Happy Go Lucky

Luck. For the second time in a few months I felt this incredible feeling of being hit by a lightning full of luck right in my core. The first time was in Australia (which I am still owning my 3.5 readers a post about) and the mentioned second was last week on a short trip to Dunedin. Just like in the land of Oz, I was constantly mesmerized by how lucky I was for everything that was happening around me and involving me. For the lack of a better explanation, it seems like an involuntary stream of bliss you just need to appreciate and let yourself go with the flow. Happy go lucky.

Dunedin Railway Station

With my financial budget resembling the current status of a bankrupt southern European country, travelling must be an inventive economic process. Nevertheless, good things can actually come out of such restrictions. In that sense, the bible of any backpacker who 1) is on a budget, 2) loves to travel, 3) wants more of a town than partying hard and get laid on a hostel bunk bed, it’s called Couchsurfing. After such a great couch surfing experience in Sydney, I was eager to try it again and fortunately I did! Hence, our luck in Dunedin started from the very moment we set foot out of the bus. Our host, Phil, went to pick us up by car at the bus station and drove us to his place, where his girlfriend, Asia, welcomed us with a big hug. The best thing of being involved in couchsurfing is that, you will, for the most part, meet people who are genuinely good, generous and are keen to open their house to you. It is a community of people who share a passion for traveling and even when they are not traveling themselves they like to help and share experiences with those who are. More, not only were Phil and Asia wonderful hosts (including an amazing vegetarian dinner served with homemade beer. all to the sound of Deolinda) but their home was a cozy apartment right in the city centre with a fantastic view over the harbor. 

University of Otago

cute cafes all over town

And because being so lucky with our accomodation apparently wasn't enough to make this a fantastic trip, my partner in travel crime, Manu, received a call from a high school friend, Florian, saying that he was also arriving in Dunedin with is girlfriend, Chiara, the very same day as we were. This pure, and again very lucky, coincidence allowed us to go on a day trip to the Otago Peninsula with them on their car. As the back seats were transformed into a bed, I spend my day poppin in and out of a mattress and watching stunning scenery from a horizontal position. 

Otago Peninsula

Otago Peninsula - Sandfly Bay

By the end of the day, and keeping in touch with a backpacker's budgetary limitations, Florian decided that we should catch our own dinner. And by we I mean the Germans who went into the low tie to dig almost 200 muscles and the Portuguese who documented the moment for future reference. Cooking such dinner took a long, cold and rainy two hours in a parking lot by the beach and ended up being eaten in the parking lot of a supermarket in the city. Despite the challenges, we were happy and proud of our accomplishment. 

Catching dinner

Dinner!

To finalize the last night in Dunedin, after an exquisite meal homeless style, we met our hosts in the local Scottish pub to try and restore some blood circulation and have a goodbye drink. Even at the pub, what could have been a very awkward evening with people that have met each other in 48h, 12h and 30 minutes periods, turned out to be filled with mutual and sincere laughs.

Scottish Pub - Albar

As for Dunedin, it was the perfect background to such amazing times. Beautiful town full of life (it has the oldest University in New Zealand, University of Otago, with 24,000 students) and great little cafes. All of these within a 10 minutes car ride from the Otago Peninsula which is home to rare penguins and sea lions who like to hang out in the local beaches. We weren't lucky enough to see any but after four very nice days, I think Luck gave me more than enough.