Rain, Cold, and Other Things

Can I just say that I had the absolute worst shower experience EVER this morning?! At the moment, we are in Katoomba, a little tourist trap of a mountain town 2 hours train ride west of Sydney where there are tons of bushwalking tracks and a great deal of 2nd hand bookshops (yay!). It is extremely cold in Katoomba, ok so in the 50s, which isn't horrible, but when your “budget accommodation” isn't heated and the windows are left open all hours of the day, it's COLD. So, back to the shower. If there's anything I loathe in this world it is a cold shower. Well, I discovered something equally horrible. A shower in a freezing cold room with a permanently open window where the water is either scaldingly hot or ice-cold but never a temperature your body can stand. This resulted in me standing about 2 inches from the boiling hot stream of water, whimpering, covered in goosebumps, quickly sticking my hand in the water and pulling it back out before I got second degree burns, trying in vain to warm up at least a little bit without doing harm to myself. One of the least satisfying showers of my life, right up there with bathing out of a pot of water heated on the stove that one time in Spain when our hot water went out for a week and a half.
Anyway, Katoomba. We're in Katoomba through the weekend, alternately reading books when it's too cold and rainy to go outside and trekking up and down the mountain streets to see the natural sights and the random shops along the way. At night, I sleep curled up in a ball on an electric blanket next to a space heater in my sweatshirt and long pants. Monday, we're going back to Sydney and i'll be glad to get warm again. Coldness aside, I really do like the town of Katoomba with its mountain charm and cloud-covered streets. We walked down to The Three Sisters the other day, an enormous rock formation in the valley below the town. The best part of the experience is the legend connected to the sheer cliffs about 3 Aboriginal sisters who were turned to stone by a magic man to escape unwanted/unworthy (depends on the version) suitors. Sadly, the magic man died before he could turn them back to their human form so there they sit, in the valley, waiting. We're also going to check out the Giant's Stairway tomorrow. Great names, right?
Well, I've been meaning to put on here how you can get in touch with me since we're moving all over the place and sometimes the internet access is sparse. Probably the easiest way is to just email me at jcrobinson08@gmail.com and I'll get back to you when I check in, which is every 4 or 5 days at the most. Usually, it's more often than that. Also, if you are feeling adventurous and want to brave the telephone, i've looked up all the different codes to put in front of my number and this is what you need to dial to reach my mobile. 011-61-410-071-233. If you're worried about long distance charges, you can always call me and let me know to call you back so it'll be charged on my phone. I have a really great international plan so it shouldn't be a problem.
In other news, yesterday Steve and I heard a kookaburra laugh for the first time. It's a pretty ridiculous laugh and there's no other way to describe it than as a half insane old woman cackling away. Poetic, right?
Anyway, leave me a comment, questions, or whatever you like. It's always great to hear from you.