Saturday 20th December
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| Cruising into Blue Water Marina |
Yesterday Pete and
I caught up with Tim and Barb, last seen at Blue Water Marina in Cairns. We had been planning to turn right at the top
of Australia, heading towards the Louisiades.
Instead we met Tim and Barb, back from four years cruising around South
East Asia, and, inspired by their enthusiasm…we turned left instead…We never
expected to be going to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Borneo, Brunei, the Philippines
– it is all down to Tim and Barb!
They sold their
lovely trusty Rubicon Star and they are now back living on their farm at Hawley
Beach, on the North West Coast of Tasmania.
Other adventures beckon…but not another boat.
We exchanged happy
stories of storms at sea, of beautiful snorkeling spots, of the kindness of
many and varied strangers. They
experienced not one but TWO typhoons in the Philippines. Violent winds, up to 240 kilometres an hour…
They were very glad to be in safe anchorages both times. The Philippines cop more than their fair
share of natural disasters. Fortunately
for cruising sailors, there are many safe little hidey holes in which boats can
be tucked away, protected, more or less, from the furious winds.
On the last day of
the year at South Hobart Primary, there is a fine tradition. No matter what the weather, at about 3.10,
they turn on the sprinklers! The
sprinklers do not sprinkle; throw out random, strong bursts of water, right
across the oval. And the children run
wild, getting totally drenched, and very happy.
They didn’t mind
at all that it was really quite dismal, drizzly and chilly…
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| Wet and happy Eva |
Eva and Leo have
had particularly wonderful and inspiring teachers this year. Leo’s teacher has won awards for her
brilliance over the years. She is a rock
star amongst teachers! Last Friday his
entire Grade 2 class had a sleepover.
They turned up to school with their pyjamas, tooth brushes, sleeping
bags at 6pm and partied on into the night.
At 6am, Leo says, they were all sound asleep. But…Mrs Parker wasn’t having any of
this! She went to the sound system and
put on Who Let the Dogs Out at full
volume. Katy and I are SO
impressed! If we had woken to find a
room full of gently zzzzzzing children we would have rolled over for a bit more
of our own zzzz time. The children rose
as one, thrilled to bits, and danced crazily around the room!
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| Leo with Heather Parker - legend! |
My friends are so
very creative. I think it is partly
because they live in Tasmania, with its bracing weather. People tend to do just a bit less in a
tropical climate.
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| Elsa's fabulous lace scarf |
Before we left
Tasmania for our Big Adventure, I carefully hid my best bits of jewellery (NOT
an enormous pile… a few pairs of earrings and my beautiful opal engagement ring
from 1970…) And of course, as one might
expect, I couldn’t find them anywhere.
Until yesterday when I looked in the very same hiding place I had first
explored when I came home. And…there
they were, in neat little boxes! I also
found, carefully wrapped in tissue, two dear little TINY playsuits which had
been bought for my niece Dara’s twins, Bailey and Mia, who have just celebrated
their first birthday.
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