day 43 – hobart, tasmania, australia

sky drama, hobart

today was a general customs and immigration inspection where australian officials boarded the vessel to match each person face to face with their passport and do random questions here and there… the guests were first to go, as many had tours booked on shore, and the crew goes next with no crew member released until all have been cleared.  i imagine this may be to avoid interdepartmental squabbles about why did that dept. get off first, etc., and that we are all, so to speak, in the same boat.  we were all cleared by about 11:30, and i was to meet my friend, erin (another aloha camp counselor), at noon at a hotel on the wharf. 

lots of beautiful boats

we met up and went immediately to coffee at a really nice place where her brother is a barista – they knew that being a barista myself, and being from seattle, i enjoyed an arty cup of coffee, and i appreciated that!  it was a place called villino espresso (they even roast their own beans there), and caleb (erin’s brother) made us both a doppio ristretto flat white (translation: doppio = double shot of espresso, ristretto = 1^st several seconds of the shot only, like 8, flat white = steamed milk with minimal foam).  he put a lovely fern design in the foam and it was delicious! 

my tassie friend, erin

mmmmmmmm!

we caught up on each other’s lives a bit since we have not hung out in a few years… after going to a drugstore to get a few items, we went to the old waterfront where there are cafés, shops, galleries… had lunch at a place called retro café which took awhile but was pretty good… on the way back, we hit the fresh produce market and i got a few apples to bring back to the ship… the ones that are on the ship we call ‘crapples’ because they are not usually very nice, tho i admit i am spoiled living in the apple capital of the country… the green ones here aren’t bad, but today i got some lovely australian galas, and they are awesome!  i also got some leatherwood honey (a tasmanian delicacy) for nino, and a small bottle of tasmania’s single malt scotch from the lark distillery for bob… i resisted the urge to buy any little souvenir crap, tho it was tempting (particularly the tasmanian devil zipper pull, but i restrained myself seeing as how I am not 5)…

old still on display at lark distillery

said goodbye to erin and wished her well on her trip (leaving tonight!) for vermont, our old camp and a new gig at the year round hulbert outdoor center there… good luck, mate!  came back to the ship, wrote my song, ended up in some personal convo with troubled pal, so no nap (grrr!!!), and had an aussie theme night (acdc in a lounge style, little river band, slim dusty, peter allen, waltzing mathilda, etc.).  since it was a late night port (here to midnight), with the good restaurants on the waterfront and the fact they had some tasmanian bagpipers on as a cultural attraction on our mainstage for two shows, my lounge attendance was a little leaner than on a regular night… still had a decent group and it only went til about 11:30… 

chef george geary, teddy bear mentor

stopped by the ob (officer’s bar) to get a cold diet coke on the way home and chatted there for a few minutes with chef george… a very encouraging fellow as far as my writing and stuff… said goodnight, and after i got to my room had some pals show up with continuing drama, gave them the boundary that i don’t want to give out any advice or join in the drama and that they will have to work on their own issues by learning to communicate… it is far easier for me to try and remain drama free, especially where work is concerned… i like my job too well, and sleep is awfully nice, too!  tomorrow, i will try and sleep in a little and play catch up… maybe it’s the full moon that has everybody in some sort of twist… i had my dramatic day a few days back and have moved on, and now am just trying to keep from being sucked into anyone else’s… crazy times!  other than that, australia is beautiful, cool and cloudy today, which i love but seems to throw everyone else into a dark mood… i am grateful i have a head neck and shoulder massage scheduled tomorrow… cheap therapy on a port day, (crew in port discount!) since i have in-port manning tomorrow and my shock absorbers, i mean shoulders, need a squish after 6 weeks of banging away on the piano 7 nights a week… hope you all are well!   xoxo

missing gimli... 'tucker' means food in australian

thought it was art, is actually functionally art-y bike rack

port song for hobart, tasmania, australia

(to the tune of “land down under” by men at work)

traveling in a real nice cruise ship,

we docked in hobart, tassie on our world trip

met erin, a camp counselor, i knew from vermont,

she picked me up in a car from her mom,

and she said

welcome to tassie my camp sister,

my brother here’s a barista

i know on the ship good coffee you’ve missed yeah,

let’s drop by, you know you can’t resist it

so we went and met her brother caleb,

we told him to make us his favorite

he made doppio ristretto flat whites,

with fern designs on top, i told him they were just right,

and he said

that’s cause we roast our own beans here,

where have you had coffee since you’ve been here?

i said starbucks and esquires have served me,

he directed me to the coffee mecca in sydney

it’s at the corner or york and king,

if excellent coffee is your thing

i asked him to write it down for me,

i thanked him and we went off down the street

and i said,

i have to go to the drugstore,

i’m out of shampoo and must buy more

and some antibacterial handsoap,

so i don’t catch cold or get a sore throat

we went to some shops and for lunch,

caught up on each other’s situations

bought some nice apples down at the fruit store,

resisted crappy souvenirs ‘cause i don’t need more

but i got some leatherwood honey,

and single malt scotch for lots of money

but my son and hubby deserve it,

at twice the price, it still would’ve been worth it

so sad to say goodbye… but

erin leaves on a plane for vermont tonight

she’ll spend many months there stateside

while i’m on ships playing music worldwide

and i say

so glad that i got down under,

before she headed back to vermont’s wonders

someday i know i’ll go back there,

between the ships, we’ll sit round the campfire