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6 + 2 =

After three surgeries I really hate needles, but I

After three surgeries I really hate needles, but I’ve never been so excited to get an injection in my life. In fact, after he took a couple photos, Joe said, “I’ll send you the second one rather because the first one looks like you’ve just been issued the vaccine via a suppository…” It feels like the first step to unlocking the world for us again. Phew! #vaccinationdone✔️

Not too long ago, when the third wave wasn't quite

They delayed their wedding by a full year because

They delayed their wedding by a full year because of covid.
Never has the phrase "worth the wait" felt so emotive, so true, so extravagantly full of love.
What a day.
What a life. ❤

Every time I land in Cape Town I can feel my energ

Every time I land in Cape Town I can feel my energy shift the moment I walk off the plane. God, I love it. But THIS time there's a whole extra fizz of joy... (please refer to the final video for more information).

It's hard to top the Amazon. (Joe agrees it's like

It's hard to top the Amazon. (Joe agrees it's likely I've ruined him, shame.) But I felt quite pleased about this birthday surprise. There's something about the enforced relaxation of not even having to think about food - apart from the difficult decision of which delicacy to order next - that makes you feel you've been away for longer than a quick weekend. We slept and slept and walked and reminisced and laughed and laughed and tried to remember how we got from that ferry in the Philippines to the next city when we'd run out of the local currency - oh yes we sold some Rands to that nice policewoman whose son collected foreign money - and also what movie was that song was from, and who was that actress, she hasn't been in anything for years, do you feel like another savanna? It was so lovely to be away in the bush. To listen to the birds in the early morning light; to hear the whine of the jackal in the dark. To sit on the beautiful open deck of an ACTUAL restaurant, watching paradise flycatchers performing an elaborate mating dance. To order a glass of wine and remember what it felt like to be a human in the world... as Joe sang quietly, "Cause your sex takes me to pa-ra-dise..."

A story from our sabbatical: When we were in Siqu

A story from our sabbatical: When we were in Siquijor in the Philippines (pics 1 to 5), we stayed at a beautiful place with a mean owner, run by two friendly Filipino women who spoke in a lilting, sing-song way.
"Thank you," you'd say.
"Wel-cooome!" they'd reply. Joe still says this word like this, a year and a half later. They had a cat, amusingly called Henry, that sauntered around the place. He had a knack for appearing just as you'd ordered food, and would pop his head up and meow at you, loudly and pointedly, on repeat, until one of the ladies came gliding up to you to sing, "Henry, you're starting to mau-mau again..."
Like he was this old man who maybe wasn't aware he was doing it. About a month and three countries later, we found ourselves on the Sri Lankan coast (pics 6 to 8) at a lovely place with the kindest owner. It was quite remote and we hadn't really planned for dinner. We decided that Joe would go for a run and see what he could find. (I had my heart set on some Sri Lankan samosas.) We were quite haphazard with our meals on our travels, mostly just eating when we were hungry. The trick was that hanger would sometimes sneak up on me. And then a meal would become urgent. Joe, on the other hand, didn't seem to think about food at all. In fact, he would gladly just take a pill and be done, if that was an option. At around 5pm my stomach started grumbling. And I started asking Joe, every 10 minutes or so, when he thought he might go for that run. He was reading and not in a hurry. Which was becoming increasingly problematic for me. After about the fifth time I asked, not looking up from his book, he said, quietly, "Henry, you're starting to mau-mau again..." It may have been the hunger, but I actually had to lie down I was so overcome with laughter. P.S. He did eventually go for that run and returned with amazing samosas. P.P.S. We still sometimes talk about Henry.

There were long periods of time last week where I

There were long periods of time last week where I didn't think about covid at all.

When we arrived at our accommodation in Thabazimbi

When we arrived at our accommodation in Thabazimbi, the lovely owner looked slightly skeptical as she asked us if we’d ever gone “off grid” before. “I feel a bit judged,” said Joe later. Maybe it was my dress and nail polish? It was rustic - no electricity, no phone signal. No people. Basically the perfect getaway in the Times of Rona.
She suggested we keep the door closed to keep “wildlife” out (this 100% means snakes).
She also told us that the lodge next door didn’t have anyone staying there so we decided to go exploring. We took one look at this pool and went to ask the owners if we could please switch accommodation. They laughed and said they would do exactly the same thing. So yay - except that our new digs was ENTIRELY open to the bush. Our bedroom, which opened right onto the pool, did have a tent flap you could zip closed but left a hand-height of open space above the floor. They didn’t warn us to keep things closed here. We managed to slip into conversation that we had “wild” camped in Patagonia and the Atacama Desert so this was very luxurious - and the owner’s reaction made us feel slightly redeemed. He had done the “Gringo Trail” back in the day and told us a story of being on a bus in Peru where they climbed very high into the mountains and the woman next to him - a stranger - passed out from altitude sickness. He’d read that you could potentially swallow your tongue, and panicked for her. So he gently reached into her mouth and held her tongue as they crested this incredible mountain pass. After some time she came to, and he quickly let go. She had no idea that the stranger next to her had held onto her tongue for her - “She probably doesn’t know to this day, you know!” We spent three whole days in this exquisite pool drinking savannas, listening to birds, and telling Ellie what a good dog she was (she was SO good). “If you listen carefully,” Joe said, “they don’t sing ‘Piet My Vrou’. It’s ‘Cute Black Dog’.”
Which is potentially the sweetest thing he’s ever said 😂 I will never hear it the same again. Grootfontein Private Nature Reserve. Book. Tell Jan we sent you and ask him about South America. I suspect he’s got more stories...

Clown child 😂🖤

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