Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project for this week.
To learn more about this project and participate, visit this post by @dswigle.
Over the last couple of weeks, we've had some hot days with temperatures of 30+ degrees Celcius. Every now and then we started getting some days with lower temperatures as well though.
Last Saturday was one of those hot days again and the weather app on my phone showed the temperature at 33 degrees Celcius with a humidity of 88%.
Searching for a Market
We remembered going to a "farmer's market" in Amanzimtoti many years ago. It was more like a flea market, but it was more about farmers setting up their stalls and selling their fresh vegetables from there.
We didn't know if it was only on particular weekends, or maybe every weekend...or if would it even be there at all currently.
We decided to take a drive down to Amanzimtoti and just head out to the area that we could remember more or less where we found it at the time.
But no luck. There was nothing that even resembled anything of that kind.
But, while driving around, we crossed the Manzimtoti River. I found parking in the parking area at the Amanzimtoti Rugby Club which is right next to the river.
Walking back and onto the bridge, I got some nice shots of the river and surrounding area.
The first photo is looking up north.
Walking across the road to the opposite side, looking south, toward the ocean where the river will mount into the ocean only a short distance from here...
Heading out to Illovo Nursery
Okay... So, no market in this area. With that in mind, I decided to head down to Illovo and visit the Illovo Nursery. Although it's primarily a nursery, they also have a nice little craft market there and we haven't been there in quite some time.
First Stop: The Pond
On arrival, we headed straight for the pond that we love to visit whenever we're at the nursery.
We found a new spot from where we can view the pond and decided to first spend some time there.
It also happened to be cleansing time...lol.
This little youngster had no problem with me getting really close to him...
Even those in the water didn't mind coming closer.
They were making nice little patterns on the water, and adding that to the reflections in the water, created quite a nice picture...
On the opposite side of the pond, the art gallery was also visible from where we were sitting.
As always, close to us, the little boat (or floating "flowerbed") was also present as always...
Getting the full picture...
Let's Visit the Nursery
We decided that it was time to pay a visit to the nursery, which was to our left.
But before we entered the nursery, we had to pass by this little bridge. We normally walk over this bridge to go to the spot where we normally sit by the pond.
Anyway, if you have been following my post for some time, I think you'll know by now that I love bridges and walkways...😅, so I just had to get a photo.
Okay, so we didn't cross the bridge this time...
So let's get to the nursery.
We'll start talking money here...so let's have a look at the current exchange rate at the time of writing this post:
- Currently, it will cost us R18.31 for $1.00.
As we entered the nursery, we encountered the "Bonsai" section.
This particular Bonsai tree got my attention.
A more prominent view against a darker background.
This tree is selling at R3500.00, which would be $191.15.
Moving further through the nursery, it became more and more colorful.
More wonderful colors added to the friendly atmosphere in the nursery.
This flower got my attention too...
Although I love nature and I like working in our garden and adding some color to it, I am by no means an expert to give you all the names and histories of these flowers.
But nothing stops me from reading the label on the container...lol. So yes, I can tell you the flower in the photo above is a "Silver Pearl".
For the photos of the next two plants, I have to be honest, I was so amazed by the texture and the appearance of these plants, I never even checked the labels...😄.
And another photo of the same plant. I loved the color and the texture of this plant.
The plant in the next photo seems to be growing flowers on its flowers...
A New Beer Garden.
We eventually moved through the nursery and entered the area of the craft market.
I immediately noticed that quite a few changes have taken place since our last visit.
One of these changes is a new "Windhoek Lager Beer Garden".
We're not really all that big on beer drinking, but once in a while, a nice cold beer goes down well.
With the high temperatures and high humidity levels, and after some walking around in the heat, today was one of those times...
It was nice and quiet with only one other family in the Beer Garden.
It's a nice little set-up with a friendly atmosphere and even some toys and a play area for the kids in one corner. The focus is clearly family-orientated...something I appreciated.
We weren't really all that hungry though. So decided to order one portion of chips to share between the two of us. And we decided to each have a Windoek Lager Draft.
It wasn't too long before our friendly waitress showed up with our drafts...
A minute or two later, our whole order was on the table.
This came to R125.00 (including a tip for our friendly waitress), which will take it to $6.83.
A Nice Market Friday Outing Coming to an End.
Yes, all good things must also come to an end. Even this nice #MarketFriday outing had to come to an end.
We decided to end our visit with a walk through the curio shop.
Well...maybe not just a curio shop, but a pet shop. Uhmm...no, also not just a pet shop, but a garden shop.
Okay, let's get this right. As you enter at the top, it is a pet shop, with nice little curio items spread all over the place.
Then you go down to a lower level where you will also find the exit. This part is more like a totally different division, filled with all your garden necessities...also with nice curio items to be found all over the whole shop.
This is where I couldn't help to get a big smile on my face when I saw this...
This elephant, warthog, and zebra, were clearly also feeling the effect of the heat and got very thirsty...lol!
And with that, our outing came to an end.
Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!
Location as per PINMAPPLE
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