November 2010 happenings

I'm obviously not a great poster in that I leave huge gaps between postings.... but bear with me and I'll try to catch you up to what the Szareks have been up to since October 30th.

We have enjoyed the beach after church most Sundays, here are some pictures from various Sunday afternoons over the month of November.

Playing in the waves with friends.


Hole in the wall, a neat rock formation you can walk through.


Surf at the edge of a tide pool.


Fishermen just down the beach from where we were swimming.


Anna trying to dig a hole for herself in the sand and looking much shorter than usual next to her sister.

Caught up for now!

So basically the past few weeks have been the same. Deborah and Anna going to school, me teaching Music classes, piano, recorders, handbells and Ray still commuting back and forth to the ship.

But what is going on with the ship you may wonder? Well, there is a blog telling you all about what is going on including great pictures, so take a look at what is going on with the Africa Mercy.

Power the Vision

The Rest of the Safari Adventure

After supper we let the girls swim in the pool. It was freezing but they had fun!

The next morning I looked out the bathroom window at 6:30a just to see where we were since it had been dark when we got there the night before. I was astonished to see a giraffe staring at me 20 feet away!!!!! He was just beautiful and I woke up the girls to see him and his friends!

There were six giraffes altogether just taking an early morning stroll.

Then we were off to the 3rd part of our adventure. A 2 hour river ride at St. Lucia where we saw crocs.

Tons of hippos!

Here's a closer view of two hippos.

The Meerkat

So, after the Zulu village and the Safari we were taken to the Lodge on the reserve to spend the night. Our driver went in to make sure they were ready for us and came out to tell us they had a meerkat for a pet and that he had almost stepped on it. Well, all I heard was CAT and I got all excited. Now when I first saw the meerkat I knew it didn't look like a cat but I was thinking maybe it was a different kind of a cat. Anyways, I miss my cats and so I decided to love on this little guy. Isn't he cute?

So we pet and loved on this little guy. He sat in my arms and in my lap. During dinner he slept at my feet. Later that night we brought him into our room but kicked him out when it was time to sleep. He scratched at our door after we kicked him out because he wanted to come back in. He also scratched at every other door too! He dug lots of little holes all over the ground looking for bugs to eat. Doesn't that sound cat-like to you?

Eventually I figured out that there was nothing 'cat' about this little guy. He was simply adorable but apparently he is a mongoose, good to have around to keep the snakes away. I really enjoyed him. Oh, get this, his name is......Meerkat.

Safari!!!

We had the opportunity to go on a Safari the first weekend in October. It was actually a package deal that offered three different things along with an overnight at a lodge in a game reserve. The first part was going to a Zulu village where we were shown how the Zulu people make different things like shields and clothing. Then they danced for us.

The second part was the Safari! We climbed into the Safari vehicle, I am in the back with the girls. Anna is there but was not making an effort to be seen. Be assured, she is there and enjoyed seeing the animals as much as the rest of us. Ray is in the first row of seats behind the driver's seat. Our Safari driver is standing off to the side getting ready.

We saw so many animals but here are a few. The zebras were just inside the gate of the reserve.

We saw many giraffes but this one was walking right down the road toward us and came right up to us before turning to go towards the trees.

We saw Cape Buffaloes galore but this old fellow was stubborn and didn't want to move out of the way for us to pass. I think we were sitting there for at least 15 minutes talking to him. Finally another Safari vehicle came from the opposite direction and he decided to go somewhere else.

Our Dorm Rooms and the Music Room

These are the four rooms we have to use while we are in Appelsbosch.

This is one side of our living room/dining room.

This is the other side. I made a couch out of one bed and another foam mattress as a back.

Girls' room

Play room with toys everywhere

The Music Room in the Academy. Don't look too closely at the ceiling.

Indian Ocean and the way to Appelsbosch

The last Sunday in September we were able to go to church in Ballito which is on the coast. After church we went to the beach and had a chance to swim (or dip your toes) in the Indian Ocean. What a thrill! The kids enjoyed swimming in one of the Tidal Pools here on the beach. The water is not that warm but the sun is.

Deborah looking out over the Tidal Pool.

The weather changes as we go back up into the mountains to Appelsbosch. It becomes overcast and sometimes the fog is so thick you can't see beyond our compound. This picture was taken in early spring so already a month later it is much greener here.

The houses are built on the sides of the mountains.

And it looks terraced in some places.