My hut

It's interesting that when you travel, a guidebook is of limited use. First of all, the restaurant listings are a total waste of space. When I'm hungry I'll just walk down the street and find a place that suits me. It turns out that accommodation listings aren't that useful either. A far better source of info on places to stay are fellow travelers, which is how I heard about Sanctuary. Based on the description in Lonely Planet, I would not have picked this place. It's something else, though. You can only get here on a 4WD because the road through the rainforest is dirt and incredibly steep. Once you get here there is a nice wood house that you have to take your shoes off before entering with a cafe, couches, and a patio overlooking the rainforest. A steep path leads down to the pool (with "no particular dress code"), and along the way are a few huts, only about 30. The huts are right in the forest and consist of wood floors, and a wood ceiling, and mosquito net walls. It only costs $4US more than a hostel, but the huts only have 2 beds, so you only have to share with one other person (the other bed is currently empty). Such luxury!

So what does one do in a place like this? Well, I'm pretty messed up, so I don't want to do much of anything. On top of my ear problems, I have several other wounds. In Alice Springs it was so dry my feet cracked in two places. It was impossible to keep my feet clean in sandals, so the cracks were healing, until I started bandaging them a couple of days ago. Then in Cairns I unwisely walked back from town in flip-flops (or "thongs" as they call them here), which eventually dug into my feet and wore the skin away. Finally, I cut my fingers on some coral yesterday, which is particularly painful. So I'm pretty busy just cleaning and bandaging my wounds. I did find time to make the 15 minute trek through the rainforest to the beach. It was so humid I was covered in sweat by the time I got there, but it was worth it, since the beach was beautiful and mostly deserted except for a few topless sunbathers. On the way back a cassowary, one of the almost extinct birds that live here, crossed my path. It looked like a black emu with a horn on its head. I've also been doing alot of reading. I picked up The Beach, which is great, since I'll be going to Thailand. It really captures the traveler subculture.