The Beach

Just got back from Surfer's Paradise, a beautiful city on the coast. Me and Brittney spent one night and two days soaking up some sun and taking in the ocean. The beach was beautiful: white sand, blue ocean, big waves, and plenty of sun. It took about an hour and a half by train and bus to get there. We headed straight for the beach. It was a windy day, and sand blew everywhere, but it was still a lot of fun. We ventured in the water and met a nice Australian guy that we chatted with for a while. The waves were not as calm as I thought they would be, but it was a lot of fun to jump into them. The water was really salty, but I got used to it after a while. After a few hours, we headed back to our hostel then went out to dinner. The weather was great: not too hot, not too cold, and the ocean breeze felt really good. After dinner, we walked around and wandered in and out of all the little shops and stores lining the streets. It rained a little at night, but it didn't bother us at all. Ice cream was a must, so we stopped and got some gelato before heading back. I decided to be different and got green apple, and it was delicious. By the time we got back to the hostel, we could feel where the sun hit us hard. Sure enough, we were pretty badly sunburned. My face, thighs, and back were bright red and really starting to hurt. Thank god I brought aloe vera in my bag! The next morning we went back to the beach but stayed mostly in the shade this time. I loaded on sunscreen and went in the water again, I couldn't resist feeling the rush of the waves and the sand one more time, although some of the waves somersaulted me around a bit. Swallowing salt water is the worst feeling in the world. The ocean was beautiful; I spent a lot of time just reading in the shade and watching the waves crash on the beach. It was so relaxing I didn't want to leave. But we eventually got hungry, so we grabbed some lunch. One nice thing about Australia is that you don't have to tip, but I've noticed that it makes the waitresses a lot less attentive to you. You generally have to ask for refills or the check. After lunch, we headed back to the bus and headed back home. It was definitely a great trip. No sharks, no jellyfish, just surf, sand, and a little sunburn.