Feest Isolation Days – 10 September
Around the world in Eighty Days! Wouldn’t that be grand? Around the world in any days at all…actually we can do it now in about 72 hours. With stop overs and waiting around at airports. Who would want to do that though? I just want to go there…not come back on the same trip.
New Zealand friends are travelling in the South Island and I’m feeling just the teensy weensy bit envious. If you’ve never been, the South Island is splendid and filled with the most wonderful people and scenery. Our friends have stopped in Kaikoura and tell us the earthquake damage from a few years ago is now pretty much sorted. When we visited during the year we spent living and working in New Zealand we visited this lovely coastal town.
The boat trip to get to the seals was a bit too bouncy for me at the time so I gave it a miss. Terry went swimming with the seals while I just listened to their dog like bark. I picked Terry up when he had finished his amazing time in the water swimming with these large mammals, and we carried on our journey to other lovely parts of the South Island.
As we travelled, the distinct smell of dog became more and more obvious. The hire car people clearly hadn’t cleaned the car from the dog lovers that must have rented it before us. Or so we thought. As the sun streamed in the window the smell got more and more intense. We didn’t have a dog with us but it certainly smelled like we did! We learned a lesson or two that day. Terry’s wet bathing suit was drying on the back deck of the car.
Fur seals, millions of years ago, were related to dogs! Exact ancestral links are unknown and widely debated, but science tell us that dogs and seals are both canifomia (meaning doglike). They come from the same taxonomy. Apparently the skulls of sea lions, bears, and large dogs are “nearly indistinguishable at first glance.” A dog smell we can honestly say is definitely seal like!
Bringing us back down to earth with a bump on this side of the world…Coronavirus cases are definitely on the rise. No smell. But if you lose yours, or your sense of taste…beware. The results of testing are in and at the moment it’s young people who have been getting the disease. They don’t tend to get very sick with it which is a good thing. But this is tricky for both the young and the old! Giving your parents or grandparents the virus isn’t something many kids will want to do. On the other hand, they have lives to lead. How do they manage? Restaurants, bars, and cafes want to keep open. But where is the spread occurring and how? The government isn’t giving out very much information anymore. Even though the numbers are on the upward trajectory, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of planning. Or advice. We take matters in our own hands and carry on social distancing, mask wearing and washing our hands. And staying away from young people.
Like the young, though we too have lives to lead! Let’s hope if we get to this old granny’s stage we have as much pluck as she still does!
Stay safe and Enjoy!
With love
Kathy x