"Yo ho ho and a Bottle of Rum," or, "Yo, a ho, and a Bottle Shop"

Sorry to say that I still can't post any photos. I did manage to transfer my photos to CD in Airlie Beach today, but the computer I am using doesn't have a CD bay. But hey, it's free. Stay tuned...

I spent last weekend with Mark, Danie, Joseph, and Rosie Georgelin in Canberra, Australia's capital. The American embassay consumes 3/4 of the city, and may be larger than the White House itself. How embarrassing! So what do you do when you meet up with friends you haven't seen? Well, you watch the kids play netball (sort of like basketball, and sounds like "nipple" when Australians say it), and Aussie Rules football (sort of like a combination of American football and soccer), and of course you bake challah, just like before in Pohnpei.

We had a fine walk in the Tidbinbilla nature reserve, where we hunted the great Australian koala bear. Rosie spotted one first; I wouldn't have noticed one if it had dangled a eucalyptus leaf in my face. They are tough to see, of course, because, well...they hide high up in trees and blend in with the bark. Later we saw gaggles of kangaroos and wallabies, and even a couple of emus. That about rounds out the fauna, except for the echidna and platypus. Have to have something to look forward to the next time I return.

So, here I am in Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef. What's up with the "Yo ho ho"? Turns out that yachties don't sail into the harbour here because it's just too damn expensive. So I spent the day on the mainland in Airlie beach, where I donned my "boat ho" hat and made the rounds of yacht clubs (one, actually) and marinas (also just one), leaving notices and pleas in my wake. Still I felt that chances of getting a ride were slim. So I posted a package (what else could I do). And lo and behold, across the way from the Post Office was a bottle shop (Australian for liquor store). Naturally I walked in and went for the rum. The cashier asked me how long I'd been here. I said it was my first day in Airlie beach, but that I was staying on the island, and was just here looking for a sailing fix. And Debby from the bottle shop came through for me. Turns out she has a friend with a great yacht who just likes to take people out sailing and would more than likely pick me up from the island. There's more to the story...including a call from someone who saw my notice in the Whitsunday Sailing Club, but I'll save that one for next time. I'm on a shared computer and need to relinquish it to someone else for a while.

I'm going sea kayaking tomorrow and will return to the post sometime thereafter, but don't hold your breath--I can't always count on getting online when I'd like to.
So, "yo" from the boat ho.