The “I Dids” of March

I jokingly told Derek that this would be the title of this month’s blog.  I have done so much during the month of March that The “I Dids” of March seems to hold just the right amount of humor and boasting.   It seems appropriate that the bulk of these activities took place after the 15th, when the true Ides of March lands.  

As Derek recently wrote to me, “And who could ever have dreamed we’d be where we are now?  Married, living in South Africa, living the life that many can only dream of, full of God’s favour, overflowing with gratitude, insanely content...”

And so this blog entry is a little bit of a brag tempered with just the right amount of gratitude.   I am truly so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to enjoy Africa for a second time round.  So many things of significance have happened while we have been here and many of those occurred in March.  So here goes...

We started the month with many glorious, sun-filled hours of beach time and some relaxing time at home, knowing that as the month progressed we were going to be run off our feet.  When you live in Durban, it is a shame not take advantage of the beautiful beaches while you can.  Two out of the five Saturdays in March, Derek and I packed the car and headed to the beach where we spent the better part of the day reading and just soaking up the African sun. Whenever possible, we’d pop down to the beachfront for a walk after work, too, just to enjoy the sea breeze and the waning day.

Derek and I both turned 41 within a week of each other.  I had the privilege of spoiling him first.  The house was filled with balloons and laughter as some of his closest friends joined us for a meal and Derek’s favorite dessert, carrot cake.  I bought him the most romantic movie ever made: “March of the Penguins.”  Romantic, you ask?  Why, yes!  Because penguins mate for life, you see...  or so I thought.  Two things came to light when we watched the movie together.   Number one: I should be more careful when buying DVDs.  I inadvertently bought the French version with English subtitles.  My loving husband’s response to this little error?  “This is great!  I can practice my French.”  Number two: Within the first two minutes of the movie it is revealed that penguins mate “for a season”.  Dang!  Not quite as romantic as I thought!  I’ve since discovered that most penguins do mate for life, with the exception of the Emperor Penguin, who finds a new mate each year.  Phew!  Romantic gift redeemed!  (Sort of!)

41 is the new 30!

The day before my birthday found Derek and I heading to South African Home Affairs.  We were able to get our marriage registered and walked out holding a South African marriage certificate proclaiming that I was now officially Mrs. Delmar on the South African Population Registry.  We were both almost giddy about seeing my name in print.   

Before the month was up, I received my permanent South African passport.  What was going to take a year to get through the consulate in Toronto took a mere two weeks here in SA.  Now I am officially Mrs. Delmar on a travel document.

After celebrating the second birthday in our home for the month, (I’ve already blogged previously about my incredible 41st birthday so I won’t belabor the point that I was royally spoiled by my amazing husband), we flew to Johannesburg to visit very good friends of Derek’s (and now mine, too!).   Willie and Ginny used to live in Durban but have since relocated to Johannesburg.  They watched our wedding online and shortly after we arrived in SA, Willie contacted us to say that they would fly us to Joburg as their wedding present so that they could meet me and spend time with us.  What an incredible gift from an extraordinary couple.  We spent a fantastic weekend with them and their two beautiful kids, whom I would have gladly taken home with us.  (Derek figures we should make our own, though!)  

While we were there, my best friend from high school joined us for lunch.  What a reunion!  Sharon is as beautiful as ever, both inside and out, and it felt as if no time at all had passed since we last saw each other face to face some twenty-five odd years ago.   A second reunion happened at the airport just before we left to return to Durban.  Carol and Clive, family friends for over 40 years, met us for coffee and a quick catch up.  What a joy to see them!  We are now scheming a return trip to Joburg before we wing our way back to Canada.

Willie & Ginny

Carol & Clive

Sharon & I back in 1988

2012

Next adventure:  Krista arrived for a visit!  I had been looking forward to seeing my friend for months.  In fact, as soon as she knew I was going to be in South Africa, she started planning a trip south of the equator.  We packed as much as was humanly possible into the ten days she was with us.  She and I spent her first day in Africa at the Mangwanani Spa.  Seven different spa treatments and eight hours of pampering later, we were exfoliated, massaged, oiled up and ready to face the rest of our adventure.  A day visit to Tala Private Game Reserve and the Bird of Prey Sanctuary followed where we were treated to close up views of rhino, wildebeest, warthog, ostrich, impala and more.  

We explored some highlights of Durban and then hopped on a plane to Cape Town (the Mother City) for a long weekend get-away.  What an amazing city!  We started the weekend with sundowners at Llandudno Beach and then experienced gale force winds of up to 87km/hour at Signal point overlooking the city.  We ended the weekend with a trip to the top of Table Mountain and sandwiched trips to Stellenbosch, Fish Hoek, Camps Bay, Simonstown, Boulders Beach, the Cape of Good Hope and half a dozen other places in between.  I think our tour guide (Derek) managed to show us more of Cape Town and surrounding area in three days than most people see in four weeks.  

View of Cape Town from Table Mountain

Upon our return to Durban, we spent an evening to remember with Sadi, our Turkish friend from Istanbul who now works with Derek here and whom Krista and I met when we were on our ill-fated tour through Turkey where I was robbed blind and then “rescued” by my husband-to-be.  Isn’t it funny how life works out?  The four of us have now met on two continents.  Our next dinner date is planned for Canada!

No sooner had my dear friend left, that my uncle and cousin from Missouri arrived to spend the night before heading home to the States.  I hadn’t seen my Uncle Wes or Brendan for over 20 years.  I still remember the days when I used to have to hide my flavored Chapstick from Brendan to keep him from eating it.  Back then he was known to all of us as “Choppy.”   Now he is a respected surgeon!  We spent a lovely few hours catching up and reacquainting ourselves with each other before I took them to the airport the next afternoon.  

Choppy, Chrissy and Uncle Wes

And for our final adventure, we spent a weekend in a lovely private game reserve called Lake Eland.   In spite of it pouring rain the first day we were there, we managed to fit in several activities:  two game drives (one rainy, one sunny), two walks across the Oribi Gorge on a narrow suspense bridge (one rainy, one sunny), a mountain bike ride through the game reserve (Can life get any better than biking where kudu, eland, blesbok, zebra and impala wander the trails alongside you?) and an incredible zip-lining adventure that included 14 different platforms and a total of over 4 km of zip-lining.  At one point we zipped across the Oribi Gorge, over 300 meters in the air, 680 meters across and approaching speeds between 75 to 100 km an hour.  The sign on the platform read, "I laugh in the face of danger."  What a rush!  And the best part of the weekend?  Sharing it with our friends, Gert and Annelize.  

And so the month of March is past and we have moved on to April, which was full of it’s own adventures.  As I post this, I am sitting in a hotel room in Nairobi, having just returned from an incredible African Safari in the Masai Mara.  Life is a grand adventure!