April• 2018 | 99READER’S DIGEST
© 2015 BY SUSAN NERBERG. AIR CANADA’SENROUTE(JANUARY 2015). ENROUTE.AIRCANADA.COMCAUGHT ON THE HOPAustralians often joke that tourists expect to see kangaroos
hopping across the Sydney Harbour Bridge but the joke was
on police when a wayward wallaby led them in an early-
morning chase across the famous landmark earlier this year.
“Traffic controllers ... monitored the wallaby as it hopped
across to lane 1 and, without indicating, exited onto Cahill
Expressway then to Macquarie Street,” police said.
“Officers took the startled macropod into police custody ...
with the police mounted unit arriving on scene soon after to
take it to the zoo for veterinary assessment.”
Observers commented the male adult Swamp Wallaby had
avoided paying the bridge toll fee.REUTERSThere’s a kaleidoscope of boulders
and kelp sheltering Chilean sea ur-
chins and schools ofpampanitos(but-
terish) that whip out in lashes of blue
and yellow. A reddish rock suddenly
moves below; it’s an octopus tugging
at seaweed, as if pulling up a duvet.
When we reach the shore, Aguirre
quickly sheds his fins and runs off.
“You’re in luck: the hot tub is ready!”
he says when he returns. A wood ire–
heated wooden soaker has been
warming up while we’ve been snorkel-
ling. I ease into the steaming water,
and before I know it, Aguirre comes
over with a lager. I take a big gulp,
then scan the ocean for whales, seals,
ships. The navy has sailed off, and
there’s nothing to blur the horizon.
I’ve found the real treasure of Robin-
son Crusoe: solitude.me around the living-room–sized fa-
cility. “Now I sell to restaurants and
bars on the continent.” He pours me
his award-winning wheat ale and we
step out on the deck to clink glasses.
Firecrowns zoom around, hovering by
a cabbage tree; they’re sipping one of
their preferred brews. Looks like I’ve
discovered a favourite, too.
Eager to fully immerse myself in the
local wonders, I head back across the
waves to Crusoe Island Lodge, where
I meet up with the hotel’s Víctor Agu-
irre. Once he’s kitted me out with a
wetsuit, ins and a snorkel, we waddle
down to the rocky shore and jump in
the water. I’m surprised at how warm
itis–Ihadexpectedabout10°C, but
it’s a balmy 17. Following Aguirre, I
peer through water so crystalline, it’s
a natural draw for scuba divers.