1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13-15 16 17 18 20 21 22      
 
 

Day 1: New York City to Sydney, Australia
September 20th-22nd, 2005

There I am. The 44 year old, intrepid Adventurer from New York City, on the left. Notice the urban-lifestyle complexion and ready smile of a newly single-dad, trying to prove he's still got some life left in him. I'm flying across the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. And that's a scary thought for the first 15 minutes or so. (There's no good place for a crash landing should you need one.) But when I think about it now, after having buckled my seatbelt, I realize that there's not much to think about. If you want to visit Australia, you've got to fly over the world's largest ocean. You see, this isn't just a story about an exciting, life-defining journey for a man who's been through a lot these last few years. It's also a story about my two friends: Serendipity and Irony. They're new friends in my life, and I'm still getting used to their presence. I'm not talking about those two Canadians to my left in that shot. That's Jim and Carl. They're going to LIVE in Australia for the next year so they can surf. I'm talking about why I'm in this seat to begin with.

 OK, I'm more relaxed now. Not too much sleep, but I know that I'm alive when we reach Sydney!
 

 
     
 

Wow, this was one long plane trip. First, there's a 6 hour flight to Los Angeles. Then a 12 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean into Sydney, then another 3 hour flight north to Cairns. I finally made it here at about 2pm this afternoon. But 2 calendar days since I flew out of JFK. My first Australian taxi driver was a real chatterbox too, which was good actually, because I was so exhausted from all the flights that I didn't have my wits about me. They love the U.S.A., he tells me. He also tells me they were horrified at the government's responce to Hurricane Rita. He had a lot to say about our President Bush, mostly well-informed social and political criticisms, but he ends his commentary by saying how indebted the Aussies were to America for defending them against the invading Japanese during WWII. I realize I know little about this country I've been wanted to visit for all of my life.

  

 

The Makulu at the Cairns Marina

  I was dropped off at the marina at Cairns, and walked up and down the piers until I found the Makulu. She's a really nice looking ship. A little wider than I expected, but relieved at the sight of her. I walked up and knocked on the side to announce myself. I've always wanted to say "Permission to come aboard Captain", and so when Captain Jim popped on deck, I did. He's a striaghtforward, well-muscled "guy's guy" from Berkley, California. He showed me around the boat and helped set me up in my bunk. The interior is warm and comfortable, with lots of beautiful wood floors and paneling. There's not a lot of room on the ship for useless stuff though, and most of the storage spaces seem to have important things already in them. I'm glad I traveled lightly.

I haven't showered in 2 days, so that was priority one. After Captain Jim gave me the lowdown on the Makulu, he went up on deck to discuss the boat's electrical system with an electrician who had come to visit the boat. I sat in the boat typing this email. I've found that there are plenty of internet Cafés here in town to handle the large swarms of back-packers that come to party here, so I should have no trouble posting updates to this picture/video/blog/diary website thing that I'm building while I'm here on this trip.

NEXT DAY