Monkey Mia, Western Australia, 28th July 2023, 01:30 am:
I am getting ready to continue my journey and pack up my last things. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a last minute packer by perfection and yes, that's how it was this time too. I tried to pre pack to not get into stressful last minute packing, but in the end everything always turns out differently. And since I prefer to spend the remaining time with my friends, packing had to wait until the last minute. And besides, my bus doesn't leave until 2:55 am, so I still have plenty of time. The Australians would say, “no worries mate, you have plenty of time”. And even enough time to continue writing on my blog for a bit.
The last week flew by. I worked every day - annoying, but hey, I will really need that money. The next few days will be really expensive.
On my last days we went all in. We dragged ourselves out of bed for sunrises, morning swims, played the last ping pong matches, enjoyed the last SUP sessions and had the last dinners together. Also we visited the hot tub in the nearby Francois-Peron- National Park. You can visit this hot tub with water from a natural hot spring in the middle of the night and bath under millions of stars and the milky way.
And then the time had come: the last day of work, the last day in Monkey Mia. My shift lasted until 1 p.m. This shift was different than the others. With basically everything I did, I thought “Okay, this is the last time you’re doing this.” I am really sad to leave this little world behind, but also I am super excited and happy to continue my journey and see new things.
Shortly after my last shift, one of the highlights of the day followed: I had to follow up with the Monkey Mia tradition. This tradition says that on your last day of work you have to jump from the jetty into the sea with your work clothes on. Said and done! And that at 16.5 degrees water temperature!
After that everything went very quickly: laundry, a bit of packing, cleaning my room, one last ping pong match, sunset on the beach, some last drinks, the last Brigadeiros (Brazilian dessert) with my closest Monkey Mia friends in our kitchen and then... the big goodbye... And of course there where tears involved. Many of them.
Since I still had to finish packing and the others had to work the next day, we finished our crying goodbye session relatively quickly (thank God, goodbyes are the worst and as I write this we're crying again).
Crazy, how can you settle in somewhere so well and feel so at home in such a short time? With people who were strangers four months ago and who now mean so much to you that you stand here and cry. Incredible. And here again proof to everyone who believes that traveling alone is lonely: it is not. You just have to be open: open to new encounters, foreign cultures and new experiences - and then you will meet the most wonderful people with whom you can either share short-term beautiful moments or long-lasting friendships.
At 2:40 am the time has come. I grab my 5 tons of luggage and make my way down to the bus stop. I leave my little home, my little beloved Monkey Mia behind and realise that this chapter is over.
Before I leave there is one more surprise waiting for me. At the bus stop, Min, one of my colleagues (an Australian lady of more than 60 years) set the alarm for me and surprised me at the bus stop. She didn't want to leave me alone at the bus at 3 am. Wow, I didn't expect that. And I start crying again. But this time it's clearly tears of joy. I am grateful for my Monkey family, who have created a little second home for me in Australia. Overjoyed, sad and excited at the same time, I say goodbye to Min and get on the bus. I don't know if I'll come back or not, but it's never a good bye, just a see you later. Monkey Mia, I will miss you!!
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