Tuesday

Day 9 of 55 - Back to Perth

Our time on Rottnest Island came to a close at 10:45 am when Oceanic Cruises took us back to the mainland, back to Perth. Wanting to enjoy as much of the island as I could with the little time I had left, I got up extra early to explore the island at sunrise. I took a walk down to The Basin, a popular swimming hole. Below are pictures of its crystal clear waters.



It was a 48 hour chapter in my life I will always remember. I hope to return to Rottnest despite the flies. Yes, flies are an issue on this island paradise. Interesting how the Rottnest brochures mention nothing about this major annoyance, the constant bzzzz around our heads from sunrise to sunset, but the island is just so beautiful, we overlooked it. Some tourists resorted to face nets, but Jeff and I toughed it out because that's what the locals do and we wanted to fit in.

Back in Florida, the Mosquito Control squad uses heavy artillery to spray the mosquitoes out of existence. Below is a picture of one of the planes used in Florida. It's a retro-fitted DC-3/C-47. When these guys would fly low and slow dumping poison bombs over the house, I would close the windows and run for cover. Sometimes I didn't close the windows fast enough and the house would fill up with grey fog. Not good. Maybe swatting flies is a better way to live.



Back in the bug-free skies of Perth and exhausted from all the snorkeling, hiking, and swatting, Jeff and I called a cab to take us up the hill from the Barrack Street Jetty. It was time to go to the hostel to collect our belongings. Wanting a change in scenery, we checked into the Metro Inn where we rested, ate, and began planning for our departure to Exmouth the following day. We still had travel logistics to figure out, but that could wait. Why do today what we can put off until tomorrow? Sometimes procrastination is a good thing.

http://www.jennifermonahan.com/