Being Byron...

I was up early this morning to do yoga on a shaded grassy headland, overlooking the beach - when in Byron... And it was lovely. Followed by a stroll into town for a smoothie, coffee and croissant (guess which for whom), plus a very necessary bucket and spade. Then we packed up the van and, as one had become free that morning, moved to a cliff top site with a view! Straight over the cliff top railings down to the beach and the sea - glorious. This reconciled us to staying in Byron a bit longer, so we settled in for the day. 

I had a useful (and bizarrely enjoyable) morning of washing, cleaning and sorting while Kevin and Jemima were on the beach; followed by lunch in the van; our regular afternoon rest out of the heat of the sun; and then Jemima and I went for a wander around town. She and I have discovered a mutual enjoyment of pottering, window shopping, trying things on, and generally enjoying being out and about (this not being Kevin's cup of tea, he stayed at the motorhome). We played with some glitter fluffy crowns in one shop; Jemima enjoyed stroking the feathers in the dreamcatchers in another; and, like magpies, pored over the pretty crystals and jewellery, comparing our favourite colours (being Byron, there was an entertaining mixture of fairly posh clothes and beachwear shops, alongside the fun, hippier contingent). Then a quick stop in the supermarket and back to the motorhome to get ready for some more beach time.

We stayed on the part of the beach closest to the motorhome, which we later realised was the surfer beach. Everyone on it was between 20 and 30; conker brown; and extremely fit. There was a man making beautiful sand spheres and balancing them on each other like a cairn; and there were hand-standers, hula hoopers, baton twirlers, and bongo players and their dancers - it was all very Byron, and fun to amongst, even if we weren't a part of it. I went for my usual swim, diving under the waves to get far enough out for the swell to be big and rolling, which you can float with, rather than crashing on top of you, which is less fun. It was wonderful, with water so clear I could see fish. But then I had to get back in. I'm a pretty good swimmer, and like the water, but the current was stronger than any I've been in before - I was making very little headway towards land, and even though I could stand, the pull of the waves rushing out was strong enough to sweep me off my feet. I could see Kevin watching the whole time from the beach; and there were lots of other people by the water; so I was never really in trouble. But I haven't ever felt that the sea was stronger than me before, and it was a bit of a shock. When I did make it out, we decided only to swim by the lifeguards in the future - they were on the next door section of the beach. (Kevin found a good fact - no-one has ever drowned, in the whole of Australia's life guarding history, in the lifeguard flag-demarcated swimming area of the beach. Amazing really. A lot have drowned outside it.)

As the sun started to go down, we retreated up the path for the usual de-sanding shower, and then out for dinner. Jemima had made a specific request to return to the Mexican, so off we went, and miraculously got another frontline table (both nights people were queuing for tables so we were very lucky). It turned out Jemima was mainly interested in seeing if the ladies was still flooded (it wasn't); but it was another lovely evening with tasty food. And then we walked down to the beach to see what we could find.

And, being Byron, what we found was people in varying states of sobriety having an impromptu dance along the beachfront to a mix of instruments from tambourines and a rather good trumpet player to proper bongos, and drums made of different boxes. Never ones to miss a dance, Jemima and I threaded our way into the crowd, her torch leading the way, and then had a very jolly boogie. (A young man in a hat took a shine to Jemima and made her laugh by waving at her a lot.) Then our fun for the night over, we went home, hearing the party continuing behind us. All very Bryon, and rather brilliant to dip a toe into. 

Jemima enjoying the beach dress she chose for my birthday: