Back on the Morning Walk

I could see the sun rising yesterday through the window of the Garuda Airlines Airbus from my seat somewhere midship. We landed at Tullamarine about 7.30 am and, after a mixup in customs, when I discovered to my embarrassment, I had Shamus Haine's bag when I went to open the padlock to show the customs official the wood carvings purchased in Bali and declared on the customs form. Earlier, the beagle dog used to sniff out contraband 'sat down' next to Lib's hand luggage. She had to open it for inpection. According to the lady dog handler, the beagle smelt the apple Lib and I ate half an hour earlier on the plane, knowing we were not permitted to carry fruit into Australia.
After returning to the baggage carousel to get our identical padlocked bag, and replace poor Shamus's who must have got a bit worried, it was 8.20 when we stepped outside into the cold Melbourne morning which demonstrated the change in lattitude, from about 8 to 38 south, we'd had overnight. Also to jolt me back to earth was the $30 slug for 2 tickets on the sky shuttle bus to Southern Cross station, a speedy trip on the freeway taking all of twenty minutes. A few days earlier on Bali we'd hired a car and driver/guide for a tour, nine hours, which cost less than $40 AUD all up, converted from ruppiah. Welcome back to the real world. Or unreal? Buggered if I know.

I set the alarm clock early today, itching to do my walk after 2 weeks away. Starting up the hill at first light the gound was surprisingly dry, given that I'd tipped out a reading of 90 ml from the rain gauge when I got home. I laboured with a strained hip which was disappointing after having felt so well after two weeks R+R. I must have strained it lugging bags up ramps changing train platforms. Just the same, it was great to be back home walking, picking up cans for Jod, and talking to the excited 'Snowie'.

Temperate southern Australia is a stong contrast to tropical Bali. Messmates, peppermints, manna and grey gums, deciduously bare oaks, elms, and ash replacing the coconut and banana palms, banyans, cotapang, buwang buwang, tigwood, and plantipenny trees. Despite the change: from evening stroll on the beach followed by a beer, as the sun sank in the west into the Indian Ocean, to dawn walk at Gembrook in the winter cold before a bowl of porridge, it's good to be home. Drivers that hadn't seen me for a while tooted long and loud and neighbour Allison welcomed me back warmly, breaking from hanging out the washing to talk about Bali and local news.

Now back to work.