Introduction:

In my mid-twenties, I promised myself that I would visit all 7 continents by age 40. I kinda thought that would happen naturally, without any special effort on my part. Alas, I now find myself precisely age 40, and I've only been to 5 continents!


So at the end of 2007, I booked a flight to Argentina, the most common jumping-off point for voyages to Antarctica. I've scheduled about a month to find a stand-by berth on an expedition ship. I depart Argentina on February 7, 2008, for Melbourne, Australia. If all goes as planned, I will celebrate my 7th continent on February 10. And if I'm not too hung over, I will celebrate my 41st birthday on February 11. In Spanish, they call this timing "justito." I'd call it "cutting things close." Welcome along for the ride!


A note regarding photos: if you have trouble viewing the slide shows, try this alternate link: http://picasaweb.google.com/travelinsider .


Tuesday

Tuesday, Feb 19: Byron Bay: Australia's famous hippie beach town

I lost my laptop AGAIN today. I left it sitting on the counter at the internet shop. Hours later I went back for it, and it was safely tucked behind the counter by the staff. Gotta love the Aussies!

I'm staying at the Arts Factory, a former hippie colony turned mega-hostel. It's built on a swamp, which was convenient when this area was known for its piggeries. And while the vegetation is lush, the fauna includes wild turkeys and huge goana lizards (good), but also marsupial rats called bilbies and worst of all, legions of mosquitos (less good). Still, it is one of the most fun hostels I've ever stayed in. Amazingly open crowd, easy to meet people, gather groups for surfing, and even borrow surf boards. Facilites-wise, they have a swimming pool and jacuzzi, volleyball court, and a great pub. Recommended.



I stayed in an "island hut," a form of tent cabin with integral shade structure, built over the swamp itself. Quite cool, reminded me of the tent cabins we stayed in at Yosemite when I was a child.

For my birthday, Katie gave me cash towards a surfboard rental. Here in Byron, I was able to stretch it to cover three full days of board use. Nice! The beach is right in town, an easy walk from the Arts Factory. Check the pix:

Posted by Michael McColl at 15:49

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)