Spanish at Locations .... and New Year !

 

A quiet one! We were back in Boquete, at the house at the Spanish School, almost regretting not having a couple of days still to spend here. But the wind was blowing really hard, and the rain was showering down, keeping us inside, and only now and then did we have the chance to lay in the colorful hammocks on the patio. With some red wine and sweet Ponchia, a local drink for Joe and Janlie, we played charades and Pictionary On Marco`s I-pad! The rain lifted for a while and as the clock struck twelve, we watched the fire works of all our neighbors lighting up the darkness. To all of you….A blessed New Year!

Bastimentos Island, Bocas Bound Hostel

The four days on this beautiful island went by too quickly, and we tried to savor every minute! Like the sloths living on the island, just hanging around, moving from green leave to green leave, I wished we could just move from sun spot to sun spot, being together…..

‘ Hmmm, isn`t that exactly what we all are doing?’ I wonder.

The sea was green and warm and we played in the waves, lazy in the sun on the beach, dreamed in the shade of the mangroves…. And every night we played! Knock-knock was the game we taught the Germans, and pool was the game Joe played with the girls?

We had so much fun, having loads of time to talk, to think….and of course I found my spot…

We were invited by the German young people for dinner, and shared their pot filled with rice and diced onions and carrots. You can just imagine Johan`s frustration with no supermarket on the island, and no supplies to cook for all these people in the blue communal kitchen! We shared our tin of sardines and mussels on dry salty crackers, and taught an ex- Vegetarian German the secrets of Mussels! We went to bed, thrilled with being alive, and crawled into our beds after sharing a can of condensed milk and maraschino cherries…

 

Bocas del Torro, Panama

It was the day after Xmas, we were packed, again! Janlie hasn`t been touched by the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, ever, and we had to share that with her. Only with our backpacks we got into a shuttle and enjoyed the ride for almost four hours to Bocas. It was hot and humid, and I loved it! Bocas, Almirante was dirty and we were shocked to see the state of the water. Houses on stilts were built in the water, and the people lived in this dirt. Still amazed at the pollution, we sat waiting for the water taxi.

Three local men, were eating their lunch, wrapped in white paper and plastic, and the first one finished his, only to drop the rubbish right there in the water, right in front of us. We sat there, shocked, watching the white of the paper and the plastic bag floating passed our feet…. It was too much! Johan stood up, walked over, and politely asked them not to throw their rubbish in the water, asking them why? They finished the rest of their lunch, looked over to us, laughing, and mockingly threw the rubbish in the water. We sat, watching the white of the paper, and the two plastic bags drifting…..and saw the three men, emptying their pockets of everything inside, and dropping it into the water…. We left with the taxi, filled with a little bit of despair as we passed the open toilets of every little shack, dropping into the same water…. After a while reaching the open water, the dirt stayed behind with the humans, suffocating them, and the Ocean tried to safe itself, as the water started clearing up.

We pretended to forget, we wanted to see the beauty in the mangroves and the many islands. We reached Bastimentos, and longingly saw the yachts on anchor… It was clean and a beautiful island! A tropical island for Janlie!

We were booked into the hostel, Bocas Bound, and giggled as we unpacked our stuff into the four lockers, choosing our bed for the night in the dorm with 12 beds!

Johan did try to get us a private room somewhere on the island, but luckily there was none! I loved this, sleeping on the top bunker bed, with my whole family all around me. I loved waiting for the other young people to finish off in the shower, or the kitchen. I loved sharing this world!

The communal room was great with the restaurant and bar, and pool tables and table tennis, and thick cushions on the couch!

 

 

We were living among and around each other. Waking up and going to bed with all these young people! We loved it, and the kids loved it, meeting young people with young people`s dreams from all over the world! Germans, French, Dutch, Costa Ricans…and five South-Africans!

Spanish at Locations!

The day before Xmas we left Valle Escondido and moved into the house/hostel of the Spanish school at the River. We could pick and choose where to sleep, with the four bedrooms, sleep 8! But we didn`t bother too much about that or unpacking, because it was the 24th, and Marco and me got our Xmas tree ready, and I still had to wrap all the presents!

Johan and the others were planning the dinner and preparing in the little kitchen. Chocolates and more chocolates! A very sweet Xmas we had, and the sweetness of being together and the sweetness of our sharing filled the room, and lit up the candles on the shelf!

To all our followers, and especially the new ones,
..... our wish for all of you ,
..... for this festival of Love,
......is kindness to all,
..... kindness to the one sitting next to you, because you do not know the battle that person is fighting.

Seven Indigo Feathers...

 

 

 

 

Seven Indigo Feathers for my family...

We are so blessed, our seven souls, and today I am bending down my head, just with a prayer of gratefulness.

It was planned so nicely to bundle together Seven Indigo Feathers, to land on a trunk covered with moss. Sometimes the moss underneath us, turned a little brown when we dried up a bit to the Love of Life, sometimes the moss became patchy, when one of us lost track of the Love of Family, sometimes the moss were a jubilant green, when the Love of God brought us together over miles, just in thought and in our hearts!

Thank you for taking the Time, the Time to sit down with each one of us, on a trunk covered with Moss, holding our hands gently in Yours, and allowing us to choose to Live to Learn to Love our life's together.

I bend my head and place Seven Indigo Feathers in Your Hand...a bouquet of Love!

Thank you, thank you, thank you....

Dad, Mom, Louis, Jaco, Janlie, Joe, Marco



 

Our lost Love came home!

I neglected the blog, only because we had such a wonderful time filled with love with our daughter who came home! Three of our five children were with us, and it felt a little bit better. But we are not home, you would say! I thought about that a lot, but I realised that I found home, wherever I found love, and I can give "home" to my children wherever I am. This photo was taken as she got off the bus, trying to get our emotions under control....but it was too sore, too raw!

We spend our last week and a bit in Valle Escondido, and said good bye to the wonderful "home" and gym and sauna, and "my garden".  (The white big rock in the photo came all the way from Las Tablas, to the disgust of the boys who had to carry it for me..)

But before we left we decided to go on a hike. We heard about a hike from a friend in the gym, and we went to a tour agency for more info, when the girl told us about an even better hike, Queatzales! Joe and I were in charge, and we decided that, we all are going to do that the next day! We stocked up on snacks and water, and got every one into the bus to David. An hour an a half later in the black and yellow school bus, we left with another bus to Cerro Punta. This was such a scenic trip with a small bus, and the little town, Cerro Punta was even more beautiful. We asked the bus driver about the Cambio les Queatzales, and he decided to drive us all the way to the road leading to the Entrada! (entrance)  Little did we know that it was still 6 km walk to the real Entrada, but our spirits were so high, not even the dark clouds could dampen them. With our indigo feathers in our hair, we started up the hill.

Two young guys gave us a short lift, about a kilometer, on the back of their truck, and soon the feather brigade were on their feet again! It was steep, and not so easy for all of us, but my poor children know, with 'mom' behind you, there is just no stopping!

The Nature was unbelievably beautiful! I`ve hiked a lot of hikes these passed years, and this one was definitely one of the best. The trail was brand new, and not officially opened for the public yet, but will open somewhere in January 2013, but the girl at the tour agency said we could go! While hiking and getting enchanted by the beauty, it started drizzling softly but the canopies of the trees were keeping us slightly dry.

Not for too long! As soon as we were starting to go down on the other side of the mountain, it started pouring, and the trees weren`t of much help anymore, but when we heard the howler monkeys, we forgot about our wet bodies.

Marco and Janlie, were far ahead of us, trying to get out of the jungle, maybe to find a shelter or a dry place.  We were soaked and the wind came up, and we were loosing body heat, and we tried to walk as fast as possible, but the trail was getting slippery. It felt like hours before we reached the end of the jungle, and we were looking forward to the bus around the corner, according to the 'girl' at the agency!

Already the hike of 10km turned into 10 plus the 6 on your way to the Entrada.......so we were cold and hungry and wet and tired!

Of course there was not a bus or a taxi in sight in this rain, washing down in buckets, and the wind blowing icy cold around the mountain, as we saw a post saying, 13km to Boquete! We shared the last two sandwiches and a squashed pear. Who planned this hike?

Along the way we were trying to get the few cars passing to have mercy on us, but no one had space for five people! When a guy stopped his truck close to us, Johan started talking in Afrikaans, to this Spanish person...."Kan ons opklim?" (Can we get on?) Of course this poor guy said something like, "Si"  and he got his whole family onto the back of the truck in no time! Hmmm, but not for long....when the Spanish and poor English and no-Afrikaans got into gear, we realised that this guy is not going to Boquete, and the five of us had to get off, and started walking again. It was getting late and we still had a long way to go. It was amazing to have my family around me, to see and hear inner strength coming out of no where, encouraging each other, helping a frozen Marco to forget about his aching body. It was wonderful to see their joy when we found an old man selling potato chips, eating it as if it was the best warm cooked meal ever...while dreaming about hot chocolate!

My toes were starting to burn like fire! Luckily I wasn`t wearing my baby blue crocs again, but my old running shoes didn`t do any better. I knew that I was starting to get into trouble, and I asked for help silently in my mind...and soon!

A little while later, we walked passed a little house with a family, standing in their garage, with a red car parked in it! That was all I saw! Joe and I walked towards them, and in our little bit of Spanish we begged them to take us into town! The young man smiled, looked at our blue lips and noses, and told us to wait while he gets his keys! The angel took us into town, the last 7km, I knew was going to be too far! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So we got home safe, had the hot chocolate, and everything else in the fridge......

Aruba!

No silver in my heading this time, because the silver was overflowing on this spectacular island. I don`t know whether it was in the name, Aruba but something was always pulling me towards this island. Maybe the name sounds so exotic, so islandy! I was here, looking down from my balcony!

It is indeed beautiful! It is an absolute mecca for the tourist, with colorful hotels, spectacular shops,  from the markets with their local flavor, to the Mall with the 'pull in your tummy' Gucci and more...
We walked passed all these shops very quickly...

And there I found the place! Far away from all the people, with the yachts on anchor in the bay, a white sandy beach with big shady trees with knotty branches.

We loved the sand, the warm blue water.... We spend the whole day in the ocean, and under the tree, before we slowly returned to the tables laden with good food!

It was our last evening on the ship, and it was time to say good bye, to people who touched us. We hugged the two girls at the Spa, taking their love back to South-Africa soon.

We grew fond of Marina, from India, our waiter, and young Alex from Peru, and Aymen from Tunisia.... Good bye new friends!

I was sad to say good bye to this wonderful selfish time...time only for Johan and I...but our little and not so little ones were waiting for us...

Thank you, thank you, thank you....

 

Silver Oysters in Curacao!

The wonder just didn`t stop, it carried on when we stepped on land at Curacao! We left the big Mother Ship with our tummies too full, but we enjoyed the tastes of berries and fruit and juices! We tried to avoid everything we are used to, and devoured the new tastes and not so available food!  I decided the second day at the lunch buffet, that I am not going to waste any time or calories on food or a healthy salad, I went straight for the desert table, laden with the most divine delicacies.

I am living the life in the Silver Oyster of the World! This was exactly the way I felt the morning on our way to land. I am so grateful for this life, this love...

Curacao is indeed an Oyster! It is ready for all the tourists, standing there with all its shops and markets, making it a memory. I helped the rustic man with his guitar to sing a song of Mandela and our country, keeping the rhythm.

We crossed this amazing bridge floating on the water, and as soon as a ship has to pass, the floating bridge are just pulled away, making space. The bridge is connecting the one side of the island with the other, too beautiful! I loved the colors of all the buildings, beautifully restored, inviting the people of about fourteen Cruise Liners visiting this island per week!  No wonder the shop assistants asked us which ship we are from all the time. They know the different Cruise Liners, how many people are aboard, which nationalities are aboard, the shopping patterns of the people, etc. When they heard we are from the Grandeur of the Seas, they were curious where we from, and how did we get here, so far away from our country?  They told us, that we were early for that ship, because the Latino`s first go to the playas (beaches) and then they hit the shops! And they just love a bargain or a Sale, and that is why there are discounts today in all the shops!  Hmmm, I enjoyed the science of Sales!

The perfume and the watches and electronics are a good buy on this island, and the people came aboard with flat screens and lots of pink Victoria Secret`s bags!

 

A Silver Thread of Love.

 

It didn`t stop, we were having a wonderful time! It was special not to have the kids around, no school, no food no cleaning up.....the only two people around was Johan and I!

 

 

But the kids were in our thoughts a lot, when we saw these beautiful young girls...we wanted to share them with Joe and Marco at home. When I enjoyed the soft sweetness of the chocolate mousse, Janlie shared it with me. At the Soda Fountain, we drank a glass for Jaco. And we missed Louis, when we remembered how he made up his mind to be in the entertaining world one day, after being on the Ship with us, five years ago!

We lazied the day away at the pool...

And the evening we dressed up for the Captains` Dinner!

 I spend hours in front of the mirror, loving it to sit quietly in a soft white robe, touching my freshly washed hair, applying mascara to my lashes. Do I sound silly? Can you really try and get into my shoes for a little while? And remember I am wearing black high heels, not my flip flops or my scaly salty feet....
I am dousing my slightly tanned skin in Chanel, enjoying the rich softness of the smell. Can you imagine me, enjoying the smell, not of  Citronella, or Sun Lotion...
I felt like a women again...soft, so female, so spoilt!

And of course I enjoyed my man, and couldn't believe how gorgeous he looked just for me!

 

Silver turns to Gold!

Today was our Anniversary, the 5th of December, although my Anniversary started when Johan and I got into the yellow taxi at our Villa Escondido. And before that it started in a little town, Ogies (Little Eyes) in SA when I married the man polishing his shoes on the steps of the church!

Bonaire! Our next destination! We walked down and were met by all the people so excited to see the tourists pouring out of these big Cruise Liners. It was hot and humid, and we walked the town. We were searching through the yachts, maybe we might see a familiar one! Maybe Tikka might be here, maybe?

It is a lovely island, with shops and cafe`s filling the streets, and I rested in the heat at the side of a welcoming soft women!

It was so quiet on the Ship when we returned, with all the people on land, we enjoyed the pool, and the sun on the deck chairs!

And of course there was no one at the ice cream bar!

Of course we visited the gym on the ship. With all the sweetness I was consuming, I had to try and burn a bit! On the way to the gym, we enjoyed the Spa, en met the two beautiful girls from SA! How wonderful it was to speak in Afrikaans, to laugh and to hug as if...  Changtelle came from Springs, so close to my birthplace, and Victoria from Joh`burg. Johan and I were the only guests on the ship from SA!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, being spoilt by our waiter, Marina and Alex with a candle on a cake and joyful singing celebrating with us!

When we opened our door to our room, we were surprised by a plate filled with chocolate coated strawberries, and a bottle of wine! I was brought to tears with a white card on the little table, in my language! The two girls wrote us a card, pouring with the love in their hearts! Thank you, thank you, thank you....

To parents, somewhere in SA, who let their girls go to work on this ship, be proud! They are beautiful, professional, happy and filled with love!

With the sweet taste of strawberries, we fell asleep...