Home soil and Sydney
On this trip we've encountered many flights from long haul and luxury to to 4 seaters and spew bags. The prospect of 14 hours to Sydney was never appealing, throw in a broken screen for Jorje and broken audio for Juanita on a full flight with no spare seats and no fun was going to be had. Cheers Qantas, the cheap arse budget South American airlines put you to shame. It would've never been fun but pretty fair to say we were happy to get off the plane on a Sydney Saturday evening. Jorje's old travel buddy Matty ( he's 40 now ) picked us up and took us back to his swanky digs in Bronte. There was talk of an early night but there was also talk of old times and booze with Matt and Danielle, which somehow led to us going to bed at midnight. That didn't seem to stop us waking up at 5 but at least we tried.
Breakfast at Bronte beach cured most of our ails and we took on Sydney. Heading to Bondi to meet up with Aisling and Odie our Irish friends who had flown up from Melbourne for the weekend. We hit the walking trail from Bondi to Coogee and passed by many of the local sites, taking in the beauty of the Sydney coastline. The sun was out and the water looked amazing. The walking trail ended for us at the Pavilion Hotel for beer and dinner, joined again by our hosts. Chilli Pizza and beer all round until we hit the wall and it was bed time.
Jet lag can be a weird thing and it didn't seem to matter how drunk we got, 5 am was the designated wake up time. Lets stare at the ceiling for a while shall we. As Matt and Danni headed off to work for the day, we headed to the harbour. Meeting with Aisling and Odie we headed to Manly on the ferry, taking in the sights of the harbour bridge, opera house and surrounds. It was a beautiful blue skied day and the harbour and beaches were in fine form, eggs and a bloody mary sorted any issues from last night and we explored Manly. Our Irish friends headed off to the airport and we headed to the botanic gardens, walking for a couple of hours in the sunshine before hitting 'the wall' again and heading home for an afternoon nap. In the evening we were picked up by ex London house mate Nick, and taken on a tour of Sydney's coastal spots with a few beers and wines mixed in. Heading back into town and meeting Mel, Nicks new fiancé, congrats mate, before heading towards china town for dinner with Matt and Danni. Once again we ate far too much and tried the wine will make us sleep method before dragging our sorry arses home about 9:00
Today was fly home day and the end of our South American Adventure, we had said our farewells and got the train to the airport, bottom lips dragging on the ground. One last time of dealing with airports and backpacks before settling back into Perth life.
While Singapore seemed a lifetime ago it was amazing how much we had crammed in. We had managed to tick nearly every box of our bucket list and even a few that weren't on there, as well discover a few more ticks for the next adventure yet to be had. Sure there were a few setbacks on the way but hey thats traveling, Character building they call it. Money cant buy the riches of experience, culture and travel we gain from such adventures. The pictures and memories will make us smile for many years to come.
So until the feet get itchy again .....
Hasta Luego
Jorje y Juanita
