Monday, July 07, 2008
Slightly Battered and Bruised
Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But I do have some new righteous bruises! Even I'm impressed. A large one on my left shin, one PURPLE on my right hip, another large one on my right elbow and a good dozen other smattered everywhere in between!
July 5 continued: So, Anne, Kathleen, Damien and I went to go grocery shopping (taco night!) and when we came back, we met up with the rest of the gang. They had also had quite the day! They had gone whale watching and made a friend who took them to some of the nicer lookouts around Coffs Harbour. With the troupes rounded up, we took a taxi to St.Augustine's for 6pm vigil mass. But once we got there, it was obvious that the itinerary posted on the internet was incorrect. There was no one in sight! When Anne, hobbled out to check the mass times not a single time was as it had been posted... That'll teach me for being naive enough to think that the internet postings are updated on a regular basis!! So we took the taxi back to the hostel, made supper and then went out on the town, the whole gang. T'was nice. I think we are all fans of the Carlton Dry aussie beer.
July 6: We went to 8am mass, some of us wearing our pilgrim jerseys/t-shirt with CANADA 08 emblazoned on the back. There was no phone to call for our cab ride back so Kathleen made friends with the priest who took her back to the rectory to call for our ride. Our taxi driver it turns out had been to Edmonton and knew all about the Mall. Good times. Anne and Kathleen hooked themselves up with some surf lessons while the rest of us headed out to check out the Big Banana. It turns out that large man-made objects are quite popular in Australia... and the Big Banana is one of Coffs Harbour's claim to fame. It is located at the banana plantation... Coffs Harbour is the banana capital of Australia, don't you know! It was rather anticlimatic to be quite honest. My guide book said that there was a train that took you through the plantation. We saw NO train. Boo! But we did have a banana split shared between us and if you know me at all, you'll know that ice cream makes everything better!! The rest of the day was pretty chill... we boarded the Greyhound to our next destination: Byron Bay. The bus driver was a little cranky, and we almost left without one of our passengers but he did not drive through any signs so I figure that's a good thing!
July 7: Byron Bay. We had hopes of tandem hang gliding today but it was not to be as there was no wind. Which made for perfect hanging on the beach time! And shopping. Anne found herself some nice board shorts and a rash shirt. Lucki has a new hat, and Kathleen and I have some new shades! We made a feast of a supper, stirfry and rice. Now we are headed back out to the beach for a little late night stroll. Tomorrow is full of surfing and hangliding (hopefully). We'll see how many more bruises I'll accumulate!!
July 5 continued: So, Anne, Kathleen, Damien and I went to go grocery shopping (taco night!) and when we came back, we met up with the rest of the gang. They had also had quite the day! They had gone whale watching and made a friend who took them to some of the nicer lookouts around Coffs Harbour. With the troupes rounded up, we took a taxi to St.Augustine's for 6pm vigil mass. But once we got there, it was obvious that the itinerary posted on the internet was incorrect. There was no one in sight! When Anne, hobbled out to check the mass times not a single time was as it had been posted... That'll teach me for being naive enough to think that the internet postings are updated on a regular basis!! So we took the taxi back to the hostel, made supper and then went out on the town, the whole gang. T'was nice. I think we are all fans of the Carlton Dry aussie beer.
July 6: We went to 8am mass, some of us wearing our pilgrim jerseys/t-shirt with CANADA 08 emblazoned on the back. There was no phone to call for our cab ride back so Kathleen made friends with the priest who took her back to the rectory to call for our ride. Our taxi driver it turns out had been to Edmonton and knew all about the Mall. Good times. Anne and Kathleen hooked themselves up with some surf lessons while the rest of us headed out to check out the Big Banana. It turns out that large man-made objects are quite popular in Australia... and the Big Banana is one of Coffs Harbour's claim to fame. It is located at the banana plantation... Coffs Harbour is the banana capital of Australia, don't you know! It was rather anticlimatic to be quite honest. My guide book said that there was a train that took you through the plantation. We saw NO train. Boo! But we did have a banana split shared between us and if you know me at all, you'll know that ice cream makes everything better!! The rest of the day was pretty chill... we boarded the Greyhound to our next destination: Byron Bay. The bus driver was a little cranky, and we almost left without one of our passengers but he did not drive through any signs so I figure that's a good thing!
July 7: Byron Bay. We had hopes of tandem hang gliding today but it was not to be as there was no wind. Which made for perfect hanging on the beach time! And shopping. Anne found herself some nice board shorts and a rash shirt. Lucki has a new hat, and Kathleen and I have some new shades! We made a feast of a supper, stirfry and rice. Now we are headed back out to the beach for a little late night stroll. Tomorrow is full of surfing and hangliding (hopefully). We'll see how many more bruises I'll accumulate!!
# posted by Chantal @ 4:17 a.m. 
