The interesting Margose very popular in Mauritius. Karela Bitter Gourd “Margose” is a delicious simple to cook recipe that is one of the most nutritious vegetables. I have always loved this vegetable/fruit since I was little. I love it any kind of dishes whether stir fried, curried, vindaye spices. Bitter gourd or Karela may not be the favourite of many people because of it’s bitter taste. However over centuries this fruit /vegetable has been one of the main ingredients in many medicinal recipes and therapeutic treatments. It is packed with some key nutrients and healthy components, making it a very healthy addition to your diet. The secret of all it’s good properties lies in the bitterness, it is loaded with medicinal values. The more I read about this vegetable the more I am fascinated to find out about these benefits of this humble fruit/vegetable. Some of its benefits include maintaining balanced digestive system, improve immune system, good to treat and balance diabetes, aid weight loss, and good for eye sight and with its high antioxidant content it’s a great ingredient to keep you look radiant and beautiful. I am definitely keeping Karela in my diet for sure, and believe me with all of these good reasons I am certain one can overlook its bitter taste and consider eating it.

We keep looking for that "extraordinary moment" to happen.... Yet it does every day! What you see depends on what you are looking for...

I'm a little lemon boat bobbing on the water...... Finding my place in the sun amongst the neutral, sleek and dignified!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God that is why it is called the present! Bill Keane

Missing the endless open spaces, red dirt roads and cloudy skies of Gabon

"There are stars you haven't seen and loves you haven't loved. There's light you haven't felt and sunrises yet to dawn. There are dreams you haven't dreamt, and days you haven't lived, and nights you won't forget, and flowers yet to grow. And there is more to you that you have yet to know." Gaby Compres #zimbabwe#anewdaydawning

"Snap, crackle and pop.... The sound of spring in Zimbabwe.... Msasa trees pods popping... May this spring bring a change in Zimbabwe!

A lovely old abandoned wooden house I found near the Police Station! Would be an awesome doer upper!

Yes many or most of us Zimbo's are so unsettled no matter where we might be. I have been helping my sister pack up her home for yet another move whilst we are still living in suitcases and have packed up and moved three times in the past year. I've been sitting quietly pondering and asking God why, please just sort this once and for all.... A friend sent me this verse and it speaks so loud and clear. He is faithful and we need to remember that. Keep praising! We always need to have HOPE, this comes before victory, and that's just around the corner....

I feel so blessed to finally be in a place where we can put down roots again. Since losing the farms in 2005 we have seriously had an exciting life and God has been so faithful, but the "gypsy life" is tiring. I can now find the seeds and plant them finally..... Yet, we are just strangers passing through on this earth, so we can never get too comfortable. Here are a few pics from the last weekend in Mauritius...

Collecting seeds again! Yay

Seriously windy time of the year...

My daily walks certainly have different views from Gabon

Love these reflections in a koi pond...

Gorgeously rich coloured framboise sold on the beach...

Here are a collection of snaps taken with my iPhone whilst in Libreville. I'm leaving on a jet plane out of here tomorrow night and then onto Mauritius for a few weeks. JB will still be in Gabon until the end of August

We crossed the equator often but thought I had better snap it...

Gorgeous coloured raffia they sell on the main highway... Made from raffia palms

My gorgeous Gabonese footsteps...

Couldn't resist this gorgeous African fabric from Cote de Voir

Sunset at the grubby industrial port 

I could live in Libreville! What amazing restaraunts...

I love these roasted peanuts and fried plantains sold in used jars and spirit bottles! Recycling at its best... You can buy these tasty snacks everywhere...

Now on my 2nd last day on the Ranch, I head for a walk below the house, at the bottom of a hill and discovered a beautiful little peaceful place....

And it looks as if someone else has found it before me! 

All taken with my IPhone....

Huge trees make loooong dugouts! A fisherman in the lagoon of Myumba, Gabon

And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems

Life in the fishing villages of Myumba, Gabon. Apparently most of the fishermen are from neighboring countries, not the Gabonese.

I have never had clarity. I have only ever had trust, Mother Teresa. Gabon, land of the hiding sun...

Whilst shopping for you Aubergine, chilliest and limes (that's basically most of the veg you can get here at this time of the year) you can grab a pair of jeans... #woodenhouseswoodenshops

We spent the weekend at a place called Myumba, on the southern coast of Gabon! It's so beautiful and so basic, with no hotels etc and very bad roads! But the beauty makes up for a lot....

Yes JB caught. Barracuda! 

The local fish shop.... It's basically a room with a Large deepfreeze filled with the weeks catch! 

Illegal Fishing in Gabonese waters, seems to be taken really seriously....

Whilst visiting a friend in the Coastal town of Myumba, we saw these Chinese fishing vessels being held in the lagoon.  They will have to pay a very heavy fine to retrieve them.  They have crept across from the Congo, where they are allowed to do all the fishing they want....Here is an interesting link about the Gabon protected marine areas. Gabon Marine Protected Area

It's in the dry, difficult times that makes us send our "roots" down deeper to search for "the water of life" to sustain us, "His peace" to calm us and the "joy unspeakable" to uplift us. Gigi

Whilst walking I am rather nervous of coming across either one of the "big" creatures, as most of you know. A forest Elephant, buffalo or even a python or mamba - but it's really the "little" zappers that annoy and hurt me the most. The tsetse fly (yes there is sleeping sickness here) the annoying palm flies and even mosquitoes! They attack my vulnerable exposed parts. The back of my neck, my arms (they love my elbows!) and ankles. I don't see them, but only feel the ouch once I've been zapped. With the tsetse the bite becomes a swollen, hot, hard lump for up to 3 weeks. With malaria, it's as if a forest elephant is standing on your head! The pain they inflict lingers... It's much like sin.... The "bigger" ones are more noticeable and they can kill or maim, but the "little" ones, which are just as bad, and aren't too noticeable, slowly creep in and harm where you are vunerable . The hidden zappers that rob you of your peace and joy. They could be fear, worry, pride, self pity, envy - everyone's list is different. Thank goodness for Gods grace and forgiveness....

Most fears are only mirages...

If we had a daily newspaper here, yesterday's headlines would have read.... "Panga wielding Pygmies cause pandemonium and panic!" JB has employed Pygmy contractors, who come from a nearby village, to open up and fence a cattle camp. One of the leaders had stolen their money etc etc and they caused a huge ruckus involving everyone! They are small and have a reputation of getting very agro! It started turning violent but God intervened. It seems really funny now but wasn't last night....

There isn't much to do on a Sunday on the Ranch. I don't have access to any vehicles during the week. So Sunday's are when I drag JB out to try and do a spot of photography. Today we went checking on the firebreaks...

Gabon........ The land of the hiding sun........