traveldiary.stracke.us

On the clock, it took us minus 15 minutes to fly from Australia to Los Angeles. The only problem with this calculation is that we lived August 8th twice, crossing the date line one more time.
We left the Ibis Hotel in Brisbane at 9 AM on August 8 and took the Airtrain from Roma Street Station to Brisbane International Terminal. It only took 20 minutes to the airport, which was much faster than taking a taxi through the morning rush hour.
We were lifting off the runway at 12:30 PM on August 8, starting our long haul home. We are on Air New Zealand #6 and have a nice view of the beaches and islands near Brisbane.
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We spent the last 6 weeks south of the Equator and had some interesting encounters with the “animal kingdom”, above and below the surface.
The “Hitchcock birds” at the Aggie Grey Resort in Apia, Samoa:
Gabi and I were sitting on our balcony at dusk when suddenly hundreds of chirping birds descended into a huge Banyan tree, about 6 feet away from us. The commotion lasted for a good half hour, with the first birds getting the best sleeping spaces, until everybody settled in for the night. Fortunately, the birds kept the noise down during the night.
Cats, centipedes and roosters at the Hotel Kitano, Samoa:
The cats were surrounding our table at the poolside restaurant, jumping up on the diners’ laps and trying to reach the food on the plates. The centipedes were only outdoors on the walkways and easily circumnavigated. The roosters were living on the hotel grounds, welcoming us to Polynesia every morning around 5 AM!
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We are back in Brisbane, Australia and are enjoying a warm, sunny day along the Brisbane Riverfront.
We left Bokissa Island, Vanuatu yesterday, August 6.
For the last 10 days, we lived on a small island (Bokissa), off an island (Espiritu Santo), off an island (Efate, Republic of Vanuatu), off an island (Australia, the only island that is also a continent). It will take us 4 days from here back to Clifton Park.
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Should I say “Lost in Paradise” or “Paradise Lost”. That depends on which day, out of the last 10, one refers to. The last 10 days were spent on a Pacific island, one can certainly call paradise or my Bali Hai. We lived in a fare, at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, with its waves lulling us to sleep. We dove in the glass sea and viewed the USS President Coolidge in 100 ft of water and such creatures, as sharks, lobsters, rays, cuttle fish and all their tropical fish neighbors. We took long swims in the crystal clear waters off our own little Bokissa Island Hideaway. We indulged in conversations with people from many countries of the world; we sharpened our Aussie lingua skills, had deep conversations with some Germans, had light conversations in French, since Lothar is just brushing up on his skills and I am acquiring them, and finally our Bislama is improving and we can share a few words with the Ni Vanuatus.
We were fed 3 meals a day under the Pacific sun and at night sipped our wine under the magnificently lit stars of the southern hemisphere. It was difficult to decide where to lounge first, by the pool, on the beach, in our own hammocks, in our lounges or maybe on our porch. Yes paradise found!
Or was it?
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We lived for the last 9 days on Bokissa Island, a small, circular coral island about 1/4 mile in diameter. It was so relaxing, that we never managed to hike the trail around the island. A typical day for us was, for example, Sunday, July 29 :
After breakfast, we rest in our hammocks by the beach, before heading down to the dive boat around 9 AM. We are diving on the Promenade Deck of the USS President Coolidge, the dive site an easy 1/2 hour boat ride from our dock. We are back at 11 AM and soak in our private hot tub at Fare #15, gazing at the blue and turquoise Pacific. The sound of the Tam-Tam ( a wooden club) is letting us know that lunch is ready. Afterwards, we have time to digest, stretching out in the hammock, until we take the dive boat at 2 PM. This time, we are off to Tutuba Point, having some nice vistas of Tutuba Island along the way.
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