Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

Carol looks for a place to sleep in Guam

Greetings Friends and Family!

Hello from somewhere in the air between Cairns and Sydney on our Virgin Australia flight! I'll pick up from where Joe left off and briefly describe leaving the Philippines and heading to Cairns, Australia with a brief one-night stopover in the territory of Guam!

Timing worked out just perfectly when we returned to Davao City from Cateel on the 10th of February. Our plan up to this point was to fly from Manila to Australia (via Guam) using Mom's United Airlines buddy passes on the 16th. We weren't sure what we would do from the 10th to the 16th and began thinking maybe we would head to Australia a bit earlier to have more time exploring Cairns (pronounced 'cans') and the nearby Great Barrier Reef. We contacted Mom to see if we would be able to leave Manila a few days sooner and she informed us that all flights were full EXCEPT departing Manila the 12th. So, we quickly changed plans, caught an early morning flight to Manila and boarded our United flight towards Guam (after paying a sum total of about $30 in surprise "terminal fees" which are charged to every passenger at various locations as they enter different parts of the terminal)!

Welcome to Australia!

Guam is a territory of the US and about 1,500 miles East of the Philippines. Being there felt a bit like going home to the USA for a night as we were surrounded by American accents, stores like the Home Depot and a breakfast at Denny's. It also reminded us a bit of Hawaii with white sand beaches, warm sea water, grand resort hotels lining the coastline and lots of tourists (mainly Chinese and Japanese). We hadn't booked a place to stay in advance thinking that finding a hotel room would be easy upon arrival, but it turned out that Guam was totally packed full due to many Asian tourists coming over to celebrate the Chinese New Year. After walking about six miles from the airport down to the beachfront, watching yet another fantastic sunset, and eventually calling 15 hotels, we got the last room at the Ypao Breeze Inn where we thoroughly enjoyed the running water, hot showers, and winter Olympics on TV (Sorry to Sean White for not getting a medal this year). We also savored an early morning jog followed by a glorious swim in the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean, and an afternoon coffee by the beach resorts with fast wifi (also something that made us feel like being back in the US again!).

Twenty-four hours after arriving in Guam, we were back at the airport and boarding the next leg of our United journey to Australia! By this time, I was feeling a bit of a stomach ache from some salad I had eaten in the most modern restaurant of our entire visit to the Philippines (clearly I was becoming a bit too relaxed about stomach bugs!), but randomly the flight attendant offered me a can of Ginger Ale before take-off saying he knew I wasn't feeling too well. Joe and I still can't figure out how he knew my stomach hurt! But, the Ginger Ale was just perfect.

Joe at the community pool in Cairns

After a slightly turbulent five hour flight back across the equator, we arrived at our Caravella Backpackers Hostel on The Esplanade in Cairns about midnight. The next two days were all about recovery, exploring town, and making plans to visit the famous Great Barrier Reef just 30 miles off the coast. Considering the fact that we hadn't ever intended to see this part of Australia, we surprised even ourselves and booked a 3 day 2 night trip with "Reef Encounter" (recommended by a particularly helpful woman at one of the numerous adventure booking agencies in town) and after enjoying two days of pub dinners, clouds of massive fruit bats, swimming in the waterfront public pool, and jogging along The Esplanade, we boarded a boat headed out to sea!

Joe had signed up for a full scuba certification course and I signed up for just a few dives, not being sure how much I would like it. I told Joe several times on the trip that I would "never" scuba dive, as the idea of being submerged underwater for a prolonged period of time with a tiny breathing apparatus sounded petrifying. But, seeing as I have a very adventuresome and encouraging husband and seeing as this trip is all about trying new things (does this sound familiar?), I decided to give it whirl! And it was fantastic!

Joe and Carol on the Reef Encounter for 3 days

Joe completed eight dives and lots of theory work and a test to achieve his SSI scuba certification over the three days, and I went on four dives with a couple of kind, very calm and reassuring instructors that made the experience really fun.

The Great Barrier Reef is the worlds largest coral reef spanning over 2,600 km and truly is as stunning as people say it is with colorful corals, giant clams, sea anemone, gorgeous fish, reef sharks, turtles and endless other creatures and plants to see underwater. The Reef Encounter took us to three different reefs in the same general region of the GBR, but each one had its own highlights and attractions. Saxon Reef had the most turtle and shark activity, Norman Reef seemed to be the best place for snorkeling as well as diving, and Hastings Reef was our all around favorite for the variety of brilliantly colored fish, underwater tunnels to swim through, and massive clams at least four feet across. Basically, it was like wandering around through the movie Finding Nemo, complete with Clown Fish that looked nearly animated with CGI.

"I Scuba Doved!!!"

We are continuing to love this unique season in our lives of travel and exploration and have especially enjoyed the new friends we have met and old friends we have connected with along the way.  More from Australia soon!

With love and joy,

Carol