We all know that tripping have different meanings for different people. Some like travelling with family only, some like tripping with their mates and others just enjoy solo adventures. There is really no perfect formula. However, we all agree that the outcome has to be unforgettable, unique and joyful, however you find it.
Before moving to Australia 10 years ago, I called Ecuador home and I have a massive family that includes a big group of friends that I had the blessing to know since we were 6 years old.
Some others, I met in high school, in Uni and some others life just gifted me to discover by choice.
This year, I had the honour to have one of them, and a very very special one here in Australia! Her name is Ana Milena and she is one of my few dearest and favourite old time friends...
I'm so grateful for her; her company is incredibly authentic, her values are straight like a perfect line, her love for everything is huge and her company is just unbeatable... she's fun! We laugh so much, we make so much fun about each other and we listen to each other so well... wish she could remember all we have shared for the past 25 years... {hysterical laughs} but she just doesn't lol ... I just have to accept that the moments we see each other are all we have and we definitively make the most of them, especially since I came to live to DownUnder!
So she came. And I scared her when she arrived to the Brisbane airport jumping next to her... haha... we talked so much on our way back to the Gold Coast and were so excited about all the plans we had for the next 17 days that at moments I forgot to sort of have a good look of her and realise she was actually here with me, 15,432 km away from Ecuador.
We spent some time on the Goldie, swimming, paddle-boarding, flying high at sunrise with GoBallooning, which was really a highlight for us because there's no other like Murray! He's an amazing pilot but also a fun person to be around and for Ana Milena, meeting characters like him is GOLD! We did a bit of walking in the Southern end of the Goldie, enjoyed family and 3 days later, we took a plane to Sydney to embrace the CBD in all its glory (Opera House and a tribute to David Bowie performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and a few great singers), environmental protest about water contamination, Botanical Garden, Ferry ride (glad she didn't vomit!), exquisite food, St. Mary Cathedral, wheel ride, The Rocks and the Australian Museum). Yes, we walked A LOT!
I wanted Ana Milena to take in her heart some of the special icons of this magical aboriginal land; so we made a trip to the Blue Mountains and went to the unique Jenolan Caves -the World's Oldest Open Caves, for real! that happened only 340 million years ago!-, we walked to the 3 Sisters -recognised as a place of special cultural significance to our Aboriginal people- and managed to watch the sunset at Govett's Leap. We had 4 amazing days in Sydney but it was time to jump on the plane again and head down to Tasmania!! Can't even begin to explain how intrigued and excited we were to go to Tasmania and spend there 5 days that felt like it was only 5 minutes... so much more to see and do but we made the most of that week too!
Thanks to my dear friend Theresa and her incredible travel expertise, we decided to explore The East Coast of Tassie, including the Tasman Peninsula! Theresa and I became friends years ago through Instagram and we finally met when in Hobart...! We had the best dinner together and we couldn't stop talking! We stayed at Somerset on the Pier and saw the most beautiful sunrise the day after from our balcony facing the water... it is still fresh in my mind and I didn't have to force Ana Milena to get out of bed at 4am to get greeted by rain.. haha
There's so much to tell about Tassie's East Coast but I'm going to let the images talk as we had a lot of quietness there and the most delicious fresh seafood I've ever tried.
Back on the Gold Coast we couldn't stop thinking about The Tasman Peninsula and our experience there. I went out in the sea with WildOceanTasmania on a wild wild day and Ana Milena did one of the epic 3 Capes trails. We both felt so little and fascinated being for one day in the last bit of land because the next stop from there is literally The Antarctic!
To end our trip together we went camping to Byron Bay... no Australian experience can be complete without camping right! We packed a little backpack and a little tent, collected our Avis car and straight away, we started enjoying the Northern River from Fingal to Byron and the unique Crystal Castle that warmed our hearts and reminded us how important is a true spiritual friendship... so... we "never say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting" #peterpan
