Alice Springs

And that is about all I can say about Alice Springs...no, seriously, I haven't done much at all since I got here and there really isn't a lot to do when it is 40 degrees out 8am! I was going to get up and run yesterday, but by the time I woke up at 7:30am it was just to hot. Instead I walked around town for 1.5 hours. There isn't much to see, but it was nice to explore the town.

The rest of the day was spent uploading pictures, responding to email, hanging out around the pool all day and doing laundry. It was nice to have a relaxing day with nothing planned. I actually could have done some other things on the outskirts of town, but the truth was, I enjoyed just being able to be lazy and I actually got a lot of errand type things done that needed to be done.

I also didn't have much desire to explore because it is a weird city. Many aboriginal people live here, but I can't tell if they are homeless or just wander the streets all day long. The town can actually be quite unsafe walking around alone. Most of the people on the streets are loud and smell like they haven't showered in days. I haven't seem many locals other than inside shops or pubs. The city thrives on tourism, so I wonder if the people walking the streets are used to getting handouts or are the ones everyone says to watch out for. That being said, I don't mind staying in my hostel...

Small world story: I met the lady sleeping in the bottom part of my bunk bed and she is from Lemon Grove out here on vacation as well. I haven't met many Americans compared to people from other countries, so when I do, it seems as if it is a huge deal.

Last night, Gemma - a Spanish girl from my trip - and I went to Anzac Hill to watch the sunset behind the West MacDonnell Ranges. It was great because we got a panoramic view of Alice Springs - we both said that was our sightseeing of the town...My last outback sunset and it didn't disappoint.

Today will be about the same, but I did wake up even earlier to get a long run in. I found the path along the Todd River (usually dry) and got a few miles in. But even finishing at 7:45am, I was already extremely hot. How can anyone do anything here?!?!?! I will hang out by the pool today some more and then head to the airport at 3pm for my flight to Cairns - on to the next journey...the East Coast!