A friend from Australia blew into town last night, and is staying with us for a few days. Typically, he's doing a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong, Europe, and the States, all in two months. I've never known an Aussie to simply go to one place on holiday and just piddle around. They normally zoom off with grandiose plans, and wring enjoyment out of every minute. It's exhausting to be around them, but enormous fun. I highly recommend traveling with someone from Down Under if you want to see more than the standard tourist places.
Australians are also insanely intrepid. I have yet to go anywhere outside the U.S. without meeting a clot of them, cheerful and boisterous, all with the most outrageous stories to tell about their adventures (which quite often turn out to be true). I do mean everywhere. Obscure towns in Spain, dancing with the Masai in remote Kenyan villages, having a picnic at Tulum, all after white-water rafting in Thailand or working as a hired hand at a Sri Lankan tea farm. They are indefatiguable, they really are. Well, except for the one we've got. He's got a cold, and is taking it easy. But after our place, he'll take in three more cities scattered across the U.S. before heading south.
Admirable, really. I used to be like that. Now I prefer to stay in one place and do local things and day trips. It makes me feel like I live someplace instead of just visiting it. Very sedate, I'm afraid, but quite satisfying. Nonetheless, just listening to Huett's itinerary has stirred a bit of wanderlust in me. I think longingly of packing a bag and just heading out to the furthest place my credit card will take me. But no. I'd miss my cats, and my husband, and (let's face it) my computer access. So what the heck. I'll just listen to Kim's stories, and get out my old photos, and enjoy a little armchair travel for a change.
Now, where'd I put that copy of Islands magazine?