School is in session

Well, someone has to do it! Teach school that is.

I enjoy watching surfing school. First, they do lots of swimming moves on their boards in the sand. Really. Then, they go out to the water. They are so impatient to get there. They try to get out to the waves, but most times they end up about two feet from the beach line. I hear them grumble. Exhausted and clumsy, ready to call it a day and move into the night life on Surfers.

Held captive by the rainforest!

What a wonderful week-end we had at the Blue Dog Photography retreat located on Tamborine Mountian. I could say we were transported from the urbane chaos of Surfers Paradise to the tranquilly of the rainforest, but I would be lying. Personally, as a former desert rat, I was on sensory overload! We watched sunrises and sunsets and as the night approached midnight saw glow worms on the cliffs alongside a ghostly waterfall. We walked both above the rainforest canopy and below. We saw light, ethereal waterfalls and the dark, oppressive strangler trees. The crescendo of birdcalls and cascading waterfalls provided us with discordant jazz. The rich smell of earth recycling, highlighted by the gum tree’s crisp aroma, offered us a tantalizing feast of scents. All this, plus trying to capture the essence through the camera’s eye while fast-paced clouds quickly changed form and light and fingers that became thumbs as I used new photographic techniques.

High Drama on the Seas

The black painted ship flying skull and cross bones drew attention in the Hobart Harbor. After a most delightful seafood lunch and bottle of Tasmanian wine, we decided to check it out. On a free tour of the ship named after Steve Irwin we were astonished at the inside glimpse of the “direct action” approach to end illegal whaling. The ship had received damage on its last campaign and we saw video footage of the interactions between whalers and the ship manned by the Sea Sheppard volunteers tossing rancid butter on decks and the whalers blasting water and using high-decibel sound deterrents.

Tasmanics over Hobart, Tasmania

Six months ago Emmanuel and I booked a trip to Tasmania for a Fulbright Gala Dinner and meeting. In our typical American style, we thought we should just fly in, attend, and leave. Note to all future Fulbrighters: take time to explore this beautiful and unique state! We met a lovely young couple set to travel in Tasmania for a month with their two young children. We were quite envious!

Cyclone Hamish

Cyclone Hamish wasn’t really close to the Gold Coast, but we did get some weather and large waves, a few bands of high winds and heavy rains. Our bed is surrounded on two sides by large windows that amplify sound. I lay awake at night, listening to the roaring wind and rain and crashing waves and I felt certain that I was sleeping in a tree house. Unprotected and swaying in the wind!

Killer Python

This snake is real and really heavy… almost 35 lbs. The smile is real too, but just for a second. We all think Alicia is really brave. Emmanuel was upstairs, as far away as he could get, and would not watch the snake being wrapped around her neck. SSSSSSMILE.

Crikey, it’s a croc!

This week-end we went to the Australian zoo with Alicia. We took a coach bus a couple of hours south and got to see just a little more of a slice of this huge country. The Steve Irwin legacy is continuing to make an effort to educate the public on the importance of conservation, their motto is ”conservation through exciting education”. Here is photo of an alligator swimming.

Fortunato at Restaurant 22

Last Thursday Emmanuel and I had a delightful evening at Italian Restaurant 22, just a few steps away from our apartment. They have the best food! The chef John Depotro started working in his father’s restaurant in Melbourne when he was thirteen. Italian cooking is definitely in his blood! The bought this restaurant several months ago and are working at making a go of it in Surfers Paradise. We hope they make it! This is Fortunato playing great music on Thursday nights. Tonight was his first night so his whole family was there to watch the show. A good time was had by all!

Jump up or Die-ve

This week-end Alicia taught me to swim in the ocean. (Sorta) You walk out to where the waves are breaking and then you either jump up over the wave or dive into them. It is all forceful, the waves, the shifting sands. I kept getting knocked back 10 feet and left feeling quite scrubbed by the Pacific Ocean.

Alicia and Zac are pros. I am a floundering fish.

It is exhilarating. It is like a giant nettie pot that really clears up the sinuses. It is a like the world largest Epson bath that sooths aches and pains. I am hooked!