Girl Seeking Wonderland

“I would tell you my adventures- beginning from the morning,” said Alice a little timidly “but It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

Sad to leave Egypt yet excited to meet Jordan, our group boarded the high speed ferry from Nuweiba for the 90 minute journey to Aqaba, Jordan.  Six hours later we arrived.  I went to Jordan with no expectations and little knowledge except that I wanted to see Petra.  Egypt had surprised and changed me more than expected so who knew what Jordan might do.  It did not disappoint.  First stop, dinner, ice cream and sleep.  While this may not sound exciting, the idea of gelato made me downright giddy.  Second stop, a drive to Wadi Rum for some 4×4 rides in the desert.  Wadi Rum is believed to have once been the bottom of an ocean and is also the landscape scenes from The Marian (further evidence of my ever expanding alien theory).

We paused for the sunset, now a regular activity for us, and headed to camp.  This camp did not have electricity or (gasp) wifi or cell service.  But it had stars, billions of stars.  We saw the space station move across the sky and for the first time in my life, saw the Milky Way- like every star in the Milky Way.  And we had wine.  How I had missed a good wine and this night was perfect for it.  Most people slept outside but my ever practical mind weighed the effort of moving my bed outside the tent with the fact that I would be asleep 30 seconds later and not actually see the stars plus the idea that the sun would rise and start cooking people in a few hours.  It was all in all, a fantastic night and I woke up a little different than the day before.

We awoke the next day, dirty and sweaty and climbed into our car.  I am pretty sure a teenage boy’s locker room smelled better than that thing but off we went.  We had only one stop today, Little Petra.  This was like an appetizer to a meal that you didn’t order and had no idea what was even on the menu.  It was pretty cool to see some of the rooms carved into the sandstone.  The believe that Little Petra was once a food court where traders came before entering Big Petra (my own name).  What is probably the least talented Bedouin in history played some traditional music for us as we checked out the dining rooms and kitchens.

Then it was time for the Indiana Jones Mother of all Cool Things… Petra.  I have wanted to see this for years and was my sole purpose in coming to Jordan. We woke up early AGAIN to be the first ones at the Treasury, the building everyone recognizes.  I cannot say how grateful I am that we did.  We walked the long siq (pathway) through the canyon.  Every corner was filled with the anticipation of seeing it.  Our guide then totally tricked us into looking up so we all turned around together to see it.  If you were still sleeping in town at that time, you weren’t anymore.  You could hardly hear over the gasps and camera clicks.  We ran to the Treasury and stood in awe. Needless to say, when the next group arrived, certain they were the first, we stood proud.  Then, since we had not been climbing enough steps, we took the 800 step climb complete with rock climbing since my group went ahead and took the hard way) to look at it from overhead. We sat in a Bedouin tent, listening to his music overlooking the Treasury for a good while, making the memories. Another adventure that changes you.  About 10 more miles in Petra and it was time to go.  

Until that night, when we came back for the totally cool Petra by Night.  After the mile long, candle lit walk down the siq, you arrive at the Treasury to find candles, traditional music and story telling.  Every night becomes cooler than the night before.

The next day it was off to the Dead Sea.  We saw some castles on the way and stopped by the cave home of this fabulous eccentric man who gave us tea and showed us his collections but we were ready for some relaxation.  A quick dip in the Dead Sea and we found all of our cuts and scrapes but had a great time floating was followed by a complete mud mask.  I am definitely changed from this adventure- at least ten years younger!

And then it was time for our last full night together as a group. What started as some random walking around town, we met up in a cafe.  A few hours later, the place had closed, the staff drew the blinds and turned up the music for an impromptu club and a group celebrating the end of a great adventure.  And yes, I am different for it.

Off to Morocco- another lifelong dream.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

So begins Egypt, Part II.  Quick recap from Part I.  We have already visited the Pyramids which were clearly built by aliens, rode a camel, visited a few temples, skipped many hours of sleep and crashed our felucca into the banks of the Nile.  Not bad for one week in Egypt.

After spending the night on the deck of our damaged felucca, we rose with the sun to begin the day’s journey to Luxor.  I believe I added three hours of sleep to my tally after this adventure.  First stop, a temple to honor the crocodiles.   Kom Ombo had mummified crocs but we spent most of the visit looking at the temple engravings looking for evidence to support our growing alien theory.  A spinoff travel company was also invented, along with a lot of slightly fabricated stories about the temples, bridges and history of Egypt.  The fact that this group included a lot of people with fantastic imagination made this ever so much fun.

We arrived in Luxor a few hours later.  Never in my life would I think I would say I arrived in Luxor and not mean Las Vegas so it all felt a bit surreal.  Some of the group headed out to another temple, but I was feeling a bit templed out so a few of us visited the pool instead.  That evening was dinner, overlooking the Luxor Temple, beautifully lit in the evening and then early (11:00 PM) bedtime for an early morning hot air balloon ride over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.

It was a beautiful ride until landing time.  My balloon ride in Kenya included a bit of a crash landing so I was super excited for this one.  It did not disappoint.  Our pilot seemed to think a somewhat narrow road between two fields with a concrete block median, next to a tree and between two fields would be a good place to land.  I don’t claim to be an expert hot air balloon captain, but I feel I might have made a different choice.  After narrowly missing the tree, we slammed into the ground, then the concrete blocks and then the other side of the road.  He was quite proud of his landing so I passed on the opportunity to correct his thinking.

We then hopped on some donkeys to ride to the Valley of the Kings.  Yep, donkeys.  Turns out they are way more fun to ride then camels if you can get them to move.  They clearly didn’t listen to the female voice, so a few of us tried our best masculine voices to trick them.  Donkeys are smarter than you might think.  The Valley of the Kings was definitely a highlight.  I had no idea what to expect- certainly not 983 tombs (that number might be slightly exaggerated and closer to around 62) literally cut out of the side of the mountains. Time allowed us to go into five of them and since it was 329 degrees outside, that was plenty.  They are amazing- much of the paint is still intact- and you go deep into corridors in the mountain.  Of course, we found plenty of alien evidence, including lots of blue men but the highlights were the beautiful colors in the tomb of Ramses V and VI and King Tut in the flesh and blood.  Well flesh at least.   Photographs are not allowed so an shot from the balloon is the best I can do.

Overnight train, Take Two, to get back to Cairo for one of my favorite days.  We headed into Old Cairo for an Islamic tour, including visits to several mosques, the market, streets that have been restored to their original design and time to hang out in a cafe and watch the energy of this city.  I learned a lot about Islam that day and satisfied one of my goals for travel, opening my eyes to different, sometimes contrary views of the world.  I could have lived this day many times over.

It was now time for some relaxation (ha!).  After another two hours of sleep, we flew to Sharm el-Sheikh and then drove two hours to the Red Sea.  Spoiler Alert- it isn’t Red. Our hotel was a gorgeous family owned resort on the beach where we snorkeled and tanned and sat in the water talking for hours.  And since we had been getting so much sleep, we took the rare opportunity to climb Mt Sinai by moonlight to watch the sunrise.  We left the hotel around 11 PM and started the hike sometime between 1 and 2 AM.  It took about 2 1/2 hours to reach the summit and it was a rocky, sometimes steep, climb.  The camel walking next to me was sometimes a temptation to ride, but I pushed through.  My lungs are still burning two days later.  One hour later, I watched the most magnificent and hard earned sunrise I have seen.

And another of the amazing group of people that have become dear friends at the summit of Mt. Sinai.

And so ends my time in Egypt.  I can’t say enough about this country.  If you have ever thought of going, please do.  The history is indescribable and the people are absolutely lovely.  I never once felt unsafe, don’t let the media scare you.  Visit history while you can.

“How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin

How neatly spreads his claws

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!”

Alice in Wonderland

Egypt, I have arrived.  After a ridiculously early wakeup for a flight from Nairobi (a theme of my time in Egypt you will soon see), I arrived in Cairo and was whisked through this massive city to my hotel where I locked myself in for a day to catch up on life, which it turns out is quite difficult when you do non stop travel.  A quick trip to Alexandria to see the Mediterranean and the sites of the Lighthouse of Alexandrea and the Library of Alexandria, now occupied by a fort and the new, quite impressive, Library of Alexandria.  The highlight of the day was sitting in a cafe with my guide and driver, playing dominoes and talking with the other diners.  I am finding more and more that my favorite times of these trips are just sitting and talking with people from around the world.

The following day, I ran into three other women from my group, three women with an adventurous spirit.  We headed off into the 195 degree heat with no plan or map, with the Nile and the Cairo Tower as our landmarks.  First stop, the subway.  Everything was in Arabic so we paid our 1 Egyptian pound (about $.11) and picked a train.  We knew the day would be good when we walked out of the randomly selected station into Tahrir Square.  From there we walked around, stopping in a papyrus, oil and jewelry store where we spent the next two hours chatting with the employees (mostly because I nearly passed out and had to lay down in the shop for a wee bit- darn heat) and then headed to a restaurant where, despite a menu that listed tons of dishes, only two were available!

Day Three and time to start the official tour.  I got what would be the last full night of sleep for many, many days and we headed to these little things called the Pyramids of Giza.  The temperature was a tepid 185 degrees so it was quite a lovely day (exaggeration alert).  To say this Wonder of the Ancient World was amazing would be a ridiculous understatement so I began my campaign to convince everyone that Ancient Egypt was populated by aliens and the pyramids were, in fact, their work.  This endeavor continues today.  After viewing them up close, we hopped on some camels for a walk around them.  Dandy and I bonded quickly although she refused to pick up the pace when prompted by me.  Mental note to learn camel commands in Arabic before I visit again.   After our transportation pooped out, we went to see the Sphinx.  From the wrong angle, it looks as large or larger than the biggest of the nine pyramids.  I suspect aliens had a little something to do with this as well.  By this time, it was 235 degrees outside, so we headed to the Cairo Museum to enjoy the air conditioning.  Alas, we were fooled.  The only room in the museum that is air conditioned is the one that contains a small sample of King Tut’s treasures.  Needless to say, there are sixteen people that know A LOT about these treasures!  We also popped in to see some really old mummies, which are not quite a gross as you might imagine.  Since we were then, nice a sweaty, we boarded an overnight train for a ride to Aswan.  Thank goodness we had a train car to ourselves as we regressed to age 12 as soon as we boarded, which was made better or worse by the fact that we had stopped for wine, beer and whiskey along the way.

After twenty minutes of sleep (only a minor exaggeration this time), we arrived to 265 degree heat and immediately headed to the Philae Temple.  As this was our first temple, we were super excited.  I have now seen enough temples to last me a long while.  By the time we made it to the unfinished obelisk, we were spent.  It was much like the Grand Canyon scene in Vacation.  We climbed the quarry, took one look at the obelisk and headed to the comfort of the air conditioned van.   Fortunately, naps and showers were next on the agenda and then an absolutely lovely dinner with a local Nubian family, complete with henna tattoos.  Advice for future travelers- if you decide to get a henna tattoo, please think twice if you have been sweating for 36 straight hours.  The ink runs and merges and forms blobs rather than designs!

Since I got so much sleep the night before, I was super excited to get up long before the crack of dawn to join a convoy out to Abu Simbel, the temple that was moved when the dam was built.   We meet all of the other pilgrims making the three hour trek at 4:00 AM to form a convoy there and back.  I soon learned that Egyptian convoys maintain formation for exactly 3.67 minutes.  After that, we couldn’t see another car for miles.  Abu Simbel was an enormous temple that was cut into pieces and moved when threatened by flood when the dam was built on the Nile.  It was an amazing temple, filled with symbols that clearly prove my theory that aliens lived in Ancient Egypt.  On the way back, we stopped at a Perfume Museum that involved, lunch, tea and a lecture on essential oils that included plenty of opportunity to purchase.  Stay tuned for more “museum” stories.  The night ended with a trip through the Aswan Market and tea an backgammon at a cafe.  I learned the Egyptian way to play so I am pretty sure at this point, people are just assuming I am Egyptian.

The next day was a sleep in day!!!  Contrary to popular belief, I am in introvert and truly treasure my time alone, especially because I can’t sit still or stop talking when I am in a group.  For those keeping track, I have slept a total of three hours and twenty minutes at this point.  After a late breakfast, we boarded some feluccas (flat bottomed boats) to sail the Nile.  We sailed the morning, stopped for lunch and a swim IN THE NILE.  We were assured that the crocs were on the other side of the dam.  I can’t be certain and it is a much better story if they were in fact swimming with us.  Then we headed back out.  We had a lovely sail.  For about thirty minutes.  Then the brilliant idea of reenacting the King of the World scene from Titanic appeared.  So, with “My Heart Will Go On” playing in the background, several of us headed to the front of the boat for the photos.  At that exact moment, the sail tore and the wind gusted and we headed straight into the woods where we would spend the next hour waiting to be pulled out and then towed.  The beauty in the moment was in the fact that the music continued to play as we crashed into the bushes and dodged branches and thorns, all while laughing like hyenas. The tow rope broke and we headed right back into the woods. Another hour, plenty of snacks and wine later, we were towed to meet our other boat where we would spend the night on the deck, under the stars.  During this adventure, the idea of our own travel company came was formed, with our firm belief in aliens as the cornerstone.  It could have been the wine.

And so continues Egypt.  Stay tuned for the morning after the Egyptian Titanic.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice.

I love Africa. After visiting South Africa in April, I was beyond excited to see what Kenya had to offer. Kenya did not disappoint. I committed to learn two Swahili words each day and am proud to say I am fluent. In twenty words. I also managed to crack some of the secret code that guides use when animals are spotted but they don’t want their clients to get excited. My guide both loved and hated my curiosity.

I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya after a really, really long flight from Sydney. Fortunately my body has become quite adept at airplane sleeping so I spent most of the flight behind closed lids. Then it was off to visit Nairobi’s three main tourist attractions. First stop, the Giraffe Center where you get to pet and feed giraffes. As giraffe saliva is an antiseptic, you ate encouraged to put a pellet in your mouth and the gentler of the giraffes will lick your face to get the pellet. Turns out it feels like exfoliation.

Next stop, a visit to the baby elephants. There is a group that rescues baby elephant that have fallen into wells or lost their mothers. They nurse them for a few years and then return them to the wild. And since elephant have near perfect memory, they come back often to visit. Here, I received the traditional blessing of an elephant throwing mud on me so I have that going for me. One last stop at the bomas, traditional huts made of cow dung and mud for the over 40 Kenyan tribes. While I asked tons of qurstions, jet lag had sat in and I retained none of it. The trip ended with a traditional music and dance section which I believe I enjoyed less than the visibly bored performers. So much for curiosity.

 

“Would you like some wine?” said the Mad Hatter.  “Yes.” said Alice. “We haven’t any and you’re too young.” said the Mad Hatter.

Fortunately, New Zealand doesn’t card people, even when they clearly look under 18  (I can say this because two separate students in Melbourne who interviewed me for school projects told me I looked 25).

The rest of the Wellington, New Zealand trip was amazing- so good it has taken me days to  finally write this post.  We can thank jet lag for waking me up at 4:00 am Kenyan time!  My friend Jessie (another friend met in Antarctica) took a few days off from work and we had a much needed holiday from my holiday.  In saying this, I realize how truly ridiculous it sounds, but traveling is tough work!  And a break was needed!  Fortunately for me, Jessie shares my love of movies, knitting and wine so she planned the perfect adventure.  It was so perfect, in fact, that few photos were taken and you will find this post a little light on visuals.

New Zealand takes their cinema nearly as serious as their coffee and the movie houses are more neighborhood than multiplex.  The first stop was in Wellington where we brought fantastic wine into Independence Day and armed ourselves with plenty of knowledge to fight off the queen should aliens attempt to attack this July 4.   Then it was off to the New Zealand countryside to see why James Cameron and Peter Jackson have purchased 63% of the land (yet another fabricated statistic).  Oops- before we were off, Mustache announced the grand opening of their cookie truck and it just happened to be across the street from where we were- so cookies and coffee were acquired for the drive.  The cinnamon cookie is my personal favorite!

The Wairarapa region was the lucky recipient of us.  First stop, pie.  Second stop, the Mount Bruce Pukaha to see the bird sanctuary.  In Maori, every bird name starts with the letter K (fabricated statistic alert).  Here we saw kaka, kiwi,  kokako, kakariki, keraru (PSA- also a great brewery in Upper Hutt) and my personal favorite, the piwakawaka.  My good camera was in the car so no pics of him- just the kaka during feeding time.

All of that working bird watching meant it surely must be time for wine and cinema- the selection was a hilarious New Zealand film, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, made even better with locally produced wine.

We had been invited to James Cameron’s house for lunch so we headed further out into the countryside (I think this goes without saying, but fabrication).  We got distracted with the Cape Palliser Lighthouse and the fur seals hanging out near its base and never made it to James’s house.  I hope he can learn to forgive.  The 250 steps helped me quickly forget the slight.

The adorable but not curious enough for my liking fur seals helped as well.

A final stop in Ngawi to see the bulldozers that push and pull the local fishing boats into and out of the water.  Some people have made good use of their down time!

Enough nature now- off for wine tasting, beer tasting and Quiz Night at the local hotel pub.  We placed a respectable fourth, doing quite well in the Geography, Cinema/TV and Random categories.  A few more weeks in that town and we would have OWNED quiz night!

Final Wellington must do item- visit Miramar, the primary location for NZ film.  We saw the giant outdoor green screen where LOTR filmed and visited Weta Cave where the trolls graciously let us pass.

And so ends the wine, knitting and cinema adventure of Wellington.  One flight to Sydney with a 24 hour layover, one 13 hour flight and one 5 hour flight and I am BACK IN AFRICA!!

“Rule #42: All persons more than a mile high must leave the court immediately, “said the King of Hearts.  “But I am not a mile high, and I am not leaving.” said Alice.  “Sorry, rule #42, you know.”

Week three of my adventure and I am already falling behind on my blog.   So this one takes you from Melbourne to Auckland to Wellington.  And it begins with coffee, of course.   I have a new hobby.  I am going to learn everything there is to know about coffee.  Fortunately, I have the attention span of someone who has had way too much coffee so this will likely be a passing fancy.  Nonetheless, I kicked off my education in Melbourne at Seven Seeds, a local roaster and coffee house.  They do something there called cupping, which as far as I can tell, is a not very well known and someone unfortunate name for a coffee sniffing and tasting experience.   We tried coffees from around the world, starting with a dry sniff, a wet sniff, a crust evaluation and finally a taste.  While this taste is supposed to resemble a wine taste (sip and spit) most of us took advantage of the opportunity and over caffeinated ourselves.  I was able to determine that my coffee palette is not as expensive as my wine palette as I did not enjoy the $55 per pound coffee from Papau New Guinea.

One of the truly fantastic aspects of this adventure is that it is taking me to visit so many friends from around the world.  One very, very rainy and very, very chilly night in Melbourne was spent in the company of Louise and Erin.  Erin had the foresight to reserve the entire restaurant for us so that our laughter would not disturb the others.  It was either that or the cold and rain inspired lots of nights home under blankets, but I prefer to believe it was our high social standing.

And then finally it was time for an authentic Australian footy match at the G.  If you want to spend two hours watching a game that makes absolutely NO SENSE, swing by one of the mile high AFL stadiums and observe.  I am quite certain that penalties are called on a completely random schedule and that the rules are made up as they go along.  My favorite element is the random coaches (?) dressed in pink that run around the enormous field and point at other people.  I read that the players run a half marathon at each game.  Clearly, they are insane.  But I donned my Collingwood Magpies beanie and cheered on the team during one of the coldest days Melbourne has seen.  In Chicago terms, it was a pleasant autumn evening.

Then it was off to Auckland, New Zealand- my country #35.  I was strongly advised to not spend too much time in Auckland so of course, Hobbiton was the first stop.  You may know Hobbiton by its real name, The Shire.   Here, I was able to swing by Bilbo Baggins home.  It was clear the Dwarves had just been there and they were off on another adventure so we didn’t spend any time together.  I was able to grab a beer at the Green Dragon before going in search of Smaug (because who wouldn’t want to be in the company of a Benedict Cumberbatch voiced, gold loving dragon?).

A drive south of Rotorua presented a visit to Waiotopu, pronounced in way I couldn’t possibly guess, but it means sacred water and is a volcanic, geothermal site.  Here there were erupting mud pools, sulfur lakes and mini geysers.  Photos can’t possible do justice to this amazing place.  My achy muscles would have loved a dip in the hot springs, but it was time to fly to Wellington.

The main day in Wellington kicked of with….wait for it…. wait for it…. coffee!!!   My love of coffee may only be surpassed by my love of peanut butter.  If I was on death row (no current plans by the way), my last meal would consist almost entirely of peanut butter.  And there is a little shop in Wellington that makes their own peanut butter.  And they have this little window that you walk up to and they hand you samples.  Thank goodness I am not a mile high and could easily access this window to heaven.

Final stop of the afternoon was a visit to Parliament, where a session was open to the public.  Holy moly, what an experience.  A punch of Kiwis and I rolled into the gallery and sat down for what would be a highly entertaining session.  Members would ask the Prime Minister and other Ministers questions and then proceed to yell and insult each other until the Speaker called for order.  My highlight was when a rather vocal member of the Labour Party yelled out “poppycock.”  Time to invoke Rule #42- you must leave now.  Especially because I was soaked from the rain!

Next is off to wine and sheep country in New Zealand and promises to be filled with knitting and wine and knitting and wine.  Thank goodness my Antarctic friend Jessie shares the same passions!

“Clean cup.  Clean cup.  Move down!” said the Mad Hatter.

I may just stay in Melbourne forever, for their coffee.   These people don’t mess around when it comes to a good cup of coffee.  I should know.  I have had several.  Today.   And likely again tomorrow.

Day One in Melbourne was a bit of a lazy day.  All of my friends that have taken significant time off to travel reminded me that this is a marathon and not a sprint and you will wear yourself out if you go all day, every day.   And so I follow.  Something you won’t often hear my say.

The first activity on the agenda was a trip to visit the home of the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher, Lady Detective (totally fictional, but imagination really is the best gift we have).  I waited outside for Mr. Butler to invite me in for tea or to help solve a murder but, alas, it never happened.  Perhaps I will try again tomorrow.

Then it was off to Queen Victoria Market, which resembles nearly every produce, meat, cheese, bread, fake designer handbag market in the world.  But it is always fun to see what the locals eat.  In Melbourne, it is a lot like the U.S.  Interestingly enough, it appears as though the Official Restaurant in Melbourne is Subway, which also smells the same everywhere in the world.  They have the highest number of Subway’s per capita (totally made up fact- imagination, remember?).  Ironically, they have the same number of 7-11s.

The evening was spent in a movie theater, because it is critical to compare the movie going experience around the world.  Interesting difference.  Australian cinema kicks off with 15 minutes of commercials, mostly car commercials from what I can tell, before the previews begin.  Expected similarity. Popcorn is ridiculously expensive in the Southern Hemisphere as well.

Day Two was a wee bit more active.  The sun was shining so I took advantage and hit the streets, covering Collingwood, Abbotsford, North Richmond, South Richmond, Yarra and what feels like the whole of Victoria if you ask my feet.

First stop….coffee.  And it surpassed my expectations.  I have no idea why the United States has settled for such horrible coffee, truly horrible coffee.  Literally everywhere in the world makes it better than us.  So I am starting a campaign- Make America’s Coffee Great Again (#makeamericascoffeegreatagain).  Feel free to join my cause.  Clean cup!  Clean cup!  Move down!  I plan to move to a seat that serves better coffee.

Next stop- street art.  Melbourne has embraced street art and I found some good ones.  If you go, I very much suggest turning into lots of alleys.  You never know what you might find.  Even the dumpsters (rubbish bins- must remember to translate) are covered in art.

My favorites.

This walk led me to my new favorite place.  Brunswick Street.  If I lived here, I would easily weigh 400 pounds (28.5 stones your conversion purposes).  The whole of Asia and a good portion of South America had restaurants here, in addition to adorable boutiques and environmentally friendly shops.  This place is a vegetarian’s heaven.

At this point in time, I was clearly tired and in need of some rejuvenation.  Hmm.  What to do?  Coffee!!  I found a fantastic little cafe, ordered myself a latte and pulled out my knitting.  If you ever want to meet people, sit in a cafe and knit.  Even if you can’t knit, find a friend that does, borrow a half-finished project (any good knitter has at least 6) and pretend to knit.  In no time, you will be chatting away with people.  And hopefully sharing coffee.  Clean cup.  Clean cup.  Move down!

“If a fish came to me and told me he was going on a journey, I should say ‘With what porpoise?'” said the Mock Turtle in Alice in Wonderland.

I don’t snorkel.  Like ever.  Pretty sure the last time I snorkeled, I was able to levitate over the water.  I still have tortured memories of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Disneyland.

But, I was at the Great Barrier Reef, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and in keeping with my rule of “Just Say Yes” on this trip, I decided to give it a try.  We took off from the pier in Cairns (PSA-pronounced cans) in Queensland Australia and headed two hours out into the ocean, using my Antarctica found ability to stomach sailing across the waters.

And then it was time to snorkel. My enthusiasm was moderate, at best, but I donned my fins, my wetsuit and mask and snorkel and jumped in the water, having absolutely no idea what to expect.  To say I was disappointed, was an understatement.  It was a bunch of rocks under water.  I posed for the scuba diving photographer and swam a bit away from the boat.  Holy Nemo, what a surprise I had in store.  THAT was the Great Barrier Reef!   I spent the next few hours swimming amongst the fish, some that could feed a large family and admiring the coral.  The photos below were taken with my phone which does not have an underwater filter so they are a bit blue or green, but you get the gist.

Being me, I was whistled at twice for pushing the limits of the boundaries, but who could blame me, right?

Then it was time to head back, so I channelled my inner Calypso and stood against the wind and sea spray on the deck and watched us sail back into Cairns.   I am not sure I get the allure of snorkeling, but I can now at least say, I see the porpoise of it.

I even took a snorkel selfie to prove I did it!

And so now, off to Melbourne in Victoria.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” said the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland.

And so the adventure began…by ticking off my last continent, my #7.  And in well under two years.  I am now on the quest for the appropriate tattoo to celebrate- any artists or creative minds out there are welcome to contribute ideas!  Australia was also country #34 for anyone keeping track (me!).

My too short four days in Sydney were a mishmash of randomness and good fun, a mixture of urban and nature and solitude and social.  Any road will get you there.

Day One: While my quest on this journey is to spend time being a traveler and not a tourist, this day was a fail.  I saw Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, Botanical Gardens and walked the Bridge- totally urban day.  Fortunately, a random encounter with a security guard allowed me my first opportunity to discuss American politics (something I fully expect will happen quite often) so I at least spent a few short minutes not being a tourist!  The night was capped off with VividSydney- highly recommended for my dear city of Chicago to add.  Outside of the accent and the need to abbreviate every word, Sydney could be in any city in the U.S. I hear Melbourne will feel slightly more European- which certainly means better coffee, right?

Day Two:  Today began to get closer to a Kim Style Day.  It began with a train ride to Bondi Beach.  Had I brought my wetsuit, or actually owned a wetsuit, or had a desire to learn to surf, I might have found this somewhat underwhelming beach more impressive.  As you can see below, this beach is where mermaids go to die.

Fortunately for me, the next stop was Manly featuring a fantastic hike up to the North  Head.  Finally!  I got to climb rocks out onto the edges of cliffs and push through branches to find the path.  Manly is quite the random place.  A turn left could drop you into an old cemetery where plague victims are buried but a right turn leads you into army barracks that now house a Cross-fit and a Sewing Shop.  Enough left turns brought views such as this.  Any road will get you there!

Tired legs finally arrived at the North Head- nearly 8 miles later.  The reward could not have been any better.  A family of three whales was making their way across the Harbour entrance and spent the next 30 minutes entertaining us with the breeching, tail slaps and spouting.

Day Three: Less tourist/more traveler.  The beauty of my Antarctic trip in 2015 was the amazing friendships that were made, with truly like minded people.  Many of them will make appearances throughout this story since we have done a pretty good job staying in touch.  Today, I met up with Betty and Annette and went to the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Costume Exhibition, featuring clothes form Season Three.  Cue the total #fangirl music.  If I actually ever felt embarrassed, this would be one of those times.  Fortunately for me, that wasn’t an emotion I acquired so I prattled on and on about the clothes and the episodes, finding a few like-minded, crazy old Australian ladies to share.  Unfortunately, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson was not there to be swept off his feet and join me on my adventure.  I then drowned my sorrow in Betty’s homemade cauliflower curry and all was right in the world again.

Not to stop there, I got to meet up with more Antarticans.  Erin and Jason met me for a pub crawl around Darling Harbour, that included a drink or two (or three or four or…) and bowling, air hockey and motorcycle racing.  Public Service Announcement, Sydney Water Taxis do not operate after midnight, even if you try to bribe them or wake the dispatcher with your call.

Day Four:  Now we are talking.  I sat up straight in bed around 6:30 that morning, not long I believe, after I had laid down to sleep.  I needed to get to the Blue Mountains- they must have been calling me.  50 minutes later, I was on the train for a ride to Katoomba.  I got myself a ride out to The Three Sisters and spent the day hiking- my kind of day.  AND FINALLY- I spent my day talking to people that were not tourists.  I met tons of people that make the Blue Mountains their home and had amazing conversations about what really is important!  You can see below what the answer to that question is!  Interesting tip- the mountains are blue because of the eucalyptus oil that emanates from the trees and the UV rays reflecting off it.

And then to round off the randomness of Sydney, I checked off my Must Do Item of every place I visit….dinner at a Chinese Restaurant.  One final Antarctican joined for that adventure.  Josh had the unfortunate opportunity to join us in Ushuaia Argentina for this event, where we indulged in what is possibly the worst Chinese food in the world- and I truly feel I might be the foremost expert in this.  Sydney did not assume this title and fared well in its Chinatown.

And so farewell to Sydney and off to the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns.