Blog 56: Sisters are doing it for themselves

A leaf I found on the beach on the seashore.

So, a heads up before you brew your favourite coffee, be warned – this blog entry could be Capital B for boring as it’s more of an “info blog” …..so do you brew that coffee or skip the read????

And just like that Easter is over! What happened to March, February, and January? Now we are back to another working week after a wonderful Easter. I am super proud of myself; I did not succumb to hot cross buns this year! Even when they were on “special.” Last year not so much, and didn’t I start way way, earlier than was necessary with a toasted hot cross bun followed by another the next morning, and then one became two – and that was each day!  So this year I am super proud to say I steered clear of hot cross buns. The marshmallow eggs, I am afraid to say not so much! I enjoy a Sweetie pie, and I really love giving them instead of a birthday card, I truly feel a Sweetie pie says it all (never mind how it’s taste says everything!) you can imagine my absolute sweet joy when I happened upon a box – yip you read correctly, a box of sweetie pie marshmallow eggs. And now I am kidding myself that I will diet. Hmm we all know I will not really. That is until my two boxes (yip! two!!!)  of marshmallow eggs that are residing in the fridge are consumed.

So, as I sit and try settling into the working week, my mind wonders. Why I hear you ask yourself would her mind wonder? Well dear, PASSIONATE Dizabeth Blog Readers earlier in the year, my sister and I decided after all these years of being mom’s and never been brave enough to do “this” – ok so background story;  in January as the year commenced and my sisters daughter emigrated taking with her my sisters precious two grandsons,  we promised ourselves we would visit her – she has emigrated to Mauritius, so we chatted casually about visiting “sometime during the year”.

An amazing sunset (ok, this is from the previous trip 4 years back but hey its still gorgeous!!)

Each day I would receive a mail from Karen on packages to Mauritius, I glanced through then and would reply “hm not bad” and continue with my working day, next day another package mail would pop into my “you have got mail” list, I would glance at it – comment nonchalantly that that wasn’t bad and continue with my working day. This occurred for a week or two, until the morning Karen sent the mail, and the package was too good to simply casually glance at and continue with my working day. We started glancing at the dates and months ahead, the sound of a getaway – and to Mauritius sounded more and more alluring. One of us had to make the decision and Karen took the proverbial bull by the horns – and booked! Our Mauritius holiday had become a reality and we jotted the date we flew on our calendars and got on with the days and weeks leading up to our dream holiday. Before we knew it, we were at the airport checking in! Mauritius is two hours ahead of South Africa, so to say I had jetlag would be a huge exaggeration but it was quite a mindset – I never changed my watch, I guess I was subconsciously continuing with the way life was back in the hood. It’s at times like this, although it was fantastic “sisters are doing it for themselves getaway” one we truly both treasured, it did remind me just how special my little family is too me.  You miss your specials whilst you are idling your leisurely days in the hot hazy lazy tropical sun on a beautiful island.  “What?” I hear whispering to yourself; “Never! Not me” Trust me reader you too would miss your peeps.

What was very interesting on this trip. Four years ago, Gary and I were in Mauritius at a resort, Verandah Palmer. We whizzed in – it was 10pmish after having landed and been collected by our transfer and deposited at our hotel. Awakening to the beauty of the glistening sea, and the gentle yet unbearably hot breeze whispering through the hotel room was amazing. (Sound alluring and romantic enough ….you getting the vibe I am trying to create here my darling readers???)  We only ventured out of the resort twice. Once we went cycling on the Mauritian roads, I most certainly would never hazard that again! And once we hired a tour operator who took us to the most popular tourist sights on the island. Chamarel – the Seven Sands, and Curiosity Corner were great fun, whilst the Deities – they were taller than some of the buildings I have entered in the bigger cities – they were enormous and quite an experience. We bartered (well now that is a white lie as I am not really the bartering type – instead I will quietly think “Yikes that is expensive” as I walk away seeking something else that the grandkids would find wonderful and worth playing with that comes “all the way from the island Nana and grandad visited and didn’t take us with”! Mind you, if I think back, I do need to think, were we grandparents then??? Anyhow no digressions, onward we go…….so, this time Karen and myself, as I mentioned, were visiting her daughter and her little family – so we stayed with them. We were hence part of the everyday life and routine of living in Mauritius. This was truly amazing and quite an experience on many levels. Dropping her two boys off at school each morning, and visiting the supermarkets, and their malls – what an interesting and completely different mindset this was to a resort lifestyle. I was quite impressed with Port Louis, and the big high-rise buildings interspersed with Religion and old world. They even have highways and byways!!! I know and there I was thinking it was just beach, beach and sea!! Need to mention at this point – they also have KFC, McDonalds, and Burger King! The interesting point – there are so many really high-rise buildings that are empty. These are apparently because of disputes between builders and landowners.

 This little family – like many families on the islands is fairly new on the island and still feeling their way. However, it is interesting how different life is there to life here. The children all are at private schools, the school her boys are at consists of a series of houses that are in the neighborhood and together they comprise of the school, from grade 0 to grade 12. The principal (owner) of this school is an ex-pat, as are the majority of the families we met and socialized with. The children’s school day is opposite to a school day back ‘home’ in South Africa on many levels, there is no sport for one. When you consider how sport to the average South African is a large part of our lives (I would fit in there perfectly, as all I do is couch potato with Netflix/DSTV and and and!)

 As it was just before the Easter weekend, interestingly this also is not as celebrated as it is here in SA. Yes, it is acknowledged, and the school had an ‘Easter’ concert for the parents which was very cute but at the same time – the content of the concert was far removed from Easter as we know it.  One thing that the family finds quite frustrating, each day if there is even a “hint’ of rain on the island – school is canceled. For the first term in their reports, it states that the boys were ‘absent’ 11 days – when in fact school had been canceled. Yes, there had been a tornado recently which I am quite sure was a hairy experience but an average rainy day – and the island shuts down! What truly blew my mind was just how many South Africans there are living on the island. Waiting for the kiddies to come out of school the banter between the moms – if you closed your eyes, shut out the intense, truly revoltingly intense heat of the day, and didn’t take into account all the parents are standing around in slops, shorts, and tees – well you would well and truly not be wrong in assuming you are in  Ballito or Umhlanga, definitely NOT Durban there is no poops floating around their seas!!! Interestingly the common language amongst the moms is not Creole or even French but good old Afrikaans!  Once whilst in the local supermarket Tracy bumped into newly made friends, when we walked away, she explained they were from Nelspruit, oh my word – how I had to hold myself back from not running after them and asking for a good old Nellies hug!

Port Louis market trying a Bubble tea for the first time ever ….I know I know but yip it was a first for me! (erm like my Murkoo/Murku!!!)

As I am typing this, a helicopter is flying above me, and looking up I recognize it as the police helicopter, of course, I immediately feel unsettled and say a little prayer that nothing untoward is occurring in the hood. It reminds me of the sound of helicopters in Mauritius – a very common sound that fills each day – the difference there is – you know its tourists surveying the island from the skies. Perhaps it was because we were guests that Tracy packed a heb-cooler majority of the evenings, and we waddled down to the local beach (yip, dear reader within walking distance of their home) and we took trillions (well I did, typically me – each night I would literally take trillions of photos of the setting sun – but I guess let’s be honest – each sunset is truly a magnificent painting and no two are really the same (or are they???)

Not so much Karen, but definitely me!!  I packed for Perth, Paris, and then of course Mauritius. Where I did impress myself, the first time I have ever, truly ever been away and only packed one cardigan, and yes as I was leaving for the airport, I must confess I did rush in and grab a light anorak, and did I need any of these! Indeed, that is a big NO! But of all the dresses, shorts, and tops I took, well only a fraction of them actually saw Mauritius the rest alas never left the suitcase. What I will certainly pack more of next time is swimsuits! I took two, one of which was a two-piece and I inadvertently never packed the bottom! So I had one – lucky for me Karen had bought a surplus thanks to the sales and she kindly gave me one (to me it is absolutely beautiful – thanks my darling sis, I think I look deeevvvvvine in it too, sorry for the rest of the beachgoers who may completely different when they lay their weary eyes on me waddling down the beach)  I never thought I would ever get sick of wearing a swimsuit, let me tell you, dear reader, the second to last day I was totally over swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, and slops!  Oh, and hats!

Adjusting to Mauritian cuisine is an interesting topic not to mention the cost of groceries and the cost of living! Oh, my giddy aunt, meat is a definite no-no for every night – well that is if you living life on my wage! There is a fair amount of “unique” (is a word that springs to mind!)  tastes there. Lots of “Chinese” that isn’t really Chinese (well in my humble opinion) there is a pancake type thing in a sauce, which at first bite I was a bit like “hmmm not sure” and by the last bit I was “Yummy!Yummy!” it was called Dahlpori. An interesting snack I “discovered” instead of crisps (chips as ie Simba) there is a crumbly “stick” that is incredibly tasty. I was soon addicted and just had, had HAD to buy some before we left the island. I would go on and on and on (as only I can!!!) about this delicious snack. Each time no one actually said anything but they did give me squiff looks. Eventually one of the family decided “enough is enough let’s address this elephant in the room!!! In this case, it wasn’t an elephant – the snack is called Murkoo (or spelt Murku)…… since I was going on and on about it – they had all thought I was teasing them about this amazing snack. Turns out Murkoo/Murku is readily available in SA! In fact, when I looked closer at the packaging, it actually has the Proudly SA flag logo on it!!!! I know right! and there I had bought heaps and heaps of it as gifts for my specials back home!!!! (Yip isn’t that typically Dizabeth’s luck!!) The really nice thing about the cuisine lifestyle of the island, there are lots of chickpeas, veggies – but by veggies, I am meaning not the usual vegs. Another major no, no – if you living the life of me – wine! There is an abundance of South African wines but at a truly exorbitant price! Oh my word, I usually drink SKINNY or Woolies white Light, but a bottle here costs me approximately R60 that exact bottle on the island would set me back R350 – if I recall it was about six hundred rupees! I began to really question my living wage that is until we were at the airport and shopping at Duty-Free and we got chatting with fellow South Africans who were in the same position as us. Really, really keen to buy that little fluffy dodo for the grandkids but at “that” price – really? Especially if you consider the Dodo is extinct now anyhow! I did buy the cutest little stuffed toy that Tide named him (okay, if I am honest I did) Steve the Stingray and I couldn’t help myself, for me I bought Shaun the Sheep keyring. Those were 11 and 7 Euros. Another dead giveaway you South African, you are CONSTANTLY on your cellphone calculator!

We visited some incredible beaches and had some really great family time. Thanks to all the family for your kindness. Each morning Karen and I would awaken make a cuppa and waddle down to the beach to watch the sunrise and chat. That is one thing we always do, whether we haven’t seen each other in forever or have been inseparable for days on end – we always have something to chat about! One thing you definitely DON’T do in Mauritius – is order takeaway coffee, oh my giddy aunt it is capital R for Reeeeevolting!!!! And it is about 200 rupees!

Although the journey there and back were two totally different experiences – they were both great. I cannot say I “caught up” on my movies on board as you all know I am the world’s biggest couch potato when it comes to TV/Movies and Netflix, yet both ways I still found a lovely movie to bide the time till we reached our destination. One was Helen Mirren’s “The Good Liar” and homeward bound shucks I can’t recall now, ah yes I was going to say it was Susan Sarandon but it was in fact Diane Lane in The Good House. When we arrived back in Sunny South Africa we raced to Wimpy for a Wimpy coffee – yummo! I never thought they were that great before our trip – and now Wimpy, you have my respect!

 On the last leg of the journey as our hubby’s eagerly (well I would like to think they eagerly awaited us to enter the airport from arrivals) Karen and I truly didn’t recognize our own luggage! Yip dear reader I kid you not. Karen picked her luggage up – I would question whether it in fact was hers …she would return it to the carousel and around and around the case went until we were the last travelers and that lonesome case was the last case and we figured it has to belong to her!! Right there we had another belly laugh – what an amazing time it was.

The three hottest girls on the island 😊😊😊

At the end of the day with all the rands and SENSE we spent, it was truly a magnificent sisters are doing it for themselves holiday. I am trying to convince my sister next up – LONDON!! From cozzis to coats!

And on that note dear readers for now this is all she wrote. Take care, be blessed and always be kind to yourself. Thanks for loving my blog as much as you do.

And YAY YAY YAAYYEST I can feel a winter chill creeping in!!! HAPPY HAPPIER HAPPIEST Dance ever!

Mwah Mwah