I woke up at 6am as usual today, but I went back to sleep until 7.30, what vulgar luxury!! I bought supplies for the next leg of the trip at shops and markets that have seen better days, and fuller shelves. After a strong coffee I did some requisite "touristing" that included a very noisy and dusty mining old time mining demonstration, and a tour of the old timers mine.
I was then able to spent several hours at the Fuji Camera/opal shop run by Nathan Aretas- he is truly an inspirational guy! At age 16 he was playing around with his brothers in the opal fields and fell 85ft into an open opal mine shaft... his list of injuries is huge, and the effects have plagued him ever since. In addition to this, he is also currently suffering from bone cancer and, inspite of being in almost constant pain, he is an upbeat, patient, and compassionate man with an excellent sense of humor!
His shop is a center of social and artistic activity, and is an experience not to be missed... everyone seems to come through his door. The rogues gallery includes leathery opal miners, outback artists, aboriginal artists and locals, family and friends, tourists, and of course some scruffy-looking bicyclists! Nathan is a scrupulously honest man who literally would rather give away a piece of jewelry that he's crafted rather than have someone feel cheated... his character stands out in a town where honesty is surely at premium!
