Ralph Waldo Emerson

The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Well here I am.

More pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8151765@N03/?saved=1

Hey guys--just a quick update of the last few days events:

1) I left town, which was agreed upon by all parties involved. And no, mom, I was not "kicked out" of town...though I'm quite certain the magpie, my awful boss and the Argentinian were just as happy to see me go as I was to leave.

2) I hitched a ride with Anita, the new barmaid in Tekapo, in her semi-decrepit van to Mt. Cook. Along the way we squeezed in a stop at a salmon farm, downed more coffee than is advisable for human consumption and finally ended up at the foot of Mt. Cook in the midst of blustery rain and wind. Not to be deterred we went hiking about, snapping photos and feeling rather like Frodo was going to hop out and join us at any moment. But he didn't. So we headed back to the hostel to cook dinner with a strange guy from Holland who insisted on wearing one of those knit caps that are all strings and random doo dads for the entire evening, only removing it for a brief after dinner sauna.

3) Anita and I surmised that the best way to get to Timaru, the next stop on our journey, was to go straight back through Tekapo. After a somewhat awkward pee/coffee break wherein my boss pulled the tried and true Argentinian silent treatment on me, we jetted out of town and off to the bright lights of Timaru...aka a place 10x the size of Tekapo. Not hard to do.

4) And so after 2 days in a welcoming backpackers (where the husband and wife team seemed a little more welcoming of their young charges than is perhaps decent) I headed to Christchurch. Just got in actually, and am looking for accommodation for the evening before I head off to a friends' place for the weekend. Apparently it's Guy Fawkes this weekend, which is a New Zealand holiday. What it celebrates I'm not sure, and neither are the locals, whose only response to questions about the significance of the holiday is that it's an excuse to set off fireworks. Love their honesty in not knowing what the hell their holidays are actually about. Anyhow, a couple that came through the restaurant a few weeks back invited me to stay at their place for the weekend--apparently they don't exactly have a bed for me, but I'll get to be chucked in with the kids in the living room for a couple nights. Sounds like home.

I figure I'll hang out around here for a few days while plans come together for the next couple months--I'm either heading west or north depending on some random stuff that I'll fill you in on later. So that's life! Much love.

1 comment:

Damon Benedict said...

that bridge looks ancient. don't know if i'd have had the guts to take it on...