From the Reef to the Reefer

After some soul draining days in Surfers Paradise, a Disney-like resort town where Girls Gone Wild should have their headquarters, I've taken up shop in this cool hippie haven called Byron Bay. Far less commercial and the ocean air is mixed with some herbal essence of a curious sort. Aromatherapy they call it. Sure. Whatever. Just keep the breeze flowing...

Anyway, I'm rooming with some Jewish dudes and a naive German. The German was telling me this story of getting hired by two older guys who appeared to be "the best of friends, living the life together." They garden to club music and have their own discotheque in their home. They also, how do you say, "make good massage on me after helping them in their garden." After 9 hours of gardening and relaxing with his new friends he still had no idea they were, how do you say "making the moves on him." He thought they were just really nice, close friends showing him some genuine Aussie hospitality. Funny stuff.

Still no pics. I'll start downloading some photos from the camera when I can.

Reef Riot

So, you know those little old ladies with the blue hair that frequent cafeterias like Luby's or Queen Anne's? You definitely know the ones, they sit by themselves with their tapioca because they're old and that's what old people do. Well, I'm the no-hair blue-hair of Port Douglas tours. I've managed to meet several people to drink with but because they are poor hostel goers who work random jobs in town so they can pay for a plane ticket to yet another destination and random job opportunity, it's like pulling teeth to get them to cough up a hundred bones to go snorkeling or kayaking. I, on the other hand, receive investment portfolio updates on my cellphone from my good friend Charles over at Wachovia Securities. So, I go alone.

As the picture illustrates, I look like an idiot in snorkel gear but that wrasse is pretty cool. I also came across a reef shark, sea turtle, and some nice girls from Boston here for Uni...I hate that word by the way, mate. Of course, they are staying in Cairns so it's back to the hostel to hunt down my new Finnish friend for a cheap dinner.

Panic Correction

Okay, for people like Mr. Jones and Nate who questioned the level of panic stated in the last post, let me just put on record that I'd never paddled a surfboard or swam in a full-on ocean rip before with 7 ft. waves so there was a bit of anxiety in tow. But no, I didn't need to be assisted back to shore. I paddled out of the rip and back into a nice wave that brought me back. So, suck it.

Headed back out to the ocean today for some sea kayaking near Cape Tribulation. It's near Mount Sorrow and Misery Cove. All which were named by Captain Cook. Apparently, his divorce was less amicable. Not a very happy man, to say the least. The emerald green swells along the reef were pretty amazing and filled with sea turtles. I also managed to hike through the Daintree Rainforest, considered to be the oldest rainforest in the world and home to one, if not a couple, of the original 19 flowering trees. After a dip in a non-crocodile infested stream, I hopped on a motorboat and cruised down the Daintree River looking for crocodiles and snakes. A 3 meter croc surfaced just beyond the bow of the boat and then disappeared.

Anyway, I've been bunking with some nice young ladies from Canada and Finland...right up your alley, Pat. The Finnish girl's level of geographic knowledge is on par with a 7th grader from Arkansas which is to say America is something she only thought existed in movies. The concept of an "Oklahoma" blew her mind. She does use the "f" word every third word so she's totally cool in my book.

No picture today. Still dealing with technical difficulties.

Technology and Such

So, I had these grand visions of keeping this site marginally updated from my cell phone but that's but a pipe dream with the wifi internet connections here in Australia. I do have some great pics of the surf at Bondi Beach where I managed to actually get up on the board a couple of times and then promptly panicked when we went for a paddle to catch bigger waves along the rip on the northside of the beach.

As soon as I can manage to get my phone and random wifi connections to play nice then I'll upload some more pics. If you happen to have a map handy...I'm outside of Cairns in Port Douglas. I've got a snorkeling and sailing trip out to the Great Barrier Reef on tap for tomorrow. Today, I'm wasting away on the internet at this hostel waiting for the clouds to clear to head to the beach.

I had every intention of learning how to surf today at Bondi Beach but it was 20 ways to freezing and the sky was pissing mad rain so I went to the harbour and snapped a pic of the Opera House looking all sinister. Spooky.

Rules of the Road

Don't talk to strange hot chicks without protection.

Actually the list is longer and much more elaborate if you consult my parents but this is generally a good one to live by as well. Now, as much as I'd like to go into the litany of "rules" that all those caring folk in my life have heaped on me, google doesn't have the bandwith or memory to hold such a compodium of insanity and unfun.

Talking to strangers is fun. Hitchhiking is fun. Drinking the local depressant is fun. Sleeping on random park benches is fun. Bartering or haggling for goods and services, both legal and illegal, is fun. Hopping on buses for points unknown is fun. Getting dysentery...not so much fun.

At any rate, I've been having some fun.

Random

I can't think for the life of me how this pic got posted. But given the fact that Stuckeys is an American icon for the happy traveler it makes some sense. Pecan log anyone?

Packing

So, how does one plan and pack for an around the world trip? First, find yourself single again...living with your parents. That's always a good start. Don't get me wrong, wearing your high school letter jacket and polishing your old trophies can be somewhat therapeutic...if you're a serial killer. For the rest of us, it's a transitional staging area with a number of benefits. Namely, the free food and laundry services. They go a long way in helping you hone your mooching skills which are essential when traveling on a budget. Now, when it comes to packing you want to infuriate your mom by trashing a completely innocent room with random paraphernalia ranging from rain gear and hiking boots to wicking underwear that you can wear for up to a week without washing. No joke, they really hold up. Never thought I'd pay $30 for a single pair of underwear but let me tell you, they're pretty damn special. They also lift and separate. The ladies know what I'm talking about.

To be totally honest, I was a little overambitious in trying to pack lightly. The hang-up coming in the form of winter gear for the Himalayas and all the gadgetry I can't live without. So what started out as a midget-sized backpack and a small sling back has turned into the same midget-sized backpack complete with vacuum compression sacks and the sling back is nesting inside a larger sling back. Not exactly what I was envisioning but then again I suppose trying to travel for 7 months out of a plastic bag from the grocery store has its limitations.