Ina´s Sabbatical

I know, it has been while since my last report.
Three and a half weeks ago, I have finalized my sabbatical year. It was absolutely the best year ever. Being back to reality hasn’t been that easy.
Nevertheless, I will have a post sabbatical with a great photo exhibition, a photo book and a book. I will keep you posted.

See you!
🐣🎀🐰🌺

Something I have really enjoyed during my stay in Asia were the markets. So colorful, busy people, funny smell, interesting creations and good prices. In Singaraja I have visit a market mostly with offers for the Hindu temples. So beautiful. Flowers and food. Take a look…

That was a nice experience. From Cairns we (a group of really nice people) took a divers boat which brought us to the divers cruise ‘Ocean’s Quest’. Four days of diving; three daytime and one nighttime divings. It was really good. Unfortunately the corals are damaged because of the tourism and cyclons. Nevertheless, I saw many colorful fishes. Is the Great Barrier Reef better than the Caribbean?, definitely not.

As a huge Steve Irwin fan (Animal Planet’s Crocodile Hunter) I had to make a stop in Brisbane, as the zoo is just a 60 min drive away. It’s really amazing how Terri, Bindi and Robert are taking care of Steve’s legacy. Steve’s dream to extend the zoo and having an Africa area and a bigger and better wildlife hospital has come true. You can cuddle with koalas and kangooruhs, learn a lot about crocodiles and having a lot of fun. That was an incredible experience.

The Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park has been definitely one of the WOW highlights during my sabbatical year. Here some facts:
Uluru is Australia’s most recognizable natural icon and has become a focal point for Australia and the world’s acknowledgement of Australian Indigenous culture. The sandstone monolith stands 348 metres high with most of its bulk below the ground. To Anangu (Local Indigenous People), Uluru is a place name and this “Rock” has a number of different landmarks where many Ancestral beings have interacted with the landscape and/or each other, some even believed to still reside here.
Kata Tjuta, meaning ‘many heads’, is a sacred place relating to knowledge that is considered very powerful and dangerous, only suitable for initiated men. It is made up of a group of 36 conglomerate rock domes that date back 500 million years.

Another great Aussie city. The museums, the river, the bars & restaurants, the buildings and the people… awesome!!

What an amazing city! I was thinking, forget about your post sabbatical and just stay here! During the last ten month I haven’t had this feeling to actually stay and live in a city.
The absolute highlights: overflying Sydney on a small ‘waterplane’ and the magic flute and Carmen at the Sydney Opera House. Everything was so amazing (well, maybe the weather could be more sunny).
Love Sydney!!

Finally, made it to Aussie Land. It wasn’t that easy as I have decided to take a looong flight (why easy?). Bogota, Lima, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Sydney. The Qantas flight had a 20 hours delay in Santiago, as the pilot got ill, so another one was sent from Sydney. After the legal 12 hour resting time (of the new pilot) we started with another three hours delay because of an old lady who became ill on the plane but wouldn’t leave the plane. Finally, the doctors and the captain could convinced to stay and we started a wonderful flight over the Andes with good food and movies. I have to say that Qantas is my second favorites airline (after Emirates).
Now, it’s time to enjoy Sydney with the very friendly people from Aussie Land.

Fortunately I had better luck working with the sea turtles. The project was located at Guanacaste and it was mostly during the night patrolling the beaches for the turtles and taking data about nesting, the eggs and the turtle.
Nevertheless, I was really surprised about the simplicity in this country, I really expect a little more being Costa Rica such a popular destiny for tourists. Never mind, I’m on my way back home.