sun, surf, 70s and tsunami's

"i can't wait to buy some proper hippie jewellery." that's what my newfound friend from england, sara, told me the other day. we were exploring byron bay's beach at that point, having already settled in the hostel earlier in the afternoon.

we both happened to have booked in the same hosetl and instantly became friends as we waited at the bus stop for the hostel's curtesy van to pick us and our bags up. we had both finally made it to byron bay, the exotic hippie city of new south wales. upon checking in, i quickly discovered that the arts factory backpackers lodge (AFBL) isn't so much a hostel as it is a resort. i had chosen to stay in the "pentagon" for 3 nights which turned out to be an oversized canvas tent complete with wood floors and 4 bunk beds. i felt as though i had arrived at camp. the AFBL also offers other styles of accommodation - everything from tent sites, cabins, teepees, dorms and even a renovated double-decker bus.

outside of sleeping arrangements, the AFBL boasts a wide array of activity options. between a swimming pool, pool table, table tennis, beach volleyball, computers, arcade games, cinema, pub and daily scheduled activities in the art of poi, yoga and digeridoo making, one is never ever bored. not to mention the multitude of hammocks scattered around the place. it's a wonder people actually leave the facilities.

as i sit here writing this - in a hammock, no less - i listen to the birds chirping, watch the lizards and bush turkeys moseying about and gaze at the tropical array of plantlife, i wonder if there could be a more perfect day.

and then i remember this morning. i woke up to a phone ringing at 5am. my roommates phone. as i increasingly became annoyed over the fact that she seemed to have complete disregard for the fact that the rest of us were trying to still sleep as she chatted away to whomever was on the other end - i caught the reason for the call. apparently there had been a massive earthquake in chile and because of it tsunami warnings were now sweeping across the pacific islands. as a result, sydney and the rest of the east coast up to brisbane (which includes where i am in byron bay) immediately were alerted of a possible tsunami destined to hit around 10am.

this threw off my idea of an early-morning beach run. so when i got up i went to check out news reports online. the numerous quotes indicating that the water of the ocean was moving as fast as a jet plane towards land masses of the pacific ocean and that all beaches along the australia eastern coastline would be closed for the day prompted me to steer clear of the sandy shores.

by 10am i learn that the tsunami caused hawaii to evacuate many people from the coastline, but that when it was to hit australia, the damage should be next to nothing. i can't say i was really scared about it, but it was a little nerve-racking to know my grandma was in hawaii and that i have friends all along australia's coastline that could potentially be affected. not to mention it was just plain wierd to be on this side of a natural disaster warning.

so what did i do?? i avoided the beach untill the afternoon when it was so scorching hot and i walked on down there only to find that pretty much everyone in the byron bay area had decided to ignore the "beach closed due to tsunami" signs and claim their spot on the sand anyway. so i joined them. then played some beach volleyball and cooled off in the waters later on. just another day in paradise.

later on yesterday i made my way back to the hostel to jump in our fresh-water pool and do a few laps. after that and some more beach volleyball on our local court i joined up with the workshop on the art of poi. by the end of the hour i was beginning to get in the groove of how to move my wrists and wondered if i practiced hard enough maybe i could dance with fire. of course i would probably burn all my hair off as i continued to hit myself on the head with the balls as i spun them around my body.

ending my day of adventure yesterday was pure bliss. think bob marley, accustic guitar, the rustle of tropical trees and swinging in my very own hammock. i contemplated falling asleep there for the night, but the constant biting of mosquitoes discouraged my thoughts from being anything more than that.

and today?? the plans are a whole lot of chill time. the rain has come which has cooled everything off, but it also limits the choice of activities for the day. i don't mind - makes for some good postcard-writing time. so long as the threat of tsunamis are over... i can handle whatever comes my way.