The description they had on their itinerary was at best vague: “ Arrive in Zurich 6:10 am - the train takes about six hours.” Perhaps it would in retrospect have been easier if we’d known exactly which train Cliff and Gina were arriving on. All my investigations had shown at least half a dozen changes would be necessary en route and there were at least that many possible routes as well.
As it was we knew we had half a morning to get the necessary washing dry in our makeshift drying cabinet, and to find some sort of semblance of order in the boat even if it wasn’t quite up to its shiny best. There was a sort of unattractive drizzle in the air, so while one of us fiddled with calculators and rail timetables to calculate a probable of arrival time and direction, the other of us busied herself with housekeeping, tidying, organising, menu planning and vegetable buying.
By late morning, we undertook the first of what would be many sloshes to the station to await an incoming train bereft of our visitors. At first we combined these trips with visits to the supermarket, or butcher or baker, but although we were looking forward to the visit, as each train came and went without depositing a load of North Queenslanders looking for somewhere to stay, another small task or two could be completed aboard.
By mid afternoon, with only trains from improbable destinations arriving till evening, hopes of seeing our friends today, or for that matter perhaps ever again, were beginning to diminish.
At exactly the point when all hope seemed lost, Cliff appeared waving an iPad, Gina not far behind unwrapping a SIM card for her phone.
WAVING an iPad.
I was until then unaware that waving an iPad was even a method of transmitting messages, but it seemed quite effective in the end. When it comes to communicating with computers, Cliff is clearly in a different league to the common man.
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