Airlie Beach

Sunrise from the grounds of my hostel.

An ibis.

One of the harbours around Airlie Beach.

The main drag of Airlie.

The name of the tall ship on the stern of the boat.

Tuesday, July 5^th

I woke up really early and snuck out of my room so as not to wake up my room mate. I sat outside in the dark Skyping with my family and listening to the cockatoos. Then I watched the sunrise which was beautiful. Then I went back into the room to get my stuff and shower. By then my room mate was awake. He is a 30 year old Chilean and we had a good talk about traveling. Then I checked out.

Today was a get organized type day. I went into town and bought two beach towels (two were cheaper and I liked the designs – one is the Australian flag). Then I went to Woolworths and bought some food for breakfast, lunch and snacks on the boat.

I had breakfast by the bay and then went for a drive to the end of the road on the peninsula to the harbour. It was quite sunny and hot by this point and I found a shady spot where I could clean out the car and organize my luggage. You can only take small bags on the boat and I have to leave my carry on luggage suitcase at the hostel. Something to do with fear of people bringing bedbugs on board in the zippers of suitcases and backpacks. Once I got that sorted out I decided to leave my luggage at the hostel I will be stay at on Friday night after the sailing trip. So I drove there and dropped it off and then I went for one last car ride with my WickedCar. I just drove a few roads in the area and then gassed up and took it to the drop off spot where I talked or rather listened to the Kiwi mechanic talk to me about the problems of the world and how he loved to live in Airlie Beach because it is so far removed from the world. From there I took a local bus back into Airlie Beach.

I now have no vehicle to lock my stuff up in, so I stayed at the X-Base Hostel for a couple of hours working on the internet with the money I paid last night. I also met the guy from Chile again and talked to him for a bit.

Finally I went to the pub next door and had a salmon dinner and a beer while waiting for the transfer bus to take me to my tall ship. It came at 7:00 and took us on a half hour drive to the harbour where the Solway Lass was moored. It was too dark to see much as we boarded. There are 28 of us from Britain,  Netherlands,  Germany,  Canada and of course Australians. We were introduced to the six member staff and after that had a safety briefing. We had a snack of meat pies and a beer while beginning to meet each other. Later the cook made us a soup with garlic bread. Shortly after that I headed to bed in my room with my two room mates. One is an older Australian woman, Glenda, who is taking this cruise for the second time in a row, and the other is one, Eric, of a group of five Canadian friends who met each other at university and playing volleyball.