The weather finally started to clear up a little bit. Friday was finally the time to head out to the reef. I booked a little tour doing snorkeling on the outer reef. The tour was through Compass Cruises, a nice little (apparently) family owned group. We had quite a few people on the boat. They were quite accommodating and had a nice buffet of fresh fruit when we boarded. There was also a healthy supply of coffee and tea whenever the vessel was stationary. They would be taking us to two separate locations on the outer reef for us to explore. The trip out took about 2 hours, though it didn't seem that long. We got some great views of the mountains around Cairns as we went off, as well as some pristine views of the ocean. There was a nice deck space upstairs to take in the view, which I did. I didn't want to get psyched out again and get sea sick, so I stayed up on the deck which helped immensely.
Now I know I've harped on how much stronger the sun is here. I took precautions and slathered myself with some SPF 45 right before heading out to the wharf, and I had some SPF 30 in my pack to reapply later. However, I discovered that it's a bit hard to reach some places on your back, and a wet suit rental would be highly advised. At our first dive location I stayed out for almost the whole two hours without realizing it. I didn't even hear the call to come in for lunch. You don't really think about how exposed your posterior is to the sun as you're snorkeling until it's too late. I saw many others with reddened skin, and I was quite displeased to later find out that I was one of them. The lunch buffet was quite tasty. They had greek salad, cole slaw, heaps of marinated beef with the cucumber sauce, rolls and more salads. I am proud to report that I was a member of the clean plate club. It was all washed down with some nice coffee as we pedaled our way to the next location. The move only took about 5 minutes and many people didn't even notice that we had moved.
With another coast of sunscreen applied, I hopped back in the water. This time, I would only stay out for an hour or so. The sun really getting to me. There were quite a few interesting and brightly colored fishes and coral below. I tried to follow some when I could with my camera. It was funny to watch them eat. As your head is below water, you can obviously hear the sound of the ocean currents, but you can also hear the crunching of the fish eating from the coral. I wasn't quite sure of the noise at first, but when I took a closer look, I realized it was from the hungry water dwellers. There were a couple of huge sea cucumber as well. Both were probably about the length of my arm, one was about the same diameter, and the other, double. After trailing some of the divers and other snorkelers, it was time to call it a day.
Coffee and water helped to rehydrate myself, and I spend the rest of the time at location two just people watching. When we started to head back, they announced that anyone who wanted to try boomnetting could go upstairs for instructions. They were as follows: Rule #1 - Don't let go. Rule #2 - Don't let go. And Rule #3 - Don't let go. Boomnetting is basically willfully submitting yourself to the high possibility of drowning. They toss a rope net off the back of the boat and you have to jump onto your back (which hurts if you're burnt) and flip over to your front and hold on while they increase speed and try and shake you off. There is a rescue boat behind that picks up the fallen. At first, it wasn't so bad. Occasionally someone would step on the rope and you'd possibly go under for a bit. It was hard to keep your eyes open, and mine, along with my mouth, were often times closed. Now, they told us before hand to make sure our suits were on tight. I did, however, I had to spend most of the time hanging on one-handed as I used the other to secure my bottoms. At the end, they cranked up the speed and tried to shake the last person off. I thought about letting go at least 5 times. I was being pummeled my water in my face, I couldn't see, could barely breathe, and if I didn't hold on, was going to have half a bathing suit. Luckily someone else released and the boat slowed down. The crew got some great pictures of it though, and in nearly all of them I look like I'm in pain.
On the cruise back we were treated to some wine, cheese and crackers. I think that the wine dulled my sunburn pain. With not much else to do, I found a shady spot to lie down, on my stomach, and took a little nap. I must have drifted in and out, because I'm pretty sure I started drooling and at one point I couldn't feel my right arm. The crew got us together for one last group photo then it was time to say goodbye. As soon as I got back, it was aloe and lotion time. I had to, very uncomfortably, sleep on my stomach the whole night. Luckily now, three days later, I can now sleep in basically any position with only mild discomfort. Yay! At one point I was laying on my stomach on the couch in my living room area. The fan going on high above me, and my phone on the floor to entertain me. Anya, my roommate, came in and said that I looked like a beached seal. It's what I felt like too. Two guests ended up sneaking in through out balcony and I just sort of haphazardly said hi. How fun. It's hard to stay cool though, now that the rain's decided to take a break and the humidity and hotness has returned. Our room turns into a sauna, and the best respite from the heat has been to chill out in the nice, air conditioned library.
The library has been my Mecca for about a week now. It's cute, spacious, quiet, has itself some nice books, and, most importantly, has air conditioning. The only drawback is that it's in the smelly part of town. The trees that house the flying foxes are right on the side of the building. You can still hear them talking from inside the building. It's a small price to pay for all the benefits.
There is a good sized China town here in Cairns, and they put on a Chinese New Year celebration and closed off about two city blocks for it. They had music and performers all afternoon. They also had cultural booths, gift stalls and many food vendors. They had a small parade that lasted about 5 minutes, but was entertaining enough. There was a bit of rain that put a damper on things, but not for too long. It was a nice little event to check out for a bit when you didn't really feel like going out out.
Those were the two big events of this past week. Next week I should hopefully have some skydiving footage (after I pay their extortion fee for it) and possible pictures of the jump. Until next time people. Have a great week!
-Celina
Oh yeah, and by the way, Big Hero 6 took home the Oscar for best animated feature. Boo ya!
