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All posts by Mary

Dec 30
1
Happy New Year - 2013 / 2014

 Reflecting on What has Past 

By | Musings, Our Travels | One Comment

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”

― Neil Gaiman

I love this, and I wish this for all of you. My only addition would be, do it with positive intention and grace.

2013 has been a truly eventful year, in so many ways, not least of which has been our epic US travels. We did it this year, we did what scared us, what we’ve dreamed of for so many years. We hopped the pond, we swallowed the currency exchange, and we arrived without much of a plan, just 4 bags full of hope. But I know that had we not done it, we would sit for the rest of our lives saying “Imagine we had done those travels we always dreamed of?” Now we have done it, well started anyway, and don’t kid yourselves, we have made our fair share of mistakes in the process, but I don’t for one minute regret the adventure we have begun. Some days have been hard, and we have shed our fair share of tears, but what we have seen and what we have learned has more than made up for it.

Beginning the year we had 2 children in nappies. We are ending the year in a foreign country, alive, happy, blessed, countless adventures under our belt, with 2 children capable of hiking a mountain on their own, skiing through a forest and most exciting of all, not wearing nappies! If nothing else, it makes us realize how quickly things change and how important it is to take charge of where you want to be. There is a time and a place for sitting back and enjoying the ride, and hopefully we will allow ourselves to do that in 2014, but there is also a time to push yourself, to challenge what you think is possible, to stretch your limits. For everyone it is different, and so is the balance. We will strive to get our balance right next year.

3 months away from South Africa has taught us more about our country than we could have learned being there. Watching from a distance has allowed us to see how unified our country actually is, how it pulls together at a time of nationwide mourning in a way that we could never have imagined. The coverage our country received after the passing of our beloved leader showed just how much he meant to the rest of the world too. It was both a heartwarming, but also tragically sad time to not be amongst our own people, to join in the memorials and moving tributes. It was hard to not be there. The sheer number of people we have met from other countries who know what amazing places lie within our borders, and the friendliness our countrymen are renowned for is a real tribute to our land. Seeing the awesome landscape in another country really brings home the amazing natural wonder we have in our own backyard, there is not a lot that comes close to African beauty.

What I can say for sure; is that making mistakes isn’t as scary in hindsight as it is before you make them, and nothing will help you grow faster. Don’t be too scared to act. Live what you dream. Happy 2014, mistakes and all!

Dec 27
1
The 'state' of Nevada

Bullets and Burgers

By | Our Travels | No Comments

There is a certain kind of people, a very special kind, that dwell in the State of Nevada. Phrases like “great mullet” are normal and highly regarded, as are signs reading “All you can eat!” and “Machine guns ready to fire!”. Honestly, I wish I had made up the title ‘Bullets and Burgers’, but the credit goes to some hillbilly in the middle of nowhere who actually owns a joint by that name.

After a day at the Grand Canyon, we felt we had seen it all. The views are amazing, no doubt, but after our previous National Parks, it lacked a little of the a-w-e-some-ness. It is super touristy, and by that I mean, SUPER touristy! It is swarming with cameras, screaming children and high heel toting women with sequins all over their shirts. Not that I have anything against screaming children or dressed up women, but when in the midst of being floored by the incredible spectacle nature has put on for us, I prefer to be surrounded with more appreciation for the earths grandeur, and less for Gucci and Prada’s. So after some pretty great views of the canyon, and a short hike down a cold gorge, we threw in the towel and headed off to Vegas.

 

A very ‘interesting’ drive, took us past sign after sign of shooting ranges and dilapidated hillbilly ‘mobile home towns’. It was actually a good warm up for Vegas. Driving into the city we were blown away by the amount of smog, and struck but how much it felt like we were driving into Joburg. It was dry and dusty, and didn’t have much going for it in any way, other than the surprisingly large and beautiful mountains surrounding the city – when you catch a glimpse of them through the smog that is. And then of course there is the strip – 4km’s of some of the most interesting hotels you are likely to see, all squeezed up alongside each other, and each vying for your attention in its own way. Innocent and naive little me however, was not prepared for the higher-grade-sneaky-corporate-hotel-money-making-scheme that awaited us.

We were pleasantly surprised at the incredible suite we were able to stay in for a relatively affordable amount of money. I spent a lot of time that evening trying to figure out how on earth a hotel that size can kit each room out with Miele kitchen appliances, 2 bathrooms complete with a bath that is the size of (and functions like) a jacuzzi, 2 massive flat screen tv’s, one of which magically rises out the top of the solid wood Edwardian desk, floor to ceiling windows and every luxury you could expect in a 5 star hotel. It confounded me… until we tried to leave the hotel the next morning. It took us a good half an hour to walk to the hotel next door. There is no easy path to leave the hotel, only a convoluted passage along the casino floor, leading you past what felt like mile after mile of slot machines and hotel owned restaurants and shopping mall, or, a walk down the long driveway which is largely reserved for all the valet parked vehicles, and definitely not pedestrian friendly.
I moan, but I suppose Vegas wasn’t designed for people who have a negative physical reaction to the thought of throwing money into a machine. Nor was it designed for children. This point may just be what sank the ship for us. All shows have an age limit of 5 and above, so we couldn’t even take the kids to watch a Cirque du Soleil performance. Disappointing, but digestible. What gave us indigestion was the cost of hiring a babysitter, roughly R2000 for 4 hours – minimum! Shaun’s face went visibly grey and I think I did a pretty good impression of someone with Tourette’s. So instead, we walked the strip with the kids in tow, and realised what a bad idea it was. The first night we tried it, the kids were so tired they ended up falling asleep in our arms just as we got out on the strip, a largely painful process when you have a 30 min walk back to your hotel room through the maze of a casino and sprawling hotel. Shaun had Lola snoring on his back while he did a ‘Hunchback of Notre dame’ walk, to try and keep her from falling off. I had Lincoln doing his ‘curl into a ball’ trick as he falls asleep, trying desperately to get his legs tucked right under my chin, while I struggled to keep all his limbs on board and keep my shaky arm muscles from showing their exhaustion on my face. Shaun took this rather amusing picture of us in the lift as a memento…

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The Signature Hotel .. in the lift .. sigh ..

 

Brave parents that we were, we tried again the next night. For the first time on our trip, we actually felt judged. There are almost no kids in Vegas, and definitely none out after dark. People were a little harassing, a little too ‘in your face’ and the kids didn’t respond well to it. We ended up carrying them to see the fountain show at the Bellagio, which was beautiful, and to the ‘aquarium’ at the Mirage. We walked through a couple of other hotels but found the same annoying problem of getting lost in the casino maze, being surrounded by smokers, and being blinded by the headlights that most woman had masquerading as breasts. I definitely didn’t look the part, I had a 4 year old live doll on my hip, my dress was too long, my heels to low, and my assets looked like I had been backed over by a truck in comparison to all the other women walking around.  We saw all the lights and splendor that goes with Las Vegas at night, but unless I get heaped with a truck load of money I don’t need, I don’t think Vegas is somewhere I would go back to, especially not with kids, and more for their sake than ours.

 

We were happy to leave the next day, and make our way to Death Valley. As it turned out, there was a little less death, and a little more snow. The barren landscape we had prepared ourselves for was covered in beautiful white powder, and what is considered the hottest place on earth was a chilly -4. It was an amazing place to drive through, but nothing like it is renowned for. Quite frankly, I think I preferred it this way, but Shaun was a little sad to miss the vast expanse of desert and Namibia-like scenery.

 

I think we were both quite relieved to reach the Sierra Nevada foothills and the end of what felt like hundreds of miles of barren lands and busy days. Not only was a snowy Christmas awaiting us, but also 3 weeks of real relaxation and family time. Aaaaaaah… finally.

Dec 22
1
Standing underneath Corona Arch - Arches National Park, Utah

Our Frozen Potatoes

By | Hikes, Our Travels, Parks | No Comments

It is hard to describe the magnificence of a national park – photos don’t come close. There is a reason a piece of earth has been cordoned off and declared exceptional. Imagine a blazing red sand dusted with the whitest snow, valleys where mountains of rock stretch straight up towards the sky, and waterfalls frozen in time with only cracking icicles hinting at their movement, and you will have an idea of the incredible views we had driving through Arches, Canyon Lands and Zion national parks – sites that easily feature on our list of most phenomenal places to see.

As Shaun so succinctly put, Arches National Park looks as though God has been practicing building castles. There are towers of rock scattered randomly across the plains, and towering arches of rock that defy gravity. By my understanding they should by lying in a neat pile of rubble on the floor.
We hiked with the kids to one of the biggest arches, and it was extraordinary. Through snow for most of the hike, we were then rewarded with a bright red arch of rock that spanned 140 feet.Several arches required walking to from the parking areas, a hike in the children’s case, and this necessitated getting out of a 22 degree car and into -9 degree fresh mountain air. Awesome you might say, well the children thought not! By the end of the day they were fed up, tired, and totally disinterested in our starry-eyed gazing at the rock formations. We ended up running back to the car as the sun was setting and it was nearing -15, carrying the kids on our backs wrapped in our coats so they wouldn’t be mentally scarred from the cold. The last thing we needed was to have them blatantly refuse to go outside the next day!

 

With a warmer high of -9 the following day, we managed to coax them down to the car with promises of hot chocolate and blankets, promising them they didn’t have to hike that day. On opening the car door, our potatoes that we had in our ‘grocery cupboard’ fell out the car with a very loud crack. We Africans still have to get used to the idea that anything left outside, even in the car, freezes over night! 1 bag of potatoes down, we are now learning. With the kids being thankful that they weren’t left in the car over night, they climbed in hastily and began nestling in for warmth. Being the trustworthy parents that we are, we left the kids to fall asleep in the car (on the way) to Canyon Lands, and let them lie in blissful slumber while we climbed out to take photos and gape at the absolutely astonishing vistas. These views could make you believe you are on another planet – they are eerie, and breathtaking.

 

Obviously giving the kids a day off worked in our favour. Arriving at Zion National Park the following day, we managed to have the kids sufficiently psyched to attempt another snow hike, this time with more thermals! All was going swimmingly, until we reached this sign…

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The picture says it all doesn’t it?! So we followed our eyelash-batting- clan-leader over the no entry sign! This of course was after I had told Lola how naughty the other men were for crossing over it just as we got there – so she blatantly refused, saying we were not allowed. In the mean time Shaun headed off with Lincoln in tow, slipping and sliding with glee, and I carried rule-abiding Lola while almost landing on my rump as we negotiated our way over the treacherous ice, keeping a beady eye upwards to make sure a somewhat large and pointy icicle didn’t come crashing down on top of us!  The boys of course didn’t even consider this as an option and had a ball laughing their way underneath the frozen waterfall. Dramatics aside, it was incredible once we were able to continue our hike up the gorge. There was plenty of snow and we were yet again amazed at the hiking ability of our 3 and 4 year old when given half a chance. We have had it proven to us time and again that if you give the rope some slack and put a little faith in them (obviously within reason) they blow you away with their capabilities. Our hike in Zion was no exception.

 

Back at the ranch (I believe the town we stayed in was called Springdale) we enjoyed a bubbly hot tub experience, while the town folk were getting ready for the evenings Christmas parade. It was shiny in a way that only an American Christmas can be. So with stars in our eyes, and Christmas jingles in our heads, we hit the hay for a much needed nights rest.

Dec 20
1
Our journey thus far. New York to Las Vegas, a quiet 8000km's travelled!

Rewards of Spontaneity

By | Our Travels | No Comments

The lack of decent internet is becoming a rather exhausting problem. Couple that with being hosted by amazing, warm, hospitable, very distracting, ex-LA-current-Texans, and finding time to write and blog has blown away like a paper plane in a tornado. I always seem to be 2 steps behind. Shaun and I seem to lack the forward planning gene – one of the few things we actually have in common. This is the only reason a trip of this magnitude was possible for us. ‘On a wing and a prayer’ seems to be our unspoken, yet shared motto.

Recently we found out how well spontaneity can work out, after Erin and Marty (Lincolns angels from Mexico) invited us to stay with them in Dallas. Not only did they welcome us, relative strangers, into their home, but they first hooked us up with their good friends Erik and Judy in Austin. We couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome anywhere, let alone from people we hardly knew. We were taken in, fed, given beds, shown around, and entertained, with not a whisper of how we might have put them out. It’s the kind of hospitality I would hope to find from close friends and family, it was both heart warming and humbling to find from busy strangers in a foreign country.

Included in our personal tour guides, excellent cuisine, local hangouts and private winter-wonderland-packed weekend, was a Phillip Phillips and John Meyer concert! Having always lived in South Africa, I cannot explain the excitement at finding out last minute that not 1, but 2 artists of this magnitude are playing 20 minutes down the road!.. and there were still tickets!!! 🙂 This is an experience that will be hard to beat – it is soundly etched in our memories!

 

Following that unforgettable experience, were then several more. On advice from our new American friends, we decided to squeeze in 3 extra National Parks on our way from Texas to the Grand Canyon. I use the term ‘on our way’ loosely. Not an impossible feat, but one which required much shuffling of our itinerary, and an extra 1300 km of driving. It was worth it! Thank you unspoken motto.

I’m beginning to think that for once the kids read the memo, their cooperation at our travelling distances and recent spate of moving every 2 days is mind blowing. The fact that they haven’t turned into belligerent little gremlins who refuse to sit in their seats or be buckled in defies my logic. That’s not to say that they aren’t tired of moving, God knows I need a break from all the driving, packing and eating out. We have been willing the 20th on so we can give work the old boot for a few weeks. ‘We’ is a bit of a strong word however. I will be catching up on the very ramshackle inner workings of our companies accounting system, while simultaneously continuing to furnish you all with stories of our adventures. Shaun and the kids will, however, have a much needed break from both work and tiring travel. My break will be in not having to pack our suitcases every few days, squeeze us and the average sized luggage store into the car, navigate our way through Hicksville to our next adventuresome town, and the real bonus, having an extra pair of eyes to watch the kids! They have both grown about a foot since we arrived, and with that has come the speed of a hundred horses – they are so quick we can’t seem to keep up anymore.

I look forward to regaling tails of national parks and gambling lands, and with the sun shining down on the glistening snow, I promise to not get too distracted, even though I know our next spontaneous adventure is lurking around the corner. Peace Y’all!

Dec 14
1

Third World America

By | Our Travels | No Comments

ealisation hit home as we arrived in New Orleans, that it’s not just Americans that live in a bubble. Yes, I just swallowed my pride. Many are quick to criticise Americans for not knowing what goes on in the rest of the world (and boy have we seen a lot of that on this trip) but New Orleans showed us how little we knew of what went on after hurricane Katrina.

Now don’t get me wrong, I loved New Orleans. It is one of the quirkiest, most eclectic, bohemian cities I have seen. It is truly unique, a real mix of 19th century French and English rivaling architecture. But as we walked through the city, chatted to the locals and drove out to the most affected areas, we were blown away by the devastation the city sustained. We couldn’t believe how much of the ‘Katrina story’ we were unaware of. The fact that 90% of the city and surrounds were under water, and the average height of that water was 6 feet, was a crushing visual. The heartbreak though, was in learning that the less affluent areas had up to 22 feet of water for miles in every direction! The locals spoke of how the government failed them and the city was left to right itself. Support was minimal and the aftermath sounds like they were describing poverty ridden countries at war, every man for himself, with no possessions left to lose or moral code for human behaviour. It was a true eye opener to hear any part of the States described in this way, let alone the jazz capital of the US. That’s just not supposed to happen in America.

Many driveways, no homes. The flood took them all.

Many driveways, no homes. The flood took them all.

A lonely, worse-for-wear home, that withstood the flood.

A lonely, worse-for-wear home, that withstood the flood.

One of Brad Pitt's 'Make it Right' foundation houses.

One of Brad Pitt’s ‘Make it Right’ foundation houses.

Thankfully, with time and hard work the city has righted itself, much to the delight of music and bohemian lovers everywhere. Downtown, the French Quarter and the Garden District are beautiful, even though the outer areas still show much of the carnage of 2005. Despite being ‘off season’, the streets were bustling and the music was exceptional. We obviously couldn’t go into the bars with the kids, even though Lincoln stood outside one of them crying because he wanted a beer (he calls everything that’s not water or fruit juice, beer)! The doorman gave us a very disapproving look and shook his head. Needless to say we did our best to hurry the children on and we found an incredible outdoor venue where we all sat back and reveled in the New Orleans culture and timeless music. I’m pleased to say the kids seemed to enjoy the jazz as much as we did!

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We rode in ‘street cars’, ate ‘gumbo’, got draped in beads by both our concierge and festive people on the street, had a tour of one of the most famous cemeteries in America, and had both the worst coffee and most incredibly delicious beignets at the legendary Cafe du Monde. To complete our New Orleans experience, we headed into alligator country for another hairy adventure… a tour on the swamps, also somewhat ‘third-worldish’ and not smelling of ‘typical America’. It was incredible! Less hairy than we had hoped, the cold had snuck in the week before and all the big alligators had gone into hibernation for the winter. But, we did see a couple of small alligators and lots of the cutest turtles, and get to experience what the swamps are really like out in the middle of nowhere. They are incredibly beautiful and deathly still. An experience I would recommend everyone has if the opportunity presents itself.

As we left New Orleans and headed for Austin, we stopped over for a night in a house boat… on the swamps. It was interesting. Wobbly, but kinda cool. Not sure I’d do it again. New Orleans on the other hand, I’d do that again and again.

Dec 01
1
Shaun and the kids cruising through the Historic District in Savannah, GA.

Cruising Through the South, Reminiscing on what we’ve Learned

By | Our Travels | No Comments

After a week in Savannah, we feel culturally enhanced and fattened up like a turkey before Thanksgiving. Well, it may have been the turkey on Thanksgiving that did it – dang can the Southerners put on a spread!

This city is quaint, beautiful, and steeped in history. Everything we were looking for in an authentic old world Southern belle. Streets of cobblestone, walkways draped with Spanish Moss (this is what gives Savannah its ‘authentic’ look), massive ships that cruise past the port on their way up the river, the most amazing candy shop, exquisite cathedrals and old school city planning that should have been written in a handbook for all subsequent world conquerors. “Urban-parks” is all I can say – simply beautiful! The fact that I managed to get the whole family to a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet definitely added to the exquisite charm – what a production!

 

We arrived in Savannah at the same time as the first, very cold front passed over the States. We hid inside for a few days while we all adjusted to the new pace, and then extended our stay there so we could continue breathing in the beauty. Despite the near freezing weather, we had a hot tub at our apartment which the kids made good use of, and the owner was an ex South African which was delightful, you don’t realise how much you miss a South African accent until you don’t hear one for 2 months! Our 7 day stay allowed Shaun to get on top of his work, thankfully, and we managed to get in some much needed, yet crazy, Black Friday shopping! My efforts to get on top of planning accommodation for our following destination, keep the children entertained and educated, work in check, sightseeing list organised and meals prepared seems fruitless as I am busier than ever. I thought being away from home would afford me the opportunity to sit down a bit more, I thought at least here I wouldn’t have to clean and organise a house. I should have known better, with 2 littlies, you are always cleaning something!

Our hardest challenge has been trying to see as much as we can, but still live a relatively ‘normal’ life. We can’t be tourists everyday, it’s exhausting. So we are trying to experience what it feels like to actually live in a city as well as see the sights. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it horribly wrong, ending up either in our pyjamas all day or sightseeing until 10 at night, long past the children’s allotted cooperation hours. Having a routine here is much like the flight plan of the lesser spotted garden pig, a great idea, but tremendously fictional.

This trip has been a great lesson for me, I am a creature of habit, and if nothing else, this trip has forced all comfort and habit from our lives. Teaching the children that it’s okay for things to be constantly changing, as long as we have each other we have what’s important, is a life lesson we’d like them to carry with them as they grow. It’s been humbling to learn from the kids as we travel, that moving to new places is exciting, and an adventure, even if you don’t know where you are going, not the stomach-knotting experience I tend to make it. As strange as it may sound (considering I actually wanted to go on this adventure), ‘moving house’ every few days is not something that comes naturally to me. I spent the better part of my first 24 years in the same house. My roots in ‘sameness’ were formed. I would be the turtle. Shaun would be the tortoise. It took beginning this adventure for me to see that I, not the kids, seek familiar comforts and gravitate towards what I know. I now see those baby feeding schedules years ago were for me, not the babies after all.

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This is how we roll..

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packed to the brim…

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and working!

Many people have asked how the children are coping with all the moving around and hours spent travelling, the answer is: better than I would ever have expected! So good in fact, that we have decided they are far better travelers than Shaun and I, who constantly moan about our lack of sleep, cramped seating and sore necks. The kids simply settle in, Lola makes her nest, and Lincoln scatters toys around himself like a baker dusting flour. Just the thought of anyone seeing inside our vehicle when we stop is embarrassing, we have happy kids, but we also have half the days food scattered across the seats, Shaun’s office in the front, 2 bikes, 2 scooters, and of course 6 months worth of all-weather clothing for 4 people – that is simply not a small (or contained) load!.. a ‘container load’ pops to mind 😉

14 States and 3400miles later, we are learning the secrets to this travelling with children business. It isn’t always easy, but no incredible adventure ever is.

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Leaving our hotel in New Orleans. We certainly don’t travel light!

 

Nov 30
1
Lincoln enjoying the warm waters earlier that morning.

When the “1 Minute” Happens to You!

By | Musings, Our Travels | No Comments

When it comes to children and the water, everyone knows it just takes 1 minute with your back turned. Just 1 minute. That minute has now happened to us. Thankfully it all ended well, but we now have firsthand knowledge of how it happens. It is scary.

We decided to buy the children water-wings while we were in Mexico. They are loving the water and swim for hours on end, so this seemed the obvious choice. On purchasing the neon orange pairs, I thought to myself, we’d better be extra vigilant from now on, this is going to give them a false sense of their ability in the water. I knew this.After a wonderful morning in the water with the kids, Shaun and I started getting our things together to leave. We were standing next to the pool and a lovely couple from Brazil started asking us some questions about the kids. We were obviously too happy to gush about how wonderful they are, and couldn’t have been chatting for more than a minute – and really I mean a minute – with our backs to Lincoln. For anyone who knows our son, you know this is a silly thing to do. He is fearless, he is fast, and he is unpredictable. Water wings came off, and a little boy full of pride at his new ability to ‘swim’, jumped back into the water. We had no idea.

On the other side of the pool, Erin and Marty – a wonderful couple we met from Texas, had been watching our kids swim, commenting to each other on how well they were doing and how tired they would be that evening. As Erin looked up, she saw Lincoln jump into the water. A second later she saw Lincoln disappear under the water. Over the noise and music around the pool, we didn’t hear them shouting to us. Thankfully our guardian angels were watching, Lincoln’s guardian angels – overworked and always on call, were there (this time in the form of Erin and Marty Chavez). Marty jumped into the water while yelling to us, and we turned to find Lincoln nearing the bottom of the pool and sinking fast. We dived in … we got him. He hadn’t breathed in any water, thank God, but it was close. It was really close. After a good cry and a subdued afternoon he was back to his normal busy self, but we definitely weren’t. It left its mark, and rightly so.

We weren’t negligent parents, we hadn’t walked off, we had given them the talk about not getting into the water without their water wings on, but obviously it wasn’t enough. As the Southern Hemisphere enters summer, I plead with all my friends, with all the parents out there, be vigilant at the pool. Don’t turn your back, not even for 1 minute! You might not be as lucky as we were.

Nov 26
1
A Tulum sunrise - Mexico

Andale… Andale… Mexico here we go!

By | Beaches, Our Travels | No Comments

‘Back to reality’ weighs heavily on my mind this week as we find ourselves in the South of the US, in the cold, although reality is a strange thing to call it. None the less, the last few days have been an adjustment period for us, having to actually dress into pants and a t-shirt seems hard work after needing only spandex for the last 23 days. We have however been welcomed with an incredible display of fall foliage in Atlanta, and as we drive our way down to Savannah, I find my excitement growing in anticipation of the cotton-picking country and uniquely Southern surroundings.

Although leaving Mexico was like tearing myself away from a slice of black-forest cake (unbearable!) I feel blessed to still be a family of 4! I don’t mean to sound mellow-dramatic, but we had our fair share of events! Aside from Lincoln’s near drowning episode, our almost being run over by a car, wading through a lagoon with crocodiles (we were warned afterwards!), driving in buses on suburban roads in excess of 120km an hour (regularly! – speed limit 50km/h), we also discovered that Lola has somewhat of a celebrity status in Mexico. It turns out that not only blond hair, but ringlets of blond hair is so uncommonly seen, that we were followed, stopped, gawked at and generally treated as celebrities everywhere we went. Mexicans are a friendly bunch, and had no hesitation in stroking Lola’s hair, telling her how beautiful she was, asking if it was real, asking where she got it, did we ‘paint’ it, did I curl it, and taking pictures! It got so overwhelming for Lola at times that she took to hiding in clothing rails in the shops and under benches (with Linky in tow of course). One day on the beach Lola made friends with a little Mexican girl who she played catches with in the sea, every time this little girl caught Lola she would stroke her hair and pull on the ringlets, laughing and throwing her head back squealing with delight. Lola has always been complemented on her hair but nothing had quite prepared us for this level of admiration, it was quite astonishing. Needless to say, after all the attention, we feel rather lucky to have left with her in tow.

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Me, on Isla Mujeres.

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Loving the water!.. in Playa del Carmen.

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Beautiful Tulum.

We fortunately managed to steer clear of any drug cartels, unfortunately didn’t meet anyone named Jose, we were called gringo’s only once, drank way too many margarita’s, ate way too many nachos, and had only a fleeting moment in a sombrero, making our Mexican trip feel almost complete. What an incredible place to spend 3 weeks. The sea is a tepid bath, only a lot saltier, with some incredible bath toys. It is rather like swimming around in the first fish tank as you walk into the Cape Town Aquarium – lots of little Dory’s and coloured fish swimming amongst the coral – only a lot roomier. Waves are mellow, currents mild, and it always seems time for a snorkel and a beer. Having bought the kids arm bands (water wings) when we got there, they found a whole new enjoyment of the water, not just the pool, but the sea too. They would cruise out into the turquoise waters with us and bob around checking out the fish. After Lola was replaced by an alien look-a-like version, complete with adventurous tendencies and an outgoing personality, she decided she wanted goggles too, and took to snorkeling like Schumacher to a race car. It just might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! She would stick her whole head under the water and kick like crazy, only she had water wings on so she couldn’t go under water, leaving her with her bottom up in the air and her head submerged. She did this for hours. Linky on the other hand, was surprisingly content to bob around on the surface, occasionally latching himself to one of our necks, steering us around and yelling “Go faster… go faster”! It was an amazing experience to be able to enjoy the sea like that with the kids, and possibly even more magical because I never, not for one moment, dreamt that they would be happy to venture into the waves with us – okay, baby swells, but still.

 

We couldn’t visit Mexico without checking out some of the Mayan ruins, so we spent a morning exploring the incredible Tulum ruins, and another day at Chichen Itza. Absolutely magnificent! We felt throwing 2 days of culture into our trip would be enough of a distraction from the white sands, only to find ourselves thrusting our over-heated selves into the sea at the Tulum ruins anyway to escape the 35 degree sun (the sun scorches here in a way South Africa can only dream of!). We felt sufficiently proud of our ruins exploration, given that we had to carry the itchy (prior mosquito onslaught), crying, sandy, disinterested children around when all they wanted to do was sit in the shade and eat an ice cream! We have learned that the one thing our children don’t handle very well is the heat. It’s like their brains have a melt down and the only way to calm them down is to put them in the pool, the sea, or give them an iced something… anything! After Shaun and I had had enough of the whining and were largely ignoring them, umm… I mean we had water in our ears and couldn’t hear them, we had a sweet, impressionable old lady stop and use her towel to dust the sand off madam Lola’s feet because she had decided she couldn’t possibly put on her flip flops while her feet were covered in sand!! But all that aside, the Tulum ruins were incredible and worth the whine we had as an accompaniment.

We managed to psych the children up for the Chichen Itza ruins by telling them we were going to climb crumbling old buildings that were even older than granny and grandad, this worked believe it or not – until we got there. Turns out you not allowed to climb them anymore, only look. Those of you with kids know how much less appealing that is. Thankfully we had rain on this outing and not the blistering sun, so luck was still in our favour, sort of. The weather treated us gently and we had only a tender caress of drops after the initial onslaught we had in the car on the way there, almost sending us to an early grave as we tried to dodge the potholes. The ruins were magnificent though, and so large that they even managed to hold the kids attention for a while.

 

What was almost as amazing were the 4 snakes we saw that day. We’ve lived in Africa all our lives and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many snakes just ambling about, or a bird catching one for dinner. The jungle in Mexico really isn’t something to sneeze at, even though plantations of white powder can be found around many corners. Evidence of this activity are the many road blocks you have to pass through as you drive along the high ways. Soldiers patrol with impressively large guns, rivaled only by the equally large machete’s the locals carry, as you do, for opening coconuts, cutting grass and weeding! Sorry… I was talking about road blocks, they are impressive. They are also hazardous. When renting our car we wondered why the first thing it says is the under carriage of the car is not insured, after seeing the size of the speed humps, on the highway, we understand! There are almost no road markings, few warning signs and no pedestrian crossings. Driving in Cancun is like negotiating a city full of Joburg taxis in rush hour. You have to drive fast to avoid being driven over by a bus, you have to push or you will never merge into another lane (which you’re never warned about), and you have to have little regard for your life or your vehicle. I was both happy and scared when we returned our rental in favor of public transport. I’m happy we experienced both, but getting around took its toll on my hair colour – definitely more grey, and my liver – many glasses of wine to calm my nerves! 😉

This is one of the highways. This is the only warning of the massive speed bump that is right there! You may not notice the hump... it would clean the bottom of your car right off!

This is one of the highways. This is the only warning of the massive speed bump that is right there! You may not notice the hump… it would clean the bottom of your car right off!

 

After seeing a large portion of the Riviera Maya (Mexican East Coast) we have a good idea of the best places to go for a peaceful getaway, or a tourist paradise. We can see why people are starting to travel further South for a holiday – Cancun is extremely over priced and so over populated with hotels, it feels a bit like Las Vegas looks. Further South you find more authentic little spots, still pricey, but beautiful and unspoiled.  Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast, is relatively unspoiled too and small enough that you hire golf carts to drive around the island instead of cars. There is some amazing snorkeling and fantastic beachside restaurants. Given that Cancun is only 40 years old (it was a fishing village in 1974 with about 117 inhabitants!) it is incredible to see the development and sheer number of hotels – tourism being its only revenue stream.

Zooting around Isla Mujeres in our golf cart. Such fun!

Zooting around Isla Mujeres in our golf cart. Such fun!

Very tired children after a day of exploring the island.

Very tired children after a day of exploring the island.

Isla Mujeres - still a small village feel.

Isla Mujeres – still a small village feel.

But enough about the history lesson, internet there sucked, no big surprise, but it made working difficult, as if the beaches didn’t make it hard enough! So Shaun is retreating into his hermit shell to nurse the company and get his groove back. He’s never been capable of delivering anything but the best so juggling family time, exercise, sightseeing, constantly moving locations and work has him wired – he is considering a caffeine drip. Thankfully we came back to America with a stash of freshly roasted coffee beans! The children don’t give me enough time in the day to make coffee, so I have to make do with snacking on the beans. So far our trip has been what we hoped it would, challenging in the many ways we knew it would be, but delightful in so many others. We continue to be grateful that we were able to make this trip a reality.Signing out… the temporarily sun-tanned Wuths! xxx

Nov 21
1
Fort Lauderdale airport ... 12.46am!

The 12.46am Blog Post

By | Our Travels | No Comments

…Courtesy of the bird that flew into the plane and caused our 8 hour delay! So we wait.

Interestingly enough, a diet of airport food (burgers and fries), some new cuddly penguins, and rhythmic snoring from the man in the row next to us, has drifted the kids off into a peaceful sleep. Once again, we are extremely thankful that our children don’t seem to suffer from the same travel induced sleep deprivation that Shaun and I suffer from. Unfortunately, hard leather chairs with steal arms don’t elicit many zzz’s from us. Instead, we find ourselves enjoying the relative calm that 2 sleeping children provides, and are trying to sneak in a few pages of our books.

Midnight reflection does offer a nice opportunity to snack on a bag of Fini candies without any interference from the kids, and a moment to sit back and appreciate where we are, not something our 2 months of busy travel has afforded. A friend reminded me the other day to enjoy the trip while we are on it, not just in hindsight. Very wise words! So I will sit here and try and enjoy my 8 hour delay in the airport, even if the only thing I gain from it is some extra reading time.

Nov 20
1

Venturing into the South

By | Hikes, Our Travels, Parks | No Comments

Coincidently, and very luckily for us, our trip landed us in the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains in what is arguably the most beautiful time of year there, autumn. Wowzers, we couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque welcome to the South!

After leaving DC we headed into the Shenandoah valley and stayed in a small town called Crozet where we were treated to real Southern hospitality. We spent 4 days exploring the gentle mountains which were speckled with the most amazing variety of colours, a sight we can’t replicate no matter how beautiful our country. We climbed peaks and sat gazing over the rolling hills (we are comparing this mountain range to the Drakensburg and we win hands down in size and magnitude – but to be fair, to less fortunate folk who haven’t had the luxury of experiencing the Drakensburg, these are still mountains) and tried to breath the city out of our lungs.

Crozet bbq!

Crozet bbq!

The weather began to turn when we were there and a cold front moved in dropping the night temperature down to about 4 degrees, but we were staying in a wonderful little home with inside heating, a luxury us South Africans are not used to. This came back to bite us in the proverbial rump when we waltzed out our door one morning heading out for our first big hike in the mountains, not realising how cold it really was because we’d been sitting inside a heated house. Driving high into the hills to venture down a particularly beautiful waterfall gorge, we arrived at our location, climbed out the car and greeted our first sprinkling of snow! Lola looked up very confused and said “the rain is white”! In all my wisdom, I had packed one jersey for each of us, aside from the one we had on. As you can imagine, this was simply not enough! We managed to source 2 towels from the car, and used them to tie the kids to our backs, we were embracing our African roots, and keeping both ourselves and the kids warm in the process. Very freaking cold about describes it. Needless to say I learned my lesson, and from then on Shaun packed the warm clothes. I know where my strengths lie… I pack the food.

 

So time in the Shenandoah passed all too quickly, and we found ourselves winding our way down through the mountains along the most unbelievably scenic drive, stopping only a handful of times for my extremely car sick husband to feel solid earth beneath his feet. As we left one national park behind us, we entered another, The Great Smoky Mountains. They have this name because the trees emit so much moisture there is a haze lying over the forest in the morning and evening, even for much of the day. Until we found this out, I thought we were unlucky in always waking up to a hazy view (so uneducated)!

Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains

These two mountain ranges run north-south through the eastern interior of the States, joining with others to form the Appalachian mountain trail, a trail that runs 3500km and passes through 14 States. I mention this because this is Shaun’s new goal. We are going to walk this trail in entirety, in one go… Sigh. I’m just trying to convince him to wait until the children can at least carry their own back packs! 😉
We drove through Cherokee, and Indian reservation which was eye-opening and sad in it’s dilapidation, and headed into the Smoky Mountain Nature Reserve to walk part of the Appalachian Trail (in training already ;). It was a magnificent hike! It is quite high, and the hike takes you even further up, giving you an indication of how autumn passes through the mountains. It starts at the top (where it is coldest) and works it’s way down through the trees, so by the time we reached the top of our hike there were absolutely no trees with leaves at all, simply fir trees, leading the kids to believe that it was Christmas at the top of the mountain!

 

The kids walked all the way up solo (really great that we have 2 such adventurous little souls who spur each other on) until we reached an area of the path where we kept hearing thumping. Now Shaun and I know a fair amount about nature, we know when to panic and when to retreat quietly. We both froze. The thumping happened periodically, and loudly, both intriguing us and preparing us to run. The kids were scared silent (this never happens)! Shaun decided he would go and investigate it alone, returning with the embarrassing knowledge that what had us on high alert was a male bird performing his mating ritual! He was perched atop a log and periodically displayed his sizeable tail feathers and flapped them so hard that they thumped the air (sounding very much like a scary daddy bear walloping a tree)! We were safe, a little embarrassed, but chuffed to catch the hopeful daddy bird in action.

Highlands Town

Highlands Town

Aside from hiking, we also explored a few little towns and had a waterfall viewing day. One town in particular, looking very European, had the best ice cream we’ve ever eaten! This was on a day when we woke up with our first frost outside, we were dressed in our new thermal winter gear, and walked around town with an ice cream cone… tourists!

The waterfalls were beautiful and the area is a wonderful little place to visit. It happened to be on a weekend when we were all feeling a little homesick and moods were low, being in such a peaceful place when feeling so somber doesn’t really help. There was little but beauty to distract us from missing our family and friends back home, and as silly as it may sound, the beauty makes you miss them more because we just wanted to share it with everyone. Having absolutely no reception on our phones didn’t help either. We have been surprised at how patchy the cell reception is in the States. What we have realized is how advanced our country really is in many regards, in various ways we wouldn’t have thought of before.

Highlands Lake

Highlands Lake

We had mistakenly thought Shaun could work while I drove, but there is little to no mobile data connection along the major highways, something we have always taken for granted in SA. This has meant work has to wait until evening time on days when we spend a long time in the car. As you can imagine, this is not ideal working conditions, but not vastly different from what we expected. I’m really lucky Shaun can work as easily and quickly as he does, regardless of where he is and what his surroundings are. Give him his headphones and the rest of the world doesn’t exist, it’s like plugging him into the matrix. Now I’m laughing at how nerdy I sound. This is what being married to an engineer does to you! Sorry honey 🙂

Anyway, I’m waffling. I feel like I have adequately, although briefly, filled you in on our trip up until we left for Mexico. Sorry the updates have come so tardily! I will be on my best behaviour for the next while and write about Mexico with haste!

Sending so much love to all of you!!!
S & M & L & L

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