At last we made it to the last country on our Big Trip: Belgium! The land of chocolate, beer and confusing politics, the heart of the European Union, and the home of our friends Jan & Maxine. We met them while traveling the Top End of the Northern Territory in Australia. Jan is Dutch, and Maxine is British, so they live in Brussels, of course.
Our excellent hosts brought us to the nearby town of Leuven that first night. The Flemish city was alive with festivities for Beleuvenissen. According to Jan, this is "a word-play on the Dutch word 'belevenissen', plural for belevenis(NL)=experience(EN). Different themes every night: folk, jazz, latin and special." What I know is that it was a very good time. Besides boasting seven stages of music, Westmalle Tripel was available for four euros and served in a glass. Leuven may be the home of InBev, but they still know how to serve beer.
For three days and two nights, Dana and I stayed on a boat cruising around the Great Barrier Reef. This was a scuba diving trip run by Pro Dive out of Cairns. Details below.
On the boat we had 33 divers or divers in training, 1 cook, 1 dive planner, 3 dive instructors, 1 skipper and 1 Gilligan. You would think that the boat would be crowded, but there was an incredible use of space. We were in one of only two double bed rooms, while all of the others were bunks, but the boat never seemed crowded. The top level had an outdoor area, some rooms, and the skipper's room. The main level had the dive equipment out back, the mess hall with kitchen and tables, and more rooms. There were more rooms below deck as well. Exhaustion from the number of dives we did may have prevented anyone from getting too stir-crazy.
We did 11 dives in three days, two of which were night dives. We saw sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish, moray eels, sea snakes, giant clams, stingrays, prawns, painted crayfish, hermit crabs, shovel-nosed rays, and twice as much coral and fish life as you could see in Finding Nemo. Most dives lasted between 30-40 minutes, but the wet suit and gear set-up was what was tiring. We slept well on that rocky boat. Speaking of rocky, the ride out to the reef hit some sea-legless folks hard. Over half of the boat was spewing over the side for a few hours. Dana and I kept it together, luckily.
The food on this trip was incredible. No none was ever hungry, and the quality was superb. Craig added his own special spices to the menu... you'd be very surprised how good food cooked on a boat for 40+ people three days out at sea can taste. The meals were not the only well-run part of the trip. Tristan, our dive planner, clearly outlined our dives, pointed out what was worth seeing and made sure everyone knew what was happening. Don't be thrown by the photo. The skipper, Fozzie, filled us in on yachting stories during the day and challenged us to broomstick competitions at night. The videos of me and dana will explain... a bit.
While the days and nights (and mornings) were exhausting, it was well worth it. Not everyone did the full 11 dives, but we're both glad we did. Even the night dives were worth the struggle. Dana was nervous the first night, jumping into a black sea when no light is visible except the moon and stars... and the first thing we see is a 3 meter (9 foot) shovel-nosed ray on the ocean floor. The little eyes poking out from the shrimp on the rocks were more calming, but the next night was even more exciting. As we geared up, bread was thrown of the back of the boat, sending many large fish into a feeding frenzy and also setting off a number of white tip reef sharks. The sharks were circling, with their fins piercing the surface of the water, as we jumped into the ocean. Of course none of them bothered us. We bothered everything instead.
John Howard has been Australia's Prime Minister for over ten years, the second longest in Australia's long history. He has been a very popular PM, but this popularity has been waning a bit in recent years. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but Howard has retained his seat by waiving the election whenever it comes up or something like that.
Born in Sydney in 1939, Howard knew he was meant for politics after his successful bid for Class President in 1946 thanks to his "Bring the Troops Home" campaign. After a few years in office, his politics became more conservative. Upon re-election for Class President in 1949, his "Send the Troops Back" campaign was met with lukewarm reception. He lost his seat and was grounded.
After a brief stint with The Muppets in the 70's, Howard returned to politics. Around this time his vision started fading and he had his eyebrows surgically moved from his forehead to the top of his glasses.
"John" comes from the Hebrew for "God is merciful".
"Howard" has an English origin, meaning "guardian of the home". It was also the name of a duck who travelled to this planet in the 80s and became very famous.
So "John Howard" means he's going to guard your home and, as a last resort, pray for God's mercy.
After my last post I've been prompted to write more...
Barack Hussein Obama is a shooting star in American politics. Even his harshest critics admit that he's willing to negotiate and compromise. Just a few weeks ago a fellow Democratic candidate who announced his candidacy wound up spending more time stumping for Obama than for himself. Yeah, sure, it had something to do with covering up for a statement that could have been perceived as a racial slur, but even Rev. Jesse Jackson said that Joe Biden meant nothing by it. The point is, it's hard to not like this guy... but then you have his name: Barack Hussein Obama.
"Barack" means nothing to most people, unless you live in Australia, in which case you should cheer for the guy.
"Hussein", of course, reminds us of the dictator that tried to kill Bush Sr, was toppled and dragged out late at night to be hung before an angry crowd. And before a mobile phone.
"Obama"... just one letter of from the big guy, the West's villain, the Great Satan's Great Satan.
For those of us who see hope in Obama, like me, let's take solace in the fact that Senator Obama changed his name not long ago from Adolf Hussein Osama to it's current state of less-offenciveness.
Will the American people refuse to elect a guy because his name calls to mind a current war that has cost over 3000 American lives and a terrorist attack that claimed nearly 3000 American lives? I don't think so. Americans who think that way would not vote for him in the first place. It's too early to tell who will win an election that's over a year and a half away, but Barack Hussein Obama has just as much a shot as Kim Jong Mološević Stalen.
It's great to be in the middle of this one. Finally I get to be an American living in Australia who is asked about an American politician, and not in a sarcastic tone.
I am asked, "Johnny Howard really ----ed up, huh? What do you think of Obama?" I respond, "If you watch Comedy Central, you know as much as I do." - or - "$20 if you can tell me if Obama is his first name or last name." - or - "$20 if you can tell me what Obama's Christian name is. (trick question?!)" - or - "If Obama's middle name had an alliance to a recent-living or recently-made-not-so-living dictator, which would it be?" - or - "What was Obama's stance on off-duty police officers carrying a gun?"
That last one gets them all the time. On a serious note, I think most Australians regret that their PM aligned himself with one party. Tony Blair would have shot himself in the foot if he had positioned himself so closely to Clinton back in the 90s... or if he had aimed a gun aimed at his foot.
The positive thing about this whole episode is now Americans know who John Howard is. Don't worry, they'll forget.
At last we made it to the last country on our Big Trip: Belgium! The land of chocolate, beer and confusing politics, the heart of the European Union, and the home of our friends Jan & Maxine. We met them while traveling the Top End of the Northern Territory in Australia. Jan is Dutch, and Maxine is British, so they live in Brussels, of course.
