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Cairns, yes, I'm sure you've heard the name before. And, yes, as popular as it may be, Cairns truly did live up to its name. If you can beleive that in just over 48 hours, the popular tourist destination made a serious impact on our trip as a whole. Flying from Darwin to the entrance of the Great Barrier Reef, we arrived to gloomy skies and rainfall. Taking our free taxi service to Gilligian's, the well known hostel in northern Queensland, we fit right in. Saddling up to our hostel, I made my own version of pre-packaged oatmeal. Pre-packaged oats, the travel campanion of the southern hemsphere, was looking pretty dull, as jacked up Irish man whipped up a plate of 69 cent pasta beside me. As I mentally prepared myself for the reef tomorrow, I cozyed up to my bunk for the night, feeling pretty happy with the decision of turning in early. The peaceful slumber I had intended, was rudly awoken by a half- naked man trying to sit on the side of my bed. Apparently the cute British boy bunking with us had been enjoying the Cairns night life...a little to much. Awkwardly waking up, the only words coming out were "wrong bed!" He didn't get it. After 5 times, and now Chelsea waking up in laughter, I started punching at his back. Finally cute British boy got the hint, and I fell asleep. A great story for the kids.
The promised sunshine of Cairns was shot, as the gloomy rainy, weather hung over us like last nights encounter. Us girls, headed to the port, jumped on the 90 minute cruise taking us to one of the 7th natural wonders of the world. As some might anticipate a smooth, scenic ride, I would describe it as the complete opposite. I don't know if i've ever enountered so much chunk-blowing in my life. The dream vacation, spiraled downward as patrons cluched the sides of the boat for dear life. I'm popping sea-sickness tablets like an avid user, and bleakly trying to rememeber what solid ground feels like. Arriving to the reef, I'm happy to report I didn't toss my cookies once, as for Chelsea....
So, the reef was great! The waters calmed, we strapped on some serious dive gear and followed introductory diver Paul to the depths. The 90 mins of hell had nothing on what was underneath the surface. Being fully submerged for over 30 mins, I lost myself in the world around me. I was amazed at the life forms, and colours that surrounded me. Scuba-diving was serene and calm, both soothing and detailed in colour. Let's not think of top deck. Snappers, sharks, turles, and schools of fish, we couldn't have asked for better. Jumping back on the boat for a great buffet meal, we rode back to Cairns, barf-free, as we met up for Mexican Food with our fellow travellors, Vicky and Emily. The meal was amazing and the shared memories were a spectacular end to a full day. We couldn't and didn't want to stop laughing, as the 4 of us were parting ways that evening. But as Chelsea and I headed of to Airlie Beach, we braced ourselves for a 12 hour, overnight greyhound, with a stomach full of... Mexican Food.
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