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Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.
At the end of yesterday’s post, we mentioned, we’ll be sharing what we’re missing the most during this time of COVID-19 besides the apparent aspects of missing family and friends.
In speaking with our loved ones, we found that each person and family has their list of how lockdown has impacted their lives and what they are missing the most.
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| Two barn owls in the rafters at the Mugg & Bean Restaurant in Lower Sabie. For more on this year-ago post, please click here. |
It has varied from socializing with family and friends to walks in the park, shopping in malls and local shops, dining in restaurants, to such basic needs as being unable to find favorite necessary foods and beverages.
For many business owners, they are sorely missing the much-needed revenue stream they typically see in their businesses, coupled with the fears as to how long they’ll survive financially if lockdown continues any longer.
For many, they miss the peace of mind they’ve experienced in the past and perhaps didn’t appreciate enough the freedom of not worrying about life-threatening illness befalling them and their family members and friends.
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| Female lions lounging in the shade |
Regardless of what others have missed, our hearts go out to everyone during this difficult time. This is the first time in history that non-infected citizens have been quarantined. Sadly, this insidious virus cannot be detected in the healthy without a test. Taking temperatures is simply not enough.
As more and more guests check in to our hotel (we’re now back up to about 20 guests), we wonder if they are carrying the virus, although their temperature was taken at the door when they entered. They could easily be carrying the virus without any symptoms at all.
What do we miss while living in this hotel in lockdown in Mumbai, India? Here’s our list, not necessarily in any particular order since it can change each day:
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| Dinner in Kruger National Park when friends Lois and Tom visited when we’d gone on a nighttime game drive. |
1. The freedom to order products we need online, knowing a shipment may be on its way soon:
At this point, no international packages are being delivered in India, not through FEDEX, DHL, or any other service. Our mailing service rep, Eric at Maillinkplus in Las Vegas, Nevada, replied to our inquiry, stating that at this time, there isn’t a single shipping company in the world shipping parcels to India. However, oversized shipments from some companies are arriving. We have a package waiting to be shipped to us with essential supplies that we may not be able to receive for months to come.
2. Purchasing groceries and cooking our meals:
No doubt, I miss having a kitchen to create a week’s menu and shop and cook accordingly. As we mentioned many times, having the same meals over and over again is boring and unsatisfying. Thank goodness the hotel chefs are good cooks and the repetitious meals are flavorful. We both miss the variety.
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| Ms. Bushbuck is resting in the garden. |
3. Beef, snacks, hard cheeses:
Neither of us has had any beef in over three months. This is a first for Tom, not so much for me. I’d love a grass-fed beef burger, minus the bun, with cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. Tom mentions roast beef, beef taco salad, meatloaf, steak, and hamburger. Snacks would be excellent.
4. Wine for me, beer, or cocktails for Tom:
This speaks for itself.
5. Paper towels, Windex, and disinfectant cleaner:
I’ve always been a paper towel person. Although I was always careful in not using them excessively. Now, I’d love to be able to wipe things down, although our room is immaculate.
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| A cute bunny on the road in Kruger National Park. |
6. Freedom:
To be unable to continue on our travels as we have over these past 7½ years is frustrating, along with the uncertainty of the future. Here, we cannot go outside for a walk or sit in the garden (yard) for some fresh air and sunshine. We’re taking big doses of Vitamin D3 to compensate for the lack of sun. Being unable to jump into a car and drive somewhere will be significantly appreciated sometime in the future.
7. Socializing:
It’s true, in some countries we don’t have an opportunity to make friends and socialize. But it’s been such a joy to engage in lively conversations with others and on cruises. Now, we only speak casually to the courteous staff, but it’s not necessarily considered socializing.
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| A pair of hippos and a couple of cape buffaloes. |
8. Cruising:
A big part of the joy in traveling the world has been the pure pleasure of cruising to many exotic locations and frequently conversing with travelers from all over the world. The entire ambiance of the cruise experience has been a vital part of our lives, also in getting us from location to location, enabling us to avoid flying as much as possible. Will this ever be possible again?
9. Living in a more spacious environment:
Living in one room, except for a few hours a day, isn’t easy. We keep our room tidy and relatively clutter-free, but even so, it’s a small space.
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| A Nyala, the first we’d spotted in Kruger National Park. |
10. Doing laundry:
We’re sure you’ve heard about our laundry situation ad nauseam, but I do miss doing laundry, providing more options on what we wear.
11. Sightseeing and taking new photos for our posts:
It’s been about six weeks since we were sightseeing in India, taking and sharing many photos along the way. We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.
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| More Nyala in Kruger. |
Sure, we miss all of the above-listed items and maybe a few more we don’t recall at the moment. However, we’re both holding up quite well. Our biggest goal through this entire process has been to maintain a good attitude with hope for times to come, regardless of the inconveniences we may be experiencing now.
We hope and pray for all of you as we each work our way through these difficult times.
Stay safe.
Photo from one year ago today, April 30, 2019:
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| The only squirrel we’d ever seen in South Africa. For more photos, please click here. |