cairnes

Cairnes, Australia. Population 177,000, with 10,000 additional beds to sleep the transient tourists. Max Barrington, crocodile taxidermist stares back at me from a business card on the dash of the taxi van. This could be an interesting trip. The warm humid air hit us like a wall when we stepped off the airplane and walked the 100 yards across the tarmac to the tiny terminal. By the time the taxi left the curb it was raining. “No worries, reckon it’ll stop before morning. First rain in five weeks—we’ve needed it, wish it’d stay a bit longer,” says the man behind the wheel—Max, I presume. He got his wish.

Turns out we’d picked the start of the rainy season to schedule our scuba diving adventure. Luckily, the water was warm and so was the air, the rain just added some additional dampness. We stayed at the Traveler’s Oasis for the first few nights while I began my certification course. Uy, a fellow Armenia PCV, had joined me from Texas for the trip. The tiny quarters and coin-operated air-conditioning made the hostel seem a bit dubious at first, but it turned out be a great deal, well-located and full of super cool, like-minded travelers. Our second night we participated in a full-on aussie barbecue, featuring emu, kangaroo, fish, sausages and crocodile. For those not satisfied with the exotic offerings, wichiti grubs were available for an additional five dollars. Of course, Uy got to try one for free, after being randomly selected to participate in a didgeridoo contest and show us all his skills. I think he might be up for a recording contract…

After two days of sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool in full diving gear, we got to head out on the boat! Uy and I were fortunate enough to spend the next three days and two nights on a liveaboard dive boat, full of divers and snorkelers. There were 36 of us in total, including instructors and crew and a mix of skill levels and certifications. After my first four dives I was a certified open water diver, but chose to get my adventure diver certification while out there as well. I did 8 dives in total—Uy, already being certified, got in 11. Every dive was full of wildlife and the reefs got better and better as the days went on. We saw sharks, turtles, eels, rays, fish, fish and more fish. Be sure to check out my pics on flickr! I am most definitely in love with a new sport.

As usual, I was hoping to write more than few paragraphs I managed, but as this has been sitting like this for more than a week now, I figure its time to go ahead and post it. This week I have managed to open a face book page (I know, one more electronic thing for me to try and manage, great) but you can check it out for integrated pictures, updates and communications—facebook.com, just search for me. Just about two weeks remain in Australia now. I will be sad to leave the beaches and the tropics behind, but I am ready to be home and looking forward to starting the next chapter in my life. Hopefully I’ll be seeing a lot of you in person shortly!