Fashionable/ Formal/ Fabulous

Annual Residents Dinner

It all started on a normal Friday. On the 27th of April I left classes early so I could meet Tom, Ben, Silvia, Asun and Manu in my flat. When I arrived in my flat I saw nobody and proceeded to make some calls. After a few minutes doing nothing in my flat I walked to Ben's flat at Bulga. Tom and Ben were watching Jackass 2, and suddenly the party began.



We stayed there for a bit and then came back to Gumal to get ready for the dinner. Meanwhile, Ben and Joe, who joined us, were preparing some shots of Tequila. Therefore, it was the occasion to take some Mexican peanuts out and eat them. After explaining to my friends what to do before drinking the 2 shots, Tom brought a bottle of Bourbon (Whiskey) and then had another shot. Then, we left with an awesome sense of humour and joined my other friends at the Great Hall in UTS. We also had two coupons for drinks and used them.



Inside we were divided into different tables. In my table were some random people who I didn't really meet. However, Manu, and Aarti joined me. Anyway, the starter was a salad. One had fish (yuk!) and the other had potato (Did someone informed Housing how much I loved these two ingredients?). After the "delicious" salad the drinks were starting to do their work. Then, the second dish appeared on my table. This time it was chicken. I can't tell you if it was good or bad, but according to Asun it I didn't like it. During the night I started to collect, or people started to give me their name tags. I really had some but lost them all. The dessert is the thing I am most sure about. It was chocolate cake because on the next day I found chocolate on my trousers.



Dancing was really good. They played "La Bamba"! and other very famous songs. When we went to rest I found a Double Pass voucher for a Pyjama Party at Kuring-gai campus. Later on, we left the place and headed to the Broadway Bar and stayed there for a couple of minutes. After getting bored we decided to go to have some kebabs with Tom but Koldo wanted to do something else. Therefore we decided to go walking all the way to Darling Harbour and get in Cargo Bar. We were not sure that we could get in, but once there they let us in. Asun and Manu left earlier and Koldo, Quique and I stayed longer. When everyone was leaving Koldo and I had some hot dogs and then took a taxi with Quique and came back home.



PS. On Wednesday 25th of April it was the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) day. For me, it was the D-Day because of the incidents in my flat.

Fiji Islands, Fiji Time!

Bula!

As I stated in the last post, this is the next trip I made during holidays. This time we were 3 people: Enrique (Spain), Rafael (Spain), and me Ricardo (Mexico). As you can see, these are three very Spanish names difficult to pronounce in English because of the 'r'. Though in Fiji we found no difficulties. Anyway, the decision about going to this trip is indeed one of the fastest I have ever taken (Nelson Bay took minutes, and Real de Catorce about an hour to decide). The problem of this was that I had a presentation on Friday 20th of April and couldn't miss it. So, at the end I traveled for 6 days.

Day 1



Once we arrived in Sydney from the trip to Tasmania, Quique and I grabbed our backpacks and started to take some weight out from them. Min Ji, Koldo and Asun took our things back to Gumal (thank you very much!). Then we said goodbye and the two of us left to the International Terminal (T1). We had to wait 5 hours before taking the next flight, so we went to a Starbucks and had some coffee. We also went to take some money out, change currencies, unlock the roaming, and then we took the flight. The plane was a Boeing 747 and was packed. I slept almost the entire flight. It took about 3:45hrs to get to Nadi (Viti Levu Island). When we arrived in Fiji, we tried to call Rafael but there was no answer. After the queue at Immigration, we saw some Fijians dancing, singing and saying 'Bula' which means hello and welcome. Rafael was there and updated us with all the activities that he had found while he waited for us in the airport. Then we took a cab and headed to a resort (read backpackers). It was dark so we couldn't see much in the way. However, the air was humid and we were in the middle of a jungle. We had dinner at the resort restaurant and got bitten by many mosquitoes. The three of us were really tired and decided to go to sleep.

Day 2



On the next day we woke up a bit late because we forgot to change the time to our mobiles (it is 2 hours more than Australia). So, we tried to be ready as soon as possible and went downstairs to the travel agency to choose a tour. The boat was leaving at 12pm and it was already 11:30am. We took a cab and arrived in Denerau (the pier where the boats depart to the west islands. The first group of islands we stopped in is called Mamanuca. This islands are small and flat, and are the most touristic ones.





We stopped in Bounty Island and Resort which was very small but nice. On this day we booked all the resorts for the next few days. After this, we walked along the coast until we found the place where "Love Celebrity Island" was filmed. Then we came back and decided to go sailing. We took it and someone had to explain to us how to use it. The best part is that we tried but failed and crashed against some wood sticks that were next to the pontoon. We gave up and some people that were watching us laughed at us because we couldn't go sailing. Then we took some kayaks and rowed for less than an hour. Suddenly we saw that the place was perfect for snorkeling and Quique took his underwater camera and then took some pictures of the surrounded sea life. We spotted corals, starfish, purple jellyfish, and many coral fish. At night there were some activities but most of the people there were adults or old people. So we were talking and then a Costa Rican girl joined us, as well as a Fijian who is the landlord of three islands. When we realised, it was already 2:40am and then went to bed.





Day 3




We woke up early and had breakfast (what the fat adult people left). Then our boat was ready to take us to the next destination. This time we went to farthest north island we could in the Yasawa group, which was called Tavewa Island. It was a 5 hour tripto the resort. The Coral View Resort was just in front of a mountain and, as the name states, you could see corals. This resort was not that good. As soon as we arrived we had lunch but I don't know why they asked if there was any vegetarian because all we had had no meat. Anyway, after looking at our room and seeing the showers we were not that excited. Over the beds you could find a net to prevent insects from coming close to you while you were asleep. The showers had moisture on the walls and floor. However, we found other showers that were better.



We went walking along the beach as usual. It was a really nice walk. So nice that we saw carnivorous plants, a black-and-white stripped snake, a big spider and some crabs. After crossing the rocks we continued and reached some bigger rocks where the waves were crashing. I reckon that this part was the best of the walk. We headed back to the resort but this time the tide had rose. We had to walk in the water which made it a bit difficult because there were so many rocks underneath. While Rafa and I went to get some kayaks, Quique tried to walk on the first rocks with high tide. There was a little boy that was in charge of the kayak renting. He took us to his house so we could talk to his parents about the possibility to leave the kayaks at the resort. We walked into the jungle, crossed a bridge, and reached his house. Believe me, it was like a National Geographic or Discovery Channel documentary. There were fish hanging from the roof, chickens, hens, a rooster and many other animals. After about 5 minutes his mother came and we couldn't convince her, so we left. We saw Quique with some difficulties from far away and then he was rescued by a man on a boat. We screamed so he could come to pick us up but nothing happened. We sat down to think on what to do next, until we found some nice Fijian people that helped us and showed us the way back to the resort. The directions were the following: "After the last palm tree, turn left", and we followed her instructions. We turned left and saw the "path". We walked through it and reached the resort. Quique was there and told us that the man on the boat didn't want to help us, and that in exchange of the ride he had to help this guy taking a 45kg eskie.



In the afternoon we went to the hammocks and lied down for a bit (just before the mosquitoes ate us alive). At night there was a typical "Crab Race". The three of us bet for the Mexican and Spanish crabs. Of course, we won! We got second and third places respectively. The prices were two beers in total. After the exhausting game, we danced for the rain with Fijian people. Then, we talked for a bit until everyone was gone, and went to bed.



Day 4





We woke up early as usual. After having a quick breakfast we joined a trip to some caves. As we were late, we were taken by a boat taxi to this place. The trip was really nice because the scenery was excellent! Once we arrived to the caves, we walked up and then down a staircase. Once we were inside the cave we jumped in and fell into the water. This place was incredible! it was really high and steep. The guides took us to the next cave which was just next to it. In order to enter the second one, we had to dive for a few seconds and follow a torch light. On the other side it was really dark. The only thing you could see was the turquoise lighted water. Then we swam for a bit and went back to the lighted cave. Some people jumped into the water from the high cliffs of the cave. Then we went back to the resort and found that there was a really low tide. Corals were visible and above the sea level. We took some pictures and waited for a bit until it was time to leave. This time the rain dance didn't help.



As we approached the Naviti Island we crossed some big storms. Once we arrived to the Boteira Resort, the staff was singing and waiting for the new people. They received us with lays and a glass of natural juice. This resort was way better than the last one, and there were some nice looking girls too! The three of us went up the hill to pick some mobile signal and call our parents. The view from there was amazing. However, the way back was so difficult because of some slippery rocks. After a while Rafa and I took a double-kayak and went to a beach. Then we came back and arrived just in time for playing some beach volleyball. We lost but not by much, maybe 2 points or so. We also went swimming to a pontoon and made some dives from there. Anyway, at night we had dinner and played some cards with our new roomies. They left early and we stayed a bit longer.



Day 5



The weather on the next day was really bad. When we woke up we saw that it was raining very heavy. We went to have breakfast and decided not to go diving. Nevertheless we hired some snorkel equipment (fins and a mask) and went snorkeling just in front of the resort. Sea life in there was awesome. We saw some clown fish, sea stars, corals, anemones, calamari, and many more. We took some pictures and swam for a bit. When we went out of the sea it was not raining anymore. We went back to take a shower and then after lunch I took a nap. Later on they told us that our boat was leaving pretty soon, so we got ready and packed our things up. We got in the small boat that took us to the main one. We had some snacks because we were still hungry. After leaving the Yasawa group of islands we headed south towards Beachcomber Island and Resort. We unpacked our things in a 154 people dorm! It was huge! We went for a walk but found that there was so much sea weed that we couldn't continue with it. Instead, we laid down the beach and stayed for a while. At night the theme was "Mexican". There was nothing Mexican, I can tell you! However, we moved to a table close to the dance floor. The good thing about this island was that there were just young people. We played some games and danced for a bit. At around 2:30am we went to bed.



Day 6



I woke up a bit late and then took a shower. This resort had hot showers at last!!! I went to buy some souvenirs at the store. I booked the boat for Nadi and went to pack up my backpack. I told Quique and Rafa that I was going to leave my things near the reception and when I went to the reception they told me that my boat was leaving! I couldn't say bye to them and I hurried up and took the boat.



Once I arrived in Nadi I saw a restaurant where I could have lunch. The special of the day was lobster and then I asked for it (grilled with salad and mashed potato). It took ages to the people to prepare it and my flight was leaving in less than 1.5 hours. However, the lobster was soooo goooood! I took a cab after lunch and told the taxi driver to rush to the airport. I arrived in the airport about an hour and a few minutes before the flight departed, but luckily I had no problems at the check-in. I bought some other souvenirs and then waited to leave. I took the flight which was for about 4:20hrs. Then I arrived in Sydney once again. This is the entire story of this fast but incredible trip I had. My other two friends stayed for about 5 or 7 days longer. Vinaka!




PS. I am still waiting for the underwater pictures that I will post later.
Update: Mission accomplished!

Tassie Trip

Finally I'm sitting in front of my laptop and ready to write my new adventures.



As most of you probably know, I traveled to Tasmania during Vice Chancellor's week. When we first began planning for the trip there were 7 of us who were interested. Suddenly this number increased to 15 (no kidding!), which was a big group, but one which had a great time in that southern island. The preparation took several days of planning and deciding the best options. So, the result is what I will explain in this post...



The group of fifteen people consisted in: 1. Aarti (India), 2. Amanda (Canada), 3. Asun (Spain), 4. Gordon (Germany), 5. Juergen (Germany), 6. Kerstin (Germany), 7. Koldo (Spain), 8. Manu (Spain), 9. Min Ji (South Korea), 10. Quique (Spain), 11. Sarah (Germany), 12. Silvia (Spain), 13. Su Min (South Korea), 14. Uri (Spain), and me 15. Ricardo (Mexico). Therefore, we had to rent 4 cars which adopted nicknames: On Fire (7, 10, 14, 15), Cañonero (2, 8, 11, 13), Hot Girls Car (3, 9, 12), and The German Car (4, 5, 6, 11).



We arrived in Hobart on the 8th of April. Once there, we took 4 cabs and went to the hostel and unpacked. That night was starry and cold, but no Aurora Australis was spotted. As it was late we all were hungry and so we took two vans and went to the Waterfront and had dinner. Juergen and Gordon went walking and were guided by their GPS. Once at the Waterfront we went to Mures, a fish-and-chips restaurant that Ben recommended to me, which and was great (Well Done Ben). Later on we walked for a bit to find a PUB, and guess what, there was a Scruffy Murphy's! hahaha. It had a different name though (Irish Murphy's). We had a beer there and then went back to the hostel and got ready for the next journey.





We woke up early the next morning and both the drivers and the credit card people went to get the cars from Hertz. After getting lost for a bit, even with the assistance of our GPS we found the place. Uri and I were so excited and as soon as we got the cars we went straight to the hostel to meet the people who did not come to pick up the cars and left the others in the car rental agency. Once everybody arrived we went to find a supermarket and bought breakfast and food for lunch, dinner, and another breakfast. After spending the whole morning in Hobart doing pretty much nothing we started to drive east to Port Arthur. Let's say that the other cars couldn't catch us up and got lost in Hobart and we decided to meet in Port Arthur. What really happened was that the GPS man (read Quique) was too busy taking pictures of the bridge and forgot to look at the GPS, then I had to make a quick turn and lost the other cars. On the way we stopped at a lookout and also at a small beach. We continued driving and we met the rest of the group. When we arrived at Port Arthur we walked along the historic site, which I think was great. I have to admit that the prisoners had a great scenery view. We visited the court, the church and the prison cells. After that we went back to Hobart (this time without stops), had pasta for dinner and went to Mount Wellington and enjoyed the view after having some wine. It was freezing cold up there.



On Tuesday morning we drove to the east coast. We made a short stop at an information office to ask about things we could do on the way to Launceston. The man that worked there couldn't tell us anything and responded with comments like: "it is a long way to Launceston" or "you will not be able to see anything on the way". Our major stop in Coles Bay was great. We had lunch in front of the Tasman Sea and the view was amazing. We payed the National Park Pass and walked along a track for around 1.5 hours towards the Wineglass Bay Lookout in the Freycinet National Park. This track had about 600 steps, but it was worth it. On the way back Asun fell on her foot and couldn't walk, so we carried her back to the car. We drove straight to Launceston through a winding road. Some people suffered from carsickness because of it. When we arrived to the city we went to buy dinner and some food for the next day. We had pizzas and garlic bread in the hostel. All of us were so tired and went to bed early.







On the 11th after planning the day we drove along the north coast. We visited a very nice beach in the Narawntapu National Park, where our cars got really dirty. We were supposed to see Tasmanian Fauna in this National Park, but found horses and a lot of strange-looking crabs. We stopped at different lookouts and then we found a nice place to have lunch, which was called Table Cape. It was just in front of the Bass Strait. After the delicious daily sandwich we drove to Stanley to find the famous Stanley Nut. This was a weird Uluru-like rock in front of the strait. We took the chairlifts to the top and walked for a bit and waited for the sunset. The track down the mountain was very steep, you could even see the cemetery just down the cliff. Then we had to drive a long way to Cradle Mountain. We were not sure where the next hostel was located, but we drove anyway. After having some accidents on the road and finding that Silvia was a serial killer (a wombat and a wallaby), we arrived at the hostel with 3.5 cars. This place was really cold, hot pasta and wine helped us feel warm as well as the heat coming from the chimney. We attempted to see the Aurora Australis once again. I reckon some people were able to see it even if there was nothing but stars in the sky. When we went back to the kitchen, we had a friend eating food from the garbage, a possum. Then we decided to play Psychologist with Amanda and then we played Truth or Dare. That was all.





On Thursday the 12th we visited the Cradle Mountain National Park. The track was supposed to take 2hrs return but we took around 4. We stopped in different spots to take pictures and enjoy the scenery that surrounded us. In my opinion, the first part of the track was the best, because the second one was dryer and did not have many trees. Dove Lake, Glacier Rock, and some other lookouts were really nice. After it, we went to the National parks Office to get some information about what we could do next. We then drove to Rosebury to have lunch. This place was really small but nice. Once we filled up the petrol tank of the four vehicles we drove to Montezuma Falls. Although we didn't see the falls because it was a long way, we walked inside the forest for about an hour or so. Then we took the cars and continued driving to Strahan. We arrived in the hostel and went shopping for dinner. This time it was neither pasta nor sandwiches, but Spanish Tortilla. After dinner we played other games and went to sleep. Nevertheless, some stayed awake and prepared The Experiment. It consisted of putting Uri's hand in a pot filled with warm water during the night. If the experiment was successful then Uri was going to wake up wet but not because of the water in the pot. However it failed.





Now I pass to the last day that lasted more than 24hrs. Continue reading and you will find out. In the early morning we drove to a beach. If you draw a straight line directly west from this beach the first piece of land that you will find is Argentina. Then we came back and drove towards Hobart. On the way to the final destination of the trip we stopped at a few different lookouts. We kept to the speed limit but the others couldn't catch us up. We visited Lake Saint Clair and had lunch in the restaurant. Then we continued driving east and we waited for about 10 minutes at an intersection for the others to arrive. Once we arrived in Mount Field National Park we parked and went for a walk in the Russel Falls and Tall Trees. The sunset came and then we found ourselves walking in the dark without any lights but a night-vision video camera. Then we drove slower because at night many animals come out and cross the roads. When we arrived in Hobart we went to Mures once again to eat squid rings, fish, prawns, veggie burgers, and ice cream for dessert. We decided to go to a Bar and then a PUB. After getting bored we had some coffees to keep us awake because our flight was at 6am. We sang and danced in the streets, while others were sleeping in the cars. At 3:30am we headed to the airport and refilled the tanks of the cars. It was really cold outside. After checking, in we went to the terminal from which our plane left. I slept almost the entire flight and then we arrived in Sydney. Then my second trip started...