Cairns, Australia

This city is the unofficial capital of Queensland’s tropical north and the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.  The name is pronounced “Cans.”  We have been here before and for the second time, no Great Barrier Reef tour for us.  This would have been a good time to go as we are spending the night here because our stop at Thursday Island was cancelled due to anchoring logistics.  The tours are very expensive, and we tried to book a private tour at the last minute, but it just didn’t work out.  The National Geographic channel will have to do. 

Regarding Thursday Island, no one on the ship is unhappy about skipping this stop.  It is the administrative and commercial center of the Torres Strait Islands and that is about all it has going for it.  You cannot swim at the beautiful beaches here because of crocs and stingers.  It is bloody hot and humid.

Most people don’t think of Australia as being tropical.  If you look at a map, the northern part of the country is pretty close to the equator and to Indonesia.  We are here at the peak of summer and this resort town is HOT AND HUMID.  The last time we were here, we took the scenic railway and skyway cable car up to mountains to the pretty little town of Kuranda.  We didn’t want to repeat this trip, and we couldn’t go to the Great Barrier Reef so we were left with exploring this city.

We were up early and we both put on our sweaty clothes from the other day (why dirty another outfit when you KNOW how the day is going to go).  Fortunately, they didn’t stink; it was clean sweat.  We were at the cruise ship terminal and a huge Royal Caribbean ship got the primo parking spot so we had to walk quite a distance to get to the terminal to get out and on to the street.  Using Michael’s trusty green umbrella, which by now is getting pretty beat up and broken from the wind turning it inside out, I had some shade, but let me tell you, that heat and humidity is a killer.  We went to town which wasn’t all that far, walking along the covered sidewalks; but one mile or a million miles, it is frigging hot.  We stopped at something equivalent to our dollar stores (here it was $2), mostly so I could cool off.  Even Mr. I Don’t Sweat was sweating.  We purchased a room deodorizer (we have a strange odor in the cabin that no one can figure out), and Michael bought a T-shirt and a hat.  I decided I was going to the air conditioned mall so I could get my nails done.  I single-mindedly walked on, my goal was to get to the mall and get out of the h & h (heat and humidity).  I trudged on, crossing on the blinking red don’t walk sign remembering to look to the right instead of the left for cars.  I could see the entrance to the mall and it spurred me on.  If I don’t think about how miserable I was I could make it. 

Ah, it was a blessing to be in a/c again.  I found the nail shop and inquired about the price.  I pay $35 for a backfill at home; here it was $50.  The ship charges $100!  So it was a no-brainer to get them done here.  Michael and Morry said they would look around and wait for me.  Now I am no dummy.  Go look around and then when I am done, you will be done and want to leave.  I told them I would see them later.  After getting my nails done (BTW, you don’t tip – it is not expected, but I did anyway), I wandered around looking for some bargains.  There are no bargains in Australia.  The prices are very high on just about everything; you can figure on paying almost double what we pay in the US.  Since I had the time, and some Australian money left, I figured this might be my last time to get some home cooking – that’s right, I did it again.  McDonald’s Big Mac meal (the small size though).  On the ship, there is no plain food.  Everything is fancy and looks pretty.  I have been ordering appetizer portions, no sauces, and still it is too much.  It just galls me to waste food, but I am tired of people giving me shit about not eating, so it’s just easier now to just order food and stir it around on the plate so as not to make people uncomfortable when I don’t want to eat.  Michael brought a surprise back for me:  my own jar of peanut butter!!!  I can now make my own P&J sandwiches!!!!  Such a small victory for me.

I finally had to leave the comfort of the mall and head back to the ship.  Oh, what a long walk back.  I made it to the ship, got to my room, striped my clothes off and put on a bathing suit.  I headed out the door, passing Michael in the hallway and not stopping, I had one single goal in mind:  get to that pool and jump in as fast as possible, which I did do.  And I even got my hair wet.  That means I was really, really, really hot.

We spent the afternoon at the pool, then showered and attended a Purim party.  This is a fun Jewish holiday where you dress up and have permission to get drunk.  We sang the story of how Mordicai bested Hamen to Beatles tunes.  It was fun.  Then we ate hamentasen, which is a three-pointed turnover type pastry filled with either poppyseed or fruit filling.  The chefs did an excellent job!

Rabbi Morry and Michael at Purim celebration

Poppyseed Hamentasen

After a quick dinner on the aft-deck, we decided it had cooled off enough that we could stroll along the waterfront esplanade.  Do I put on sweaty clothes or clean clothes?  Hummm… I opted for clean clothes.  What a dummy.  After 15 minutes, it was useless; the h & h were just as bad and I got clean clothes just as sweaty as the sweaty clothes.  I must say though, that the city did a very nice job redeveloping the waterfront with restaurants, shops, night clubs and marinas.  At the end of the promenade was the lagoon, a large man-made swimming pool complete with a sandy beach.  The sea water is filtered and safe from the stingers and other bad marine creatures.  The one time I decided not to bring my camera or phone with me, I really wanted it.  This lagoon was something to see.  Here is it around 9pm and kids were frolicking in the water and a lifeguard was still on duty. 

Walking on the main street, Michael said he knew of a yogurt place we could go to.  We walked along the promenade on the other side of the hotels.  I don’t know what kind of trees we saw, but they formed a tree tunnel and the trunks were completely and solidly lit with red, green, blue, and orange lights.  It was a beautiful sight and I am still kicking myself for not bringing a camera.  That will never happen again!!!

We never did find the yogurt store. Michael sorta got lost and we wound up taking the long way back to the ship.  Needless to say, this hot, dripping wet lady was fuming and not in a good mood.  I did utter a few choice words, and made my way back to the ship and another shower.  I think I set a record for taking showers:  two complete showers including hair, in three hours.  Michael brought some yogurt back to the room from the patio grill as a peace offering, which was not well received by yours truly.  I was still hot, in more ways than one.