Amongst the mangroves

She places her telephone calls as if she were raising a ransom - quick, it's a matter of life and death."

- from The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife by Marilyn Sides

Last weekend J and I checked out the North Western cycle route for the first time. This route follows along beside the North Western motorway for over 10km and starts, as we discovered, about 100 metres from our apartment!

We cycled out to Avondale and checked out the bike store there (got some new socks and the sales guy convinced us we needed Merida gloves to match our Merida bikes instead of our Giant ones! So now I have half-finger baby pink ones to match my camelbak and helmet...but not the bright green of the bike!) then discovered it was well and truly lunch time and we had nothing with us to eat. Conveniently there was a cafe right next door so we went there. I ordered a custom pizza with mushrooms, capsicum, cashews and mango chutney. It was truly delicious (or perhaps that was because I was so hungry!) so perhaps we will have to cycle out that way at lunchtime more often!

The coolest thing about the cycle way is the section right next to the motorway where it crosses over the estuary and you're riding right next to the mangroves. I've driven along this stretch of motorway in rush hour a few times and been extremely jealous of the cyclists and runners whizzing past so it was cool to finally experience it myself.

I've always found mangroves to be pretty special...I love the way they grow up through the mud and when the tide comes in only the tips of the trees are visible. My brother once made a picture book about living in amongst the mangroves and I always imagine the drawings in his story coming to life whenever I see the mangroves rising up out of the mud. I do have to admit though I once did a rogaine where we ended up, well, very deep in mud amongst the mangroves and I can't honestly say at that point I found them very special at all!