13th - 17th Nov 2016: Cottesloe Beach

After changing my original plans to work during the flight from the area north of Perth to the south coast of Western Australia, it was decided to go to the area around Esperance. This place has about 10,000 inhabitants and can hardly be more remote. My plan was to take the train or bus to get there via the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in 2-3 days. However, I talked to a farmer who will be in Perth this week anyway and could take me with him. Since I had no desire for another 4 days in the city center, I looked for accommodation directly on the beach. The choice fell on the Backpacker hostel in the district of Cottesloe... and it was a hit. The hostel is located directly on the beach and you stay in a dormitory for a maximum of 8 people. There I first met a German (I was really happy to be able to speak German), who is currently working as a bartender and has been staying in the hostel for 8 weeks. In the common area, it became clear that it is not special at all to meet Germans. Estimation was that more than half of the guests were from Germany. But first I went on a tour with the also newly arrived Dutchman. Unfortunately, he was not a football fan, otherwise I could have made some jokes. For dinner and breakfast, we wanted to go shopping. But since it was Sunday, only certain supermarkets were open. And they were ridiculously expensive. It really blew my mind. If prices were like that everywhere, I could go home again in early December. However, this is basically an extra charge for the generous opening hours. But there are also plenty of discount stores (even Aldi), where groceries are a bit more expensive than in Germany, but still affordable. Except for alcohol... that is a rip-off due to taxes (but apparently that doesn't stop people from drinking). After that, we went to the beach, where a swim was the first thing to do. Since my phone also wanted to cool down, I took it with me. However, after fifteen minutes in the water, it was no longer usable. To get rid of the frustration, we had a game of beer pong in the common area. It was mentioned that there is a party in the bar below the hostel every Sunday. We had to check it out. And I was really surprised. The whole fun starts at around 5:00 p.m. and ends around 10:00 p.m. The next day work starts again. And I have to say: I usually only know such a heavy drinking session on a 'normal' Sunday from sports clubs after a local league match. Wherever you look, you see drunk Australians. In the toilet, I met one who thought it would be a good idea to refill his beer glass instead of using the urinal.

But since some backpackers didn't have to work, the party continued at the hostel. One big realization was that it is most difficult to speak English with Australians. They have a slang that is really tough. A guest brought a bottle of Jim Beam that he wanted to share. That's not common given the prices. The bottle was then emptied to a point where the memories (at least mine) of the last few minutes of the evening were also emptied. That was the first day. And it was really good.

The next day was a bit more leisurely. However, when passing by the reception, I was asked if I knew the person in the video from the surveillance camera. Apparently, when going to bed, I stole a slightly more expensive water bottle of 'ideally high value'. That at least explained where the thing on my bed came from. I think I just wanted to have one more nightcap.

The associated straw, which apparently was also special, has disappeared. After tough negotiations with the owner, we finally came to the conclusion that I would pay for it by giving up my cap.

The 'supermoon evening' was celebrated with a bonfire on the beach. Staying there again, the evening ended even later than the day before with a round of good duty-free whisky... but it ended a bit more sober. The remaining two days followed a similar pattern. Whether it was a FIFA tournament or another beach session, we never went to bed early. Overall, those were really cool days. Nevertheless, I was glad that normalcy was restored for now. Now it was time to go to a farm in the Australian outback near Esperance. In case I like it, for the next 5 weeks. Basically until I get a visit from Basti from the Spessart and we start the road trip.