Lessons From the Road

Greetings from Noosa! Yes, yes I know I intended to stay in Byron Bay a bit longer but the didgeridoos kept me up at night and I felt I needed a more "yuppy" surf town (no, it's not an oxy moron). I am on a path to self discovery afterall....and I discovered that, well, I prefer Pucci to patchouli.

However I did meet some fabulous people (some hippies, some yuppies in hiding) and thought I would share some wisdom from the road.

• #1 "Are you a traveler or a tourist? Tourists see more places, take more photos, but rarely experience much and make few friends." ---from Duncan (a hippy living in the hostel for over a year. He asked me to have his love child. I turned down the offer).

So okay I have actually not taken ONE photo since I arrived. But it has nothing to do with trying to be a "traveler." There have been terrible storms up the east coast of Australia and I don't want to be reminded that I was wearing a rain jacket when my intentions were tanning. I HAVE made some friends though and realized that my most fun days were spent staying in one place having those long philosophical conversations over beer, trying, as usual, to solve the world's problems.

• #2 "If you commit to a wave, you commit to it 110%. There is no hesitation, no second guessing, because if you do not give it your all, you'll get destroyed out here."---Wapoo(supposedly one of the best surfers in Byron..).

This quote happened one stormy day when I had given up on the ocean. The winds were howling, the waves were churning, and I was convinced I was going to drown. Wapoo saw me on the beach looking like a wet cat. "What's this...giving up are ya" "I just can't.....I'm a wet cat!" "Hmm.....want me to head out there with ya?" I discovered some strength in my now spaghetti arms and nodded. Despite the downpour, we paddled out in the storm, diving under waves, rolling under waves, and paddling like our lives depended on it. Every dive I got was rewarded with Wapoo's "good girl!" I felt pathetic needing such support, but did realize that we WERE the only surfers out there, too stupid to stay in and drink hot tea. Once we made it out behind the breaks, Wapoo told me I pretty much had one shot to get back to the beach. His advice saved me. I was very determined to make it. There was no hesitation. I got a 5 footer hanging a right......If only I could apply this determination to other facets of my life.....no second guessing.....

• "Why spend $20 in a restaurant with stuffy people when you can buy a sandwich for $5 and eat it on the beach?"--Jasper, Dutch traveler preparing to enter the military.

Good point.......why waste money in a restaurant? Especially because (no offense) Australian food, at least in Byron, leaves a lot to be desired. I do not think I have seen a vegetable in 5 days. Even if I order them. The Aussies have tricked themselves into thinking POTATOES are vegetables. So any vegetable order will likely be either potatoes or some unidentifiable object with ketchup (here called "Tomato." Again another ploy to convince themselves they are eating vegetables instead of a starch derivative). I luckily have brought packets of "Energy-C" and other vitamins to prevent me from getting scurvy. Scurvy. It's a viable concern.

So those a a few gems from some of the many TRAVELERS (not tourists!) that I have met along my journey. Some have braved my international accent and become my friend, others have merely been a passing flicker in my life. Here's hoping it continues.......friends and flickers....