Our room in Gilligans
Heading out to sea
Bunk on the ship
Cool grafitti in Cairns
Hostel
Cool tree in town
Lagoon
I was sitting on the plane ride back to Sydney, with an old man half in my seat and half in his own, his crossed legs causing a protrusion of his leg into my leg area, and his arm resting on the seat in front of me which went across my face, when I started to reflect on this recent visit to Cairns. Boy what a trip it was. The first night started off slow. After a day of travel we were all tired and ready for some rest. The ride had gone smoothly and we checked in with no problems. We ate some food and settled in for bed. My eyes sprung open at about 3 am. A rustling noise that sounded like "a grizzly bear getting into the trash" (Sarah) came from across the room. No big deal, just our German roommate making her bed in the wee hours of the night, completely oblivious to the six other people sleeping in the room. How quaint.
The next morning we were up and headed for our live aboard at 8am. We transferred from a huge yacht, to a pontoon, to our ship over the course of a 3 hour ride out to sea. The ship was large, sleeping maybe 30 people. It had three decks, kitchen, bar, and a library...Paradise at its best. After a quick tour, we jumped right into the water. Our first dive was great. I was quite rusty as I got used to the snorkel and fins as it had been at least three years since I had done it. We saw a bunch of giant clams and some clown fish. Once back at the ship we indulged in a quick snack and were back into the water after an hour break. Watching all the divers gear up and head under was killing me. I had to dive. Luckily, I got the opportunity to do an intro dive. Shit is unreal. We went down about three meters to get a feel of it. After a few tests I gave my guide a thumbs up and we dove on down. The bubbles tickled my neck as I quickly inhaled and exhaled. I was scared to death. I knew I was stuck down there and there was no quick rise to the surface. As we continued to sink I became elated. The temperature quickly declined as did the light around us. We then leveled out. I was 12 meters underwater, something I had never done before. Everything was so surreal. I truly can't explain the feeling. We didn't see much but just being that deep underwater was enough to convince me....I need to get certified. We swam around for a bit dipping to 16.9 meters at our max depth. By the end of the dive the guide allowed me to swim around by myself for a bit. After about 30 minutes we began our ascent back to the surface. Back on the ship I learned that though my nickname is fish, I breathe like a 350 pound lineman. Guess I'll need to work on that for future dives. The evening continued on with dinner, a night dive for the certified divers, and hanging out on the sun deck. Then something amazing happened. With a full stomach, good company, on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, I saw the most beautiful sunset of my life. The sky was illuminated with every color of the rainbow. Blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink all flashed across the sky as the sun slowly dipped behind the distant mountains of Cairns. A picture couldn't do the scene justice, but that sunset I will remember for the rest of my life. The setting lasted about 20 minutes before the sun finally left the sky. What a great night.
The second day we received a wonderful 5:30 wake up call. Kill me. I have a hard time doing 5:30, but then jumping into some cold water, that's close to torture. It was totally worth it though. The fish were everywhere, the sunrise was beautiful, and there is no better way to become instantly awake. We did another three snorkel dives that day highlighted by spotting a turtle and tons of other cool fish. The rest of the time was spent laying in the sun, eating food, and living the dream. As quickly as quickly as the boat trip had begun, we were back on the huge yacht headed for land. Back at the hotel, we once again were exhausted and had an early night, for tomorrow I had a big day coming.
Awakened with a quirky tune and a smile on my face, I slipped out of bed. I ate a small breakfast, met up with the crew, and jumped into another van. We were headed to the forest, not to tour around, but to bungee jump. Hell yes. The layout was awesome. This place had a bar, lagoon, eating area, and, most importantly, a 50 meter high tower constructed specifically for bungee jumping. This was my kind of store. Our group of eight checked in and I was immediately chosen to go first. Flight after flight I made my way to the top of the canopy as everything below me began to miniaturize. There was no screwing around. My legs were quickly attached to the cord and my camera taped to my hand. I was ready to go. It's a cruel reality how everything becomes way higher when you are looking down versus up. With my toes hanging over the edge, my heart raced. This wasn't like skydiving where you are thrust out of the plane by the person attached to your back. The choice was all on my. No one else was taking me off the ledge. I took a deep breath, listened to the countdown, and jumped. Holy shit. I'm addicted. It was crazy. That's all I have to say. Fucking Crazy. One by one the group quickly followed, with the exception of Clare. That girl may have stood on that ledge for 10 minutes, but in the end she conquered her fears and jumped. Bravo. By the time everyone had jumped, I had been waiting at the bottom for a good hour. This didn't sit well with me. I had to jump again. After a quick trip to the front desk, I was once again climbing the steps with four other brave souls (Gabby, Kendall, Isak, and Oie) to do another jump. This time I decided to do a back dive to mix things up. The jump was perfect and the slack allowed me to dip to about my shoulders in the lagoon below. Bungee jumping is amazing. Can't wait to do it again.
The rest of the day was quite lax in comparison. We strolled around town, laid out at the lagoon, and weaved throughout the Asian markets. For once we weren't tired and since it was our last night in Cairns, we knew we had to go big. Quite a night ensued.
As the lot of us sat in the hostel room drinking goon and juice a man knocked on the door. He had short shorts, no shirt, and suspenders on. He informed us that tonight was ladies night and that girls got five free glasses of champagne when they went to the night club. I disregarded the remark and drank on, as my distain for the opposite sex grew. However, the man added a little something before he left. "Oh and guys can get the champagne too if they wear a dress." Welp, I better get drinking. I would like to think it takes a lot for me to put on a dress, but I guess it doesn't. With the promise of free drinks and maybe 7 glasses of goon, I found myself sucking in and having two people slowly wriggle the dress over my shoulders. Soon enough I was headed to the dance floor in a dress that went half way down my thighs, something everyone wants to see I'm sure. I proceeded to dance the night away, learning that dancing in a dress without showing your boxers too much is quite a task. Everyone looked great in their dress including Marcus and Isak. The free drinks were all enjoyed which resulted in two lost phones among other things. Luckily everything was found and everyone made it to their beds to my knowledge. It was a solid last night.
The last day was spent walking around town, enjoying all the local cuisine, and traveling for about seven hours. The trip was great. Cairns is a nice little town with tons to do. I would recommend it to anyone. It has a great aboriginal culture alongside its massive tourism attractions. Cairns, a quintessential stop for anyone visiting Australia.
At some point I'll get my videos of the reef and bungee jumping up.
The Dress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKt1bmfZnFY
bungee jumping video
No comments:
Post a Comment