Mine was lots of fun. I had to get up at 3.30am to get my flight which was pretty hideous. I met Joe at the coach station and it was a nice reunion. We hugged but both had lots of bags so it was quite funny. It was very natural between us straight away.
We spent the rest of that day relaxing in the room, as we were both pretty tired from our respective journeys and both... uh hum... well, it had been a while for both of us...
Christmas Eve was nice, we went for a walk, went window shopping and went to Midnight Mass, as he is Catholic. It was really lovely to sing carols and it was really special between us. We hugged and were so affectionate to each other the whole 4 days. When we got back from Mass he gave me his rosary beads that his niece had given him before he went away as he said they had looked after him well and now they would look after me. I asked him if he was totally sure and he said yes, he wanted me to have them.
Christmas Day was fun. We found a place that did a take away roast but it closed at 3pm and we nearly missed it because we overslept. So we had roast chicken and salad, as that was all that was left, in the courtyard of the hotel. It was really tasty actually. Then that evening we went to the beach and weirdly bumped into two guys that had passed through Port Douglas so we went back to theirs for a bit. They said Joe could stay with them after I went which was lucky for him as he had nowhere to go after. Typical bloke!
On Boxing day we just spent the day chilling out again. Then on our final day we did a free walking tour round Sydney, we had such a laugh together.
Nothing negative happened at all, we spent the whole time being affectionate. I even caught him giving me a kiss when he thought I was asleep, obviously I still pretended to be. He got more affectionate as the days wore on, holding my hand etc. When I left he said how much he had enjoyed spending Christmas with me. And said 'Don't forget who loves you'. I don't know what that means, since he also said at one point that he doesn't believe in love. And we snogged in the station and he had to force himself to walk away.
I asked him why he didn't contact me for so long and he said that he hadn't known what to say. That I had left Port so quickly and that when I went he was gutted but his room mate (good old Blake!) had told him 'it was his own f*cking fault' which he admitted was the truth. He really didn't seem to want to talk about it.
The other thing was that the tour guide was asking me what my plans were for the rest of my time here and I accidentally said I would be doing my farm work (to get my second year visa) in Adelaide, which is where Joe plans to do his. I looked over at Joe, because I had an oh sh!t moment, and he had the biggest smile on his face at hearing that.
So who knows what will happen next. I think the mistake I made last time is that I expect all the attributes of a long term relationship as that is what I am used to. I just have to reframe this as what it is, a backpacker romance that may or may not have potential but to enjoy the moments we have and not expect more.
All in all, I am so glad I made the decision to go. I had a wonderful time and I have a smile on my face writing and remembering it. Now I am back in Melbourne and looking forward to New Year with some girlfriends.
