Scuba diving and night markets!

January 3

Since we were advised to not go into the ocean by our hotel, we decided to have a pool day. The surrounding beach is probably why our hotel has a really nice pool area. Today and Thursday are the only days we do not have something planned in Cairns, so it was nice to sit back and relax.

Later in the evening, we went to the Cairns Night Market. I have been reading about the night markets in Thailand, so I was really excited to experience one in Australia. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t what I expected – it was touristy and cheap. I was hoping it would be more fruits, vegetables, seafood, etc., but it was more fake boomerangs, knockoff UGGS, and Kangaroos skins. Let me know if you want me to pick up a skin rug for you!

January 4

Today is the day I have been waiting for since arriving to Australia….we are going to scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef! The company we went through was extremely precautious, which made me happy for I feared being left behind like in the movie Open Water. A consequence of the extreme precautions was Andrea’s asthma. We had to fill out a large health questionnaire and then they consulted a doctor based on our responses. They even questioned James and I’s malaria medicine. It was unfortunate for Andrea because she hasn’t had an outbreak since she was a small child. Fortunately the company offered snorkeling, so her and Bret could do that.

James and I went on three different dives and each was better than the last. Within our dives we saw reef sharks, gigantic clams, huge fish, and many different types of reefs and coral. The reefs and coral were not as colorful as I expected, but they were still beautiful. I’m thinking we will see more color on our snorkel trip since it is shallower water.

James and I were fortunate and were placed in a small group…we always had less than four people. It was even just us at one time! It was great being in a small group. Our guide took us to some neat places and allowed us to touch a few things. We touched three different types of sea cucumber, a coral, and starfish. It was very interesting because you could feel them sucking on your hand.

We had the option to rent a digital camera, but we decided to buy a reusable underwater camera that we could use in Thailand as well. Today was a practice run and as you can tell, the photos are just mediocre. I hope to edit them more when I get home. The underwater photography is definitely a learning curve...hopefully the photos will get better with each dive.