Antes de llegar a Australia, mucha gente nos había advertido y aconsejado de tener cuidado porque todo en Australia parecía "peligroso" ... Cuidado con meterte al mar, hay tiburones... Cuidado con bañarte en ríos, hay cocodrilos... Cuidado en el bosque, hay serpientes y arañas venenosas... Y finalmente cuidado con los Aussie también son peligrosos. Yo ya me imaginaba bajando del avión y casi tener que andar saltando y esquivando cocodrilos, o ver desde la ventana del avión algunos tiburones esperando hambrientos a ver si el avión se caía ... Pero no, nada puede ser tan peligroso siempre y cuando tengas la prevención adecuada, y uses un poco el sentido común... Al contrario de sentir temor, me sentí súper segura ya que por todos lados te dan señales de advertencia de donde puedes bañarte y donde no, donde hay que estar alertas por avistamiento de animales peligrosos o salvajes... Y lo poco que conocimos en dos semanas en Sydney ... Nos quedamos con una grata sensación de una ciudad tranquila, buen sistema de transporte público, limpia, ordenada, y gente muy amable y simpática.
After graduating, my intention was to head to Australia but 2009 not being a great year for mining, and destiny took me to Latin America. Also, in 2007 I had been in Australia for a month, in Sydney more specifically, and this beautiful city around the water had made a great impression on me. So after the struggle we went through for Belen's visa, I was pretty excited to be back in Aus with our first destination Sydney, where I would visit my uncle Jan. We were welcomed in Sydney airport by Blanca, Belen's primary school friend and were immediately settled the proper Aussie way with a bbq and a few ice cold beers. Still that same day, I headed to the house of my uncle Jan and we went for a Turkish dinner. One of the many great virtues of Sydney, is definitely that you can have a world tour of gastronomy within the city boundaries.
The best way of discovering a small city is walking, the best way to discover a big city is cycling, and as such uncle Jan took me on a 5 bridge tour through the city. Having him heard saying, no pain no pleasure, and being since a few years ( and against my free will) a low to moderate frequency cycler, I was in doubt about the outcome of his expedition. Nevertheless, a good bike, decent Flemish genes and a snack and coffee here and there made it a wonderful and leisurely 85 km through Sydney, around its waters, and to Botany Bay and back. Every pedal stroking consumed calory was then restored in a never ending sushi train.
Llegamos a Sydney, con muchas ganas ya de bajarnos del avión y explorar nuevas tierras. Yo al menos estaba muy emocionada ya que pasaríamos unos dias en casa de mi amiga Blanca (amiga del colegio Sta Maria Eufrasia, es decir una amiga que me conoce desde que teníamos 6 años y nos dejamos de ver cuando cumplimos 15 años, porque me cambie de colegio y ella se mudo a Australia) y también pasaríamos unos días en casa de Jan (tío de Johan).
Blanca nos esperaba en el aeropuerto, fuimos directo a su casa donde nos esperaban Dwayn (su esposo) y sus dos preciosas niñas: Sienna y Selena. Fuimos a dar un paseo por el Luna Park, teniendo el sunset sobre el Opera House frente a nosotros. Es increíble como los recuerdos en común con alguien que posiblemente no ves hace 15 años como en este caso, puede hacer que te sientas tan cómoda y sentir literalmente que la conoces desde siempre, pues simplemente a veces la gente cambia, madura, crece... Pero la esencia se mantiene, y Blanca seguía tal y como yo la recordaba, la niña chistosa, bromista, risueña, burlona, simpática, alegre... Pero ahora con 31 años, un esposo y dos niñas. Pasamos 5 días juntas, en los que compartimos excursiones alrededor de Sydney, y muchas horas recordando eventos, travesuras y logros de nuestra niñez.
Blanca and her husband Dwayne, gave us a warm welcome in their house and we had a splendid time at home with their family. A rainy day couldn't spoil a beautiful drive to Sydney's south coast, having pick nicks on the way and sightings of our first Australian fauna and the bad weather largely compensated for by our wonderful hosts.
Another great virtue of Sydney is its possibilities of urban walks, over well maintained tracks, through the green parts and the suburbs of the city and with great vistas over the urban landscape and the ocean. Nine years ago, I had done the famous Spit bridge to Manly walk, which I now wanted to repeat with Belen. The walk, apart from the views, immerses you in the prosperity and lifestyle of this magnificent city, the boats, the big and small houses with ocean or Harbour views, the city infrastructure and the big playground that the beaches and water make.
After celebrating Blancas birthday, with a bbq and kangaroo steaks state of the art, by Dwayne and a few beers too much, we walked off the excesses between Bondi and Matheson Point. Again an amazing walk, with the Harbour bridge on one side, Manly up front and spouting migrating whales on the other side. We had a great time with Blanca and Dwayne, thanks a million guys.
Fuimos de paseo al Wilde Park Feartherdale, donde por primera vez vi los cangurosy quede fascinada con ellos (después ya los vi 100 veces saltando al lado de la carretera, o en la part norte de Australia, llegaban siempre a los camping). Fuimos a conocer y hacer una caminata por la playa Hyams, es considerada una de las playas con arena más clara del planeta, el día no nos favorecía mucho, ya que estaba nublado y nos agarro la lluvia, pero aun así, la playa era preciosa. Otro de los atractivos de esta playa es que al atardecer llegan los canguros a la zona de picnic en busca de comida, pero como el clima estaba malo, no llegó ningún canguro y en su lugar tuvimos la visita de unos periquitos australianos bastante atrevidos y agresivos que llegaron a nuestra mesa a intentar quitarnos lo que teníamos de picnic y posarse en nuestras cabezas.
Por último también hicimos una caminata por la playa Bondi, nos toco un día precioso, con sol... Y mientras caminábamos a lo lejos en el mar vimos los típicos botes de turismo para avistamiento de animales, por lo que nos quedamos observando y vimos saltar por lo menos 5 veces, ballenas! Qué suerte la nuestra.
Another repetition of my last visit, was a trip to the blue mountains, this time guided by my uncle Jan and in company of Belen and Pier, a Thai cardiovascular surgeon doing an internship in the Westmead hospital. The Blue mountains are blue because of the blue gaze above due to the eucalyptus trees, when seen from far away. We very much enjoyed this walk, criss crossing the canyon on different levels, through native forest and geological history. Every step further down in the canyon, which eventually implies another step up, took us further away from the brash of the snap shooting mob, brought in by the bus load to, after a 2 hours drive, photograph the 3 sisters and then jump back in the bus for another 2 hours back to Sydney. The next day, we had again another walk along Bondi towards the south and again I was impressed by what seems a prosperous outdoor life style by the common Sydney sider. After every walk we were generously rewarded with ethnic gastronomy or delicious homecooking based on Australian protein such as Tasmanian salmon. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my uncle, outings, dinners, family histories and endless discussions on actuality, politics, anthropology, history etc..
Otros días los pasamos en casa del tio Jan (tio de Johan que también vive en Sydney). Con el hicimos una caminata maravillosa a las Blue Mountains. Realmente linda, esas formaciones rocosas de color anaranjado y que con la puesta de sol se tornan rojas era bastante impresionante.
También hicimos una caminata por las playas de Sydney (Bondi to Coogge) ... Arena blanca, mar turquesa, gente haciendo surf, cafés y heladerías al lado de la playa... Un placer caminar entre esas playas, aunque bastante gente haciendo la caminata, muy concurrido para mi gusto. Después de haber estado 7 meses en NZ, viajando por lugares donde eras TÚ y la naturaleza, de pronto verte rodeado de mucha gente, te distrae un poco y no te deja disfrutar plenamente de las vistas y el lugar.
During the week, we made a three day escape to Canberra, to learn more about Australian national history. The drive goes through, in Australian terms, old towns and village, with farming and wool production, and landscapes that in a first instance we do not associate with Australia. All paved and pretty busy roads, no solitary dirt, green pastures and trees, no red desert and sagebrush, relatively densely populated, no 5 hours without a living soul but heaps of kangaroos though. It shows how we narrow our vision of a country by a tiny bit of knowledge and stereotypes we have, but it is also a reminder of how diverse the country-continent Australia is.
Nos dimos una escapada a Canberra (la capital de Australia) y dónde está situado todo el sistema político, senadores, diputados, embajadas... Y donde también por primera ves vimos un par de aborígenes, que se habían plantado y armado campamentos frente al parlamento ... En forma de protesta y reclamando el retorno de sus tierras que fueron invadidas por los Ingleses aproximadamente 350 años atrás.
Nos tocaron días de lluvia, por lo que nuestra visita en Canberra se basó en visitas a museos y un tour que hicimos caminando alrededor de la ciudad.
To soothe the egos of the 2 beauties Sydney and Melbourne, Australians capital Canberra was built somewhere in the middle as an artificial and administrative city. I was interested to see what a city, planned and built after thoroughly thinking things through, would look like, the Louvain-la-nueve of Australia. Mostly fulfilling my expectations, Canberra is beautiful in its sterility or should it be sterile in its beauty. Nice and sometimes impressive structures, wide lanes, green spaces, water through the the city, cycle paths, a brochure model of urban landscaping but lacking (as in totally absent) character and soul. The latter might be partially a result of holidays for its university students.
La ciudad en sí, no me impresionó tanto... Sentí que era una ciudad sin personalidad, como que no podría describir por qué se caracterizaría Canberra, y creo que se debe a que es una ciudad creada como la capital, para evitar la disputa entre las dos grandes ciudades: Melbourne y Sydney... Como ambas se peleaban por ser la capital de Australia, finalmente se decidió establecer la capital, en medio de estas dos grandes ciudades... Y es así como nace Canberra.
Al regreso de Canberra a Sydney, andábamos con miedo de cruzarnos con algún canguro o walabies suicidas... Que siempre andan al lado de la ruta y a veces de la nada saltan a la carretera y uno tiene que andar esquivándolos, pero en cambio vimos un wombat, es un animal nativo de Australia, y solo puedes encontrarlos en Australia. Dicen que son bastante fuertes, y que si te chocas con uno en la ruta, es el auto el que queda abollado... Pero este que vimos, estaba al lado de la ruta, en unos pastizales comiendo y ni se inmutó de que estuviéramos ahí a menos de dos metros de él.
We stayed in a YHA hostel, due to the lack of Airbnb options, which turned out to be a very pleasant stay and the first world city hostel atmosphere, reminded me with joy of our family stays in Namur, Malmedy, etc. I was also alerted by some previous research, about 13 AUD/hour and 79 AUD per day parking fees and once again was saved by the power of the social media and crowd sourcing, getting a parking spot for 8 AUD a day in someone's backyard. Still I was shocked when I overheard a discussion of a 35 year old lady, working in her cleaning business in Canberra and living in the hostel, because there is plenty of work but no affordable accommodation.... In a planned city? As one of my aunts would say, the mind boggles, and I still haven't found out what the reason is.
Then, accompanied by rainy weather, we took refuge for 2 days in Canberras museums for an immersion in Australian history and idiosyncrasy. From an insight in the denominated group of " aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders" within them as diverse as the old inhabitants of the European or South American continent, through the first settlers and prosperity of the new continent, to current day society. Apart from a broader understanding of things, museums always let you out with a few anecdotes or freak stories, such as the Aussie motorized Cowboys, bear chested, rabbit felt hats in old open land rovers, grabbing running Buffaloes at 50 km/h cruising through the outback with a hydraulic arm attached to the vehicle, to defy a ban on export of slaughtered buffalo or otherwise, the massacre the platypus underwent to proof its existence in faraway Europe and that it was not a hoax.
Una vez de vuelta en Sydney, nuestro último día en Sydney... Decidimos ir al Aquarium de Sydney... Ya que no vi ningún tiburón, teníamos que verlos al menos en el Aquarium donde estaban todas las especies nativas de Australia. Estábamos fascinados con Johan recorriendo el acuario, vimos cantidad de peces, estrellas de mar, rayas, medusas, pulpo, tiburones, erizos... Parecíamos dos niños que llegan al zoológico y andan sorprendidos por todo lo que ven. Saliendo del museo fuimos a dar el encuentro a Blanca, quien había programado como despedida un recorrido por un par de bares. El primero era un bar medio escondido, entre medio de una galería de ropa, tomabas una escalera medio escondida que nos llevaba a un sótano donde había una puertita con luces rojas en el interior. Era un bar asiático, el lugar donde la mayoría de gente que trabaja en oficinas en el centro de Sydney, va por un happy hour antes de irse a casa. Después nos juntamos con Dwayne, y continuamos en un bar Belga.
Para finalizar nuestro último día en Sydney, después de unas copas con Blanca y Dwayne, nos juntamos con el tío Jan y nos fuimos a cenar comida Hindu.
The next day, we took a guided tour through Anzac hall, baffling us with the casualties or is it the sacrifice the young Australian boys made and still make in wars and conflicts that are not strictly theirs, and illustrated by endless rows of names and poppies starting in Sudan and South Africa, through the madness of Flanders fields and the Somme, and still continuing in Afghanistan. Also, what is one of the bigger flaws in European or maybe Flemish recent history classes in high schools, that the WWII was about German aggression, the holocaust and DDay, a casual reference to Mussolini but barely any notion on the Japanese involvement, the war of the pacific, the 64 or so bombings of Darwin, the Japanese torpedo launching submarines in Sydney Harbour, the thousands of casualties of starvation and disease in Japanese PoW camps. Maybe I didn't pay attention in my history classes but in several occasions in these travels, a new or different history has unfolded itself to me. Or is that what traveling is about...
As a kid I remember one of my cousins named Tui, talking to us about her favorite Aussie animal, the wombat, she had a wombat to sleep with and it was all about the wombat. Now, we had heard about the kangaroos, the koala, the crocs, even snakes and the rare platypus, but the wombat hasn't really made it to fame so far. Driving to Canberra, we saw a few hit and run victims on the emergency lane and as such, when on the drive back through kangaroo valley, we crossed ... not a kangaroo but a wombat grazing in a roadside paddock, I slammed the breaks. Best described as a marsupial beaver in urgent need of a diet, it was sitting there munching grass, not at all impressed by a Belgo-Peruvian duo taking pictures of it, and after 20 years, the wombat was demystified.
Back in Sydney, we had one day left. As experimented spotters we usually leaves the zoos alone, but this time after several recommendations we decided to head to the Sydney aquarium. The venue, rich in hysterical school kids in their school holidays accompanied by stressed mothers and generously clicking Asians, was worth defying the masses due to the immense collection of native water creatures calling the Australian waters home and grouped by habitat. Lobsters, sea snakes, sharks, barramundi, penguins, and so much more but without a doubt the most interesting creature was the sawfish. I was puzzled how Darwinian laws can make it to such a strange creature.
Y nos despedimos de Sydney, listos para continuar con nuestra aventura hacia el Norte de Australia, donde visitaríamos a la tía de Johan en Tenent Creek, y recorreríamos un par de parques nacionales. Pero el norte de Australia lo dejaremos para el segundo Blog dedicado a Australia, lo único que puedo adelantar de nuestra experiencia en el norte de Australia, se resume en una palabra: "Salvaje".
Gracias Blanca y familia, y al tío Jan por habernos acogido estos días en Sydney, esperamos volverlos a ver.
The only thing left in Sydney was saying goodbye to the people we visited and so we had a Belgian beer with Blanca and Dwayne and a few good laughs. Sydney is an expensive city, but Belgian beers seem to be an exceptional luxury. I estimated, that as a Sydny sider, if I would drink one Blauwe Chimey per day over a period of three months, it would make more sense to fly to Belgium on a cheap flight and have it in a local bar for three months. Cheap logic I know, but as an illustration how our national pride is valued or at least priced. One hilarious detail, that first kept me thinking for a few seconds as my Flemish sometimes gets a little rusty, was the poem dedicated to beer, certainly copied from the wall or beer card of a Flemish kroeg " biertje, biertje, bruine buik, witte hol,......" Then a last ethnic delight, North Indian, with my uncle Jan in Newtown discussing a few solutions to make the world a better or at least a more sensible place before heading to the airport for a double red eye flight. Thank you Uncle Jan, Blanca and Dwayne, we had a fabulous time in Sydney. Goodbye ... Or should it be a see you soon ;)
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario