Christy Rae: Cairns - July 18, 2013

I went on an expedition to the Great Barrier Reef today. It was good. I saw whales and giant clams. It is pretty amazing all that lives in the sea floor.

I considered going scuba diving. They had dive instructors that would take you on a first dive. I changed my mind though after reading the forms that ask about your health, tell you that you dive at your own risk, that your machinery may disfunction, and that you have to pressurize your ears every meter you go down. I decided that it would probably be a good idea for me to actually get certified in a swimming pool first.

Then I got out into the water and attempted to snorkel and knew that I had made a good choice because I was having a hard time breathing through my mouth and relaxing. I got it though. I remembered my experience in Cancun. I knew I would love it if I could just relax and get my face in the water and start swimming. Seriously, that is the key to snorkeling. Just stick your face in the water and start paddling. So, I was standing there very awkwardly in my fins in quite shallow water and I stuck my face down in the water and there was a little fish right at my feet that was florescent pink and white. It was amazing! I had florescent pink fins on my feet and there it was swimming around me and it was the same color, naturally. Well, it took me a while even after that to just relax, partly because I was in such shallow water. I was so afraid of cutting myself on the coral. I wanted to get out where it was deeper and where many of the others were, but I wasn’t trusting myself as a swimmer. Then they called us in for lunch.

After lunch I went back out and was determined to have my Great Barrier Reef experience. I wasn’t going to let fear overcome me. So, I put my fins on and looked out to where I wanted to go - where the water was deeper, put my face in the water, started kicking my fins and concentrated on long deep breaths. In a few minutes I was in a rhythm and seeing some pretty amazing things. I came up to see where I was in relationship to the beach and I was further out than anyone else. It was so easy. I think my favorite thing that I saw were the giant clams. Those things are amazing!

I was just really getting the hang of it and feeling confident about my swimming when they called us back to the boat to head back to Cairns. Part of me wishes that I could go again tomorrow, now that I have the knack of it.

I didn't really connect with any of the other people on the tour today. That makes me sad. I am learning that seeing cool things is great, but what makes a vacation and I guess, ultimately, life really amazing are not the things that we see, but the people we have experiences with. It sort of seems to be theme of this trip. I guess that becomes blatantly more apparent when you travel alone and have to work harder to have meaningful human interaction.

Tomorrow I fly to Sydney. I am glad that it is my last leg. As amazing as this trip has been I miss my family, my bed and my kitchen.

On the boat out to the reef. It was a little bright...