New pastures!

Thursday 14th March 2019

I have just woken up to the fact that I need to let you know that Luke has set me up on a new very smart site!  The first time I travelled to Seoul to be with them, he coined the term - shoe string swallow, saying that this is what I was, as I managed to travel to wonderful places on a shoe string!!

He has now come up with the idea that this is what my new blog address should be called. So he has set it up - from now on if you want to see what I am up to, please type in shoestringswallow.com 
He has given himself some work as at this stage it is not set up for me to be able to post, instead I send him the blogs which he then posts.

So please visit the new site so you can keep current with the Ramsey to-ings and fro-ings.

Wednesday 6th March 2019

Wednesday 6^th March 2019

Wow – the days do speed by!!! Well not really but it is a few days since I last wrote.

So Sunday was fun – Nadia dropped her baby Olivia off with friends so we (Dylan, Nadia, John, Pru and Dot and David – Dylan’s parents here from SA for a few days) could all go out on Dylan’s speed boat. It’s a very natty boat – even has a loo on board!! With seating in the front and the back all under awning. We headed out from their marina towards the open sea turning right / north to find our house. We then doubled back south towards Le Morne Brabant peninsular, a beautiful spot, where we anchored – time to chill… Round tables were set up with holes for glasses – followed by a wonderful spread of snacks / finger lunch and drinkies!!!  We then armed ourselves with noodles and leapt into the beautiful clear clear sea – the skipper threw bits of bread roll into the water and the next thing we were surrounded by a myriad of wonderfully coloured reef fishies – magical!  I used Dylan’s full face mask which I definitely felt easier using than the usual goggles that cover only the nose and eyes. It’s a strange love fear thing for me using a snorkel but I was so happy with what I saw. The view of the island from the boat is spectacular – one realizes how few people live here – there is so much uninhabited rich tropical vegetation and these incredibly beautiful stark strangely shaped mountains. The sky is endless and the clouds towering – the water glistens and glows in so many shades from deep blue to pale green.  We saw the two little pinnacles of rock called Crystal Rock – extraordinary – rock sticking out of the ocean – maybe between 2 and 4 metres high and covered with vegetation – even a little tree!!- the tenacity of nature…  It was a really super outing.

On Monday I came across a house/pet sitting possibility for two weeks in April – on a Golf estate about 10 kms away so we joined the House Sitting site – really reasonable fee of R 1600 and I sent the owner a couple of messages. Wondrously I had been invited to lunch with a mutual friend of a Cape Town friend who also lives on a golf estate – I figured they had to be the same estate – anyway long story short – John and I are meeting the home owner tomorrow before my girl’s lunch!! It would be truly wonderful if we could move there for two weeks in April and have the company of 2 doggies and 2 kitties!! One of the dogs is a 4 year old Lab who needs a harness to get around – the big test will be that we can manage to lift her to get her into the harness – so here’s hoping that Ramsey is strong enough to do the deed!! Hold thumbs!!

So yesterday (Tuesday) Zodic and John carried the kayak onto the beach where – halleluiah!!! we put it in the little ‘bay’ in front of the house and I climbed in and felt really stable. John proceeded to give me LOTS of coaching and advice as I learned to maneuver the kayak using the rudder and paddles.  It was a bit windy so we decided I shouldn’t venture out beyond the rocks and certainly not towards the reef. I eventually very politely told him I would prefer it if he stopped saying left, right, back, forwards… so that I could figure it out myself relying on intuition and HA! that’s exactly what happened and I managed to ‘steer’ in the confined space!!  So I was thrilled and John was happy and felt confident that I could venture out later to more open spaces!! I chatted to a French woman who is staying next door and she told me that she had gone out on her kayak that morning at 6.30 and had kayaked among the dolphins just beyond the reef which is about 200 – 300 metres out – she said there were a lot of vessels following the dolphins – some too close to her but it was enormous fun.

Last evening, the breeze – hardly a wind, had died down and I went for a walk on the beach at about 6.30. I found a comfortable rock to sit on backed up next to another to lean on and just sat quietly gazing out to sea and the horizon, the sun had gone to bed already – a few moments to still the monkey mind!!  So comforting and so healing to be able to just sit and enjoy the beauty in that and in the next and in each moment. 

Saturday 2nd March 2019

Saturday 2^nd March 2019

I persuaded John to have another look at the three kayaks in the garden. We had been told we could use them so I was interested to find out if we might be able to manage them on our own and get them into the sea!   Things move very slowly here….. a bit like a malaise… the heat is really something else though. Even I who far prefers heat am finding it challenging – it kind of turns us into slothful slugs!!  So days really do tend to be spent lolling under a fan, reading, writing, playing cards, watching tennis or playing bridge or patience on my laptop!!

Breakthrough today – after we separated the smallest kayak from the other two, I hosed it down sending daddylong legs and ants skittering…  I enjoyed the exercise of removing bits of snail shells, webs and dead noonoos from the webbing and seat, every so often giving myself a cooling squirt. John then came and inspected the kayak – happily called ‘feel free’.  He tested if we could move it on our own, which we can although it’s pretty heavy. He pointed out that getting to the beach we would have gravity on our side but not getting it back again!! I wondered if we mightn’t be able to coincide the use of the kayak with the time that the gardener Zodic was here so we could enlist his help!! Such are the important issues we face in this new life of ours!!!  John then declared he needed to get a screw driver to tighten a few things – he was now happily busy with a prodge (project). A kitchen knife was carried out to the kayak and the next thing he had dragged the kayak to the edge of the pool and voila … the next thing it was in the water and this is where it is now!! All remaining creatures removed saved by John by being scooped up in an ice cream container and tossed onto the lawn. He announced that he had saved at least 20 ants and 6 flies from drowning!! So who is the buddhist in the family!!!  As I write, John is in the pool with the kayak, giving it a good clean – much better than his original comment to me of “leave it to Zodic to do”….. will colonialism ever die…!

I have just climbed into or is it, onto the kayak in the pool. John has many concerns – how will I get back into the kayak if I fall out – my answer – it will be shallow enough for me to walk along side the kayak to bring it back to the beach – the water is so shallow here and I certainly do not plan on venturing far from in front of the house; next question – and if it drifts away from you, you will let it go won’t you…. Answer - can’t we tie something to my arm, thinking of something like the cord that is attached to my boogie board, no reply but doubtful look speaks volumes!!!

Anyway I got into the pool and realized that I would not be able to get into the kayak while in the water as we couldn’t get the seating spot close enough to the shallow end. Then decided that we should position the kayak parallel to the side of the pool, I sat on the edge of the pool and lifted myself into the kayak seat – ha – no ungainly splash – I was in the seat!! John then adjusted the foot rests and showed me how to steer using them to guide the rudder.  Yay I was afloat and felt really stable – when I said I was quite excited and encouraged by all of this, John admitted he had hoped that I would be discouraged. He expressed that he thought the reason I wanted to kayak was so that I could put a tick in the “Ï kayaked in Mauritius box”- wow – anyway disavowed him of that saying actually I was hoping for some fun…. I do think it might make sense though to wait until Johnny and Susie are here or maybe Dylan can help me once we get the kayak to the water, even Richard my nephew whom I hope will be here next weekend.   I guess the obvious truth is that John does not want anything to happen and particularly does not want to be in a situation in which he is not in control??

Anyway whatever the next step is, I have enjoyed the exercise and activity. There is no doubt that I have been feeling the effects of not doing something other than the tasks / options listed earlier. I did go out yesterday – decided to catch the bus to the Charity Centre to get some more books. I walked a couple of stops – it was after 3 pm so a little cooler, I did take my big black umbrella which I didn’t need all the way as the pavement is in shade of the beautiful tropical trees that grow along the walls of the private homes that line the main road in this area.  When a bus did come along, I hopped on and was glad I had as the Centre was further than the one or two stops I had thought it was.  There were a couple of women sitting outside, sorting clothing, who informed me they had closed at 3, but that if I wanted to browse for books that was fine and they would record the money as received next week.  What a pleasure to get inside into the airconditioned space. I took my time, finding 5 books for the princely sum of Rs 165 (R 67!!) I love when it all works out like this – I set off with Rs 225 and a card – the first bus fare was Rs 10 so I had exactly what I needed in correct change for the Charity Centre and then Rs 50 for my bus fare back – which in fact was Rs 26 – Natasha reckons the conductor ripped me off but it was a different bus – more upmarket with two doors. Anyway all good as I then popped into the Food Lovers Market for a couple of things, before walking home – gave me a fulfilled feeling – like I’d done something with my day!! The need for purposeful activity dies hard…!!

So back to the kayak – in the meantime, my darling husband has being giving this a lot of thought whilst I have been scribbling and has just announced that on reflection, he thinks it should be fine for us to take the kayak into the sea!! A long discussion followed about the best time of day to do this – high or low tide – my thought is high tide which is hardly high, with waves etc, it just means that there is more or deeper water near the shore which will mean we do not have to go too far from the shore to kayak.  So add that to the time of the day – we do not want to be mad dogs and Englishmen and come out at midday – it really is so hot and I do not want to be burnt or uncomfortable, we are looking at venturing out at about 3 ish!! So watch this space.

Last time I said watch this space was about catching the bus to the north of the island to see Richard – well that has not happened yet.  A couple of reasons – I am still trying to get clarity about the times of the busses but have now decided that I’ll just take my chances – have my destination clearly written on a piece of paper to show the conductor. The other concern was arriving in Pereybere while Richard and Lisa, both teachers, are still in  school. They finish most days at about 4 pm depending on what extra mural activities the twins are involved in. They leave in the morning  for school at about 7.30 so I will be on my own from then so I need to establish that I can get to a bus stop on my own or maybe leave with them – an interesting thought being up that early again – feels like another life tine that I got up at that time!!!  There is a Hindu holiday on Monday – I had thought that would be a good day to go as they would be free then but Natasha says there will be no busses at all and that the roads will be blocked with marches – sounds as if we would not even be able to get to see the marches and celebrations!!

We are off to Dylan and Nadia’s tomorrow which will be fun as Dylan’s parents arrived yesterday and he is planning on taking us all out on his speed boat – now you can indeed watch this space!!!

I wish there was a quick way to post photos up as I took a bunch of John getting the kayak into the water – lets hope we can figure this out very soon…..  off now for some lunch – salami and salad. Incidentally our seared tuna was delicious the other day.  

Once again will post this while I is current and hopefully add pics later.

Wednesday February 27th 2019

Wednesday February 27^th 2019

We do seem now to be in a consistent rhythm – does it matter – not really … but what it does mean is that I am sleeping better than I have for years – in fact we both are. John is very definitely benefitting from not having the South African malaise of sleeping with one ear cocked for sounds indicating a security breech. It has been said many times – that it is only when we are away from our beloved country that we notice how alert we are and how constantly we are in ‘watch your back mode’.   So sleep glorious sleep!! I am now waking before John which is not surprising given that I go to bed a good hour or even two before him. I now reach all fall down stage at about 10.30. We are back to sleeping without the air conditioner on – I prefer it that way as I still find I need to feel air moving in the room and to feel that I can breathe – the old panicky feeling of not enough air comes rarely now which is a relief but I kind of play this game with myself before going to bed that I have to be sure that I have set the scene to ensure it doesn’t happen!!!  I have also started using the mossie mat next to my side of the bed so discourage the little blighters!!  I confess to swatting two mossies since arriving here – swatting as in killing them!!  Not very spiritual I admit…..

So today I have watched some tennis already – ATP in Mexica. We are going with Nadia to see the Valley of the Gorges this morning.

Yesterday we ventured out to shop!!  John armed with shopping bags and me trailing my wheelie carry on case, we walked to the bus stop and after quite a long wait caught the bus the two stops to London Way, the bigger centre. I love it that this has become our ‘do’ for the day!!  It was fun sussing out the best buys!! I held up my phone to show assistants photos of the cleaning stuff  we were looking for – Mel and Luke used to do this in Seoul – it works very well!! So trolley load later we unloaded the goodies into our various bags and the case – me with the heavy coolie bottles and detergents, John with the bulky lighter things, and set off to catch the return bus!! And that marks a high point in how we spend our days!!  Once home – we fell into the pool to cool down.

Last evening, I was sitting watching tennis when I looked up and saw Dylan and Nadia waving from the beach! They had parked their car at the public beach and then walked along the beach to find us. They didn’t stay for long – Dyl plunged into the pool and then they headed back as it was already after 5.30 and they needed to get Olivia home for supper etc. I walked a little way with them and then decided to wade back in the water rather than on the beach.  Just all so peaceful and timeless – it seems to be the only way I can describe what we are experiencing – to just wallow in the water and enjoy the sky, the horizon, the clouds, the rocks, the lapping wave sounds and notice the rhythm of the day in each moment.

Today we listened to the pod cast of Josh's interview with Pippa Hudson - he speaks so clearly and with such insight. I marvel at his wisdom and give thanks for who he is. We also had a long chat with Luke - it seems to me that we are chatting more with our sons since being on the island!!  I guess it makes sense as we have more open stretches of time to set up the calls - tricky sometimes as Luke is 12 hours behind us.

Earlier today, we went out with Nadia and baby Olivia to the Valley of the Gorges.  Its about 8 or so kms from the house south along the main road. Its a National Park in Black River - tropical vegetation on either side of a rather narrow road which takes one to the parking area where one leaves one's car to go hiking in the gorges. We parked the car along the road and walked pushing Olivia's pram in the shade. It really was too hot to do anything else and besides which I am not the greatest walker!  There are a number of beehives in the park near the road - one can go in, I guess pay something, and then don full bee keeping gear. There is a chap there who then lights up some kind of smoking device so that one can then rob the hive!!   We didn't stay to watch as we weren't wearing the gear and certainly didn't fancy being graunched by bees - the dam mossies are bad enough!!

The word / mood to describe our experience, is once again - peaceful - as we peered into the pretty dense trees - it reminded me a little of the vegetation in the tropical forest I had visited in Ghana when I walked on the bridge through the canopy. It reminded me as well of standard six geography - natural regions of the world, as we saw buttresses, epiphytes, lianas, huge umbrellas shaped leaves. Once again I took lots of photos which I will load as soon as I can get them from my phone to my laptop. I am having trouble with outlook - but that's another story for another time!!

So for lunch we treated ourselves to the fresh fish we bought yesterday at London Way - delicious tuna steak which cost about R48 and is easily enough for three helpings!  Our diet is pretty healthy.  Lots of salads and fruit. No meat, not much pasta, masses of tonic water and not much wine or liquor. We have made our own store bought pizzas a few times - I guess the fact that our lives are pretty sedentary right now means we don't need too much to keep us going!!Just lots of liquid.

I am still thinking of catching the local busses to go and see Richard, Beulah's son, who lives with his wife and twin son and daughter in Peirie Beyre, in the north of the island (will have to check that spelling!)  It will be an adventure which will take me out of my comfort zone. It will take me a few hours to get there. I will spend the night with them and then catch a whole bunch of busses back again!!  So watch this space - am thinking of possibly going tomorrow so I'd better get onto doing a bit more research - also need to confirm with Richard that I'm coming!!

Monday 25th February 2019

Monday 25^th February 2019

Well today three weeks ago we arrived in Mauritius or on the island as Mauritius is referred to locally.   It’s interesting that a couple of friends have asked me how it feels to have no permanent home.   I guess the thought is that one will feel homeless or ungrounded or vulnerable or exposed  - maybe none of these?  But I don’t feel these things – I feel more relieved and light than weighed down by the uncertainty of not knowing where we will hang our hats. I do think though in the short term – that we have one more month in this beautiful home and then where or what but it is not an all consuming concern – I know that something will present itself. I also believe that we have to do some homework, put some effort into finding something – I guess it’s a case of the old maxim – god helps those who help themselves!! Or help me here Paddy – at least buy a lottery ticket!!!

I have spent the last two days reading a Mariam Keyes novel – I wonder when the feeling of ‘maybe this is not all right to just do nothing but read’ first kicked in….. in fact maybe it is not a feeling but rather a thought!! Why is it not all right? What does all right even mean? Is this not purposeful enough! Having been someone who has worked most of my life – all be it mostly flexi-time, it is quite something to find myself in this situation where I do not have a dead line to meet or a place to be.  Being someone who has tended to fill my days with activity – aqua classes first thing Monday and Wednesday mornings, tennis Tuesdays and Thursdays, pilates some Fridays, bridge on Monday evenings and Wednesday or Friday afternoons, plus two book clubs on the second Tuesday and third Wednesday night each month, besides the training and other Montessori related work.  

The great WASP work ethic is hard to shrug – but here we are – and maybe it is because we have such a long time here that it feels Ok to not feel compelled to ‘do’  anything other than simply choose to do nothing if indeed reading a novel is doing nothing!! Maybe that’s it – why is doing nothing not a good thing – why is there a judgment about it – it is so incredibly strong in me – is it good or is it not good and what does it matter what it is as long as it is what I want to do right now – it is such an unusual space to be in – where I can just anything that I want to do – and its Ok to  do just that - to actually serve me and not anyone else – yes - I guess that’s what it is …. it is such a rare place to be in – where we can just not do anything other than what we do – I see I have slipped into using the we word rather than the I word – another way of being – it is Ok to say what I feel or what I think.

It's so interesting to me to reflect on this – I do still believe that we are / I am here to serve and to love – but here’s the wonder – I have also got to the place where I realise that in order to serve another, I need to serve myself so I am strong enough to serve another – and maybe here I have being given the chance to experience serving myself and that is doesn’t have to be for any deeper cause than simply that. This is a time to quietly reflect, to quietly be, to quietly experience, to quietly feel each feeling and thought without judging or deeply analysing – a time of spaciousness and timelessness.

Add caption

So a day or so ago we went for a walk along the beach – right or north out of the gate – it had been raining for a lot of the day and was sometime between 5 and 6 pm. The beach was fresh and the evening cool and I took lots of photos which I will post below. It is hard to find words to express the beauty and the mood and the peace here so I will leave the photos to talk to you instead. 

Lovely cooling rain frightening away the mossies! 

Then the rain cleared and we went walking - looking south 

Houses a little way up the beach from us

Quiet beauty

 

Walking on the beach in my new rubber shoes!

The water is so clear

Paddlers having fun on the swells

Folk chilling on the beach

John entering the gate to the house after our beach walk - it was about 7 pm 

Then yesterday I walked to the local shop, Food Lovers Market  to see if I could buy some fish for lunch - sadly none available so found some salami and baguettes instead. So here are some pics from the walk....  

The front of the house

The gates leading to our home to the left and the neighbouring house  

 I am going to post this and then add the other piccies later -am still very nervous of suddenly losing everything!!

Friday February 22nd

Friday 22^nd February 2019

Well amazingly this is now our 18^th day – so many thought and feelings. The initial euphoria, call it the honey moon phase has settled I feel. The wonder and disbelief that we could have found ourselves in such a beautiful and comfortable spot, with no demands, nothing that had to be attended to, no deadlines, no appointments, no commitments has settled now. There was a window when I felt a feeling of maybe emptiness stretching forever – a feeling of what are we going to do with ourselves for the next three months!  The mind is such a powerhouse of negativity if we give it half a chance!!

So that feeling of not really fear or even discontent creeps in – always wanting space where ever we are – so mindfulness and the need to watch where my mind wanders is ever present.

So back to the here and now – today is beautiful – the sky is a pale washed blue, the sea is low , the waves curling on the reef, the rocks now visible because right now low tide was predicted 6 minutes ago!  The birds are saying hi , there is very little air movement but above me the fan is whirring and I am covered in tabard to keep the little winged guys at bay!!

A week ago John and I went on an adventure to check out the waves at Tamarim beach – we caught the bus armed with my trustee boogie board and found the beach.  Rather disappointing in terms of waves but we had been warned. We sat peacefully under the trees that grow on the beach munching on baguettes that were for sale at a little kiosk on the beach. Interestingly contrary to what I expected, we have met very few  South Africans – most people we see on the beach or in the shops are French speaking – hardly acknowledging a smile or a greeting!! Although I have had a few conversations with a couple on the beach but it is definitely the exception…

So after our sortie to Tamarin beach – about R 15 bus fare – we jumped off the bus to find a Charity Centre I had googled so that I could find some second hand books. We had a great browse in their really well stocked ‘library’. 

Then as we were walking back to the bus stop, a car stopped and out climbed Dylan, a varsity friend of  Luke’s!!!!  We knew he and his wife lived on the island but we had not yet contacted them. What were the chances of that – he spotting these two grey nomads sweltering along the road complete with boogie board and books!! He and Nadia had returned from a week or so in SA the day before…. I love the synchronicity of this – had we stayed 2 more minutes in the Charity centre, or he left a minute earlier…. You have to feel that the universe or the god of your understanding is supporting you – or simply that you’re on the right path – literally and figuratively!! No pushing or pulling of strings just holding the thread. (Eve sent me a poem about this by William Stafford).

So that ‘çhance’ encounter opened another door for us – we spent an enjoyable evening on Saturday in their home, which – here you go!! – is about 5 kms away further down the main road. They live in a really great Marina complex. Nadia took us shopping to a new centre called Cascavelle where we did a big shop at a place called Winners where items were definitely cheaper than at London Way or Food Lovers Market. Just to give an idea – a litre of milk costs about R 15 but tomatoes are about R 20 each, a lettuce about R 34, a bottle of Chardonnay or Shiraz is in the region of R 185.  So it is more expensive than SA but we are getting to grips with it and beginning to be able to see which are the better / cheaper things to eat!!

Dylan, Nadia and their darling 7 month old baby have visited a few times and had great swims in the pool.

Once again I shall post this although I would love to add some photographs  - lets hope I can do that soon!! But at least my thoughts / writing to this point are all posted. 

Saturday 16th February

Saturday 16^th February 2019

And so we begin to find a rhythm in our days – I generally wake up to find John up already – I wander through in my dressing gown and have a cup of tea while sitting on the patio, meeting and greeting the day – it’s usually any time between 9 and 10.  The day always gets off to a comfortable start – maybe we have a plan for it, maybe not – a plan could be to catch a bus somewhere, to take a stroll on the beach, to snorkel, to fall into the pool, to read, to write, to watch TV, to play Elevens with John or patience or bridge on the PC, to eat, to contemplate, to engage or simply to just sit – as mum used to say – sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits!!

I find myself so often remembering her sayings – so many of them strongly Patience Strong type sayings but with such simplicity and truth in them. Who was Patience Strong?  Well I googled her – interesting and I discovered that actually the sayings that I remember from my mum are not actually Patience Strong’s sayings!! The sentiment might be similar but mum’s are more gritty, practical and down to earth - which I guess pretty much sums up who mum was……

To have a space in time to ponder, to reflect, to be unfettered, unencumbered, to quietly and without urgency contemplate the difference between chilling and lazy and knowing that tomorrow is another day with other or the same options. It seems to be, to know, there is no right, no wrong, and above all, no judgement – it is, just that, it is…..

To be in this place of beauty, of simplicity, or all needs met – of choices to make or not make. I enjoy being right here now with no wish to be any other place, or doing any other action, this is contentment, this is acceptance. To not wish it to any other way than the way it is in this moment – this is timelessness – this is gratitude, this is goodness, this is comfort, this is heat, this is prickly, this is mosquitoes seeking attention here and there, this is sparkling sea, standing figures steering paddles this way and then that way, speedboats appearing and disappearing, Indian mynahs calling, dragon flies darting, butterflies floating, fan blades whirring, shadows creeping, clouds banking, water rippling, leaves swaying - here there, air moving visible leaves …..