Woke up this morning with a very sore throat and stuffy head. Well, I went to bed last night with a minor sore throat, which I'd hoped had been caused by changes in weather or lack of sleep (both can give me sore throats... hell, everything gives me sore throats...) But I guess it's either a cold or my allergies have hit really hard, after not bothering me at all for 2.5 months. /sighs and rolls eyes, feels sorry for self/
So I stayed tucked in bed until early afternoon, when hunger drove me out to the bakery and grocery store. I bought some meat pies (yum), locally-made soups (yum) and fruit and veggies (boring but good for me). My B&B in in a residential neighborhood that borders a ... what do I call it? ... light industrial park area. When you can buy tires, new kitchens, that sort of thing. So I didn't pass anything really nice on my way to the shops, but I did see some remnants of the earthquake that happened about 5 weeks ago. Most buildings (that I saw) are still standing and don't have obvious damage. Others appear to only have mild damage, but must be pretty bad because they are fenced off and completely empty.
On the drive from the airport last night, I couldn't see a whole lot because it was dark, but a large number of streets were blocked off because they are ripped up. And we have to boil the tap water before we drink it (the B&B host does that for us).
When I returned, I slept for about 4 hours, probably caused by a combination of lack of sleep in Melbourne and my fuzzy head. And let's face it, I enjoy a good nap, and I don't think I've had one since Singapore. This means I'll be awake until 2am, but that's probably good because I need to figure out bus schedules and stuff, get myself out of this closed-down town.
UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot this part. At one point during my nap, I was awoken by ... something. At the time it sounded and felt like a large truck rumbling past, or someone upstairs dropping a large box of books, but my first thought was "earthquake!" Turns out it was an earthquake -- well, aftershock. But for some reason it didn't phase me at all, maybe because it was so small and I was so tired, and I just went right back to sleep. Chet, the owner of the B&B told me they've been getting aftershocks at least once a day, but most of them are very small and don't cause damage.
So I stayed tucked in bed until early afternoon, when hunger drove me out to the bakery and grocery store. I bought some meat pies (yum), locally-made soups (yum) and fruit and veggies (boring but good for me). My B&B in in a residential neighborhood that borders a ... what do I call it? ... light industrial park area. When you can buy tires, new kitchens, that sort of thing. So I didn't pass anything really nice on my way to the shops, but I did see some remnants of the earthquake that happened about 5 weeks ago. Most buildings (that I saw) are still standing and don't have obvious damage. Others appear to only have mild damage, but must be pretty bad because they are fenced off and completely empty.
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| About 3 houses down from my B&B. |
UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot this part. At one point during my nap, I was awoken by ... something. At the time it sounded and felt like a large truck rumbling past, or someone upstairs dropping a large box of books, but my first thought was "earthquake!" Turns out it was an earthquake -- well, aftershock. But for some reason it didn't phase me at all, maybe because it was so small and I was so tired, and I just went right back to sleep. Chet, the owner of the B&B told me they've been getting aftershocks at least once a day, but most of them are very small and don't cause damage.
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