Arrival in Broome. As soon as I stepped out of the airport a lizard ran past my feet, up on hind legs like the ground was too hot. Palm trees, warm air, buganvilia, and boabs were a crazy contrast from Melbourne. I’d done what many travellers do when changing climates – I hadn’t quite been able to believe it could be hot later when I was dressing in the cold. So it was great to get to my room and change! I was lucky enough to stay with the lovely people at The Courthouse B&B. The room looked out across a dusty red road to the shady gardens of the town’s courthouse. Being Sunday, a market was finishing up and I soon wandered over.
I felt shy. My hair was more of an oddity to them than Broome was to me and I soon headed off up a quiet road to the sand dune. Up there I think I saw a real aspect of Broome. Broken glass and bottles glittered all through the sand but not in a jagged threatening way – more like they were part of the sand like the stones were, like the tough grasses and the stunted trees. A couple of locals sang out a hello from the shade of one of these trees while I sat down and watched the kites (birds of prey variety) lift and tilt and glide above the mangroves beyond. The sea was stunning. That milky blue I’d glimpsed from the air, contrasting against the green leaves, sky, red sand and distant bushfire haze. I stayed awhile, still feeling self-counscious, but loving the feeling of the sun falling on my arms and face and back.
There are the occasional places where I think I leave behind a little ghost of myself when I go. There is one of me in Varuna in the sunroom where I worked. I can see her there still, head down, drawing. There is another of me in this place. Just a light one, barely visible with all that sunlight and colour streaming through.
Eventually I got up and headed into town. I wandered again for a while, shopped for the week’s lunches, then found my way back to the house. It was a new routine and one I’ve had to get used to a little with the travel lately… Each night I found a spot for dinner, was a little shocked by the prices, sat by myself and drew and ate, wandered back home. I stayed on Melbourne time for the whole trip – eating dinner early, sleeping early and waking early. It suited me just fine.
