With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.
The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!
Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.
When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.
The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.
November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.
By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”
Way back in 2000, I spent my birthday (link to my original blog of the trip) in Punta Gorda, Belize. My friend Susan, who was traveling with me, celebrated her 50th there! And that is where I will be spending my birthday this year! Probably not in PG Town, but on a boat. A big Moorings charter catamaran!
It's a lot of years since I had anything to do with running a charter boat, but that is the big plan. In March, Betsy and I are taking a group of woman to Belize to sail the islands aboard a large catamaran. There will be a total of eight of us, all AARP qualified! Some have some sailing experience, while the others are novices. Betsy knows them all; I only know her and Pam, a friend from this area. We will be on assignment for Sailing Magazine - Betsy as the journalist and me as the photographer.
Betsy has been involved in several of these charters with Bobby G, a good friend who isn't able to do them any more, so I volunteered to fill in as first mate, with Miss B as the skipper. I was able to join them both on a sail on the Chesapeake in 2011 I think it was!
Below is a promo video of the boat we will be on, although this one is sailing in the British Virgin islands. (Maybe that's our next charter expedition!)
We have been doing the trip planning and will spend seven days on the boat and extend the trip for four more days in the jungle.
The Moorings base is in Placentia, which is a small town where Susan and I stayed for a night when we were there. I know it has changed a lot since then, as there are now numerous large, glitzy hotels whereas we stayed in a small guest house on the beach. Betsy and I get there a day early to provision and load the boat and get the usual pre-charter check out. The following day, the crew arrives, late in the day, and we head out at first light the next day- to the cays and the second largest coral reef in the world.
Our plan is to island hop, dropping a hook after sailing for a couple of hours and then spending the rest of the day either ashore exploring or snorkeling or lazing on the boat - or all of the above! It's a small country so distances are quite small and hopefully very protected within the reef. Several of the small islands have restaurants and bars, so we will probably eat ashore quite a bit but will also be doing the cooking aboard as needed.
When we return to Placentia on the morning of the last day, four of the crew leave to make their flights out of Belize City but the other lucky four, including me, head to a jungle hotel called Maya Mountain Lodge. From there, we are doing a day trip to Tikal, a Maya ruin across the Guatemala border, and a caving expedition at Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave close by the hotel.
My biggest concern while there is the sun! Living up here in the PNW, I am so pale that any sun is really going to nail me, so I am looking at heavy duty sunscreen and clothing with Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). And of course, after having two nasty BCCs taken off my face in the last couple of years, I will have to be extremely cautious about sun on my face! I expect I will even swim in a hat! But I just can't wait to get into that warm, crystal clear, silky water with my new bifocal snorkeling mask (on the list to order). The mask will make a huge difference, especially as I will do underwater photos too, with a camera I hope to get very soon.
My other concern is I have still to find a house sitter to take care of the kitties. I've found two who have both bailed on me! So the ad is running again, and I just hope I find someone soon.
