Fremantle, Australia

Our last port in Australia was much like the others, vibrant, young, clean, and easy to see yourself living in. Fremantle is really just a small suburb of Perth but has a life of it's own since 1987 when the America's Cup was sailed here for the first time outside of the US. The maritime museum has the original Australia II that won the cup, with it's innovative winged keel, and brought it to Australia. The town was built up for that event and has been thriving since by being a growing economic port on the Indian Ocean where the rich mineral deposits of Western Australia get shipped to the rest of the world.
We liked it because we got to stay overnight and on Saturday the downtown was a hopping place. Everyone in Perth seemed to be there but even though the outside cafes and restaurants were packed there were these great little alleys and courtyards with a little less hectic pace. We found one of these and followed our nose to a great Indian restaurant when one of the staff that we like quite a bit came running out to say hi and tell us about the great food in this place. He is from India and said he has eaten Indian food all around the world and this was the best he has had. Needless to say it didn't take much to convince us to stay.
The town was just as nice in the daytime even though the prison was the main tourist attraction other then the natural beauty of the harbor and land. Prison and prisoners seem to play such an important part of the settling and development of so much of Australia you can see why the people see themselves as a "rugged lot". They have an independence and kindness that is distinct to this country and we were sorry to see Australia go away behind us. The next leg is going to be a bit different and we are looking forward to seeing a part of the world we have never been in nor have much knowledge of. Bali is the next stop three days away.
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