Coff's Harbour

While in Bellingen, I met a friendly middle-aged woman named Donna with whom I shared a great marathon three-hour conversation about life, the universe, everything and Douglas Adams (maybe not the last one.). She invited me to stay with her for a couple of days in the nearby coastal town of Coff's Harbour. She seemed nice enough; I didn't get a creepy dangerous vibe from here, so I took her up on her offer.

Coff's Harbour's big tourist attraction is the appropriately titled Big Banana. The town is one of the biggest producers of bananas in the country, so a giant banana was built on a banana farm. There are banana themed toboggan rides, plantation tours, a gift shop filled with common household items shaped like bananas, and of course a food court serving banana splits, monkey tails, and just plain ol' bananas. The banana I had purchased there may be the best banana I've ever had in my life, though it was probably picked that morning, so this is to be expected. The big banana is only one of many big things throughout Australia, including the giant prawn of Bellina, the giant golden guitar of Tamworth, and the giant pinapple of Caloundra. It is good to know that America isn't the only nation that builds various giant fiberglass and plaster things as tacky tourist attractions in an attempt to draw crowds to little towns. Coff's is a nice surfing town as well that draws many Aussies, since it is completely off the backpacker map.

Donna and I did not do too much. Mostly, we sat around and chatted. Donna was a fascinating woman. I learned her entire life story. Never underestimate the intimacy through near anonymity. I will spare you the details of her life, but suffice it to say that she's had one hell of a life.

I've begun to see the power of micro-friendships, though I've been left with little choice given that it is all I've been able to have on the road. When you break it down, all relationships, no matter the duration, are about two people sharing a moment in time. Even if it is merely a fleeting moment, there is still value to any friendship. I think back to some of the great friendships I've had over the years, such as Nathan, Dan, Becky, April, among others. It is crazy to think that even though I've shared years of time with these people, I've not even spoken to some of them in many months. We shared our moments and moved on. Sometimes the shared moment never ends and you stay lifetime friends, but most of the time, people stay together for convenience. When that convenience is done, we just find new friendships with less effort. This is the sad truth about friendships. These one or two day micro-friendships follow the same trajectory of longer relationships, it is just in a more condensed time. There is the introduction, the exploration of each other or analysis if you want to actually spend time with the person, then there is the exchange of intimacy that leads to a peak, then finally, the separation once the shared time is done. Yeah, real friendships are much better, it gets old to live the entire course of a relationship everyday, but in the end, we still get the same outcome: learning about yourselves and others through sharing company for a certain amount of time. Overall, when traveling around, the need for company and intimacy with another person never goes away, that is often why two people in a brief meeting will get on like they've known each other for years. Donna and I shared a great friendship even though it only lasted for two days. This doesn't make it any less important.