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Published: March 16th 2016
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The day after our arrival in Perth was a Sunday, so we decided to go to mass at the Redemptorist monastery in North Perth. To our surprise and delight, the priest saying the mass was previously the parish priest in our home parish of Mary Mackillop at Warnervale in New South Wales.
John was as pleased to see us as we were to see him. Over a cup of tea, he introduced us to members of his parish then drove us back into the centre of Perth. We arranged to meet him later in the day for a meal.
After spending a couple of hours shopping for last minute necessities for the cruise, we went back to hotel and rested for the afternoon out of the intense heat. (Well, Sylvia rested. I began to type up the previous blog.)
When John picked us up about 5pm, it was still 36C but we decided to go to Scarborough Beach anyway to watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. We had a brief walk on the beach – Sylvia had a quick paddle and said the water was very cold – and then retreated to an air-conditioned restaurant where
we could watch the sunset in comfort. We hadn't seen John for about two years and there was much to catch up on so the conversation flowed readily and there was much laughter. After a pleasant meal and a glass of Little Creatures beer (brewed in Fremantle), John drove us back to our hotel and we arranged to have lunch with him on Tuesday at the Monastery. Sadly that didn't eventuate as we found we had so much to do before we got on the cruise on Wednesday that we couldn't spare the time.
Monday was even hotter than Sunday (40C+). There was trackwork on the rail line between Perth and Fremantle so we decided to take a one-way cruise to Fremantle on the Swan River. The cruise took an hour and a half and the breeze on the river kept us cool. The captain's commentary was informative and the views from the river were very different from those we would have seen on the train which mostly sticks to the suburbs.
We arrived in Fremantle about 12:45pm. As we couldn't check in to the youth hostel where we were staying until 3 o'clock, we decided
to have lunch first. There was a small cafe across the road from the ferry terminal and it was too hot to walk far so we crossed the road and went in. The cafe was run by a young Indonesian couple who included some Indonesian meals among the usual Australian fare. After sharing a plate of Gado-Gado (a type of semi-warm salad) and a cold glass of wine each, we felt ready to face the heat again but it was still too early to check-in. About 300 metres up the road was the Maritime Museum so we lugged our three suitcases up there and spent a couple of hours in the cool of the museum. We both highly recommend it if you are ever in Fremantle.
We eventually checked in to the youth hostel about 4:30. The hostel is situated in what was the women's wing of the old Fremantle Prison. Cells have been converted in to bunk rooms and other parts of the old prison are used for common areas. Our room was very comfortable with a queen size bed, a shower, a toilet and a TV. When the weather cooled down a bit, we took a walk
into town (about 10 mins down hill), bought a cooked chicken and some salad and got a taxi back to youth hostel where we had dinner in the dining room and chatted to people from all around the world who were also staying there.
Tuesday was the first day in weeks that we didn't need to get out of bed at the crack of dawn so we slept in till 8am, did our washing and took the hop-on, hop-off “Tram” tour which left from just outside the prison. It was a cheap way of getting around the city – taxis are very expensive – and allowed us to learn a little bit of the history of Fremantle at the same time. We got off about half way in the tour and spent a couple of hours shopping for last, last minute requirements for the cruise. Sylvia needed a new battery for her camera. I needed a lens protector for mine. We needed clothes washing liquid as we discovered that the cruise ship has no laundry (!) and hangers to hang wet washing on to dry in the shower. We also had to search for some green material so we
can wear something green on St Patrick's day. We found it eventually but it took a while. By then we were exhausted, so we took the rest of the “Tram” tour back to the youth hostel, folded the washing from the morning and rested as much as we could.
We caught the last “Tram” tour of the day until it arrived at the Esplanade Hotel where we had arranged to meet up with the people also cruising on the Astor who took the train from Sydney with us. Much to our surprise there about 20 people there, most off whom had come from the UK on the Astor in October and were now returning to the UK. At least we will already know some people when we get on. On the way home we had a delicious Turkish meal before catching a taxi the rest of the way.
This morning (Wednesday) we repacked our bags and officially checked out of the Youth Hostel but are hanging out in the common area till 2pm when we can take a taxi to the passenger terminal and board the Astor. We sail at 6pm and will be at sea
for eight days till we arrive in Mauritius. Internet connectivity is notoriously bad on board ship so I doubt we will be contactable before then.
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Marilyn and cousin Ian
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Hello from Scotland - 7 degrees max so far this year!
It sounds like you are having an interesting and busy time already. Have you been to Mauritius before? We were there for a month in 2008 when we stayed with a UK friend who moved out there. Sadly he has passed away but we keep saying we must go back again and visit some of the young friends we made while there. Are you there for just a few hours or several days? Recommend a flip round the old market in Port Louis but not bother with the newish westernised shopping mall. Boat trip out to Isle de Cerfs excellent or at Blue Bay - take some bread to feed the fish. We spent several days on the beach at Flic en Flac which is used by locals as well as tourists. (Many hotels don't allow access to Mauritians). There is a super restaurant where big tortoises roam about between the diners.....lots of other things to do and see too. We were lucky to experience Mauritius as the locals do rather than stay at a hotel. If you would like, I'm sure our friend Kunal would love to meet you and show you around. There may not be time of course. We are looking forward to hearing about the Astor and what happens next. Enjoy! x x