Leaving Home

It is a night of mixed emotions.  Tonight is my last and final night in Australia.  Tomorrow morning I wake up nice and early to catch my first flight to Sydney in order to make my way to Hong Kong.  While I am anxious and excited for the new and up-coming adventure, I am a little sad to say goodbye to what I consider to be my newest family and home.  Although they might be relieved to finally see me go, the last 3 some odd weeks here in Adelaide have been incredible.  A vacation from vacation, I've gained another window into Australian life and culture, in addition to making some incredible friends that I will never forget for the rest of my life.  I'm a very fortunate traveller, continuing on my way.

Besides saying my goodbyes to the people and country of Australia, there isn't too much new to report in this post, other than I will be back in the Northern Hemisphere very soon.  2 hour flight to Sydney, and 9 hour flight to Hong Kong.  I'm looking forward to the summer heat and sunsets that aren't as early as 6:30.
 
Since I don't know how long it will take me to get my bearings in China, it's probably best to bring you August's Speedo Picture!  In honor of my new home and family, I proudly introduce them to you in this fashion.  Yes, the Speedo is family friendly, but only for the coolest of families. : )

Judging by my weight, home with the family did me a little too well.  I'm sure the traveller's diet will help soon enough.

Adelaide and the Red Center

Part of Uluru (Ayers Rock) - sorry folks, it turns out it may not be the largest rock in the world.  It can't be confirmed as they are not 100% how far down it goes, this is according to a tour guide.  Apparently the largest rock is located in Western Australia.

Looking at my calendar, it would seem that I'm about due for a nice little blog.  Hopefully I can keep it little so as to not bore you to death.  As usual, I'll give you a run down in chronological order, as opposed to Tarantino style.

A couple weeks ago I arrived in Adelaide where I've been staying with some amazing family friends of mine.  Out of the hostel, and into the home, I've been enjoying my time here immensely.  Showering without sandals, eating proper meals, and reading by the warmth of fire, my time here has been very relaxing.  After a week or so of being here, I made a journey to the center of Australia in order to see Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), Kings Canyon, and the huge mecca of Alice Springs.  I rode the Ghan line train up (25 hours) and took the bus back (20 hours).  On my trip, I met some amazing people, as is almost always the case, saw some amazing rock formations, and even some wild camels, although I don't know if I would refer to them as amazing more so than just "camels"

I could explain go into a lot of stories about my trip to the red center, but I'm going to limit it to what I feel is most important to know, and that concerns the aboriginal people of Australia.  If you ever go to Uluru, you will be presented with the opportunity to climb the rock.  Although you are allowed to climb it, the aboriginal people do not want you climbing it as it is a sacred site to them.  Unfortunately, they can not stop you if you want to.  Although the National Park and land is owned by aboriginals, the Australian Government has a 100 year contract (starting in 1985) that allows visitors and tourists to come onto the land.  Sadly, the original contract restricted people from climbing, but at the last minute the government said it would not agree to the terms unless people were allowed to climb on it.  Before I advance any further, I want to be clear that I am not condemning Australia or its people for their treatment of the aboriginal people.  Although much of the historical treatment of the native aboriginals in Australia is quite saddening, the same can be said for American treatment of our own Native Americans.  Either way, I bring all of this up because I felt it was a good time to incorporate the idea of respecting other peoples and cultures.  Seeing the aboriginal history in Australia only made me reflect more on the history of the U.S.  I myself have dabbled in a book or two concerning the trail of tears and battle of bighorn, but I know that I am naive to a large portion of the history.  I encourage you to check out this part of our past.  Maybe it will change you, maybe you already know about it, but I strongly believe it's something maybe we should all know a little better.  I chose not climb the rock, and if ever presented with opportunity, I encourage you to do the same.

Now...on to more uplifting things.  My journey to the center took about a week, upon which I have returned to Adelaide.  I  am sticking around here until the 26th of August.  The family friends I am staying with are not all home at the moment.  The parents are travelling and don't return until later, so in order to see them, I have opted to stick around a little longer.  To fulfill my time, I nearly found the perfect job.  I applied for a research study at University of South Australia.  I applied as a participant for a sleep study.  The study required me to stay at the university for 12 days in row where I would be subjected to different sleep patterns (they wake me up at odd times and tell me when I can sleep, etc).  This is all done with no daylight and no clocks (i.e. - no concept of time allowed).  Essentially, 12 days in a room and living room area with 2 other participants being tested on my cognitive skills while being sleep deprived (along with a bunch of other things).  I thought I was perfect for the position.  12 entire days with no communication allowed - who has time for that besides backpackers?!  Well, I got my hopes up to0 high and could not be a part of the study because I had travelled through timezones in the past 3 months.  I looked at this question on my survey and knew that it would hurt my chances, but I knew, after doing research, that I would not jeopardize the integrity of their data.  Honesty killed the cat and I lost out on an opportunity to free meals and lodging for 12 days in addition to $1500 in pay - oh ya, and not to mention potential mental and physical pains.  : )  I told my family about this whole ordeal and was amazed they weren't as excited as me.  After all, who can say they've participated in a sleep study, let alone in a foreign country! 

In Adelaide I will remain until the end of the month where I will be moving on to my first destination that does not speak English as its first language (Hong Kong!).  The remainder of my time is divided up between reading, relaxing, driving around one of my family friends (she's elderly), and occasionally attending classes with her.  I'm usually on-line to skype most evenings (US time), but on Monday evenings (Tuesday morning for me), I have my Spanish and Shakespeare classes, so you probably won't encounter me on that day.     

Nara, my new Japanese friend, and I at Kata Tjuta

Sydneysiders and Germans

I was recently asked the question for what primary purpose I travelled?  Was I interested in the places, the culture, the museums, the history, people, etc?  What interested me most?  Inevitably, I replied that it all interested in me.  But in thinking about it more, I can fairly confidently say that it is the people that I meet and see that make the most lasting impression on me.  It is also the part that makes me the happiest.  Relationships and human contact is extremely important, and in light of all the aforementioned, today I want to introduce you to my 2 Germans friends I made while travelling in Sydney.  Patrick and Philipp.  Two guys aged 20 years or so, they stayed with me in my hostel for 5 days or so.  Despite our cultural differences, it was amazing how easily we got along and understood each other.  When I say "understand each other,"  I'm not referring to the differences in language because they spoke perfect English.  We shared meals, BBQ 'd together, and had a good laugh when we realized that we were brought up watching many of the same cartoons (Darkwing Duck and Chip-n-dale sounds pretty amusing in German).  We also exchanged several nuances of language.  I learned several German words and sentences in addition to learning to the first line of the German national anthem.  Haha, I made a point that from now on whenever I make some good German friends, I will insist they teach me a new word as well as the next line of the National Anthem.  All of these things probably sound a little childish, but when you travel on your own and meet some people you click with, well, it's simply hard to describe.  It's almost something you have to experience.  It's amazing how in such a short amount of time (5 days), you know you've made a friend(s) for life.  I can be pretty certain of this because my friends, Patrick and Philipp are the ones who are providing you with this month's Speedo picture!  It takes a brave man, comfortable in his own skin, to take a picture of another pasty-white man in a Speedo amongst a throng of people.  Even more so to pose with him.

Mr. July.  This was just one of many photos taken.  It was hilarious to see the heads turned in the photos afterwards.

Patrick, me, and Philipp in front of the Sydney Opera House.  I believe this picture is now Philipp's facebook profile picture.



The best part about this whole experience is that while slightly embarrassing, something special also happened.  The Speedo brought people together.  After I got a plethora of pictures taken, a group of girls came over to us and asked me if I had lost a bet.  I unfortunately had to explain that I was simply doing it as a calendar - haha, but the best part was, they then wanted to get a picture with me as well.  A group of 6, 16 year old Germa girls, thank goodness I wasn't sporting my mustache as I surely would have been arrested.

    Other than this amazing experience, my time in Sydney was also highlighted by hearing the Symphony play Beethoven's 5th and walking across the Harbor Bridge.  I spent about 5 days there and now find myself in Adelaide, Australia.  I'm staying with some family friends and am enjoying it immensely.  What many of you may be particularly excited to discover is that I am now in the possession of small, travel lap top.  Thanks to my parents (mainly worrisome Mother), I can now stay in contact much easier in addition to potentially setting up some Skype dates in the event anyone wants to talk.  j.meyer72 - I'll be on from time to time, so throw the dice and sign on.  Maybe we talk and catch up!  Also, seeing as I have easy, free access to internet, I will be putting up a couple albums of pictures from Australia and New Zealand, so make sure to check those out.  If we aren't friends on facebook yet for some reason, make sure to find me on the TCU network.  I'll keep this one a bit shorter as I suspect I'll potentially have more exciting news in the next couple days. 

The Opera House by Night

The inside of the Opera House (also technically by night).








Oh, and one last picture.  This picture was originally going to be July's Speedo picture, simply because it is breathtaking.  You never know, if you end up ordering the calendar at the end of my travel you just might get this photo as well as a bonus shot!

Above the clouds on the Kepler Track in NZ.

Photo by Jordan Boustead   --- : )

Happy Hour!

Above the clouds on the Kepler Track in NZ.

I know, I know, it has been way too long since I last wrote.  It has also been too long living out of a van.  Fortunately for both you and I, I am back to a semi-normal lifestyle, and back to a hostel.  Even better, I am at an Internet cafe that has  "Happy Hour" - happy indeed as the rates are much much cheaper validating enough time to update the blog.  Today I find myself in Christchurch, New Zealand after travelling around for almost 4 weeks.  Today is important for two reasons.  1)  It is my last official full day in New Zealand 2) It is my first official day to be travelling on my own.  I dropped my friend Jordan off at the airport yesterday.  After 2 months of exploring Australia and New Zealand I will (and already do) miss him.  Jordan, assuming you read this eventually, thank you for everything.  I couldn't have asked for a better or easier way to plunge into my world journey.  We had some trying times in sticky hot vehicles, in frozen ones too, and let's not begin to discuss how much I slowed you down on the hikes - but through it all I know it couldn't have gone any better.  An adventure neither of us will ever forget.  Unfortunately, only 2 cave pictures were saved from my blunder in copying those photos over.  They aren't the best ones.  :(  But they will do.

The fire Jordan and I built while spending the night in a cave at the beach.  It took two hours to convince me to do it with him, but after I got over fears of horse flies and who knows what else, I can say it was well worth it.

     So what have I been up to and where have I been?  Well, I won't dwell on every single destination I've been in NZ as I'm sure most of you won't bother to look it up on a map (I wouldn't either, so I don't blame you).  So let's get into a couple nitty-gritty stories.  First off, let's discuss driving on the right side of the road.  After two months or so of handling a rented vehicle in the land of opposites, I feel like I should explain a couple caveats I hadn't given much thought before the experience.  (I should say half a  month of handling, Jordan did most of the driving in Australia and more than me in NZ as well).  What I hadn't really given much thought, when it came to driving on the opposite side of the road, is how much further those same rules apply to other circumstances.  Example #1: Walking on the sidewalk.  It's natural to walk on the right side for us as that's the steady flow of traffic.  They do the same thing, only you'd walk on the left.  At first I couldn't help but become a little disgruntled in thinking why the hell everyone was practically running into me.  Eventually it dawned on me that it was me who was running into everyone else.  By the end of 2 months, I've pretty much gotten than hang of it, not to mention looking right before looking left when crossing the street.  But the problem with walking is that it comes naturally and it's an act you don't really give much thought.  When your eyes start to wonder, taking in the sights and sounds of a new city, you eventually realize your body has naturally drifted towards the "wrong" side of the sidewalk.  Luckily, I never ran into small children or old people, just your average Joe's that were probably used to getting hit by tourists.  The funniest part is that in an area like Queenstown (which has a Kiwi population of probably less than 10%) that is very, very touristic, you find people walking on the right side all the time.  By the time I got to Queenstown I had pretty much gotten the whole left side thing down.  Ironically I couldn't help but think to myself - "geeze tourist, get it together!"  Haha - only jokingly of course.
   Let's also talk about wits and resourcefulness (which is very much needed when you live in a van).  I mentioned we had to stop at a "gym" facility to shower.  What I forgot to mention is that we didn't bring in our towels. "How much for towels?" we asked.  $5 and another $5 deposit you get back after turning it back in was the reply. What?!  You've got be kidding me, I thought.  What the hell is the $5 deposit for if you already have to pay to use it?  Isn't a deposit supposed to work as insurance to pay for the cost of replacing the towel in case I walk off with it? "Want one?"  ---  "No, I think I'll be ok."  I showered to my hearts delight and afterwards walked around the locker room a bit, air drying out.  Not sure how "acceptable" that is in NZ, but most humilities are thrown out the window when you live out of van.  Eventually, being the genius I am, I discovered the hand dryer.  I dried off my legs and arms and kind of bent over a little awkwardly and even got some of my shoulders before I climbed another rung of the intelligence ladder.  To my delight, my eyes spied a hair dryer.  Hahaha - I spent a good 10-15 mins drying off with it and couldn't help but feel victorious.  Not only did I not pay for a towel, I managed to run up their electricity bill a tad bit more in the process.  A small victory, but a victory none the less.  Kris, I couldn't help but think of that classic Chappel line I yelled at Jeff while in DC.
     Now let's discuss the beauty of New Zealand.  You really can't go wrong in this country unless you spend too much time in Rotorua or Taupo (those are hot spring towns in the North Island that reek to high heaven of Sulfur.  That stuff will get to you at some point I'm convinced).  For you Lord of the Ring fans (Mike), you'll be happy to know that Jordan and I hiked around the Mt. that inspired Mt. Doom in Tongariro.  An amazing hike that had it not been for Jordan, I probably would have not experienced.  We hiked for an entire day to reach a Mt hut that we stayed in with approximately 15-20 other people.  We were fortunate enough to be blessed by a clear and glorious day the next morning.  The night in the hut I was near certain that we would have to turn back as a huge storm rolled through and howled against the hut all night.  Other amazing hiking trips included the Kepler Track on the south island near Te Anau and Milford Sound.  Jordan and I spent the night in another hut that night and on that particular hike, we got above both the tree line and the clouds.  Truly amazing.  As for wild life, we saw a couple Kea (decent sized parrot that loves to rip apart rubber lining on vehicles when left unattended), but nothing else too note worthy.  No Kiwi, no Tuatara (sorry Kris), and I didn't bother to pay $40 to see the albatross colony in Dunedin.  I thought pretty hard about it, but when it came down to it, I couldn't help but think that my life would probably continue without seeing a glorified seagull.  Ok, so they're cooler than that (they can fly some 1200 Km in one day, have one mate for life, and are excellent treasure hunters when it comes to finding plastic pieces in our oceans  - that last part is sarcastic as it typically kills them).  Trash in our oceans is actually one of their main killers and isn't helping their endangered status.  Back to the decision not to see one though... I also had to consider my local dining options and how much happier I would be to sample the delicacies of the local cuisine.  My stomach won the war on that decision.

Jordan and I near the top of "Mt. Doom"

     As for my future....I'm headed back to Australia for Round 2 tomorrow (July 20th - Happy Birthday Deborah!).  The intended plan is to see Sydney and all it has to offer for 5 days or so and then fly to Adelaide to visit some family friends and somehow make my way up to the biggest rock (Ayers) in the world!  Get excited people!  With any luck, I'll be at my next scheduled destination (Hong Kong) by mid-August.  Although it's the 19th of July here, if you read this now (or soon) it would be the 18th back home, meaning my two month anniversary!  So tip one back to me being gone and send me an e-mail or two and let me know how happy you've been since I've been gone.  : ) Scratch that, just did the math, it's already just barely the 19th back in the States (unless you are in Hawaii or some part of Alaska).

                                                                        

The setting sun in NZ; it will be missed.

New Zealand

Greetings Earthlings!

Thought I would take a quick moment to update everyone on my current where abouts and provide a slight explanation as to why I update so infrequently.  I'm currently in Picton, NZ.  I just crossed Cook Straight from Wellington last night.  My friend and I have been travelling around New Zealand for a little over a week and have been very fortunate (weather wise) to see some pretty cool things.  The reason I'm so bad at updating everyone and keeping in touch is because of our living conditions.  We live out of a van.  Renting a camper van makes you realize what simple amenities you take fro granted when you have a house/hotel/base to work from.  I've been humbled by a number of different things now that I'm living the backpacker style of life.  Example #1:  Shower.  Where do you shower when you don't want to rent a room?  Well, ask the local gym of course!  It's a little odd walking into a workout gym and asking them, "how much is it to use the showers?"  Who comes to simply use the showers?  We do.  It even gets a little weirder when you proceed to ask, "I have some water large water containers, do you guys have a hose or spicket where I can fill them up?"  Haha, all part of the experience I suppose.  And then there's the issue of bathrooms.  Of course finding a bathroom is not difficult.  Stop at any McDonald's, food place, even the occasional public bathroom.  Despite the numerous places you can go, you feel a little awkward walking into a place and using the bathroom with no intention of being a customer.  You might feel even a little worse if you know you are going to destroy the toilet.  Gross I know, but that's the reality of life, especially if you've been savy with your money and food, living off of discount crackers and PB and J.  Haha, no mother I have not been starving myself - just occasionally we pinch pennies to splurge on some of the finer, local foods.  In the past week I've visited a couple of different cities.  Probably the best experience so far though in NZ has been our 2 day hike around Tongariro National Park.  It about kicked my butt, but I made.  Jordan made me look like a weakling.  The morning of our 2nd day, the sky cleared up and the sun came out.  We got an amazing view of the Mts.  It was quite breathtaking.  I'd post some pictures but I'm using the Internet for free at a public library and I left the pictures in the van.  Can't give up my computer, there are hyenas surrounding the area waiting for someone to get up.  My time is pretty much up though and I should probably get going.  Hopefully I can find more time to write in the following week or two.  I make no promises.  : )

June-la-la!

That last post should keep you guys plenty busy for a while, but I know a lot of you need your "quick fix" for my lack of communication.  Have no fear!  Better than ever, this month's speedo special is quite the action shot.

Me jumping from a tree in Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory (just south of Darwin).

Although not a speedo picture, here's another decent photo from Kakadu National Park (just East of Darwin at the top end). 

The Grim Reefer

WARNING:  This post will recount my adventure scuba-diving in the Great Barrier Reef.  I wrote this "post" on June 11th in my journal and saved it for another day when I had time to actually post it.  Because I wrote it on paper first, this post will be long and story like.  There will be a couple semi-explicit choice and words and will be longer than all my previous posts. You have been warned.

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I think Dickens described my experience best in Tale of Two Cities.  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....We left port (Cairns) today at about 8:45 AM and it took us 90 mins. to get out to the reef.  I signed up for snorkeling and an introductory scuba dive.  Having been snorkeling once in my entire life and only knowing other people who have done scuba-diving, I was curious to see how things would go.  On the way out, they divided up the boat members to receive their proper instructions.  Aside from me, there were 7 other people doing the snorkel/intro dive package.  All 7 were German.  Not that this is a bad thing or that I have anything against Germans, I just felt it was a great time to exemplify the fact that everywhere I go, I encounter a travelling German.  9 times out of 10, if you see a foreigner in Australia, they are German.  Anyway, back to the Reef and team wienerschnitzl.  Our on board instructions for diving must have lasted 15 or 20 mins. This should have been my first clue that things would not go smoothly.  My 2nd indication should have been the things they were teaching us.  Instructions consisted on "Don't let go of the rope until I say so, pop your ears [equalize] as you go down, and this [hand gesture] means "I'm ok" vs "not ok,"  ....."Oh!  And you will need to learn 2 other important skills that we will teach you in the water before we go down.  Everyone got that?  Good, you're ready to dive!"

They split our 8 man party into two groups. While group 1 got situated and off, group 2 and myself were free to snorkel for 10 or 15 mins.  I'll be honest and say that this was the best part of my reef experience.  I saw some amazing fish and corral.  All different colors, sizes, and schools of fish swimming beneath my fingertips.  Snorkeling went smoothly.  For only having done it once, it was nice to know I could do it without major complications.  Now, I must admit, for as amazing as the reef was, it wasn't quite the extraordinary experience I was hoping for.  You see blue planet and all these other nature shows on T.V and you can't help but think you are going to see something of the same caliber.  I knew that wouldn't be reality, but for some reason I still got my hopes up a bit much.  Part of the reef where we were at, as I later discovered, had been very damaged by the invasive Crown of Thorns Starfish.  While expecting exuberant colored corrals and sea anemones, a decent portion appeared dull, broken off, and much like a shipwreck area.  Ok, so that's what I deemed from snorkeling, now it was time for group 2 to dive....

My 3 new German friends and myself suited up.  I step off the edge and plunge into the water.  So far so good.  Everyone gets in and we all hold on to the rope that extends down to the bottom of the reef.  Our instructor goes over our 2 new important skills.  Skill 1: blowing out the regulator and clearing it.  Simple enough (for now).  Skill 2: blowing our your nose while pushing slightly on the top part of your mask in order to get water out of the mask (in case it leaks water).  This skill seems a bit trickier, but we are told most masks won't leak and shouldn't be a problem, especially since we are only going down 12 m.  This, of course, doesn't mean anything to me.  Only going down 12 m huh?  What does it mean if we go down 14 m? How does that change things?  What about 9?  Doesn't matter; just dive.  2 Skills acquired: regulator works, mask is on (not leaking), and the rest is in the hand of the instructor.

We begin our decent and everything is fairly bliss at this point.  I'm the last one in the group, so I can see everyone below me, moving hand over hand down the rope.  With each downward hand movement, we should be "equalizing" and having our ears pop.  I attempt to do this, but each hand movement puts more and more pressure on my ears.  They won't pop.  As I begin to fall a little behind, I am instructed (by the key hand gestures we were taught) to speed up.  I do.  My spiral downwards coincides literally with my movement downwards towards Davy Jones' Locker.  I get further and further and the pain is excruciating.  Call me a wuss if you want, but until you're down 12 m in the ocean with only 20 mins. of instruction, you might start to worry too.  To fix my ears, I'm trying every trick in the book - the one they recommended (hold your nose and blow) is the one I'm trying the most.  Again, I have to criticize myself here.  This particular tactic for equalizing never works that well for me, but being the idiot I am, I am attempting this method over and over again.  The logic was that since they taught it, they should know best.  In hindsight, this was clearly the wrong choice.  Because I pinch my nose and am blowing somewhat frantically, it isn't too long before I've touched my mask enough to screw it up too.  I begin to take on water in my mask.  !#*!  This also perfectly coincides with when the group is letting go of the rope, joining at the hands in line and beginning our first baby strokes underwater in the open ocean.  Imagine my concern at this point for a second...20 tons of pressure (or whatever the PSI is at 12 m) pounding your ear drums and skull, your mask is filled with water, and now you're swimming away with the group in a direction you can't see because your mask is filled with water.  Fortunately, I'm at the end of the 5 man line, using my free hand to constantly play with my mask in order to try and blow out water.  I try and relax and implore my "acquired" skill 2.
Attempt 1: Fail
Attempt 2: Fail
Attempt 3: Partial Success
Attempt 4: Back to being full again - complete fail
At this point I'm basically freaking out and even the breathing becomes difficult.  You wouldn't think skill 1, breathing in and out of the regulator, would be any trouble, but when you're mentally forcing yourself to breath out your nose to force water out of your mask, well everything goes to hell.  Somehow, I taste salt water so now breathing isn't going so well.  This only lasts momentarily, but the new potential problem is quite alarming. I finally get the instructor's attention to try and get his help, or even better, have him send me back to the top.  Scuba-diving was going miserably well.  The instructor helps me to relax - he then readjusts my mask.  It works for a second after I blow water out, but in the next instance it fills back up.  My ears and head are throbbing, I can't see shit, and can't breath properly since I'm focusing so much attention on mastering "skill 2."  I didn't really think I was going to die, but it certainly didn't seem outside the realm of possibilities at this point.  Eventually, for what seemed ages (and was probably only 3-5 mins.) we get my mask on straight and I successfully blow out all the water.  Despite my slight panic attack, I can't help but feel like an idiot and a baby.  Of course, the lone American of the group is the only one who has trouble, and of course, he's the only one who freaks out.  I felt bad for holding up the group, but a bigger part of me didn't really give a rat's ass.  I almost died damn it! (or so I felt)

At this point, the instructor takes my hand and we swim the rest of the dive hand in hand, like father and son, or more appropriately, like angry instructor and huge liability.  Everyone else is swimming on their own.  I still feel like an idiot but am too exhausted to give it much thought.  Notice how I haven't mentioned anything about what I actually saw while I was diving?  Haha, I was a bit preoccupied.  Being towed around, we went through a gap in the reef and swam through a small canyon like area.  Despite my distanced mind, it was quite stunning and hard to believe that I was actually in the Great Barrier Reef seeing such things.  In reality, I didn't see any other wildlife different from what I saw while snorkeling, so that was a bit a of a bust.  No sharks, no turtles, - me floundering around was probably one of the more exciting things for other people to observe now that I think of it.  After 21 mins of breathing 100 lbs of air or so, I made it back to the top.  Thank the Lord.  I scampered back onto the boat like a dog with its tail between its legs.  Thank God is was over.

We proceeded to have lunch and after that I got another 45 mins to snorkel, my preferred way of seeing the reef.  On our 90 min. ride back to the port I was given a cheesy "Intro Dive" completion certificate.  Wow.  I consider it a "near-death certificate."  I'm exxaggerating, but I still can't help but feel a little sore about the whole thing.  I mean really...when I imagined myself seeing the Great Barrier Reef, this isn't how I saw it going.  All in all, it was a terribly great experience.  I saw the reef, I "scuba-dived" with 20 mins. of instruction, and got a certificate to prove it.  And best part of all, I've been lying on my side getting water to slowly drain out of my ear for the past 24 hours.  It has yet to become unpopped and clear of water.  Oh, and last thing, the company I went with said they are small and rely on word of mouth.  I'm pleased to tell you, if you're ever in Cairns, think twice before doing an intro dive with Cairns Dive Center.

Epilogue:  I ended up getting an ear infection from my dive.  I waited 2 and half days before finally seeing a Doctor.  I felt this was a fitting cherry on top for my adventure.