Two Beers and a Pretzel

It’s hard to leave a laid back surfer town when you know you’re heading for a city infested with tourists, shopping malls and condo towers.  I tried to stick around and attempt the skydive again, but it was still windy at 14,000 ft, and I’m still 108 kilos.  New Zealand and Australia have put a halt on my weight loss at around 235 lbs - but at least I’m not gaining any.  I figure I was just bulking up from surfing – my arms are pretty big now…

So we had a helluva BBQ on Sunday night.  Ant confirmed that we were his best bus ever and was stunned that 32/53 of us were still hanging out together for a big beach party (the rest had already moved up the coast).  The most that had ever stayed ’till Sunday before was 4.

I took the initiative to make “Shrimp on the Barby”

We even got busted by the cops for having alcahol in a public park…  but they let us off easy – just empty the bottles.  Lucky for me, they don’t suspect a 1.25 liter Coke bottle that may or may not have 33% burbon inside.

On Monday I went with a few of the Dutch girls to Nimbin.

Nimbin is a former ranch town turned hippie – famous for a festival in 1973 where a few revellers were arrested for smoking weed, then all their friends overwhelmed the police and busted them out.  Now it’s Australia’s Ganja capital and the site of the annual Mardi-Grass festival to legalize pot (earlty May).  This town looked like what you’d expect (compared to the commercialized El Bolson back in Argentina).

Just outside of town are the “Nimbin Rocks” which were revered by the Aboriginees as a “power center” of the Earth.  Can you wonder why the hippies like it??

A woman in the Happy High Herbs shop told me that Byron Bay was a town with one dirt road 15 years ago…  Then McDonald’s came in and all the Faries, Pixies, and onther magical creatures left town.  Thus, Nimbin now has an abundance of etheral and magical life forms… and apparantly some very potent mushrooms.

As you can imagine, this store is currently being sued by the Billabong surf company…

And everyone in town loves Barak Obama…  who they have invited to MardiGrass ’09 (May 2-3).

Somehow, I don’t think he’ll show up…

One shop had strange hours…

After the Germans on our bus had bought weed and “special” cookies, the bus disembarked for a park where we had a cookout – just in time for high Germans with the muinchies.  It turned out that the “cookies” (3 for $20) were most likely plain chocolate chip, as the dutch girls tried some, but did not get a buz.  Then again, they were Dutch girls.

Finally, on to a local waterfall where you can jump 2 stories into freezing cold water.  Being sober, I decided to watch…

Today (Tuesday) was a rest day for me.  Something in the last to days gave me an intestinal bug, and I caught a light sore throat that turned into a mild chest cold.  Tomorrow I’m going to the overdeveloped Surfer’s Paradise for a few days and then catching a transfer to Frasier Island and sailing the Whitsundays with a few guys from the Mojo bus.  I’m guessing I’ll be on to Thailand in less than 2 weeks, then India (I need to e-mail Sreekanth and set a time).

Cheers-