Day #270 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Replay of fabulous food photos from cruise…

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This window box display was a part of the “Favorites” choice on the menu at Qsine on the Celebrity Infinity in 2017.

Today’s photos are from our post on this date in 2017 while sailing on the Celebrity Infinity along the coast of South America and dining in the fantastic specialty restaurant, Qsine. For more photos not shown here today, please click here.

Sharing these food photos for the second time, under our current situation, is certainly going to be a mouth-watering experience. To think, in less than a month, we’ll be preparing and dining our meals, one of the many highlights of getting out of here.

Tom dined on one of these “Lava Crab” dishes I avoided due to the flour content. He described it as outstanding.

As we are reminded of the exceptional dinner we had on that cruise in 2017, and how much fun specialty restaurants are on cruises, we wonder when we’ll ever be able to cruise again. The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine may be influential in re-starting cruises in some countries, but many developing countries won’t offer such a luxury.

If any of the cruise lines with whom we have five booked cruises into 2022 requires evidence of a vaccine, we may be out of luck. Africa will be one of the last continents to have access to the vaccine. We’ll see how that rolls out in time. If we were to fly to another continent at some point to receive the vaccine, we’d have to stay three weeks for the second dose.

Tom held his menu tablet while deciding what to order at the Qsine specialty restaurant while at sea on Celebrity Infinity. Nine Celebrity ships were offering this exceptional dining experience.

Perhaps in time, they’ll develop a single-dose vaccine that will make it easier for those in similar situations to ours. If we decide to continue on our world travels for considerably longer, we’ll have no choice but to return to the US to receive the vaccine. Maybe we can do so next time we visit family, which we’ll do once the virus settles down in the US.

This report, updated daily, the USA has 23% of the world’s cases and 19% deaths. Considering that statistics are being recorded in 220 countries and territories, this is an outrageous number. As we’ve mentioned many times in past posts, returning to the US at any time shortly is entirely out of the question.

From the “Sushi ” choice were these “lollipops.” Although we didn’t order this option, we loved this gorgeous presentation.

As for today’s photos, our topic returns to food. Yesterday, while I was working on the errors in past posts, of which I’m only one-third of the way through the over 3000 posts, I encountered comments I’d made about a reader commenting that they were sick and tired of my food comments and recipes. Hum, isn’t traveling in part about dining in one way or another?

When most of us travel, one of the first things on the agenda is checking out the local cuisine, booking reservations from highly rated TripAdvisor reviews, visiting local food trucks, cafes, and diners, and the possibility of the safety of eating street food? While dining out during a holiday/vacation, how many of us have entered a grocery store to check out the cultural differences in food, pricing, and at times, to purchase snacks, liquor, or treats?

Many items from the “Soup & Souffle” menu were served “tapas” style, small servings such as these two souffle chefs Chantal prepared for me.

That’s a big part of the enjoyment of traveling. And even with my limited options due to my way of eating, it’s still quite enjoyable to dine out, purchase groceries, and prepare our meals while living in holiday homes. Oh, well, that was only one reader, and I’m sure by now, they no longer read our posts at all, especially after our boring content over the past nine months.

If they thought “food” was boring, how about our frequent comments, whining, and observations about living under these most peculiar circumstances? As our long-term and new readers know, we strive to “tell it like it is” and not pander to those who may prefer a more “fluffy version” of our lives.

The “Taco Royale” presentation could easily have been a full meal for me with its make-your-own guacamole and beef taco salad.

Sure, this meal we’re sharing today in photos looks stupendous, and we’d love to be able to savor such a meal now. But we can’t. Instead, we focus on the fact that soon enough, we’ll be preparing big juicy rare/medium-rare steaks on the braai with a cocktail or glass of wine in hand, sweating up a storm on the veranda, batting off the flies and mozzies, and smiling from ear to ear. Hopefully, in a little over 25 days, when we depart India for South Africa.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 18, 2019:

From this site: “The famous fountain in Fountain Hills, Arizona: Built-in 1970 by Robert McCulloch, the fountain is one of the largest fountains in the world! The fountain sprays water for 15 minutes every hour at the top of the hour. The fountain uses 7,000 gallons per minute, and at its full height, it can reach 560 feet in the air. The plume rises from a concrete water-lily sculpture in the center of a man-made lake. At its full height of 560 feet, the fountain in the center of Fountain Hills is higher than the Washington Monument. It is 10 feet taller than Notre Dame Cathedral, 110 feet higher than the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, and three times as high as Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. The white plume of the world-famous fountain is visible far beyond Fountain Hills. It can be seen from as far away as the Superstition Mountains, Carefree, and even from aircraft. The fountain is the focal point for community celebrations and the pride of its residents. If you happen to visit during the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, you’ll see the fountain transform to emerald green. The Fountain is extended to its full height on special occasions. For everyday viewing, the Fountain reaches a height of 330 feet! The World Famous Fountain runs every hour on the hour for 15 minutes from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. every day of the week! This fountain is a celebration of life and water where it is most appreciated – in the middle of the desert.” For more from the year-ago post, please click here.

Day #269 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Ushuaia, the most southerly city in the world…

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The sign reads, “fin del Mundo,” the end of the world.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2017 when our ship was sailing the coast of South America and docked in Ushuaia, Argentina, for the day. For more photos, please click here.

It was quite a day when our ship docked in Ushuaia, Argentina, when only a little more than a month later, we flew back to this fantastic city to board our cruise to Antarctica for an incredible expedition to see the wonders of our seventh continent we’d yet to see.

We were bundled up in Ushuaia. It was cold!

We decided to stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the cruise ended on December 23, 2018, for a month while awaiting the Antarctica cruise, staying in a boutique hotel in the lovely Palermo district where we were able to go sightseeing and dine out daily. As we continue here through the holiday season, most likely, we’ll repost photos from that month while spending Tom’s birthday (December 23rd), Christmas eve and day, and New Year’s eve and day in Buenos Aires.

We stayed in that hotel from December 23, 2017, until January 24, 2018, to then fly back to Ushuaia, the most southerly city globally, to board Ponant Le Boreal (a luxury French ship/cruise line) to sail deep into Antarctica. It’s funny how we recall how challenging it was to be stuck in that hotel for a month, especially during the holidays.

An expedition ship was preparing to set sail for Antarctica. Soon, we’d be on such a ship.

It’s ironic that now, after nine months in this hotel, we appreciated going out for walks, dining, and seeing the sights in the fantastic area. Wow! Little did we know at the time, we’d be in a hotel with no freedom of movement, ten times longer.

While walking, I encountered a man coming out of his room, asking him to pull his mask over his face. He was very kind, and we began chatting. He is an executive on a two-month stint in Mumbai, opening a new location for his worldwide company, and he, too, was appalled by how few Indian people wear masks.

It was almost summer in Ushuaia, but it was cold, and the mountains were still snow-capped.

After all these months, it was nice chatting with someone, and it made me realize how hungry we’ve been for companionship and conversation with others. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our daily interactions with the two of us. No offense intended for each other. But, it will be nice to chat with others.

Many of our friends in Marloth Park mention on Facebook about getting together once we arrive. It will be an entirely new experience for us. Of course, we’ll exercise the utmost of the usual precautions, wearing face masks, no hugging, social distancing, and most likely not dining together, as we’d done in the past.

An exquisite albatross sculpture. We especially enjoyed seeing many albatrosses in the port.

Customarily, in South Africa, when people get together, they each bring their beverages in a “chill box,” whether it’s a happy hour gathering or a dinner party. In these cases, it’s helpful that no one touches one another’s beverages and glasses, further reducing the risk of infection. I am sure we’ll figure it all out, especially by ensuring we gather in small groups only.

On the agenda today? We are going to book two more months for the rental car, so by the time we arrive at the Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport, we’ll sign all three contracts, paying in advance,  providing us with insurance on the rental cars included in our credit cards (in increments of one month). If this works, we’ll avoid the two-hour (round trip) driving time every 30 days to return the car and get a new contract. We’ll see if this works and report back later.

Most of the town is centered around seaport enterprises.

As for the remainder of today? It will be the “usual.” We’re enjoying watching the series “The Crown” on Netflix after dinner each night. One of our thoughtful readers sent us a message suggesting we watch, “Call the Midwife.” We’ll give that series a try this afternoon when we wind down for the day and, of course, wind down to the 26 days until we depart India!

May your day be safe and pleasant.

Photo from one year ago today, December 17, 2019:

Tom and I and Jerry and Vicki in Arizona last year. We met them in January 2015 in Kauai, Hawaii. It was amazing to see them so many years later. For more, please click here.

Day #268 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Another day in the life…

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This rock formation connotes where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet at Cape Horn.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2017 while on a cruise along the coast of South America, where we sailed around Cape Horn on our way to the most southerly city in the world, Ushuaia. For the story, please click here.

In the post, as mentioned above, we wrote: “It was only 6:00 am when we were situated in Cafe al Bacio drinking our favorite coffee. The ship is humming with announcements over the loudspeaker with the enthusiasm of the passengers palpable as we sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean via Cape Horn, South America.”

Evening photo. The sun didn’t fully set until almost 11:00 pm.

It was another of those great adventures that some may dismiss as interesting and moderately eventful. Still, for us, it was another of those profound, memorable milestones as a part of our world travels. Many such experiences befell us when we had never even considered such possibilities.

Alas, our travels at any time could bestow upon us yet another experience that we carry into the future. Each day, as we search for the repeat photos from past travels to share in the newest post, we continually encounter many such events that make us smile and feel grateful for what we’ve experienced during the past eight years.

Tom said he was nearly blown away by high winds when he took this photo in the early morning as we approached Cape Horn.

We wonder, what will we remember of these ten months in this hotel room by the time we leave in January? What did we discover? About life? About ourselves? About confinement such as this?

Ideally, we’ll walk away from here with many new perspectives, emotions, and insights. At the moment, it’s difficult for us to embrace such thoughts when the majority of our daily lives center around telling other guests to wear a face mask. It’s outrageous!

Rock formations at Cape Horn.

Our frustration is palpable. I walk every half hour, occasionally longer to accomplish my 5 miles, 8 km, throughout the day. Tom does most of his exercises in one fell swoop, so he deals with it during that 40-minute segment. I realize this issue might be less annoying if I finished all my walking at one time. But, I’ve found getting up and moving around at least once an hour has a better health benefit for me, helping to reduce pain and stiffness from sitting too long.

When our room was being cleaned this morning, we both took off some exercise in the corridors. Immediately, we both encountered a group of three guests blocking the corridor. None of them was wearing a face mask. From about 15 feet, 5 meters, I kindly said, “Please put on a face mask!”. They didn’t move. Tom was ahead of me. They didn’t respond, move, or put on face masks.

Map of the most southerly tip of South America, Cape Horn, where we sailed.

Behind us were several cleaning carts blocking the corridor, making turning around nearly impossible. When they didn’t respond, Tom, in dire frustration, faked a massive sneeze, accidentally knocking his glasses off his face. He was hoping they’d learn to want to protect themselves from others. He managed to get past them. Next, it was my turn. But as I passed, one yelled out to me, “Hey, this is yours!” The man handed me Tom’s eyeglasses which had flown off his head during the fake sneeze. Tom hadn’t noticed this.

My first concern was holding Tom’s glasses in my left hand, my phone with earbuds in my right hand. Yuck! I had touched something from the hand of a person who didn’t and wouldn’t wear a face mask, possibly the most likely COVID-19 carrier. I chased Tom down. He wasn’t even aware that his glasses were gone! I suppose the face mask on his face prevented him from feeling that his glasses had flown off.

Many rock formations are named, but with the slow Wi-Fi right now, we cannot do much research.

As I caught up with him, I handed him his glasses and immediately turned on my heels to head back to our room to wash my hands. I encouraged Tom to do the same, but the cleaner was on his hands and knees washing the bathroom floor when we reached the room. I didn’t care. I kindly asked him to leave so we could wash our hands. He complied.

Ah, we’re only 27 days from leaving this hotel room to head to the Mumbai International Airport for South Africa. The days can’t come soon enough. In Marloth Park right now, daily power outages are resulting in WiFi outages (load shedding from the electric company), horribly high temperatures, zillions of insects, including malaria-carrying mosquitos, snakes (commonly seen in the summer months, often entering houses), and from the comments we’ve seen on Facebook, occasional water outages. Bring it on, baby! We’re ready to take it on!

Cape Horn is not one single spot. It’s a series of islands and rock formations.

Stay safe, please.

Photo from one year ago today, December 16, 2019:

Even those residents with RVs in the park in Apache Junction, Arizona, may have fruit trees such as this orange tree in their front yards. For more, please click here.

Day #267 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…President of South Africa spoke last night…Holding our breath…

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Colorful trees were blooming in the neighborhood.

Today’s photos are from 2015 while living in Pacific Harbour, Viti Levu, Fiji, where we spent the Christmas holidays. For more, please click here.

The Christmas season is upon the world, and for most, this will be a very different holiday than most years. With gatherings being held to a minimum with COVID-19 restrictions, which we hope people will observe for their safety and the safety of loved ones and friends, it will be an unusual year.

Access to the Qaraniquo river in the neighborhood.

The rollout of the vaccine couldn’t come soon enough. But, from what we’re reading on the news (accurate or not), many developing countries such as South Africa will only have enough to vaccinate only one-tenth of the population, which ultimately won’t offer any global protection to its people and visitors.

This article explains that this developing country cannot afford the low-temperature equipment to store the vaccine at adequate below zero temperatures safely. With this in mind, we doubt we’ll be able to get the vaccine if we so choose while in South Africa. Emerging the virus will continue to rage in the country while we’re there. We’re hoping to remain safe in Marloth Park.

What happened to this tree? It appears there’s been a human intervention.

Last night South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa conducted a speech about the rise in cases. Here is the link to the full text of his speech. In Johannesburg, our dear friends, Linda and Ken, watched the speech on TV and reported the results to me by text. Of course, I was concerned the borders would be closed once again, shutting down tourism, subsequently preventing us from flying out on January 12, 2021.

Thankfully, no such action is being taken at this point. Many of the restrictions imposed by Cyril during the past nine months are again re-enacted as Covid-19 cases rise, such as no alcohol sold over the weekends, curfews at 10:00 pm, mandatory mask-wearing, handwashing, and social distancing in any public venues, shops, restrictions on the number of people attending celebrations, and more, all of which is subject to fines or six months in jail if violated.

Flowering shrubs line the boulevard.

However, we do not doubt that the first time we head to Komatipoort and its overly crowded streets and shops, that mask-wearing will be at a minimum. In that case, we’ll choose to shop in small, less well-stocked shops in Marloth Park as needed. We will drive to Komatipoort for pellets for the wildlife since this purchase enables us to stay in the car while the trunk is loaded with the 40 kg (88 pounds) bags.

We’ll figure it all out, even without the vaccine, and do our best to avoid contracting the virus, taking every possible precaution. At this point, our imminent concern is getting there safely when flying on three flights and going through four airports in the process.

We’d never encountered this particular flower.

Of course, everything could change in the next 28 days when we head to the Mumbai International Airport for our flight in the middle of the night. Suppose gatherings during the holiday season, resulting in even more outrageous increases in cases in South Africa. In that case, Cyril could easily decide to close the borders again, crippling the much-needed tourism business in the country.

Thanks to Linda and Ken for updating me late last night. I couldn’t fall asleep anyway, knowing this speech was imminent at 8:00 pm, South Africa time, and midnight here in India. By 1:15 am, I finally drifted off to a night filled with dreams about Christmas and buying gifts while living in various houses in my distant past.  Hum…

It was only a short walk from our holiday home to the river.

Have a pleasant day.

Photo from one year ago today, December 15, 2019:

We attended a brunch with Tom’s sisters and spouses at the resort in Arizona, highlighting “omelets in a bag.” Here is Tom’s three-egg omelet after it came out of the bag. For more photos, please click here.

Day #266 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Friends…Pigs in a pile, too!…

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Little told his friend that the “pickings” were good at this house, so they both climbed the six steps up to the veranda to the front door. 

Today’s photos that we enthusiastically share for a chuckle are from this date in 2018 while we stayed in Marloth Park for 15 months. For more on the post, please click here.

Friends. It’s incredible to be blessed with good friends. Without them, our lives would be different. Daily, we communicate with friends via email, text, and social media, many from our old lives and new friends we’ve made along the way in our travels.

The Big Daddies didn’t seem as interested in the lucerne as the female kudus, but this one managed a mouthful.

The two places in the world where we made the most friends were Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii, in 2015, and Marloth Park, South Africa, in 2013/2014 and 2018/2019. No doubt, an influencing factor in returning to South Africa is due to the number of friends we made there, most of whom we’ve stayed in close touch with since we left in May 2019, 20 months ago.

Knowing we’ll be able to spend time with so many of those friends when we hopefully arrive soon only adds to the excitement of getting out of this hotel room after ten months (as of our scheduled departure day on January 12, 2021). We realize that COVID-19 restrictions will be in place, even in the relatively safe Marloth Park, such as mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing, etc.

“Pigs on the porch,” Pigs in the pond,” and Pigs in a pile,” and “Pigs in the parlor.” It’s “Pig Paradise in the Park.”

Will we be able to hug our friends when we see them next month? We aren’t sure at this point. I suppose doing so will be predicated by the presence of COVID-19 upon our arrival, which can change on a dime. At this point, there are few known cases in MP and certainly no major outbreak, but we will remain cautious, even in the presence of the people we know and love.

With Marloth Park a popular tourist location, an outbreak could happen at any moment. We wonder if we’ll be able to go to Jabula for dinner, although they have ample outdoor seating. It’s one of those scenarios. We’ll simply have to play by ear. But, without question, our top priority will be protecting ourselves and, if it limits socializing and dining out, so be it.

“Little” was checking out what the kudus were eating. 

Our animal friends will surely visit in any case. The thought of sitting outdoors awaiting their arrival is a massive appeal and comfort to us now, a far cry from being stuck in this room a day longer than we have to. Speaking of wildlife and friends, I couldn’t resist posting today’s main photo of our friend Little, champion warthog, bringing a friend with him to visit us at our bush house in 2018 to share the bounty we so freely offered daily.

We laughed out loud then and over again over the past 20 months from this unique scenario many times. I think it’s easy for us humans to believe we are the only creatures on earth possessing the depth of emotion to develop friendships with our species. And yet, we’ve often seen this ability to make friends in our pets, for us, most often dogs.

Piglets in a pile.

In our old lives, we often laughed over the friends our dogs made over the years. We lived on a private road, not requiring our dogs to be on a leash, with just about every house on the peninsula with friendly little dogs. Some became friends with our dogs, and others did not. But, it was not uncommon for our neighbors or us to have ours and their dogs in our houses visiting one another.

Some animals in the wild are no different. They find companions that they become attached to as much as their family members, especially, as we’ve witnessed after spending considerable time in the bush observing wildlife daily. We often observed this behavior in warthogs, usually two females with or without piglets and males who often visited in pairs rather than large groups.

A male ostrich’s flattened feathers after a downpour.

They may, or may not, be related. Many wildlife species hang out together in large family groups such as impalas and mongoose, giraffes, and others, while many twosomes we observed were mating pairs. But warthogs and pigs are consistently rated in various studies as one of the most intelligent animals in the animal kingdom, as indicated in this article. Pigs are reportedly smarter than dogs. And we all know how intelligent our dogs are!

In any case, we’ll be back amongst “friends,” both human and animal, in a mere 30 days. We hope.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 14, 2019:

We sat outside on the veranda several times during our stay in Apache Junction, Arizona, frequently using the gas grill. The weather is warm and sunny most days. For more photos, please click here.

Day #265 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Bollywood dancing in Fiji…

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The couples were in sync while dancing the traditional Bollywood type performance.

Today’s photos are from a post on this date in 2015 while out to dinner at a resort in Viti Levu, Fiji, where performers were dancing Bollywood style. Please click here for more details.

With 37.5% of Fijians of Indian descent, it wasn’t unusual to see Bollywood dancing at a resort we visited for dinner on this date five years ago. Ironically, Tom and I discussed the event yesterday, and here it pops up today as our highlighted photos.  It was a lovely evening at the beach with good food and entertainment.

The Bollywood dancers prepared for their performance.

Gosh, that seems so far away from our current reality at this point when the only meals we’ve had for months have been repeated in our room, day after day, night after night. I don’t know when I’ll ever feel like eating a piece of salmon or grilled chicken breasts which I alternate every other day.

I’ve never been a fan of chicken breasts. Due to lack of fat and flavor, I’ve always preferred dark meat. I don’t think we’ll give up eating “flatties” (a whole chicken cut to lie flat) on the braai (grill) once we get to South Africa, although it may not be right away.

The locals perform their routine on Saturday nights.

When Tom and I share an entire flattie, he eats the white meat while I have the dark. My mouth kind of waters at the thought of a juicy leg and thigh on the bone, something I haven’t been able to get here in India at this hotel. They de-bone all the chicken here, which often results in a dry piece of grilled meat.

Not surprisingly, I’ve already made a grocery list for our arrival in South Africa. Perhaps, doing so is a bit lofty at this point, but since Louise has generously offered to shop for us while awaiting our arrival, this will allow us to stay put the first few days without venturing out.

Many of the guests joined in the dancing. It’s never us on the stage! Neither of us likes to participate “on stage” during performances of any type.

We’ll need such items as pellets, coffee, cream, block cheese, eggs, bacon, butter, and meats for the first few nights’ dinners and, of course, some wine for me and brandy for Tom. Typically, in South Africa, I only drank Four Cousin Skinny Red Wine which has zero carbs and low alcohol.

This lighter wine was ideal for me then and will be excellent once again since I won’t have had any wine since February 20th, on my birthday in Khajuraho, India. In reviewing our past posts, we realized I didn’t drink any alcohol until the cruise 33-night back-to-back that circumnavigated the continent of Australia.

Another view of the astounding sunset on Saturday night at the Uprising Beach Resort.

It had been over 20 years since I’d drank alcohol in a feeble attempt to be healthier. Not doing so, in moderation, wasn’t particularly beneficial. I suppose the key is moderation when imbibing any alcoholic beverages, regardless of what they are. We both are very capable of only having “a few,” especially when it’s been relatively easy for us during this lengthy lockdown.

Again, my mouth waters over the concept of the first feel of the room temperature red wine crossing my lips for the first time, accompanied with a hearty chunk of beef of one cut or another. Tom, feels the same way, although he’s not a wine drinker, instead preferring Courvoiosier, brandy, or beer.

There was a post-blocking part of our view, but I didn’t want to obstruct anyone else’s view by standing.

These simple pleasures also will signify our freedom at long last, although we’ll still be predicated by lockdown rules in South Africa which we’ll diligently follow.

Speaking of birthdays, as mentioned above, Tom’s birthday is in 10 days. I’d love to do something special for him, but he insists he wants nothing at all; no cake, no drinks, no special meal (duh, what would that be?). I’d considered buying him a gift from Amazon India, but we’ll be unloading weight in our luggage before we leave, not adding to it.

So there it will be, another uneventful birthday, Christmas and New Year’, not only for us but for most of you throughout the world. We have made tremendous sacrifices during the pandemic, and we still have a long way to go. At least we have tentative peace of mind with the prospect of leaving India to fly to South Africa in the next 31 days. Please stay tuned.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, December 13, 2019:

At a farmers market in Apache Junction, Arizona, we purchased five yellow and orange peppers for $1.99. The red peppers, as usual, are priced higher at $.79 each, still an excellent price. For more photos, please click here.

Day #260 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…The time can’t come soon enough…

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We were with friends Lisa and Barry, enjoying one last night together on the ship in a private sitting in the wine room.

Today’s photos are from a South American cruise in 2017, again with friends Lisa and Barry, as we shared an exquisite evening dining in the “wine room” as their guests. The food and wine were “over the top.” For more on the post, please click here.

No doubt, we have a little apprehension about traveling for almost two days when we depart India on January 12th. At this point, we have no idea how comprehensive the precautions will be at the Mumbai airport in the middle of the night, the four-hour layover in Dubai, the airport, hotel, and taxi in Johannesburg, and the fight on the smaller plane for the arrival in Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport, eventually picking up the rental car, for the hour-long drive to Marloth Park.

The wine room was filled with rows and rows of exceptional wines.

We can only hope and pray we arrive in Marloth Park on the 13th without having contracted Covid-19. It’s a little scary. We’ve read they have been taking extra precautions with the first two flights on Emirates Airlines, but we still have to deal with everything in between.

On our own, we’ll be taking several precautions, wearing masks, face shields, rubber gloves, and using hand sanitizer. We’ll change our gloves frequently. We may decide we won’t eat on the flights to avoid touching the trays. Also, we don’t plan to drink many liquids during the flight to avoid using the bathroom. I’m sure over the next few weeks. We’ll come up with more precautions as we continue to research.

That night, Tom was having a great time, dining in the private “wine room” in the Tuscan Grill with Lisa and Barry.

As for the time between now and January 12th? Hum… challenging. This morning, a note slipped under our door notifying us of a big party at the hotel tonight and to be prepared for noise until midnight. Also, with the party imminent, our entire floor appears to be booked.

While walking this morning, we encountered no less than a dozen guests, half wearing face masks and the others not. In each case, as soon as I could see a guest without a mask, I stopped dead in my tracks to stare at them. If they don’t put on a mask or return to their room to do so, I shout out, every single time, “Please put on a face mask!” Most comply. If they don’t, I turn around and head the other way.

An antipasto board was served to each couple.

At times, I’ve returned to our room when a dozen guests or more are waiting for the lifts, half or more of whom aren’t wearing masks and are yelling and talking loudly. No way will either of us get close to such individuals or groups. Often, guests leave their rooms to visit a guest in another room. Even in those cases, I tell them to put on a mask.

At this point, I don’t care what people “think” of this crazy woman walking the corridors all day, telling people to wear masks. The hotel has described to every guest that masks must be worn when outside their rooms. When we report a lack of compliance to the managers, they also are frustrated and don’t know what more they can do when they’ve explained the mandatory mask policy to every guest at check-in, including providing them with a printed notice of COVID-19 precautions and requirements.

It is one of the great wines we enjoyed last night.

After a party like tonight, we wonder if the staff will become infected when guests refuse to wear masks at parties, weddings, and celebrations. At this point, we no longer go downstairs to pay the bill. We ask them to bring the bill and portable credit card machine to us.

When processing the bill outside our room door, we wear a mask and gloves, don’t touch anything but the printed copy and our credit card, along with two new plastic room keys, which we sanitize after we’re done. When food is brought to our room twice a day, we don’t allow the server to enter the room. Tom handles the one tray and stainless steel-covered plates of food. We rewash our hands after touching the steel covers and tray.

Tom’s minestrone.

This morning, somehow, the kitchen forgot to bring our breakfast order. An hour and a half later, they called and asked why we hadn’t ordered. We had. Finally, 90 minutes after our breakfast arrived. We don’t know how this happened, other than the fact that so many guests are here and dining in the dining room and the staff was busy.

The room next door to us has a phone’s notification vibration occurring every 10 to 15 minutes. It wakes us up each time it goes off. Hopefully, by tonight the guest(s) will be considerate enough to turn off the notifications on their phones. At least 25 times after 11:00 pm, we’ve had to call the front desk asking them to tell the guest to turn off the notifications. The walls are paper-thin. Right now, after 1:00 pm, we can hear people yelling in the corridors. I hesitate to go out for my next scheduled walk. Oh, dear.

My filet mignon, cooked rare, was exceptional.

Thanks for listening to me whine again. The time can’t come soon enough. I keep reminding myself, day after day, how much time is left, which is 36 days. I can’t wait for a big steak, a glass of dry red wine, a big bag of pellets, and the blissful companionship of our human and animal friends.

Tom’s ribeye steak was also cooked to perfection.
Tom’s dessert of homemade doughnuts, cherries, and vanilla ice cream.

We hope all of you are holding up well amid the ongoing madness of COVID-19. When will it all end?

Photo from one year ago today, December 8, 2019:

In Marloth Park on this day in 2013, this male zebra stood under the carport for quite some time, watching over the other males. For more photos from one year ago, please click here.

Day #259 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Tom’s Irish Cream recipe…Do we miss the holidays?…

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Tom and I and Lisa and Barry, our new friends. They visited us in Ireland in 2019, and we are close in touch.

Today’s photos are from a South American cruise in 2017 where we met friends Lisa and Barry, as shown in the above photo. Today’s also included is Tom’s Irish Cream Recipe which we’d posted on this date, with the holidays on the horizon. For more, please click here.

As the holiday season approaches, we thought it would make sense to post Tom’s Irish Cream recipe today rather than wait until closer to Christmas, allowing plenty of time for those who may consider giving this as a gift for co-workers, family members, and friends.

Here are our comments and the recipe from that 2017 post, although we’d posted this recipe on posts from other years.

“Each year at Christmas time, we receive many requests for Tom’s Irish Cream recipe, which is comparable to Bailey’s Irish Cream, without all the chemicals and artificial ingredients used in commercial production. 

For those who may want to give bottles of this delicious concoction, glass bottles of this holiday beverage make perfect gifts, generally costing around US $12, INR 921, per bottle. 

Bottles with corks can be purchased at any winemaking store or home good stores at TJ Maxx, where they usually carry very decorative glass bottles.  Tom made about 150 bottles each year that we gave to friends and family, including a non-alcoholic version.

Boat in the harbor in Arica, Chile.

Some years we saved wine bottles as we used them, washing them in the dishwasher and storing them in bottle boxes from any liquor store. This avoided the cost of the bottles.  In those cases, we only had to buy the corks.

Now that some wineries use screw-top caps, avid wine drinkers of those varieties can save those bottles and caps for future use as long as they’re sterilized in the dishwasher or hot water before filling them with the mix.

Also, using our home printer’s label-making feature, we made labels to ensure all recipients were made aware that the product needed to be refrigerated and kept only for 30 days.

The stick-on label would read something like this often with a decorative photo of your choice, which could be a photo of you and your family.

Image result for holly jpg
 Lyman’s Irish Cream
From our home to yours…
Have a happy holiday season!
Please keep this product
refrigerated and stored for
no more than 30 days.

Tom Lyman’s Irish Cream (Comparable to Bailey’s Irish Cream)1 can sweeten condensed milk

1 pint half & half or natural whipping cream

Three pasteurized eggs (important for safety)

1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

One tablespoon chocolate syrup

1 cup Irish Whiskey or other bourbon or whiskey

Blend all ingredients in a blender for 2 minutes, then add 1 cup whiskey, measuring into the empty can of sweetened condensed milk to remove every last drop of the creamy sweetened condensed milk.

Blend for another 30 seconds. Pour into a glass bottle using a funnel with a tight-fitting cork.

Keeps refrigerated for 30 days.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding the preparation of this recipe. We’re happy to assist! Enjoy!

After many years of making these bottles, we stopped making them in 2011, our last Christmas in Minnesota. The cost for such large and continuing-to-grow numbers of recipients became prohibitive.

Although neither of us drank it, we always kept several bottles to share with guests visiting during the holiday season. It was always a welcomed addition to a cup of fresh French pressed coffee.”

Each year we made dozens of bottles to distribute to family and friends in the weeks before Christmas. Tom handled the blender and filled the bottles while I made the labels, rinsed and dried the bottles’ exterior, and placed the labels when dry. Fortunately, we had an extra refrigerator in our basement where we kept them fresh as we distributed them.

It was one of many traditions we had over the holidays, many with family members and friends. Do we miss all of that? It would be impossible not to miss the memorable events with family and friends. But, when we decided to travel the world in 2012, we left that all behind and embraced our new life.

Dinner for one of our tablemates on the cruise, who ordered the roasted duck.

Again, comparable to the Christmas and New Year’s we spent in a hotel in Buenos Aires in 2018, awaiting our upcoming cruise to Antarctica, Tom’s birthday on December 23, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day will be spent in this hotel room, uneventful, without ceremony, while we watch the days tick down to departing India on January 12, 2021.

That will be in 37 days.

Be safe, be healthy, and begin enjoying the holiday season (for those who celebrate), although it will be different this year for all of us worldwide.

Photo from one year ago today, December 7, 2019:

Photo from 2016. Penguin statues were everywhere in the adorable town of Penguin, Tasmania. For more about the year-ago post, please click here.

Day #253 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Apprehension follows enthusiasm…

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The bright sun creates a sparkling sea, which we’ve cherished every day that we’ve been in Maui. There had only been one overcast, and rainy day in the six weeks we spent on the island, although it rained for short periods for many days, to become later sunny.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2014 while wrapping up our six-week stay in Maui, Hawaii. For more on that day’s story, including our final expenses for the stay, please click here.

We’d be foolhardy to assume we’ll be able to board that flight to South Africa without incident. When we arrived at the Mumbai Airport on March 20, at 1:00 am while waiting in a queue for hours, four days before the official lockdown, we were turned away for the flight to South Africa, as they were slowly closing their borders in a highly inconsistent manner.

All these photos shown today were taken on a sunny Sunday early afternoon.

We ended up having to return to our original hotel in Mumbai, which informed us they were closing the next day.  It was a nightmare. We haven’t forgotten a minute of those first few days until we eventually settled in this hotel. For that whole story, please click here.

Miracle of all miracles, when almost every hotel in Mumbai had closed, the Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai Airport remained open. Over the next few weeks and months, we were worried this hotel would be forced to close as well, often asking the reception staff for a status update. For this, we are very grateful.

Hibiscus bloom year-round in the islands.

In yesterday’s post, I whinged, whined, and complained over issues we encounter daily, mainly with other guests not wearing masks and social distancing. Later in the day, I felt terrible for perhaps sounding ungrateful. The hotel staff has been excellent, albeit inconsistent at times, and the hotel itself is lovely. To see yesterday’s whiny post, please click here.

Please don’t write and beat me up. I’ve done it enough to myself already. We are grateful to have been able to live in this safe, clean, air-conditioned hotel room for the past eight months, precisely 253 days to be exact, as shown above in the heading. We’re grateful for the staff’s kindness, the food, although limited due to our design, the comfortable bed, and the excellent WiFi. We’re thankful we’ve been able to afford living here for what will prove to be ten months by the time we leave, hopefully on January 12, 2021.

And yet, a few new blooms magically appear in the tropical climate.

We always promised to tell our readers “like it is,” and sometimes that isn’t “pretty,” The reality remains, we could be turned away at the airport again on January 12th. With COVID-19, everything can change on a dime. In the next 42 days, South Africa could again lock down their borders if cases escalate and if coincidentally it falls on the date we’re leaving. Also, India could prevent international flights from entering its borders.

At least, if we knew we couldn’t fly a few days earlier, we could redo our mindset and come up with an alternate plan, hopefully unlike the fiasco we encountered as mentioned above on March 20, 2020, in the middle of the night while exhausted and frustrated.

The shoreline from our condo’s beachfront.

We’ve both decided to temper our enthusiasm with a bit of trepidation and uncertainty in the interim. Over the next few days, we’ll come up with a Plan B, should we be turned away at the airport once again. Once we make that decision, we’ll share it with you here.

To arrive in Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa, in the late afternoon of January 13, 2021, is, at this point, a lofty dream. Pulling this off may prove to be a challenge. Thus, at this point, we’ll continue to take the necessary steps to proceed with those three flights safely and without incident.

The blooming season in Hawaii has long since passed for some flowering plants and trees.

Even so, one can easily worry about contracting COVID-19 while riding in taxis, at the airports, or while on airplanes. None of this is easy. None of this is fun. But, we cannot stay any longer in strict confinement when on January 12th, it will have been almost ten months.

We can only maintain a glimmer of hope that all will transpire as planned and that we’ll arrive at our blissful destination, full of hope, joyful anticipation, and plenty of excitement.

The bananas in the yard grow bigger each day, soon ready for picking.

A heartfelt thanks to so many of our family/friends/readers for all of the encouragement and support we received on social media, through email, and comments on our site. We appreciate every one of YOU!!!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 1, 2019:

One year ago, we arrived in Nevada to visit family. Son, Richard is a Vegas Golden Knight’s superfan when he had this mural painted on a wall in his backyard pool area. We’re looking forward to attending a game with him on December 8th. For more, please click here.

Day #252 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Time for some “whinging” (British for complaining)…

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Big Daddy Kudu by candlelight as darkness fell. Soon, we’ll be there once again.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2018 while living in the bush in Marloth Park, South Africa. For more on the story, please click here.

We see this same gecko almost every day on this same tree area in front of the veranda.  It appears to change colors from time to time.

The glow from booking plans to return to Marloth Park, South Africa, departing India on January 12, 2021, hasn’t diminished for me as I count down the days (Tom prefers not to count down). Right now, it’s 43 days until we depart in the middle of the night for the airport. May I say this with tongue in cheek?

  • 3,715,200 seconds
  • 61,920 minutes
  • 1032 hours
  • 43 days
  • Six weeks and one day
    Giraffe in the neighborhood. We never tire of seeing these beautiful animals.

Whew! It can’t go fast enough for either of us. There are few times in our eight years of world travel that we’ve wished for time to fly quickly. After all, when one gets to a “certain age,” we certainly want time to move slowly, but somehow it does not. Wishing or not, we seem to have no control over our perception of the creeping of time.

Besides the obvious, why are we so impatient after over eight months so far? There are a few reasons which we’ll share here today. I need to whine, whinge, complain a little, so please bear with me. If someone had told us that we had to spend even 43 days in a hotel room, with a worldwide pandemic raging around us, unable to risk going outdoors, literally stuck in an average-sized hotel room, only able to order room service and walk the corridors, I would have said, “No way!”

A determined walk along the fence by the Crocodile River.

But, here we are, and those 43 days loom over us like a very long time, especially right now, after eight months of doing this. Part of what has made the concept of these extremely challenging the next 43 days is that Indians have planned weddings for this period when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions impact the usual March through October season.

Subsequently, this hotel is packed with careless wedding guests with nary concerns about wearing face masks, social distancing, taking any other COVID-19 sensible precautions, and who smoke in the stairwell and their rooms in this non-smoking hotel. In reality, Tom and I should stop walking in the corridors now and not begin walking again until we arrive in South Africa.

The Crocodile River after sunset.

However, after working so diligently at my 5 miles, 8 km, in the corridors, each day, for all this time. If I stop now, I will lose all my vital conditioning in the next 43 days. I don’t walk to entertain myself. I walk to improve my cardiovascular health and avoid sitting in a chair for 16 hours a day.

It baffles me. When guests check-in here, they are explicitly informed there is a strict mask-wearing, other than when inside their rooms and the mandatory social distancing policy in this hotel, to protect themselves and other guests and the staff. Imagine how hard it has been for all employees who have slept here every night for many months, unable to leave the hotel to avoid infecting others from going out into the city or to their homes.

A beam of light reflected off the camera at sunset on the river.

Every half hour when I leave the room to walk, I encounter no less than six guests not wearing masks, often coming face to face with me when they storm outside their rooms without a mask. The staff has become very conscientious in wearing their masks properly, although we had to remind several of them to cover their noses early on.

We don’t allow the room service person in our room. The cleaner has to put on clean gloves before entering our space and keep a mask on while cleaning our room. Our cups and glasses must be washed before cleaning anything in our room. Previously, they’d wash the glasses after scrubbing the bathroom wearing the same gloves. We had to squawk about all of these for them to get it right.

Mom and four piglets stop by several times a time.

We’re tired of all of this. We’re tired of telling no less than 25 guests a day to put on a mask when we see them barging out of their rooms, often without even a mask in hand or heading to the elevators without a mask. I’m tired of complaining to the hotel managers. They, too, are frustrated. People don’t care.

We’re tired of guests staying in the room next to ours, never turning off their phone’s ring or vibration during the night, often waking us every 10 minutes. The two room’s beds back up to one another, and the walls aren’t soundproofed. We can hear everything.

Bushbuck baby, maybe dad and mom often stopped by at the bottom of the steps for their pellets.

We’re tired of the room on the other side of us with their door slamming all night long when the guests head to the stairwell to smoke at 2:00 am, 3:00 am, 4:00 am. We’re tired of the noisy wedding night where the entire hotel seems to vibrate from the loud music often until 4:30 am.

Gosh, please give me the sounds of the noisy hadeda birds (listen here) flying overhead at dusk, the exciting roar of a lion in the middle of the night, the insistent chirping of a hornbill pecking at the window for more seeds, or the hysterical sounds of warthogs snorting in the garden.

Tom took this early morning photo of a wound on yet another warthog which appears to be healing. Warthogs are sturdy and hardy animals that often survive serious injury without any intervention by humans.

Forty-three more days, forty-three more days…

Photo from one year ago today, November 30, 2019:

Chase, Susan’s adorable Yorkie. One year ago today, I saw my dear sister Susan, who’s since passed away. For more, please click here.