Did we come to Minnesota only to be disappointed?…

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MINNEAPOLIS – JUNE 14: The Spoonbridge and Cherry at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on June 14, 2014, in Minneapolis, MN. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country. Not our photo.

We were hoping to see family tonight. But when, yesterday morning, DIL Camille wrote that grandson Miles tested positive for Covid-19, we knew that wasn’t possible. Sure, we may not be contagious anymore. But, there is too much unknown data about contracting one variant after another.

Miles was infected here in Minnesota. We were infected on the cruise. Is there a chance we could become infected with a different variant? After doing considerable research, it’s unlikely but…it is possible. Also, are we contagious after testing negative three days in a row, over a week ago? Probably not.

My cough is considerably better, and I no longer need cough medicine. But, our big concern is the residual coughing from which both of us are suffering after most of the other Omicron symptoms have dissipated. Could it be contagious and only provide added risk for our family members? But not Tom. He is still sick.

We had a plan to meet up with Tom’s siblings on Friday, but now we won’t. Since Omicron variants are causing many infections in Minnesota.  We’d feel terrible if one of his siblings became ill after being around us. Is it best to stay away? We aren’t sure.

Yes, we’ve stayed in enough hotel rooms in the past few years. Besides, Tom isn’t up to going out right now and the long drive to Anoka, 40 minutes from our hotel. Instead, we stay hunkered down in ongoing isolation, reminiscent of bygone days in India in 2020.

Last night, we ordered enough dinner for two nights, so we won’t have to head out this evening during rush hour. We ordered online from Jimmy John’s, where they make the delicious “unwich,” the large subway-type sandwiches we love using large romaine lettuce leaves instead of bread. As previously mentioned in past posts, we often make these tasty sandwiches when we have access to quality gluten-free meats.

You may ask, why don’t we use a delivery service? We recently used England’s Deliveroo food delivery service when we didn’t have a car. But the hassle of waiting for the delivery outside the hotel in the cold was annoying, and each time the food and delivery were different.

When you’re sick and have an appetite as we have, the big highlight of the day is the next meal. Here, with a rental car, it’s easier to order our food online, inspect it when it’s ready, and then be on our way. Tonight will be a breeze.

This morning, we went to Walgreen’s pharmacy to get Tom more cough medicine and mentholated cough drops. We’d purchased several bags of sugar-free cough drops, but none were mentholated, which seems to be more helpful. Also, we bought daytime cough medicine, which is supposed to last for 12 hours. We’ll see how that goes.

It’s interesting to observe how pharmacists are less helpful in the US than in South Africa. In the US, liability is a huge concern for pharmacists (and other medical professionals), so they are less inclined to be aggressive with their suggestions. Mostly, their answers to questions are vague.

We’ve purchased many medications in other countries not requiring a doctor’s prescription. That’s not the case here. The pharmacists we use in Komatipoort are incredibly straightforward with their suggestions and don’t hesitate to “prescribe” what they think is safe and suitable for the patient.

Our current dilemma is: Will we be able to see family while we’re here? The answer is uncertain. Ultimately, our visit to the US may prove pointless if we cannot see those we love.

We apologize for the lack of photos. We’re hardly in a position to be taking photos right now.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 5, 2021:

Wildebeest Willie, whom we later renamed Broken Horn, became a regular visitor, stopping by a few times each day. For more photos, please click here.

We haven’t seen family yet…Waiting for our coughing to improve…

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During Minneapois’s Winter Carnival, ice sculptures are made and on display by talented artists. It’s quite a sight to see.

It’s still cool here. Since we arrived on Sunday, it hasn’t topped 60F, 15.6C, but today may be the exception. We didn’t bring cold-weather clothing, other than lightweight jackets and hoodie sweatshirts for each of us. Usually, in May, the weather warms up in Minnesota. But the summers are short here, mainly from June to August when it starts cooling down.

The summer can be sweltering, and in case you haven’t heard, the joke is the mosquito is Minnesota’s state bird. They are worse here than they ever were in Africa. Fortunately, malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses are not as prevalent as they are in Africa.

Once it warms up, in our old lives, we always turned on our whole house, central air conditioning, generally keeping it on day and night until mid-August when it would cool down. The aircon kept the mozzies at bay since they don’t thrive in air conditioning. Also, the inflammation from the bites doesn’t last as long as they do in Africa.

When we return to South Africa in 18 days, the mozzies will be considerably less bothersome with winter starting on June 21. The temperature and humidity drop and the mozzies disappear, at least for a few months anyway. We particularly love winter in the bush with milder temps, fewer insects, and less of a presence of snakes. Snakes tend to stay undercover in cool weather.

But, like Minnesota’s short summers, South Africa has short winters, and only a few months later, all of the above-mentioned return with a fury…heat, humidity, insects, and snakes. Then again, these very aspects of life in the bush make it all the more unusual and interesting.

Am I sounding as if I’m missing it? Without being able to see family yet due to our ongoing symptoms, it’s easy for my mind to wander back to where we feel most at “home.” No, we never plan to live there permanently, but for now, with all the Covid-19 restrictions still impacting word travel for nomads like us, it’s the place where we can enjoy ourselves the most with our human and animal friends.

Since we don’t yet feel comfortable dining in a restaurant with all of our coughing, last night we headed to the Cub Foods market for a few items, such as laundry soap, bar soap, cough drops, and of course, Tom’s favorite plain old-fashioned cake doughnuts which he loves with his coffee in the morning.

I purchased a pint container of guacamole to add atop my chopped hard-boiled eggs from the hotel’s included breakfast, which is basically a continental breakfast. The hard-boiled eggs are the only item I can eat based on my diet. Tom goes to  breakfast early and brings the eggs back to me in our room, along with a very good cup of decaf coffee. It works for us.

After the stop at Cub Foods, we headed to Wendy’s, which Tom wanted, and again to Chipotle for me. Back at the hotel, we sat on the bed with our food on our laps with towels protecting the bed and watched an episode of Shark Tank. After eating, we watched, This is Us, and finally, another episode of the new miniseries on Amazon Prime, The Offer, which is about the making of the movie, The Godfather. Very entertaining.

At about 10:00 pm, I started watching “Out of Africa” on the TV, staying awake until after 11:30 when it ended. I’ve seen the movie no less than ten times but enjoy it on each occasion. No, it’s not authentic in many ways but still provides some thrills about Africa.

Years ago, I wrote a story about this movie in a post when we’d seen the movie again and discovered very little of the movie was filmed in Africa. Instead, it was made in a studio in Hollywood. We watched it, again at that particular time as a “movie in the bush” outdoors, amid the wildlife in Maroth Park in 2013. Here’s our story about that here.

That’s all for today, dear readers. It’s crazy being here and unable to see them. Hopefully, we’ll be improved enough to start seeing family members by tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 4, 2021:

Check out Torn Ear’s horns covered in mud. He may have been showing off his digging skills for the females during the rutting season. For more photos, please click here.

We’re on the move…USA, here we come…

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A children’s play area in the Azores during the cruise.

Whew! It’s been a tough last ten days since we first tested positive for Covid-19. It’s been quite an ordeal. After testing negative two days in a row, we’re ready to be on our way. We are still experiencing symptoms of the virus with severe coughing and my red, bloodshot eyes, but we are hopeful that we will continue to improve as each day passes.

We didn’t intend to whine so much in our posts, but we’ve always promised to “tell it like it is” rather than paint a fluffy picture with an exaggerated version of optimism. Sure, it could have been worse. But, as they say, “everything is relative” to our situation at any given time.

Certainly, this hasn’t been the worst health challenge we’ve faced in the past 9½ years. But, it plays a close second considering the uncertainty of where this dreadful virus would take us. We could barely get out of bed for a few days with worsening symptoms. But by the seventh day, we became hopeful, as the worst of it felt as if it was over.

The added symptom of my grossly irritated eyes was a setback. But today, it’s better, and I am confident this symptom will dissipate before too long. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be able to go to a pharmacy in Minnesota to get Nyquil cough medicine, cough drops, and eye drops, all of which should help us feel better.

We can’t wait to get situated in the hotel in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, close to many restaurants and markets with items we need and want. Hopefully, the two weeks we’ll spend there will allow us to fully recover before we head to Nevada two weeks from today.

Before we headed to breakfast in the hotel, we packed everything, weighed our bags, and prepped for the shuttle leaving for Gatwick Airport at 9:52 am, a half-hour from now.  Thus, today’s post is short and to the point.

We only have 11 hours of travel time to arrive in the US, which is nothing compared to other fights we experience from time to time. By the time we arrive, it will be midnight for us but only 6:30 pm Minnesota time. In our usual attempt to maintain a schedule commensurate with our location at the time, most likely, we’ll check in to the hotel, drop off our bags and head out to dinner if we’re hungry.

We’ll be back with you tomorrow! Thanks for all the supportive comments from so many readers, including Janet, who wrote with assurances about Icelandair. We’re good to go.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 1, 2021:

This female arrived in the bush in our garden, sitting a short distance away, an example of a subtle and gentle approach to the rutting season. For more photos, please click here.

Pleasant drive to London Gatwick…Finger crossed, hoping to head to the US in 48 hours…

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I forgot to post this photo of Tom sunning by the pool at friends Karen and Rich’s home in Apollo Beach, Florida while we wait for our cruise to Southampton.

Yesterday morning, promptly at 11:00 am, the driver, AJ Shafik from Aero Taxis, arrived at our Southampton Hotel. I was dreading the long drive based on how we were still feeling, But our driver was a delightful, conversationalist, and competent that the 90 minutes flew by in a blur.

If you are coming to Southampton, London, or anywhere in between, this is the person/company to call. He can be reached at:
Aero Taxis Southampton Ltd iPhone
Mr. AJ Shafik
Company Director
Phone: 44 02380 010203, Email: aj.shafik@aerotaxis.co.uk

We are always delighted to share information regarding service providers we encounter throughout the world, and this was no exception.

Once we arrived at the Marriott Hotel, around 12:45 pm, we’d anticipated we’d have to wait a while to be provided access to our room. It was quite a relief when our room was ready as Tom hauled our bags up one level to our room. We only had to access a few of our bags for toiletries and clothes to get us through the next few days.

Immediately, Tom made a batch of our Crystal Lite Iced Tea and filled our mugs with ice. The cold drink was so refreshing after the long drive, and in minutes we settled down to relax. Still exhausted and coughing, there was no way either of us could see our way through making this a “fun” hotel stay, but we did our best to stay upbeat and hopeful that we’ll be able to fly to Minnesota as initially planned on May 1.

Since we’d already booked a rental car and hotel in Minnesota, it would be so much easier if we could get there as planned, avoiding the necessity of changing our reservation. The only reservation we have to change, which we’ll do today, is to cancel the flight from New York to Minneapolis since we couldn’t sail on the Queen Mary 2 as hoped before we got sick.

I just went into the Expedia.com site and canceled the flight. We will receive full credit of US $737.20 for the airfare from New York to MSP that we must use by March 2023. We’ll probably get some future credit from American Airlines for the canceled flight, but there’s no guarantee. Plus, it’s a rare occasion that we’d fly on a route used by American Airlines.

This flight was intended as our means of getting to Minneapolis after sailing on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton, which, as you know, we had to cancel on the day of embarkation due to both of us contracting Covid-19 while on the ship. Now  11 days after our first symptoms, we’ll take the certified tests we bought on the Celebrity Cruise to determine if we’ll be able to fly out.

As for this Marriott hotel near the Gatwick Airport, it’s nowhere near as pleasant as the Marriott where we spent ten months in lockdown in India in 2020. But, it’s clean, a decent Engish breakfast is included in our room rate, and we get points on Hotels.com for the bookings for three nights. Every ten nights we book with Hotels.com on our website, we get one night free of a similar value. For us, this is a huge benefit.

We’d returned from breakfast over 90 minutes ago, and our room hadn’t been cleaned while we were in the restaurant. We asked the housekeeper to clean our room while waiting downstairs in the lobby. We waited 50 minutes only to discover when we walked back to our room. It still wasn’t done. Under normal circumstances, this would be no big deal.

But now, when we both need to lie down so badly from sheer exhaustion as lingering effects of the virus and lack of sleep from non-stop coughing all night, it’s’ taking everything I have to keep my head up. It’s hard to imagine being on an airplane for hours in a few days, walking through airports, changing planes, collecting our luggage at the layover, etc.

We’ll be very relieved when we make it to Minnesota and get situated in our room. Of course, we’ll have been tested negative on two consecutive days, so there is no chance of us infecting our family members when we see them. It’s unlikely we’d get Covid again for several months since, in most cases, the immunity, coupled with vaccination and boosters, will provide added immunity for at least a while.

Many people have stated that Omicron had been comparable to a bad cold. For them, this may have been the case. But, for us, it’s been worse than any cold we’ve had in the past. We will get through this. We always do!

It’s time to take the Covid test now. We’ll be back with the results in tomorrow’s post.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 29, 2021:

Two hungry hornbills were pecking at the kitchen window, hoping for some seeds. We complied. For more photos, please click here.

We have a plan…Two days and counting, on the move…

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Yummy-looking treats were left in our cabin during the cruise. Of course, I didn’t eat them, but surprisingly neither did Tom.

It’s exhausting whatever we do right now: bending over to pick up and put on my shoes, going downstairs to order our dinner, or waiting in the lobby while the housekeeper cleans our room. This morning we both hand-washed some of our clothes while taking a shower. It took everything we had to wring out the wet items and hang them up.

Sure, we could use the laundry service, but my pair of pajamas that I hand washed would have cost the following for the two pieces: GBP 12.00, US $15.26. I think I paid less than that amount for those PJs when Old Navy had a sale years ago. A single tee-shirt is GBP 5.95, US $7.57. Again, we didn’t pay a lot more for our tee shirts.

Recently, I purchased about ten tee shirts of excellent quality from Amazon for US $17.99 each that most likely will last me for years. It makes no sense to have them laundered and dried in a too-hot clothes dryer by the hotel’s laundry service. We rarely dry our clothes in a dryer as we travel the world. Hanging them makes them last twice as long.

It reminded us of those ten long months we spent in lockdown in India when we hand-washed our clothes. We each only wore three outfits and recycled them over and over again. It was a wise decision at the time, and we’re finding it to be a smart one now.

In the past 24 hours, we devised a plan to allow us to see family as planned and avoid losing much on booked airfare and hotels. With this plan, the only fight we’ll lose is the one we booked from New York to Minneapolis when the Queen Mary 2, the sailing we missed due to having Covid, disembarks on May 1.

We have researched how long after testing positive and being sick with Covid, we might expect a negative test. It can be as little as five days or as long as months. Instead, we will book a flight out of Gatwick directly to Minneapolis once we test negative.

If we can’t get a negative test after we’ve recovered, the airlines will accept a doctor’s letter stating we are no longer contagious and are safe to travel. This letter will be in lieu of a negative test. Of course, we don’t want to be stuck in England for weeks or months if one or both of us can’t produce a negative test, which can happen.

That being said, we are hopeful we’ll both test negative by May 1, a mere five days from today. Are we still sick? Yep. Coughing and exhaustion are the significant symptoms right now. But, a lot can happen in five days. Five days ago, we were isolated on the ship, first testing positive and feeling awful. We’re greatly improved from that point.

This Thursday, a driver will pick us up at this hotel at 11:00 am and transport us from Southampton to London to a Courtyard by Marriott near the Gatwick airport. It’s a 90-minute drive. The cost of this private transport is GBP 200, UD $254.31, pricey by any standards. But, based on how we were feeling, the thought of going by train and dealing with our bags was unbearable. We’d rather spend money on this than on laundry.

We hoped to arrive in Minneapolis on May 1, but a few days longer won’t be a problem. This weekend is a “bank holiday” in England, and the airport could be chaotic. We won’t book a flight until we both test negative or get a doctor’s letter. Of course, neither of us cares to fly until we feel a little better, so staying a few days longer won’t be an issue.

The only time constraint facing us during this period in the US is our booked flight and hotel to Las Vegas/Henderson on May 15. Surely, we’ll make that fight and our booked fight back to South Africa on May 22. One way or another, it will all work out.

There it is, folks, a solution to our current dilemma, albeit with a few twists and turns along the way.

Your comments and best wishes mean the world to us! Thanks to so many of our readers who wrote with tips for Covid and suggestions on making this exit work for us. We figured out a solution that works for us in due time in our usual way.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 26, 2021:

This is our boy, Torn Ear. Enlarge the photo to see his left ear is torn. For more photos, please click here.

What is our experience having Omicron?…Testing later today…

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A bartender in the Martini Bar entertained guests with clever juggling and tricks.

Many people are tested positive for Covid and have no symptoms. Others may experience a headache, sore throat, aches and pains, exhaustion, and coughing. Everyone is different in how they respond to testing positive. Today’s post is about our experiences and maybe entirely different than others. Please contact your medical professional if you need support and assistance.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Tom was the first to experience symptoms. But his were vague and certainly didn’t cause us to suspect he was infected. He was coughing a lot from acid reflux when he consumed sugar and bread, which for days he had done, with the bread basket served at dinner and the desserts with ice cream he ordered each night after dinner.

If I got sick from food, I wouldn’t eat it, but apparently, Tom’s desire for certain foods supersedes his desire to feel well. I keep my mouth shut, and he decides for himself. But, the coughing at night was keeping me awake, and I asked him to reconsider his food choices. He did stop the bread but not the desserts. He continued to cough,

At that point, about seven days into the 13-night cruise, we became concerned but didn’t for a minute think it was Covid. After all, Tom has smoked off and on during the past 9½ years of world travel, and I do not influence his decision to quit entirely. Only he can make that decision.

Over a few days, his nose ran off and on. Here again, we both have allergies and can easily suffer periods of runny noses and frequent sneezing. Besides, I felt fine. Isn’t Omicron highly contagious, and if he had symptoms, wouldn’t I as well?

But on night #10, I had that bout of high blood pressure and excessively fast pulse. I attributed this to the two glasses of red wine I drank during the silent disco and an amount of dancing I hadn’t done since I had open-heart surgery in 2019. Dr. Google confirmed that the blood pressure and fast pulse could easily have resulted in those two reactions.

How wrong I was to make that assumption on that stressful Monday night! I was experiencing the beginning symptoms of Covid that may or may not manifest in a person with cardiovascular disease. Ah, Covid is still mysterious in how those with comorbidities can react to its ravages. These types of uncertainties allow the virus to spread among others wildly.

On Tuesday, Tom’s coughing was subsiding. After Monday’s fitful night, I felt tired, and we went to our cabin right after dinner by 9:30 pm. I fell asleep by 10:00 pm, thinking a good night’s sleep would make me feel great in the morning. But I did not. I awoke with a sore throat, feeling achy and utterly exhausted. Then I knew.

Immediately, I headed to the ship’s medical clinic wearing my military-grade mask and was told to head back to my cabin and wait to hear from the doctor, as described in detail in the post a few days ago. Tom was advised to join me in the cabin. As you know, we both tested positive.

Now, here we are, taking an at-home test today at 3:00 pm that most likely still be positive and we won’t be able to make tomorrow’s Queen Mary 2 cruise, or even board a plane, to anywhere. After all, it’s still only been three days since our positive tests on the ship. But, it may actually be day #5 for me and day #10 for Tom. We will test me today. If I am positive, there’s no point in testing Tom until such a date when I’d test negative.

I began coughing fiercely for the past few days with a horrible dry cough. But yesterday, I realized I had brought along an electric nebulizer and medication for it that we’d purchased in lockdown in India, anticipating such an experience. What a lifesaver this has been. It has helped me tremendously in the past 24 hours, especially since I have asthma which is always an issue when I get a cold or flu. I feel like I am on the upswing, although I am still fragile and exhausted.

This afternoon at 3:00 pm, when I take my first test since I was diagnosed as positive. Then, I’ll do another test tomorrow. At this point, we have considered several options. We will decide what we’ll do and share the details with you here in tomorrow’s post.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, April 23, 2021:

Lots of zebras in the garden were eating pellets. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…You can run, but you can’t hide…We couldn’t escape it!…

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We still are experiencing symptoms of Covid, but in the past 24 hours, we have noticed a vast improvement. We no longer have headaches, brain fog, sore throats, and coughing. We both still feel tired, but a quick nap now and then seems to help. Hopefully, by tomorrow, we’ll both test negative and can proceed with the upcoming cruise as planned.

Tom suggested we wait to document our potential backup plans should we test positive on Saturday and Sunday. Thus, we haven’t planned what we’ll do if the Sunday test is positive. It will be over a week for Tom and one day short of a week for me, so we are hopeful.

At this point, Tom is trying to stay optimistic that we’ll be able to board the ship, while I am not so sure. Having to change everything would be time-consuming and frustrating. Nonetheless, we both are hopeful we can proceed with our plans.

While in Southampton, we’d intended to meet with friends/readers for dinner, but now she has Covid and has been suffering from similar symptoms but is also on the upswing. Based on my pre-existing cardiovascular disease, my biggest concern was that it may hit me hard. That concern has dissipated as I am feeling on the mend.

Since I don’t eat fast food, finding a suitable meal was tricky. Last night for dinner, we ordered takeaway food from Deliveroo, a food delivery service here in England. Tom’s food arrived from TGI Fridays without issue. Deliveroo failed to deliver my meal from a different restaurant.

I contacted Deliveroo to explain that my food hadn’t arrived, and they said the driver waited at the hotel for nine minutes and we never came down. I instructed the front desk to call us when the food arrived. Either the driver didn’t come inside, or the reception desk staff didn’t contact me as required. Now the company will not issue a refund. This frustrates me.

For my dinner, I ordered food from the restaurant/bar in the hotel, which proved to be an excellent meal, albeit pricey. But, after yesterday’s delivery fiasco, we’ve decided to eat in the hotel this evening. We wore our masks to breakfast and will do the same for dinner if we choose to eat in the bar at a distant table. The incubation period for Omicron is about three days, which we have passed, but still, we are being careful to avoid others.

In contacting the corporate office, supposedly, they are working on a resolution. If I don’t hear back today, I’ll have no choice but to get the credit card company we used to see if they can do something about it. Most often, they can. We’ll see how that rolls out—another minor annoyance to address.

Of course, while we are here in Southampton, we won’t be doing any sightseeing as initially planned. There’s no way we are feeling chipper enough to venture out, nor would we under the circumstances. We’re comfortable in this hotel room and only hope our last night here will be tomorrow.

So that’s it for now, folks. We won’t know our test results until tomorrow night when we do the test, but we will report the results here as soon as we know them.

Thanks to our readers who have written to us with the warmest of wishes for a speedy recovery so we can continue with our plans in the future. There aren’t many photos to share right now, and honestly, I do not feel up to taking any right now.

Be well.

Big Daddy is such a handsome animal. Photo from one year ago today, April 22, 2021:

We purchased six of these two-test self-administer kits using our unused cabin credit while on the ship

Two days and counting…Cruise coming to an end…

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Note: Due to the ship’s poor WiFi signal, we cannot add captions to today’s photos of Lisbon.

It was another fun night aboard the ship as our days on the cruise ended. We disembark in only two days. This morning we arranged for our last load of laundry to be done, the second free bag of laundry based on our Elite priority club status.

We’ll be extra careful to avoid dirtying any clothes during the three nights at the hotel in Southampton to ensure we’ll have plenty to wear on the Queen Mary 2 cruise beginning on April 24th, sailing back to New York. Once we’re situated at the hotel in Minnesota, we’ll be able to use the hotel’s laundry facilities.

Tonight is a dressy night on this ship, but I have avoided wearing any clothes I designated as suitable for the Queen Mary 2. Tomorrow night, we have to pack as soon as the bag of clean laundry is delivered to our cabin around dinner time. It will all work out well.

The time has gone by so quickly, and of course, we’ve had a fabulous time. It couldn’t have been more rewarding and enjoyable. We’ve met more people than anticipated during the restrictions imposed due to Covid with no “table sharing” in the dining room. But the proximity of the many “tables for two” made conversations flow with ease.

Last night was the final “silent disco” event, and of course, we had another fun and festive evening with new friends we’ve made. We do not doubt that we’ll stay in touch with many of the beautiful people we’ve interacted with during this 13-night cruise. Soon, it’s time to move along.

With the awful WiFi signal, we need to get this post uploaded until the signal is gone entirely, which keeps happening off and on.

We’ll continue to post, but with improved accuracy and consistency, once we arrive at our hotel in Southampton on April 21. Please check back with us each day for updates.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 19, 2021:

Frank and The Misses stop by several times a day, messing with the seed container. They don’t like sunflower seeds, so they pick through the container to toss them aside. The next time we purchased seeds, they were without sunflower seeds. They were much happier. For more photos, please click here.

Too little time to post…More photos from the Azores…

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We don’t go on horses and buggies since often the horses are treaty poorly.

Today’s post may result in a shorter cruise time than most. When Tom decided to take a nap, I headed off to Cafe al Bacio for a sugar-free, decaf macchiato, topped with frothed whole cream. As soon as I sat at a shared table, I became engrossed in a beautiful conversation with a lovely woman whose husband was also napping, sharing our world travel stories. What a delightful conversation we had.

Again, last night we stayed out late, not climbing into bed until after 1:00 am (2:00 am with the new time change), and didn’t wake until almost 10:00 am. We missed breakfast entirely and went to lunch in the main dining room.

Decorative arches in the center of town.

The options on the lunch menu were limited for my way of eating, but the chef accommodated me by making two delicious, juicy bunless burgers with a side salad. It was so good, that most likely, I’ll want to have the same thing again before the cruise ends in four days. We can’t believe it’s almost over. The time has gone by so quickly.

We’ve had a fantastic time, meeting more people than ever on any past cruises and making some new friends that we know we’ll hear from in the future. We have been so fortunate to meet an endless array of exciting and fun people during the past nine days of this 13-day cruise.

Me sitting on the edge of a flower garden wearing my new weird sunglasses.

I’ve been able to get in a ton of steps on my Fitbit from just walking around this huge vessel. On a typical day, I’ve walked no less than 5000 steps a day without even trying. If I’d put in a little more effort, I could have easily matched my 8000 steps a day, which I was doing in South Africa only about three weeks ago.

Once we return to Marloth Park, I’ll pick up the pace and get back into my routine. As much as I monitor what I eat at only two meals a day with no snacks, I’ve still managed to gain about five pounds since leaving SA, which I’m sure I will lose in weeks or months to come once we return to our usual way of eating, cooking our meals.

Our ship, Celebrity Silhouette, docked in The Azores.

We’ve probably had a few more drinks than usual as well. I suppose with all of our beverages included at no extra charge. Once we get to Southampton, we’ll reduce our food and beverage consumption comparatively before getting on yet another cruise, the illustrious Queen Mary 2, known for its great food.

Today, as it’s turned out, the ship is making an off-itinerary change due to a sick passenger on board who had a heart attack. Instead of heading directly to Lisbon, Portugal, as our next port of call, we are sailing to the island of Madeira, the distance of which is described as follows:

“The distance from Lisbon to Madeira is 968 kilometers. This air travel distance is equal to 601 miles.”

This change in itinerary results in an enormous difference in the itinerary, as shown in the map below:

Map of Explore Portugal: Porto, Lisbon, & Madeira Island - 14 Days
Madeira is closer to Africa than it is to Portugal. This course change may impact the planned visit to Lisbon. But, of course, the well-being of a passenger is more critical than a port of call.

We have visited Lisbon in the past and have an upcoming cruise that stops in Lisbon. For us, this change is acceptable with us. We hope the sick passenger will receive the necessary medical care in time. We’ll know by tonight how this will work out.

Today a notice was posted in the daily newsletter stating that antigen Covid test kits were available for purchase at US $24.50 each at the customer service desk. In researching the availability of Covid tests, which we need for the upcoming cruise, we discovered that all Covid testing locations in Southampton have closed. There is no place to go to get a test.

The village of São Miguel Island, the Azores.

Instead, our only option to comply with the requirements of a negative Covid test before boarding the Queen Mary 2 on April 24 was to purchase the antigen test, which is allowed for boarding, right here on the ship. Once we enter the port in Southampton, our two test kits will be waiting for us at a designated location. Good thing we checked this out today, giving us peace of mind.

Today, we’ve included a few more photos from yesterday’s visit to The Azores. We’ll be back with more news and photos tomorrow.

Be well/

Photo from one year ago today, April 17, 2021:

These male kudus, when fully grown, may weigh 190 kg to 270 kg, 419 pounds to 595 pounds. For more photos, please click here.