Away from the city

I realized that I often don't recognize how much my surroundings affect my physical and mental condition. It took the last two days (and continuing tomorrow) spent away from the city to notice that I'm much more chill when in inspiring natural environments, and, moreover, being active. Yesterday, I took the ferry from the main harbor, around a couple of coves, to Manly beach, a bit north of Sydney. It is a pristine 1-2km stretch of soft sand beach, where surfers, waders, and volleyball players congregate, while others stroll the promenade through town and overlooking the beach.

I did the requisite jump into the surf, then looked for a game of volleyball to play. Also joined two school teachers who'd just taken up "rocketball" (similar to badminton but with a birdie that flies further and rackets like squash rackets. I gave them a few pointers on proper rocket technique. Strolled through the neighborhoods on the way back to the ferry - saw some prime real estate on the top of the bluff overlooking the sea, with glimpses of the city in the distance. Architecture award goes to the house with the sliding doors that opened up an entire wing of the house to the well-landscaped yard. Including what appeared to be a glass floor in a hallway that revealed the canal-like water feature that ran through the yard. Pulling into the dock past to the backdrop of the night skyline was cool.

The second night in King's Cross was quieter (Sunday night), but only slightly. The noise quieted down before sunrise this time. As the 6 other guys (and 1 girl who was already asleep) rolled in to the room throughout the night, it occurred to me that "backpacker" traveling could determine the fate of the world to come. If everyone had the experience of having to share a room with strangers from around the world, stumbling over their stuff, exposing yourself in varying stages of undress, sharing food, drink, and Internet usage with them, could make the world's citizens more tolerant and cooperative. Or, I suppose inevitable hostel tensions could escalate to hostile intentions towards others.

Speaking of hostels, I'm currently luxuriating in one of the nicest I've ever been in. It is spacious (12' ceilings), clean, and has more amenities than most resorts - most notably, and appreciated, is the huge kitchen with no fewer than 6 gas stoves, 6 fridges, an industrial dishwasher, settings for 40+ people, full array of pots, pans, and utensils, and, get this, bulk containers of the staple seasonings, all for public use. There are "free food" shelves, tea and hot water at the ready - enough to sustain me for several days! This is the Blue Mountain Backpackers joint in Katoomba, 2 hours west, and about 900m elevation gain, from Sydney. To find it, get off the train and glance around til you spot other nice looking travelers, in this case, two German girls, who, societally ingrained or not, have done a bit of pre-planning and booked a place, then follow them to their intended destination (preferably after striking up a conversation with them and offering to carry their grocery bags - or some other gentlemanly gesture)(not from 15 to 30 paces behind, depending on the density of the crowd and the terrain).

The Blue Mountains, are a wildlife Heritage site and national park, a temperate rainforest amongst the sandstone cliffs; cuckatoos and some long-tailed pheasants, pleasant or not, were the only fauna sightings, however. Went for a 3 hour trek, down into a canyon created by sheer cliff faces hundreds of feet high, past an old coal-mining site, through the rainforest (at which point it added to the authenticity by starting to rain on us. It was thoroughly spectacular, with the gum tree forests rolling across the landscape, waterfalls, giant ferns, and misty peaks in the distance. Quite excellent to be away from the skyscrapers, getting exercise, breathing fresh air.

Cooked dinner back at the hostel! It's so nice to have that option, as I get sick of eating out all the time while traveling. Veggie pasta and... bbq'd kangaroo kebabs! They were rather gamey, compared to a cross between lamb and liver. Good though. It's seasoned and packaged in different cuts at the local grocery store, for $10-18/kg. You have to go to a specialty butcher for crocodile meat, apparently. I did a load of laundry (also gratis while we cooked). I'll sit by the fireplace and finish my evening tea now, before going to sleep to have energy for more exploring tomorrow. Guten night.