Blue Mountains

After a day and a half hanging out with Angie in Sydney, it was time to ditch her and the city for two days in the Blue Mountains. Before leaving the states I booked an Aboriginal Walkabout with an Aborigine named Evan. I almost missed it altogether since Australians are not really in to announcing what station the train is approaching and the signs on the platforms are often hard to see. I glanced at my watch and realized I must have arrived in Falconbridge based on the time and just barely squeezed out through the closing door. I had about 15 minutes to wait before the tour was scheduled to start and was a bit surprised to find out I was only 1 km away from Danville. At 10:00 another train from Katoomba arrived and I was happy to learn that I would not be alone on the tour since San (short for Alexandra) from Belgium arrived looking as lost and bewildered as me. About 15 minutes later San and I were starting to wonder if there had been a mix up but then we saw Evan waving us up the stairs and over to him to begin the tour.

Without a lot of talking we blindly followed Evan away from the train station and into the bush. After about 10 minutes of walking we stopped at a tree where Evan asked us not to judge him for being white since there are no dark skinned aborigines left in the Derrick tribe. He then asked us to keep an open mind and just do what he says. This included rolling up eucalyptus leaves and sticking them in our noses, eating various bushtacca (sounded like bush taco, food from the bush) like berries we found on the ground, mushrooms growing off trees and the leaves of various trees. We then spent the next seven hours hiking (bushwalking) up and down the wet and slippery terrain (I have a nice bruise and abrasion as a souvenir), stopping occasionally to learn about aboriginal traditions, stories and ceremonies. When we stopped for lunch, we learned to paint on rocks and Evan painted our faces. By the time we emerged from the bush and entered a nearby pub, I felt like I had been on a walkabout for about a week. All I wanted was a hot shower and a good nights sleep. Fortunately San was staying at the same backpackers where I had made a reservation for the night in Katoomba so she escorted me to my home for the night and even shared some of her shampoo with me since I forgot mine in Sydney.

After a good nights sleep, I went exploring on my own for the day. The backpackers gave me a map and suggested a hike and off I went. It rained most of the night leaving the trail wet and muddy. I really did not want to spend the day on a walkabout with wet socks so I had to call on my long ago dance and gymnastic skills to balance on the narrow dry, narrow strips and when they weren't present, leaping over the puddles. I only missed a couple of times. After about an hour of walking, I finally got my first glimpse of the three sisters rock formation (the most famous view in the entire Blue Mountains region). After a dozen or so photos, I continued my walkabout down the "Giant Stairway". The stairway is made up of about 900 steps down to a lower trail below the three sisters. I was trying to keep count so I would know when I was close to the bottom, but after 150 or so steps, the trail became too treacherous to concentrate on counting. I walked another 2.5 km along the lower trail where I needed to decide whether to take another stairway back up or I could pay $10 to take the scenic railway. I thought about climbing the stairs but how could I turn down the opportunity to take the steepest railway in the world? After another hour or so, I completed my loop of the park and decided it was time to get a bite to eat before heading back to Sydney.

I'm happy to have spent a couple of days in the bush, but I couldn't wait to take a shower and put on clean clothes. I guess I'm just a city girl at heart.

First Full Day in Sydney

The day started off pretty easy. Paul (Angie's brother) escorted us across the ferry into Sydney and then took us to the Custom's House to get a birds eye view of the City. There is a scale model of Sydney under the plexiglass floor and Paul pointed out many points of interest that we might want to check out during the next week. I took the opportunity to practice the bridge climb, but more about that later.

After a quick coffee and scone, Paul headed to work while Angie and I took a bus to Hyde Park. We stopped into Saint Mary's Cathedral for a quick tour and prayer for a safe trip in Sydney. It is supposed to really be amazing when the sun is shining through the stained glass windows, but the day is overcast and threatening rain so we didn't get to experience this.
After peaking in the church we made a few wrong turns but finally found our way to the Hyde Park Barracks. The Barracks was essentially a prison built by prisoners about 150 years ago. From the looks of the hammocks that they slept in, the early settlers in Australia were shorter than me. The barracks were later converted to an orphange of sorts for all the teenage girls imported from Ireland during the potato famine to help even out the male female ratio on the island. It served as a court house more recently before being turned in to a museum.
After a mad dash in the rain, we bought ourselves a couple of umbrellas and grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe. Of course by the time we finished eating the sun came out. Our next stop was the Royal Botanical Gardens. After about 20 minutes of searching, we finally found what we were looking for... the thousands of fruit bats that call the botanical gardens home. Since the bats are nocturnal, we found them hanging upside down from the trees sleeping. From a distance they looked like pine cones but I've never seen a palm tree with pine cones before. We did get a chance to use our new umbrellas just in case the bats decided to go to the bathroom while we walked under the trees.

I think Angie could have watched the bats for hours, but we had to head to the Rocks for our bridge climb. The walk started off pleasantly enough, but when we were about half way there it started to rain. I'm not talking a pleasant April shower sort of rain but rather a torrential downpour. Our umbrellas did a good job keeping our hair dry but by the time we arrived at the Bridge Climb office our pants looked like we just pulled them out of the rinse cycle. I've never been so glad to have to don an ugly jumper (required uniform for the climb) but it was dry while my clothes were soaked. Our guide Dan, helped us get strapped in to all of our safety gear and walked us through a practice climb on the bridge simulator before taking us out to the bridge. Fortunately during this time, the rain had moved past and we were able to enjoy, the dry, but overcast climb 150 meters above the water and traffic onto the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It is amazing that the city approved this type of tour, but I'm certainly glad they did. The geaky structural engineer that still lives deep down inside of me was thrilled to be climbing on the worlds heaviest truss bridge in the world with a spectalur view of the Sydney Harbor and the Opera House in the background. We got plenty of time to take in the view and see downtown Sydney light up as the sun went down (unfortunately the sunset was obstructed by the rain clouds) before heading back down the bridge. And if the day couldn't get any better, Paul had dinner ready for us when we got back. I think this is going to be a great vacation...

Sydney At Last

I left from San Francisco at 9:00 PM on Sunday and arrived in Sydney at 9:00 AM on Tuesday. June 1st did not exist for me. Did anything monumental happen while I was traveling through time?

The flight from San Francisco to Sydney is rather long during the best of conditions... but it is even longer when you have to stop over in Aukland for a few hours... and longer still when you have a very unhappy baby in the row behind you. During the first hour of the baby crying I felt bad for the baby. During the second hour, my sympathy changed to the parents, but during the third hour I just felt bad for me. I fell into a rhythm of sleeping when the baby was sleeping and then watching movies when the baby was crying. As a result, I squeezed in 3 1/2 movies (The Reader, Taken, Bride Wars, and about 1/2 of Confession of a Shopaholic) during the 13 hour flight. I even squeezed in 2 more on the 3 1/2 hour flight from Aukland to Sydney (Last Chance Harry and something else that I've already forgotten).

After 5 1/2 movies and 2 breakfasts, I could wait to start my exploration of Sydney. I met up with Angie and her family at the airport and helped Angie and her brother Paul send off their parents and sister back to the states (to make room for me). Then we headed to Paul's flat. I have to say that the first 15 minutes I could have been in any city USA with the exception of the cars driving on the wrong side of the road. But then we rounded a corner and suddenly both the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge came into view. I finally felt like I had arrived and couldn't wait to start exploring. Of course, none of that could happen until I took a must-needed shower.

After my shower and a bit of unpacking, Angie and I went on a walkabout (I've decided to refer to all walks in Australia as walkabouts because it makes me feel more Australian) in the area surrounding Paul's house in Neutral Bay. We got some great pics of the Sydney skyline before heading back inland to window shop along the main drag.

Sink then Swim

What better way to spend my last full day in Costa Rica than underwater? We started the day off with a SCUBA trip just off the coast from the hotel. I have been diving every couple of years for over a decade, but it wasn't until after watching Finding Nemo that I really came to love diving. It is amazing how I can totally hear the voices of all the different fish and trily get their personalities after watching that movie... or perhaps I was just too deep. We had an amazing dive master with an eagle eye. He pointed out sea horses camoflaged next to the rocks and moray eels poking their heads out of miniture caves not to mention the amazing school of eagle rays swimming by so gracefully.

Between dives we headed back to the beach for a little break. The sand was too hot and my shoes were in the boat so I decided to spend my time floating in ocean. Turns out, lots of jelly fish had this same idea and I've now got the jelly fish kiss to prove it. Fortunately the dive master had some jelly fish sting gel so no one had to pee on me to take the sting away. Our second dive took place at Monkey Rock... can you tell how it got its name?

After our second dive, some tacos, and a shower, I spent the remainder of the afternoon at the spa. They have hot and cold water pools on a private deck overlooking the ocean. I followed the recommended strategy of six dunks in each pool. Supposedly this was going to leave me in a state of unbelievable relaxation, but in reality it just made me tired getting in and out... I guess diving took more out of me than I expected. Next, I had an aromatherapy rainforest massage which ended far too soon but did give me the relaxation I remembered.

In the evening we attended a going away dinner. As much as I enjoy being able to go eat dinner outside without a sweater or jacket, I think I prefer that to trying to eat dinner at 9:00 in the 90 degree heat. I suppose this is why I live in San Francsisco... It was sad to say goodbye to all my new friends and prepare to head home but I really can't complain too much about a free vacation. And hopefully it won't be too long before my next trip... after all, I don't want the Costa Rica stamp in my passport to get lonely.

Beach, Pool, and Ziplining

The Beach:
Our first full day in Costa Rica was spent exploring the resort. We tested out the beach and ocean. I have to say that the sand on the beaches here is unbelievably hot. I thought it might melt the bottoms of my flipflops but they managed to resist. There is a trampoline floating in the ocean so we swan over to it and after a few bounces I realized that trampolines are just not as much fun as the used to be. I took a couple of bounces but then jumped back in to the water.

After floating for a while we decided to pick up some snorkel gear and about 8 of us headed back out in search of Nemo. We didn't find him, but we saw plenty of his friends including a mini sting ray and an eel (or something that was posing as an eel). The current was strong, pulling us further and further from the beach... not so much fun swimming back in, but we all made it.

The Pool:
After the beach, we were starving so we headed to the poolside restaurant for a bite to eat. I went with a Costa Rican local dish of saffron rice and chicken along with a Costa Rican beer, Imperial. Both were delish but I think anything would have been good after an hour of snorkeling. After everyone finished we tested out the pool for a bit. I chose to ignore the 30 minute waiting period after eating and jumped right in. Even in the shade it is hot here so I was quite warm after a poolside lunch.

There was a coctail party at a neighboring beach club in the evening followed by dinner at the restaurant of our choice. Once I saw the dinner bill, I have to say is thank god Norm's company is paying for this trip and for the meals. We tried to mingle with others after dinner but the pull of the air conditioning was too great and we headed to bed.

Ziplining:
Day 3 we were given the choice to compete in the company golf tournament or take the ziplining canopy tour. While I attempted golf lessons in high school and really enjoy napping to golf on tv, I decided the canopy tour was the better choice for me. We rushed through breakfast and jumped on a bus to the Congo canopy tour grounds. The guides harnessed us up and gave us just enough instructions to make us nervous and off we went, flying through the air. I did a similar trip last time I was in Costa Rica, but this was the first time I tried ziplining upside down. And the best part, one of the guides filmed the whole thing.

Bienvenido a Costa Rica

You may or may not be aware that I have taken a trip to Costa Rica. Norm was rewarded for all his hard work with an all expenses paid trip to the Four Season in Costa Rica for him and a guest and apparently I laughed at enough of his jokes to get the guest spot so here I am... I was very excited to break in my brand new passport but am a little nervous to get a taste of a first class vacation. Can I really go back to $5 per night hostels after 4 nights at the Four Seasons with an ocean view?

This trip started off a bit shaky. We were scheduled to take the red eye departing SFO at 12:35 AM Saturday, change planes in Houston and arrive in Liberia Costa Rica before noon. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite that nice. We learned that the plane was running late but on the encouragement of the phone agents we went to the airport early anyways. Turns out this was good advice because before long we were on the 6:00 PM departure that was delayed until midnight. We later learned that our original flight was cancelled and I could be spending the weekend in San Francisco instead of Papagao.

Once in Houston we learn that our flight to Costa Rica is also delayed so instead of a 2 hour layover, we had 5 hours to really get to know the Houston airport. I learned that there really isn't a lot to do at the Houston airport between 6:00 and 11:00 AM.

After a few hours on the plane, an hour long drive to the resort, we finally checked in to the hotel and I've managed to test the bed (very comfy) and the shower (hot and with water pressure... something I did not have on my last Costa Rica adventure).

Hawaii Bound

My dad decided that the best way to celebrate his 65th birthday was to take the family to Kauai I had flashbacks to the Hawaiian episode of the Brady Bunch. Fortunately, no one on this trip found a cursed tiki .

While I'm not much for sitting on the beach vacations (thanks to my irish heritage I go straight from white to red to spotted), it is really hard to pass up a mostly-free trip regardless of the destination. So on August 24th I boarded the plane in for a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Kauai.

There is not much to say about this trip other than I completed all of the required Hawaii activites: laying at the pool, snorkeling and of course we went to a luau. I also checked off a few optional activities as well: Kauai movie tour, plantation intertube trip, and eating true Hawaiian shaved ice (served with coconut milk and red beans).

Here are the highlights...

Kauaii Movie Tour: Normally I wouldn't recommend a tour in Hawaii where you spend most of hte day indoors but this was definitely an exception. We drove all over the island in a small bus equiped with a television. In the bus the guide would show scenes from movies filmed on Kauai and by the time the scene was over, we had arrived at the site where the scene was shot. I was surprised not only by how many films were filmed on the island but also by how often the island was posing as another destination all together: Vietnam in Tropic Thunder, Costa Rica and Jurassic Park in Jurassic Park, Peru in Raiders of the Lost Arc, as well as many others.

Snorkeling the Napali Coast: My brother Patrick, Cousin Cecilia and I spent one day taking a boat tour to the Napali coast for a morning of snorkeling. The boat ride was beautiful and educational. We learned all about the Napali coast (just don't ask me to remember) and then had 45 minutes to jump in the water and snorkel. At first I didn't think the snorkeling was going to be all that great. Sure I saw some fish and coral, but not nearly as many varities as I would expect in the tropical waters. But once I got a little further out from the boat (apparently not where we were supposed to be) I came across a lone sea turtle. I looked up to see if there was anyone around that I could share this with but didn't see anyone. I swam back towards the boat until I found Cecilia and dragged her back out with me. Both of us were thrilled when we found the turtle again. I have to say that after seeing him I was that much more impressed with Pixar because he looked just like the turtles in the movies. Unlike the movie, however, the turtle flat out refused to give me a high five.

Plantation Tubing Tour: Sometime int he last 20 years or so one of the last sugar plantations on Kauai closed it's doors. Rather than let the complex irrigation system that was built to hydrate the sugar plants go to waste, some entrepreneur decided it would be a good idea to get gullible tourists to pay to ride down them in an intertube. Well, we were among the gullible tourists that they targeted but it was well worth the price of admission. In nothing but a swimsuit and a hard hat, my mom, dad, brother, cousin and I all hopped into intertubes and leisurely floated down the ditch. Most of the ditch is open to the elements but every once in a while, it flowed through a shallow, man-made tunnel. It was for this reason that we had to wear hard hats equiped with head lamps. When we got to the longest of the tunnels the group was given the option to ride through in the dark.