The Great Barrier Reef

There are really no words to do any justice to my experience at one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. But I'll do my best at sharing this day with you in a way that gives you some sense of what it was like.

It all starts with the meeting of another family. This one is from Edinburgh, Scotland. Sandra and Sean Griffin and their 16-year old son Ryan were waiting outside the resort to be picked up for the same excursion to the Reef. We traveled to Port Douglas, about 50km north of Palm Cove, where the marina is located for the day trips to the Outer Reef. Upon arriving to the marina, I told Sandra my last name and she quickly said, "Ahhh, a Scottish name." I admitted that I had no idea where in Scotland my ancestors are from, but I knew that I had other ancestors from Bolden, England. Apparently this was familiar to them. Upon entering this gorgeous boat, we were fitted with snorkeling equipment and when the Griffins went to sit at a table they invited me to join them. Adopted again!

Over morning tea, we talked and learned a few things about one another and then quickly went onto the deck once the boat started moving for the 1.5 hour adventure to the Reef. We stood at the bow of the boat and watched in amazement as the incredibly blue water before us seemed eternal as we gazed at the the horizon. Every now and then we would see a large ship, but other than that it was nothing but water and it was unbelievably gorgeous. There were periods of time where we could actually see the ocean floor where there were spots of dark green. It's really hard to imagine such a sight unless you're there. Pictures will help once I'm able to post them.

It got choppy at one point. That's when the barf bags started coming out and those people moved to the rear of the boat where it's more stable. I took the prescription anti-nausea medication they offered because I didn't want to be that person. I don't know if I get sea sick, but I certainly don't want to find out on a trip of a lifetime to the Great Barrier Reef.

Sandra, Sean, Ryan and I remained at the bow of the boat holding onto the railings and laughing as the boat went up and then down and our stomachs dropped each time. We were giddy with excitment like little kids. Other than two other people, we were the only ones standing the entire time.

Once we arrived to our first site, everyone was anxious to jump in the water and see if this place was as good as the brochures describe. Again, just as words cannot describe it, neither do the pictures do it any justice.

I was amazed at the amount of coral and the vast array of species of fish. Sandra was determined to find Nemo. She had her camera in hand and was scoping out every nook and cranny for the little guy. I just wanted to see a shark. One of the nice ones, that is. Apparnetly, they have friendly sharks at the Reef. They are black sharks but they aren't interested in humans. The guides themselves have never even seen a dangerous shark, so that put my mind at ease and allowed me to enjoy the day.

At the second site, they split us up into groups and gave us an instructional tour. The tour was awesome because they pointed out things that we would have never noticed on our own. Our tour guide started out by saying, "Who wants to see Nemo?" I immediately spun around to search for Sandra and simultaneously heard someone ooh oohing through their snorkel gear. Guess who? It was Sandra yelling with excitment!

Seeing Nemo was anticlimactic because he is very tiny and he's mostly brown and not orange. Hmmm. Now it makes me wonder what the other Disney characters really look like. :)

We also learned about the sea cucumber and that there are several hundred different species. They are leathery and in different colors. If you pick one up then it tries to defend itself by spraying white stringy stuff similar to silly string. It was pretty cool. The guides are trainedto be extremely gentle and respectful of the environment. So everything else was shown to us by the guide swimming down and pointing at it.

After this site visit we enjoyed afternoon tea and a buffet lunch. It was yummy and just what we needed to refuel for our third and final stop at Opal Reef. That's the name of the section of reef we were exploring all day.

The tide had gone down significantly and this means we would be much closer to the coral and needed to be extremely careful. It was my favorite spot for that reason and you were almost face to face with all of the sea life. There was one very scary fish that was almost as big as me and had a square nose and looked like he had teeth. I steered clear of him.

Our journey back was super gorgeous and again, we stood at the front of the boat for most of the ride. Once we got back to the hotel, I exchanged emails with Sandra. She wants to email pictures she took of me. She also invited me to visit them in Scotland one day. Until then, we can be e-pals.

I was exhausted and sunburnt but extremely happy after experiencing such an incredible day and meeting some really nice people.

Thanking my lucky stars I can do things like this...

Sleepless in paradise

My body clock has not adjusted to the time zone. Here I am again waiting for the sun to rise so I can go for a run.

In the meantime, it's a nice time to tell you a little more about Palm Cove. This colorful, breezy town is on the coast of the Coral Sea. Palm Cove Beach is known as the jewel of Cairns Northern beaches. It's lined with restaurants, shops and resorts and only 25 minutes from Cairns. It's "holidays for the kiddies" so there are a lot of families here. But it's still very relaxing and quiet.

The beach is 60 seconds from my doorstep with views of mountains in the distance. The water is pristine and the perfect temperature to go for a refreshing swim. It's sunny and 80's here with a gentle breeze in the morning and a bit windy in the afternoon. I spent much of the day on the beach yesterday with a run in the morning and then a walk. I later returned to sit on the beach and do some swimming.

Getting a little antsy from all the laying around, I went for a stroll through town to see the shops. Your usual souvenir shops and some boutique shops as well. Everything is expensive and there is nothing special about their fashion that I've seen so far. For those reasons I didn't buy anything until I came across a little pantry. I bought sweet chili sour cream cheese made here in Queensland and returned to the rainforest setting of my resort to enjoy it with some
Australian wine.

All this relaxation has been nice, especially after the hours I worked to be able to take this trip, but I'm in need of some adventure. I'm looking forward to the next couple of days of the Daintree Rainforest and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. Stay tuned for some more interesting journal entries.

Turquoise and Emerald

Flying into Cairns, the turquoise waters and emerald mountains are breathtaking. I was in awe over the beauty and anxious to get to the resort. But not before I tried to get into the wrong side of the vehicle after the driver told me I could sit in front. We both laughed and it was now obvious I was from the US.

Upon arrival to the Reef Retreat in Palm Cove, I met Clive. No, not Clive Owen. But that would've been pretty cool. Clive is the owner. Along with his wife Mary. They are both very sweet. Clive mentioned there have been many visitors from Chicago to his resort in recent months. More than usual and he wasn't sure why. He then told me many single women stay at the resort and assured me it's very safe and I could even go for a midnight walk without having to worry. No thanks. I don't want to become the next American woman to make headlines on CNN.

Instead, after waking up in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep, I watched the Rugby World Series until the sun came up. I then went for a jog on the beach. It was incredibly beautiful and calm with few people out and about. I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to be here.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Daintree Rainforest. Til then...