Sydney to Perth

We both woke up before the alarm clock and my throat was still sore. We did a COVID test and phew, it was negative. We have to do another one tomorrow before we go on the ship, but I’m pretty sure this is just a cold. The plan was to drop off luggage at the box and eat a breakfast box provided by the hotel, so we did. Everybody was looking pretty dragged out – I think we all would have been happy to have stopped at Scenic World for lunch and skipped the tour part to get to Sydney earlier. Meanwhile it’s back to the domestic terminal at Sydney airport. Their scanners are different from ours – there are 2 foot positions, each with associated arms. I did the two positions so well that the security person complimented me and asked if I’d been practicing.

Our flight was delayed, of course, by some mechanical issue. So far our 3 Qantas flights have all been delayed. The flight itself was uneventful. Most of were seated together in the back of the plane and it was kind of fun to have lots of friends to wave at when you got up to use the washroom. We landed in Perth and had a ridiculously long wait for our luggage – almost an hour. Collin and our big blue bus were waiting for us, and Linda our local guide talked to us about Perth while we drove to the hotel. Between the delayed flight and the slow luggage we were over two hours late getting to the hotel Intercontinental, but they got us checked in pretty quickly. It apparently had rained in the morning, but it was a beautiful afternoon, so we took a quick walk down to the Elizabeth Quay on the harbor. We got back to the hotel had a few moments to freshen up before the meet & greet cocktail party, where we met several folks who’ll be joining us on the cruise. Then it was time for dinner at 5. We sat at a table with (among others) Mike & Judi and Michelle & Steve, and it was a good time. I also had two desserts which was very special. The food was the best hotel food we’ve had yet on the trip, but the Intercontinental is not quite as nice as the Four Seasons.

My sore throat has settled into a pretty standard cold, and both of us tested negative on our tests tonight (you have to have a negative test within a 24 hour period to get on the ship) so we are go for cruise tomorrow. It’s going to be an early night tonight – we’re wiped out!