Work, Taking a Wrong Turn and Weight Loss

Since I last wrote I have been working A LOT. It’s great and I have had fun ‘spending’ my earnings by checking out the various tours on offer however payday is still a while away and after my hectic start to my life in Broome I decided I deserved a rest therefore my first full day off was spent in the hostel. I was determined to take it easy and do nothing. Of course I’m not actually very good at doing nothing so I had a swim in the pool in the morning followed by a day on my lap top sorting through my many photos. It wasn’t the ‘nothing’ I’d planned but it was restful. I even extended my laziness to the next day as I wasn’t working until the evening and I was glad I did as the following two days at work were pretty full on. I’m still enjoying it but that doesn’t mean a full day doesn’t tire me out especially as we were busy due to the staircase to the moon phenomenon. This occurs as the moon rises when the tide is out and the reflection on the mud flats looks like a staircase leading up to the moon. Unfortunately I was working all three nights that this occurred but I have asked for the three nights off next month to see it since I miss out this time and it’s my last chance to see it before the wet. Since I have been working hard and the season is slowing down I am hopeful of getting at least two of them off, especially as I have said I’m happy to work during the day.

My next day off was a bit more active. I’d only worked the evening before so I felt fairly well rested and I was in the mood to explore. I decided to walk up to Cable Beach again and stop there for lunch and some sunbathing.  It’s only an hour walk from the hostel and it’s not very interesting but I wanted the exercise. I thought I might get some good photos once there so I made sure to pack my camera along with plenty of water and my flip flops but not cowpanion Zack. I had meant to take him but I forgot  so I shall have to go back another day with him to get someof the silly shots I enjoy taking so much, what a shame. I had walked there once before and it’s a fairly straight road with only one turn and yup, you guessed it, I took the wrong one! I missed my turn north and ended up heading south. My one hour five kilometre walk ended up being a three hour nine kilometre walk. Why three hours? Well having realised my mistake as I passed the turn off for Gantheaume Point I wondered whether I should just carry on to Gantheaume Point or turn north to Cable Beach. In the end it was my lack of water that decided it for me. I knew that there was nothing commercial at Gantheaume Point where as I could get food and water at Cable Beach even if it was further away now.

 I started to walk up the very boring road and my resolve wavered. I considered heading back to the hostel and calling it a day but since giving up isn’t really in my nature I carried on and I am so glad I did. Since the road is so boring I stopped to check out a sigh to see where I was and how far I had to go. On this sign there were some walks marked through the bush land beside the road. I was walking by myself and at first I didn’t like the idea of leaving the road. I had water and sunscreen and my hat so I was as protected as I could be from the weather but if I did fall or something at least on the road a car would pass and be able to help me but in the end my sense of adventure won out. After all she who goes half way round the world herself can’t be afraid to go off the well travelled path or what’s the point? I might’ve well have stayed at home. As well as walks north through the bush there was one marked through the dunes leading to the beach. I decided to try that one thinking the sea breeze would be a welcome relief from the heat that was starting to build up as the day wore on. I wandered off the road and through the dunes making sure to keep to the designated path and oh my was it a good idea. At first there was some bush land but soon I was amongst white sand dunes and then peeking out I saw the turquoise sea. Soon I was on a most deserted strip of beach with stunning sea views to my left and right. I saw maybe half a dozen people as I walked north stopping often to try and capture the beauty before me. I learned three things that day: 1. Always take my camera 2. Never be afraid to explore 3.Sometimes taking a wrong turn is exactly the right thing to do.

As I walked north the beach remained almost deserted until I was almost at the Cable Beach resort. All of a sudden it seem like there was a group of people ahead of me. Just before I reached them I stopped to reapply my sunscreen (for the 2^nd time that day by the way) and change from my Merrells to my flip flops and making sure I looked presentable enough to be seen by other people. Within minutes it felt like I was surrounded by people. I know that the beach was actually quite quiet as the season is coming to an end but after the quiet of the last few hours there seemed to be a lot of folks. At the beach the is a rather nice looking restaurant which has a kiosk for the less well dressed beach goers so I treated myself to a can of solo and a full chicken baguette. It may not seem like much to you but to me it was heaven.  The can was cool and refreshing, the baguette freshly made and really tasty and both were full of tasty calories. This simple meal was eaten with more stunning views and I once more found myself thinking how fortunate I was. I had been working hard but day like this makes it all worthwhile and I know there are more to come. Life was quite simply, amazing.

 It was back to reality the next day with washing and shopping to do before my evening shift but even then the gorgeous weather and laid back feel of the town meant it didn’t feel like a usual ‘Monday’. Sadly even in a place close to paradise the bad days can still get you. I decided to try some ginger beer as it is the lowest alcohol content drink we have but  even a small glass of that made me feel icky the next day and I’m not sure I have enough in common with the lovely folks I work with to really socialise with them. I suspect the after work drinking experiment has reached its natural conclusion.  This didn’t bother me but not feeling 100% and having pernickety/annoying/wanna be comedian customers made for a less than great day at work. Add to this the realisation that the three and half  year anniversary of Jonathan’s death is coming up soon and really, it was never going to be a great day. For those of you who don’t know the closest description I can give to missing Jonathan is like having really bad homesickness. It’s that feeling of wanting to be in a place that is impossible to get to. In other work is plain ol’ sucks. Anyway I got through the shift, put in a request for hugs on facebook and by the time I got back to the hostel I was feeling much better due to the responses of my faithful friends.

The next day I woke up to many facebook hugs so I started the day with a smile on my face. Also a good point from the day before was finding out I have two days off next week after I get paid so I might be able to take a two day tour to the Kimberlys before the wet and I got some tips which greatly increasing my dwindling cash reserves. Therefore I was able to take a walk up to the local shopping centre to get some extra veggies and some croissants after I had done my weekly weight in that was. What should I discover but that I am at my ‘ideal’ weight! I want to lose two more kilos so I have some leeway when it comes to maintaining my weight loss but it’s a great achievement and only took me fourteen weeks. As a consequence of this I am also considering spending some of my hard earned cash on some new clothes as my shorts in particular as way too big, happy days. The sad thing is when I see myself I still think I could do with losing a more weight. Everyone says I look great and have nothing left to lose so I will make sure my weight remains above 63kg. I know that to lose more would not be good I just wish I could see it. Hopefully some new clothes will help but until then I’ll have to make sure I keep eating well and keep an eye in the scales to make sure I stay healthy. Talking of which it is time for lunch here. I did consider allowing myself some extra pasta as a congratulatory treat but I decided that was a bit tame and am going for some chocolate tart at work instead, after all a girls gotta have one vice in life!