Sailing Heaven-On-Earth, Then 13 Hours to Cairnatalies

After last leaving the beautiful (but somewhat small and boring) capital city of Cranberra, I have jumped to the opposite end of the excitement spectrum. We flew from Canberra into Brisbane (~ 2 hours) and then from Brisbane to Proserpine (~ another 2 hours) where we stayed the night in a hostel on Airlie Beach. To our gratitude, we got to stay in a room with just two beds. In the hostel world, this is quite a luxury. Early the next morning we hopped on another bus that took us down to the peir where we boarded a boat named Camira. Getting on this boat almost gave both Brian and I heart-attacks because we had accidently wrote down the boat name as Camilla. When we approached the man monitoring who gets on the boat and asked him "...where can we find the Camilla dock?" the man gave us a dumbfounded look and told us "No boat with that name exists...Never heard of it EVER. You'll have to go back to the city and talk to someone else." Is Camilla and Camira really that different that he couldn't put 2-and-2 together? :) But we eventually straightened things out and set off to Whitehaven Beach. Whitehaven Beach was by far the most absolute fantasticly beatuful place I have ever seen. As I try to imagine what heaven will be like one day, I have to say that this beach is the "heaven" of this earth. It was stunning. It took us about 3 hours sailing to reach the shore, and the sailing alone was great. The boat, CamiRA (not Camilla!) had two large net-like structures stretching across its front end. I can't really describe this structure very well so just take a look at the pics below. As we coasted along, we were able to lay on the "net" almost like a hammock hovering above the water. As the boat would sail along, air would rush underneath it and come up through the holes in the net, giving us a feel almost as if we were laying on an air-hockey table as the air came up through the hundreds of little holes. Every now and again it would rain (and being out in the middle of the ocean I'm talking downpour). When this happened, everyone on the boat (there were about 30 people in all that were with us) would go inside the cabin. Brian and I took this time to soak up the beauty, as we layed on the net and had the entire outside boat to ourselves. After getting to Whitehaven Beach, we swam in the water for about 2 hours. We had to wear wetsuits because it is jelly fish season in Aussie and some of the stingers can be quite fatal. In fact, the Box jelly fish is among the top ten most poisonous creatures in the world. But being protected with wetsuits, the water was SOOOO warm. At one point it started to rain fairly hard while we were swimming around and it was almost a surreal experience. As you looked around, we were completely surrounded by blue ocean, apart from the one stretch of beach that we were on and the faint mountains in the far off distance. As we swam around, the pouring rain created an amazing sight against the water...it was truly incredible (and romantic! although, I was with Brian so that took away alittle from the romantic aspect :) We also walked along the coast for some time through the whitest sand I have ever seen, hence the name Whitehaven Beach. After awhile we left the beach and continued to sail to another point where we jumped overboard and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Because it is jelly fish season, there were literally thousands of jelly fish. When I first looked under water I was completely startled because there were at least 20-30 jelly fish touching me at all times...they were EVERYWHERE! It was an incredbile sight and the rest of the reef was just as incredbile. Brian and I were able to see a stingray and were within just a couple of feet from it. Boy those things can swim fast when they want to. After getting pretty close to it, we must have startled it because it bolted off. But in all, the reef was amazing. While I was snorkeling it, I was really struck by God's creation and His creativity. There was a moment where I was swimming around and seeing various things and was just completely awwwed by God. It was striking how incredibly AWESOME God's creation truly is and how this awesome creation really reflects on how powerful and glorious a god He truly is. I was truly thankful that He used that time to point me back to His glory. After we finished up we sailed to Long Island where Britt and I stayed for the next 2 days. If I had to describe Long Island to you in the shortest amount of time possible, I would simply say..."Jurrasic Park" This place was crawling with creatures, and it had its fair share of weird ones at that. Kangaroos were walking around everywhere, parrots were flying around, bats were hanging in the trees, geckos, spiders, lizards, toads, etc etc etc...you name it and it was there. We were joking that we were just waiting for the dinosaurs to come out and try to eat us. After having our fill of Long Island for 2 days, we took a boat back to Proserpine where we quickly jumped onto a bus that drove overnight to Cairns. The bust trip was originally suppose to take just under 10 hours, but due to floading on the roads it took us 13. The floading was so bad at one point that we had to pull the bus over because the roads had been closed. But through it all we arrived safely in Cairns and I have finally been able to settle down at a computer at the hostel. Tomorrow we will be leaving for Cape Tribulation to see the rainforest and also take a trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef. Much love to you all.

PS My computer is not working very well so I can't post pics...will get them up ASAP.

To One Of My Biggest Heroes...My Sister Natalie

It is Wednesday, January 28th here on Long Island in Prospertine, Australia...which means it is January 27th back in Colorado. And this means it is the birthday of one of my most favorite people in the WORLD...My seeeeeestir Natalie. Nat, Happy Birthday sis. Hope you have a good day. Wish I could be there to hang with you. I miss you like crazy. Can't wait to get back to CO so we can watch The Suite Life of Zach and Cody together or go to Costco to get berry smoothies or build that roof-top table we talked about or just kick the ball around. Maybe for old times sake you could play a game of chess against yourself like I taught you how to do :) that way it will be like I'm there with ya. But have a good b-day and can't wait to see you in a few weeks. I bought you some pretty cool stuff throughout my travels so can't wait to give 'em to ya. I might a even found a leather bracelet or two :) but you'll just have to wait and see. Keep livin' with passion. Keep dreamin' big. Live humbly but still be strong like a rock. Keep playin' hard, but train harder. Remember, it's not worth it, if you don't fight for it (someone wise once told me that :) Be amazed by the gospel daily and keep honoring the Lord. I love ya oooodles.

Your Italian Brother,
Ryan

Canberra: Spending A Day With The Aussie Prime Minister

Today I spent the day with a pretty important person in the Aussie community...the Prime Minister himself. We arrived in Canberra on Friday after traveling by bus from Sydney. Canberra is not the most exciting place to say the least, but it is the capital of Australia. It is a really laid-back town. One of the most stand-out things here is that everyone parks their cars in their front yards. Hardly anyone parks in driveways. Sometimes, even if they have a driveway, they still park in the front yard! It is pretty funny to see. We have been staying with Brian's aunt, which has been nice. It has definitely been good to sleep in a real bed and get a hardy home-cooked meal. I feel like I am refreshed and ready to get on the road again!

I've been sleeping on this pull-out couch. It's been like sleeping on a cloud compared to the bed I was sleeping on in the hostel on Bondi Beach.

Driveways are not used at all!

But back to the Prime Minister. We went to the capital building today and toured it. The building was incredible. Since arriving in OZ, I have seen more incredible buildings then I thought existed. So it is hard to say, but I think the capital building was one of my favorite. It was originally constructed in 1980, so it has not been around for very long at all. The inside has more granite then you could imagine. Granite walls, floors, handrails, etc. This gives it a very classy feel. Also, the building was constructed right into the side of a hill. So much so, that you can actually walk up a portion of the hill directly onto the roof of the capital. On top of the roof, there is a flag pole that is quite big. Brian's aunt told us that it is actually the biggest flag pole in the world. I guess Aussie has more to brag about then just nice beaches haha. Tomorrow is Australia Day (which is like the equivalent to 4th of July in the US). Because of this, the Prime Minister was outside the capital building. You wouldn't believe the lack of security. Brian and I walked right up to the podium that he was standing at. I literally could have had a conversation with him. The most ironic part of the whole situation was that there were hardly any security guards or police officers. There was only a single security guard standing between me and the Prime Minister. Also, there were no checkpoints or anything at all in the entire place that checked people's bags or purses. In essence, you literally could have brought in whatever you wanted and walked almost directly to the most powerful man in Aussie. It was interesting to see the difference between Australia and the US...if it had been George Bush or Obama at that event, there probably would have been about 600 secret service agents, a few airplanes and helicopters flying overhead, and maybe even a tank or two! We asked Brian's aunt why the security was so low even though the Prime Minister was present. She simply told us that he's not that important and if he was assassinated people would only be a little upset for a short period of time! Overall, the experience was one I won't ever forget.

The capital building.

Inside the capital building.

Inside the House of Representatives.

Aussie Pride.

The Prime Minister is the man farthest to the right.


Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia.

Yep, a pic with the most powerful man in Aussie in the background.

Keep smilin' all...I'm off to fly to the Whitsunday Islands :) Much love. Ryan

Half Ice Cream Bar, Half Ice Cream Sandwich

Throughout my time in Aussie, I have become more amazed by God, as I have been able to observe some of His amazing creation. In addition, I have been introduced to God's most amazing gift to Australia...Maxibons! Half Ice Cream Bar-Half Ice Cream Sandwich. It's pretty much like morphing two of the greatest things in the world into one. Need I say any more.

Melbourne, skinny jeans, haircuts, and Sydney

Skinny jeans, skinny jeans, skinny jeans! They are everywhere here. I never thought I would see so many people (both guys and girls) wearing jeans that seem to be several sizes too small. As influential as this style may seem, I think I will remain one person who will not be influenced by it. Alot has happened since my last post. I got a new haircut...and yes, I finally shaved. I've also had the opportunity to explore Melbourne quite a bit more extensively. I discovered nature's side of things by going to the Melbourne Zoo, the Melbourne Aqaurium, and Melbourne's botanical gardens. The gardens are world-renown and they were huge! It took Brian and I hours to walk through them. It was well worth it though and well-deserved :) I say well-deserved because the day before we traveled by tram for almost an hour to get to the gardens and we got there at 8:47...they close at 8:30 haha so we definitely soaked up the beauty when we went back the next day and walked through 'em. Also, I was able to visit some more beautiful buildings including St. Patrick's Cathedral, which I think ranks as the most impressive and magnificent building I have ever been inside. But enough of Melbourne because I am now in Sydney! I got here on Tuesday and am staying in a hostel right on Bondi beach...I'm talking right on the beach! B and I are staying in a room with 4 other people (total of 6 people to a room). One of our roomates is a 50 year-old lady who claims to be a "devine channeler". As you can imagine there have been quite a few interesting convos going on between us since our arrival. The first night we were there, she told us that if we snoored she would do energy exercises on us to release the bad energy! She also told us that she doesn't really sleep during the night and usually "listens to messages she receives from the people staying in the room"...WOW, I didn't sleep too well that first night to say the least!

This is home-sweet-home for the time being...It is quite luxurious.

Hangin' out on my bed the first night we got to the hostel.

Brian reading up on what we should do in Sydney. Thanks for the book momma. It has been most handy.

We found this old broken toothbrush on the bed ha ha gross! Just what I needed...a backup toothbrush :)

Since we are so close to the beach we have gone three times in three days. The sun is glorious and HOT HOT HOT. It was almost 40 degrees Celcius, which as a science guy I am ashamed to say I am not sure what that correlates to in Farenheit, but either way it was HOT. Believe it or not, I even got sunburned, which is weird cause I hardly ever burn. Sadly, today my whole face is peeling. Regardless, the beach was amazing and brought back memories of the numerous hours I used to swim in the ocean in VA back in the day. Swimming in the ocean here in Aussie has been the first time I have done so since moving from VA when I was 12! Today we went to downtown Sydney for the whole day. I got to see (and touch) the opera house and we also walked across the famous bridge that spans the Sydney Harbor. It was too cool! The last cool bridge I walked across was the Golden Gate with Jordan during spring break during my first year of pharmacy school. Jordo, wish you could've made the hike with me this time too!

Street performers in downtown Sydney.

Ahhh, the world famous Opera House.

This building is pretty awesome looking.

This is the bridge we hiked across. I would guess it is about a mile long. At the top of bridge you can barely see two Aussie flags. It was pretty cool to see them up there flying above the whole city.

This was a public piano that anyone could play. It was standing right outside the Opera House.

Downtown Sydney.

The outside of the Opera House was made completely by small tiles...hundreds of them. From far away you can't tell but from up close it looks really cool.

Thought this was pretty cool.

This was a wall in an underground tunnel. The entire wall was covered with people's footprints. I bet you can't find mine!

Gettin' ready to cross the bridge.

Julian in Sydney.

Pic with the Opera House taken from the bridge.

You can't see it that well but this is another pic with the Opera House taken from the bridge.

Tomorrow we are takin' a bus to Canberra. We leave at 1:30 PM and are scheduled to arrive at 5:00 PM so it's about a 3 and a half hour trip. We are gonna stay with Brian's aunt for a night or too and hopefully get some home-cooked meals :) Then we are flying to Cairns (in Queensland) where we are taking a tour on Cape Tribulation...Sounds intense! It is a 3 day/2 night trek through the Queensland rainforests and also through the Great Barrier Reef. There have been alot of shark attacks and even an alligator attack recently so hopefully God will keep those critters away while we are in the water! Luv you all and will post again soon.

R

PS - I'm glad to see The BURGH made it into the Super Bowl. Dad, Jord, and the rest of the Fam, I wish I could be there with ya'll to root 'em on.

Melbourne: Learning the Ropes

So my time in Melbourne continues to be amazing. We are living in a second-story dorm room at University College of Melbourne University. In Australia, the word "college" refers to a dorm hall. So we are living at the dorm hall called University College, which is apart of Melbourne University. The room is actually rather nice (from what Brian tells me, dorm rooms are usually not very nice). It has a kitchen, one bathroom with an awesome shower head in the shower, one bedroom with two beds, an outside patio, and a family room with a small TV that has 7 channels :) In addition, our building has a huge game room and a computer lab with internet access. We get served 3 meals a day in the cafeteria. The food is pretty good, although the chefs (or should I say cooks) usually serve leftovers for a few days in-a-row! But beggars can't be choosers and getting food for free has definitely been nice.

This is the outside of the place where we are living

Mom, I took this one for you

Brian and I both work in pharmacies that are about 2 miles from where we are staying. It takes us about 15-20 minutes to walk there in the morning. We literally work across the street from each other so we get lunch together every day. We have been trying out all kinds of different foods...but the street we are working on is known for being highly populated by Italians so there are so many good Italian restaurants :) That is obviously a good thing!

Tonight we took our first trip to downtown Melbourne. We took the "bus" adventure for the first time. We had no trouble getting to downtown. In fact, we were almost like Melbourne Bus Experts! The way home, however, was a different story! We got lost for quite awhile before finally re-tracking our steps all the way back from where we started before finally figuring out the right bus to get on to get home. Buses in Melbourne ride pretty much anyway. You can buy an all-day pass for 6 dollars at 7 Eleven. This is about 4 American dollars (about 70 American cents is equivalent to a buck in Aussie). While in the city we went up to the top of the HIGHEST observing platform in the western hemisphere. It was called the Eureka Skydeck and was 88 stories high! I was absolutely terrified! While at the top you can go outside the building onto an outside deck that is enclosed by a chainlink fence. This is to allow you to feel how windy it is at the top of the building...and boy was it windy! At times the gusts of wind were so powerful they almost knocked you over. Look at the pics of downtown Melbourne that I took from the top of Eureka...They are pretty awesome.

This is Eureka...It was massive!

Downtown Melbourne

I'm standin' in the outer deck. As you can see, the only thing keeping me safe is this chainlink fence. The winds out on this deck were really wild.

In addition to Eureka, we walked around downtown Melbourne for several hours. It was by far the coolest place I have ever been. In general it was full of the most imaculate, creative, HUGE buildings I have ever seen. There were statues on every street corner. There was a lifesize chessboard. The Yarra river runs right through the middle. In essence, it was beautiful. Also, it was the most culturally diverse place I've ever seen. I have never seen so many different kinds of people! TONS! There was a chinatown, a spanish town, and a vietnamese town. I guess the best way to describe it is if you took Denver, Boulder, Arvada, and Aurora and blended them all together ha ha. I have posted a few pictures below but will post more tomorrow (with the time difference it is 5:40 in the morning for me and I'm exhausted). I am crashin' hard so I gotta sleep. Until next time, luv ya all.



Much love,
Ryan