach. 

The bottoms of our feet aren’t black anymore. The mosquitoes seldom bite me now with my scheduled application of the non-toxic lotion and BugsAway clothing at night. The giant black wasp continues to visit several times a day. But we don’t nervously move away, instead, keeping an eye on it until it flies away. It always does.

A birthday cake and the traditional song were presented by the staff at Madafoo’s to celebrate a patron’s birthday.

We’re managing our meals with limited ingredients, accepting that there will be repeats almost every week The ice cube bin is kept full by our frequent emptying and refilling of the tiny trays, one of which is ours, that freeze quickly in the miniature freezer. I’ve become used to drinking homemade ice tea and Tom has been drinking plain bottled water since the Crystal Light ran out weeks ago.

Leaving Madafoo’s for the long trek home, we took a photo of their sign where many visitors come to rent surfboards, arrange for para-sailing and other water activities.

With no TV, there’s no news running in the background keeping us aware of US and world events. With data limitations, we aren’t able to stream radio to stay informed. Instead, we read news articles online.  

Stepping onto the beach, we were ready to tackle the soft sand for the long trek back.

With Hesborn only doing laundry once a week, we manage our clothing by hand washing anything we may need. It takes two days to dry. We re-use our bath towels, hanging them to dry, finding them still damp the next day, only to use them one more time to reduce moldy wet laundry.

The cleanliness of the uncluttered beach made us feel as one would if taking the first human step onto an uninhabited island. 
The local fisherman, working in the sea to earn a living, catching fish they sell to the restaurants.

Next week, we’ll have been in Kenya for a full month. We’ve adapted. Finally. So we’ll carry on, enjoying each day as it comes, striving to live in the moment when not required to plan for the future. It’s all good. 

Once again we were walking on the long pathway from the sea.
This pod baffled us. Any ideas as to what this is?
Back to our entrance, we were grateful for our time away. But we were also glad to return to strip down to our bathing suits, drink more water, and relax after the long strenuous walk in the heat. Of course, I couldn’t wait to download the photos to see how they came out!