I am so proud of us. Not to be conceited, and I know that in the grand scheme of amazing things people have done this is small, but in the scheme of things I have done, it ranks pretty high.
We had some pretty great roommates in our dorm tonight. The backpackers itself had nothing to put it above average, but the roomies were fun. They were all German. The first to arrive was Eric, a young man who had just finished working for a winery, doing something to do with engineering (not my thing). He came in when Bethany and I were getting ready to do our laundry, so all our dirty clothes were out on the floor and, backpacks being as they are, our stuff was everywhere.
Having spent so much time with no one but each other, Bethany and I are becoming decidedly goofy. We chattered away at Eric and told him we'd move stuff to make a little space on the many shelves we had taken over. He said it wasn't necessary and, a moment later, walked out.
We joked about how we had probably freaked him out with our weirdness and Backpacker smell (we had showered, but don't forget about the laundry) and he was probably going to ask for another room. In Eric's defense, he wasn't being a snob at all. He's just bad at leaving. Later, after he returned to the room he never intended to vacate, we were chatting in the kitchen and it happened again. He was just gone in the middle of an, admittedly rambling conversation.
He also complimented our playing when we practiced a few songs in the room, so that got him points.
Later, we met our other roommates, whose names I never got, outside. They're cyclists, just touring around as the wind blows them, or as the cycle track leads. A bit like what we're doing but on bikes and with less structure.
I'm still so tired after this day of rest. Tomorrow, we hike Fisher's Track. It's 15 km (10miles) but I've been assured it's mostly downhill. Then we have a really long hike the next day, followed by 5 relaxing days on the river. I hope. A French cyclist we met in a campground said that when he did it, about 80% of people fell in at some particular rapid. I really hope he just went with inexperienced, uncoordinated people.
Whether we fall in the river or not, I won't have to hike up mountains.
Which I still love doing. Almost all of the time.