5-21
Today we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and Judee did one introductory scuba dive! The hype is all TRUE! Our boat took us out to the Agincourt Ribbon Reefs, right on the northern end of the reef. We were privileged to dive in three different areas during the day-long trip. The cliff of living coral dropped off 20-30 meters in places to deep blue depths complete with grottos, caves and tunnels created by thousands of years of coral growth. As we moved across the immense coral plains and ledges, small, elaborately decorated fishes swam by, in and out one at a time or along the reef cliffs in huge schools. We saw giant clams, Christmas Tree anemones, feather starfish and clown fish nestling in the soft coral that fluttered with the sea currents. The clarity even on our overcast rainy day was remarkable.
Judee tried scuba; found it ok, but enjoyed snorkeling without all the equipment to be more fulfilling. Art was not allowed to participate due to his asthma. The experience exceeded all expectations!
5/24
We took a couple of short days to make our way south into Cairns. We spent a memorable night at Ellis Beach, a lovely beach, soft topical breezes, nice pool at the campground and en equally fun bar and grill nearby. That was our last night in a tent, as we found a quaint, old Queenslander backpackers place, Ryan’s Rest, and took a room for our six nights in Cairns. Today, as we began to accomplish our tasks for the day, rain started and hours later, it is still raining torrents!
We visited the doctor for Art’s fungi (fingernail land ring worm) acquired Rx prescripts, checked our local sports shops for mossy (mosquito) netting, a place to sell our tent, a box to send home cook gear, sleeping bag and non-essentials for hot, cheap Asia. We plan on flying home September/October for 1.5 to 2 months to see family and friends. We can pick up anything we sent home by mistake, then. Tomorrow we see the Skin Alert cancer specialists before spending months more in the topical sun.
It is such a pleasure to sit and read, high up on the second floor balcony with the rain pouring off the metal roof, parakeets twittering and sipping beer in the late afternoon – relaxing. May 2nd we fly to Darwin and then onto Bali June 1. Our biking will be errands only until then.
5-25
Skin Alert clinic day. We had decided some time ago we would have a go at having a check up for skin cancer due to our many hours a day of exposure on the bike. We had heard about these skin cancer clinics from a local we had run into when we were out to dinner some months ago. We really had no idea what to expect but had heard that they use light rooms, where you were exposed to a certain kind of light to detect any cancerous tissues on your body. Well, the doctor called up into his office, told us to disrobe down to our shorts and inspected both of us top to toe. All the while chatting with us regarding the stories and myths of cancer detection. The final word is: if it is a new spot or a changing spot, it is suspect. We were told how to do a body inspection every three months using pictures of our bodies we have taken to help guide us.
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