After dinner, a few of us went out on deck to watch the sunset. We're docked in Darling Harbour, which is past the bridge and kind of around the corner from Circular Quay where the Opera House is. From the starboard side of the ship, we looked west (a good direction to look at a sunset) away from the Opera House over a stretch of the harbor that seemed to be a major thoroughfare.
The sky certainly did its part: crescent Moon, evening star, brilliant red underbellies on the clouds spread across the skyline. But the show was on the water, where dozens of boats whizzed by in what looked like total chaos: little rowboats with one Evinrude engine, yellow taxi boats, sleek dark river cats, paddlewheelers (yes, just like on the Mississippi) and charter catamarans, their decks jammed with partying Aussies in dresses way up to HERE and shirts unbuttoned way down to THERE, sound systems providing heavy bass rhythms as the lights on the dance floors flashed red, green, blue, silver, and gold onto the darkening harbor water.
As the sunlight faded, the lights of the boats and the buildings along the shore came on, making a swirling carnival for the eyes. As I reclined on my deck chair, watching the river traffic on one February Saturday night in Darling Harbour, I was forced to the conclusion that Australians really know how to have a good time.
And since you mention stars, have you yet seen the Southern Cross in the sky?
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