Halfway around Australia

We are in Freemantle, Western Australia..........or as the locals call it Freo.  It is a coastal village with a huge working port as well as an eclectic mix of tourist spots, shopping, yacht clubs and sandy beaches.  Like many towns in Aussie, it was built primarily by the hard labor of prisoners sent from Great Britain. Many of the 10,000 prisoners sent had committed only minor crimes so the length of their prison terms seems wildly harsh for the infraction.  But the truth is that the Great Britain needed labor to build its Empire.  In lieu of slaves as we know it, the crown jailed thousands and sent them to Aussie to serve out their sentences building infrastructure and administrative/government buildings throughout the cities.  Prisoners who were well behaved and survived their imprisonment were then freed and allowed to pursue their own career doing the trade they had been doing as forced labor. 

Freemantle's famous Colonial era architectural style

The Indian ocean kisses this part of Aussie land.  The water is crystal clear and chilly.  But we are glad to once again be in a place where swimming, snorkeling and diving are possible as we have left the territory of salt water crocs!  The Indian ocean is the fifth ocean we've been on in the past 2.5 months.  Besides the Indian, we've seen the Atlantic, Pacific, Coral Sea & Timor Sea.

Indian Ocean in Western Australia

The weather here feels like California.  It can be toasty warm during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down, the temps drop quickly dipping into the 50's.  The terrain here is high plains scrub with daily windy periods between noon and late afternoon.

Hills surrounding Freemantle

We will be spending our Thanksgiving holiday here.  Of course T-day is a US holiday so we won't be finding any traditional fixings in these parts.  In fact, turkey is quite rare here as you don't generally find it in the grocery stores even as a deli meat option.  Christmas decorations are already up in many of the stores but what you don't hear is the ever present holiday songs we'd be listening to in the US.  Shopping here is similar to the US both for food as well as clothing and house hold goods. Retail chains rule the shopping scene with plenty of boutiques for anything unique you might want.  Organic is definitely more mainstream here.  Our Airbnb's are generally stocked with organic shampoos, soaps and even garbage bags. 

Wishing you each a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday filled with family, friends and gratitude.

Cheryl & Dan