Day Six – Chasing the Elusive Bargain

The smoky gray sky and the strumming drumbeat of raindrops on the windows proves that DREAMS DO COME TRUE. Mother Nature kidnaps us and we are forced to stay another day in Christchurch because the passes west across the Southern Alps are all closed due to snow and ice. We also cannot travel south because that unseasonably major Antarctic storm is busy dumping rainfall in the amounts not normally seen in an entire year down the coast as far as the South Pole. (“Should have been here last week, it was sunny and eighty” heard an obnoxious number of times) Roads and electricity both washed out and so in desperation I agree to accompany Kris to hear the men’s choir sing in the Famous Spired Cathedral. Good news, neither lightning strike nor roof cave-in occurs in spite of my presence and I am more convinced than ever there is no God, only desperate and greedy clergymen. Rain and wind continue to whip through this city but we’ve located a free wi-fi spot next door to our hotel here in Christchurch and have finally posted the first day’s blog. Great coffee and a blazing fire make it difficult to leave but I learn a harsh lesson in New Zealand traditions. No refills for your coffee cup. You get a fresh cup, you get another charge. Sitting and drinking cup after cup of good coffee is one of RK’s traditions and the clash of these two opposing traditions proves expensive for yours truly. My half a dozen cups while I write this blog could have financed my purchase of a small plantation.

Furthermore, since Arthur’s Pass is closed due to ice and snow, Kris has been blessed with an entire extra day of shopping here until we can leave around noon tomorrow. This will be a short post because I hate shopping and very little could convince me it is worth remembering. I did buy one kilo of Mandarin Oranges and ate them all. I love fruit without seeds. After the one thousandth viewing of oil spewing out of that underground fountain in the Gulf, the local newscaster promises that the mountain passes are to re-open tomorrow. As the song proclaims, I intend to climb the highest mountain… at noon tomorrow. PS, the bargains prove to be elusive. This minor fact does in no way hinder purchases.