My final afternoon and evening in Sydney were mellow. I walked around some of the places I hadn't had a chance to see yet. Meandered through Paddington, known for its upscale shops and its correspondingly high percentage of gay couples. Got a wonderful outdoor head and neck massage at the Paddington market. Sat on the wall at Bondi beach and watched the surfers fight the rather impressive waves for a while. Strolled down Darlinghurst Road in King's Cross, the infamous red-light district, ignoring all the in-your-face bouncers trying to get me to come inside "for a sit". And finally made my way back to Darling Harbour for the end of the Bacardi Latino Festival and just to experience this highly energized youthful nighttime hangout once more. I was tempted in to a Salsa club, but passed on the dancing yet again. Once I'm back in Sunnyvale, it will be nothing but REST until I can again walk without a limp. But I have no regrets. My variety of experiences in Australia were well worth a little joint pain and some missed dances. This has been an exhilerating and eye-opening trip for me, in many ways. I feel like every trip changes me somehow, mostly for the better as I come to better understand other cultures and world views. I treasured my time dancing and touring with Chloe and Chantelle. I also enjoyed traveling out on my own, which naturally lead to more encounters with locals and other travelers. There are so many friendly people out there. I learned that my 2 1/2 week trip was quite brief compared to what most are doing. When I explained that 2 1/2 weeks was typically all that an American worker gets in a year, they would gently shake their heads in pity. Also, a day did not go by that I didn't see or hear news about the Tsunami aftermath and how much Australia is doing to help its neighbors, which is positively wonderful. At the same time, just a couple of weeks ago Australia suffered its worst bushfire in 20 years, killing 9 people and destroying dozens of homes, thousands of livestock, and tens of thousands of acres of farm land in the south. At the same time disaster continued to strike, I was reading the uplifting stories about the Huygens probe landing on Titan and sending back ground-breaking photos of the surface, a huge success for this joint U.S. / European space expedition. There was even some positive news about the Catholic Church finally accepting the use of condoms for preventing the spread of HIV (only within the Church in Spain, for now, but it's a start). And even the news in Israel has been more encouraging as of late. It is heartening to see that even while recovering from widespread disasters, mankind continues to push onward. Though this month I've felt even more than usual like a passing observer than a participant in these grand events, it gives me hope for all of us. And that's the end of my Australian Adventure 2005. I hope you all enjoyed reading my stories and seeing my pictures. It's been great fun posting to this travel site and hearing from many of you along the way. See you all when I get back! Cheers, Andy