THE ABC'S OF SYDNEY - ARACHNIDS, BONDI AND CRICKET

March 26 - We all had a truly memorable Australian experience today - lazing around on a beach in weather so hot that we had to keep fleeing into the water at intervals to cool off.  Yes, even me.  On days like today, I am profoundly grateful that we did not visit in Australia's summer because I do not think we could have dealt with the heat.  We went to Bondi Beach and good grief, that was an experience for me.  I have been on beaches in many areas of the world but I have never been at one with such strong waves and currents.  I was wading in water that was only knee high when I got hit with an otherwise innocent looking wave which knocked me right over and made me scrape my knees on the sandy bottom. I can really see why the surfers like Bondi so much - the waves were even more energetic further out from the shore.

But the beach itself is spectacular - fine sand, no rocks at all.  It was like walking on talcum powder. The sun worshippers were out in full force today and it became apparent that there is a very wide range of nationalities here. Sydney is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities we have ever been to, possibly even more so than London.  The preponderence of individuals from (I am presuming) Europe and South America was quite evident in the somewhat flexible interpretation of "non-nudity" on the beach.   I like to think of myself as fairly casual about nudity, but it still came as something of a shock when our neighbours to the right all went topless and the neighbour on the left dropped the swim trunks.   Oh well - they all had great tans.

Liam probably had the best time of all of us.  He rented a wake board and did such a great job that we said that he was actually hanging 15!  He ended up swallowing about half of the ocean in the process, but he stuck to it and quite enjoyed himself.  They say that inhaled seawater is great for the lungs of people with CF so Liam may well have done himself a big favour, the hard way.  He is really looking forward to getting to Hamilton Island tomorrow, where he can practice his mad skills some more.

The hot weather does have some other drawbacks aside from turning us an unpleasant red colour. It seems to encourage the growth of hideously large spiders (and snakes as well, but I do not want to think about that).  On our walk yesterday, we passed several extensive spider webs and the size of the spiders just kept increasing.  We are not sure if they were poisonous or not but I think you will admit that they are still remarkably icky (and thanks to the magic of perspective, as large as a grown man!)

We have also been quite fascinated (well, OK, "fascinated" might be a bit of a stretch) by the Cricket World Cup matches which are going on right now.  Today, Australia and India are playing in the semi-finals and the match is taking place right here in Sydney.  On our way to the beach this morning, we passed many people all dressed up in their team's colours and wearing some really interesting face paint and costumes.  The winner will face New Zealand in the finals and at this time, it looks like it will be Australia.  This could turn out to be an old fashioned Canadiens-Maple Leafs kind of brawling final.  Of course, though, cricket is such a civilized game that all physical confrontations will be confined to sneers and threats of cold tea.

I just wanted to add some other photos of the area around Bondi which I did not get to post yesterday. It is such a beautiful area - if it wasn't for those damned spiders!  We are leaving Sydney tomorrow and heading off to Hamilton Island for the first real "beach vacation" we have ever had.  All there is to do is lie on the beach and swim in the lovely shallow waters (and hopefully master some snorkelling techniques before we get to the Great Barrier Reef).  This is going to be great - more on this tomorrow!