Port Arthur

This place is putting me in a very emotional mood. We (Yukie, Bob, I) are in the middle of nowhere, or in the middle of the forest if you prefer and want to do it more adventurous.We arrived yesterday morning in Port Arthur; if you have a map of Tasmania you can see it on the right of Hobart, in the peninsula. It is cold as only here can be, it means a lot… the wind today is coming directly from the Antarctic bringing with him penguins, rain and 3 fool people who decided to explore the country together. We are in a hostel… there are 2 in the peninsula... and it is really nice and worm… we are using the heating… there is no reception for my telephone, there is no supermarket, and there is no city. Port Arthur is a historical place for isolated convicts.
Yesterday we went exploring the ex prison and I was feeling as in “the Rock”. That was a real prison, with real people, and now is a tourist place with a lot of people walking through and taking pictures. And this was no more than 150 years ago.Speaking about the “historical places”. Tasmanians are really funny. Everybody is speaking about the bridge of Richmond, the wonderful historical bridge of Richmond. We got there… do you see it? Perhaps it is historical… 1823!! But is so little!!! It was the first place we reached after renting the car… we had to take pictures there…I was almost forgetting!!! The car!!! We rent a car!!! And I am driving!!! I really can… now, if you are asking you why I am so excited to drive a car is just that perhaps you forgot that in Australia they are driving on the left… on the other side… like in England. And I am driving an automatic… that oblige me to remember I do not need to change the gears… I am really good, and it is easier than I was thinking. Eh eh eh…Continuing exploring the animals of the country, we could not forget the Tasmanian Devil!! We have been to a reserve where these animals live. The problem is that they have a rare form of a cancer that is killing them. They can transmit this cancer only by contact and they are dying of it. This is the reason why now the Tasmanian Devil is always in reserve, because scientists are searching for some remedy to save the life of this species. At the same time they are isolating the healthy members from the sick ones. They are called Devil because they are screaming and blowing and the first settlement in Tasmania could not see them… they are black and able to hide. This is the reason of Devil… and also because they are eating everything of a prey, also the fur… I sow it, I was there at the feeding time again and it was enough cruel…I have to add that the island is full of kangaroo. If I was thinking that in the zoo there were many… I was wrong. They are everywhere, jumping in the street when you are driving, jumping on the beach, jumping everywhere…In the park they also told me that Tasmania is full of these birds… but they are impossible to recognise as they are of the same colour of the trees they are living in… they were also too nice not to take a picture…And last but not least there are penguins!!! I still not have good picture of them but I promise, as soon as I get some good I will put in the internet… they are very small and very lovely…Anyway, this is the second night we are spending in this hostel and I am getting more organized… we were returning from the national park today and I was so cold I can hardly believe it. I was wearing 7 sweaters + my jacket + other jacket against wind and rain. I was still feeling cold. But coming back I get under the shower. I was coming again to normal life after half an hour under hot water, my knees and feet were red as my face but finally I am feeling worm again.Today we have been again to Port Arthur and to the national park to walk walk wolk.I think I am getting the deep meaning of walking up to a mountain across a forest while raining. At the beginning we were speaking a lot but after a while we began to walk in silent, concentrating in our thoughts. Going up and up and down and up and down and up… but… at the end… nothing is comparable to the pleasure of arriving to the top and have a wonderful view. We arrived there and the place was silent and pure, a rock overhanging the ocean. The wind was so cold that my cheeks were freezing and I could hardly smile in the pictures. But taking a picture was no more necessary… after all this work to go up the mountain, the picture of the experience is inside yourself… no photo would be enough good to explain your feeling in this moment. You feel full and empty at the same time, tired but satisfied, happy and relaxed…So, this is the “Spirit of Tasmania” at the end, not only the name of the boat that brought me to this island, but a savage, pure, uncontaminated land. In this peninsula the main road is so small that when two cars cross the same road you need to stop and wait and the normal roads are not asphalted. This is still one of these places where you feel that the tourism has still to arrive. Certification for this point is that if you do not rent a car, there is no bus and you can not move…So, tomorrow Hobart, the centre of the life here, or at least a place where there are supermarket and internet cafes… but the very important thing is that tomorrow there will be the market!!! I am already happy about it!!!So I hope you like the pictures, there are much more but if I don’t do a selection my blog would be full only with pictures…I am sorry I could not answer anybody but now you can see my reason were good enough…So, now you know, I am still alive and above all I am enjoying to be it!!!