Getting up for a 7 am coach to the blue mountains was so incredibly worth it. The views were so gorgeous I don't have the words to describe them. Being in rainforest patches at the top of Wentworth Falls where you could see into the eucalyptus forest is surreal. Or skirting the edge of Lincoln Rock to see the car some drunk guys pushed off the edge down to the valley below was a terrifying sense of vertigo. Picnicking at the park below Leural Cascades is quite peaceful, even though we were all tearing through the sandwiches; ravenous from the hours of hiking.
Apparently they are called the Blue Mountains because there is a blue have when you look at them from any lookout. I thought it was just low clouds or something but Ron, our guide, says its always like that. He told us the legend of the Three Sisters. A witch doctor had a magic wishbone that he used to turn his three daughters to stone to protect them when a neighboring tribe attacked. To escape the attack himself he turned into a bird and flew away. In doing so he dropped the wishbone since he had wings instead of hands and was unable to change his daughters back. There is a certain kind of bird that you can find in the area that digs through the leaves on the floor looking for bones and that is the bird looking for the magic wishbone.
Ron was very curious about home since he is going to California in April. It is weird how many people out here really want to go to California. He did make fun of how hard Americans all have to work to survive though. Out here minimum wage is very high, everyone gets tons of vacation and travels all the time, and general stress is a lot lower.