Darwin Delights

 Well, it has been a great weekend in Darwin visiting my friend R. and her kids. She just emigrated from Canada to Australia, arriving last Saturday evening. I've enjoyed the time we spent together, even though the heat has been hard on me. I do not like the humidity and am glad I chose to move to Alice Springs where it is simply not an issue.
     We kept ourselves busy as well. We went to the Parap Market on Saturday morning, the Mindl Market on Sunday night, a hike at Fogg Dam past Humpty Doo on the Arnhem Highway, house hunting on Sunday morning, for a drive tonight in Fannie Bay where she lives, and some plain old hanging out together, catching up. It was good to see her and the kids, and the sunsets were to die for, but I am so looking forward to the cooler weather of Alice Springs, and the cold nights. I did buy a few things at the markets (of course). I bought a tie dyed skirt and dress, a silk table runner, and a woolen blanket. My friend also gave me a painting by a local artist that I really like.
     I head out in the morning to head home and hope to pick up a hitchhiker or two again to help pass the time along that long Stuart Highway. Man it is a boring drive for the most part and I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon. The landscape doesn't change much once you're a few hundred kms outside of Alice Springs, and there is a whole lotta NOTHING. So we shall see...

Aboriginal musicians at the Mindl Market

I love the didgeridoo!

big damn spider

Fannie Bay coast

another gorgeous sunset in Darwin

another big damn spider

And then I melted...seriously. It is friggin hot here in the daytime and the humidity is cruel. I am so very glad I did not take a job in Darwin or I would have been well past ready to go home by now.