Day Two on the Reef

Dan did his first dive this morning and then we met up for breakfast.  He saw three turtles getting cleaned by other fish!  The dive instructor said she had never seen three together.  It was just like in Finding Nemo :)  After breakfast Dan went on another dive and I went snorkeling.  Wow!  There were literally thousands of fish right at my fingertips.  They came in all sizes and colors too.  There were tiny electric fish that lit up and created a kind of spark.  Last night when we were watching the night divers, jelly fish would eat these fish and have a little firework display inside them!  We saw it a few times and each time was awesome.

I saw tons of parrot fish and gigantic fish with a big lump on its head.  I've been told they're a type of parrot fish too, but they're not as colorful.

Later, when snorkeling with Dan, we saw a turtle!  I was so excited to finally see one.  It was so beautiful, just floating along in the water.  I also saw GIANT clams that were florescent green and blue and would close up if you waved your hand in front of them.  A girl on the boat, Robin, had a digital waterproof camera and took a bunch of videos and pictures.  She said she will e-mail them to me (fingers crossed!). [Editor's note: she didn't.]

Giant clam

Can you find the turtle?

After lunch we had to leave this boat and head back to Cairns.  We transferred to a small day boat for the hour and a half trip.  We talked to Dave and Susan the whole time.  They were great.  We spent a lot of time with them on the boat too.  They remind me a lot of my parents.

Back in Cairns at the Caravella, our hostel room was much nicer this time.  We wandered around downtown for a while and eventually ate at the Raw Prawn, which was recommended to us by Susan and Dave.  We finally tried baramundi and it was delicious!  We both got the baramundi with avacado and asparagus over chips (fries).  It was amazing.

After dinner we checked out the casino.  It was tiny with very little action.  No craps tables--just black jack and some other card games.

After a long day we were exhausted.  We went back to the hostel and crashed.  We got so lucky with the weather.  It had been raining for the past couple of weeks--but we got bright sunshine.  Only tonight, after we had gone to sleep, did it start pouring.

Read more about our trip to Australia:
Sydney-Bound
Off and Running
Blue Mountains and Wildlife
We Are Now a Hostel-Free Family
A Night on the Reef
Travel Day
Great Ocean Road!
To Kangaroo Island
Eating Our Way Through Kangaroo Island
Flinders Chase, Vivonne Bay and Little Sahara
Last Day in Australia
Longest Day Ever