Ettie and Sadie: Cairns - The Great Barrier Reef
Trip Start
Mar 05, 2007
1
4
8
Trip End
Apr 29, 2007
Cairns, Australia
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Well the first things learned in the first day of Ettie and I traveling together.
1. We both love food and have to have snacks with us always
2. We both like to spend money we don't necessarily have but can't help buying things we don't really need
3. We can't make up our minds so we flip a coin
4. We both love to laugh like hyenas
Now that you have this information the story may begin...
Ettie and Sadie have both come from Toronto after 2 days of working at the kosher coffee shop Blintz & Donut in the heart of Jewish chutzpeh. They hung up their schmatte's told the boss what he could stick in his tushie and left.
Wait a minute - I just realized this is not coming together with the story I have on facebook so let's start from the very beginning.
Sadie (that is I) being a drunk, loves to hang out at bars, pubs, pool halls and tries to get invited to as many Shabbat dinners as I love the free juice wine, it makes me feel tingly all over. Please don't already judge me - maybe you'll understand when I tell you that I do accounting for a living?
Anyhow to continue...
One night I was out at the buy one and get a dozen free down in the heart of Church Street having a laugh when a woman approached me and asked if she can join me. I asked 'well do you drink?' and she said sure and I said 'Mazol Tov - just sit your ass down'. Thru the night it became apparent that Ettie was no match for Sadie in the drinking department but other things also became apparent.
Ettie an accomplished Designer lost her muse as no one in Toronto can possibly know the anguish an artist's feels for her work and has to this point given up and decided life is more than this s**t hole. Her words - not mine, I swear.
Me - an unaccomplished lush decided to embark on a one and a lifetime journey with no snow and plenty of sunshine.
Off we went - 2 old bags to travel thru Australia...
Our first stop after meeting in Melbourne was to Cairns, Queensland. A place of beauty but where few have personality.. After several days in Melbourne - the weather - 3 seasons in one day we were only to happy to land in the sunshine and heat of Queensland. Our hostel picked us up and off we went to our new accommodations. Some pleasantries with our driver and the front desk we got up to our room that consisted of bunk beds - 2 old woman in bunk beds is quite a site especially seeing as I was the one on top. My back still aches...lol!
We ventured out to town to book our first excursion - the pro dive live aboard. Now Cairns is a very small town a few streets wide and long but seemly enough Ettie kept thinking we were lost now matter how many times I told her of my great sense of direction. We found out spot paid for our excursion and went to the nearest pharmacy to get our sea sick pills. The pharmacy not only got us the pills but we walked out of there spending a shit load of cash on practically nothing but then again that is what happens when two woman shop together. We then trotted to the nearest grocer as we needed out fill of granolas, yogurt, fruit and of course some sweet snacks. This became our tradition - well in fact any jewish women's tradition. To see us without snack for oursleves and to offer wouldn't be right.
The next morning we got picked up bright and early and off to the boat we went. Our excursion consisted of many different ages which were good for us as we weren't the only old bags on board. We had a marvelous chef who prepared a ton of delights the whole time - we were never hungry. The first dive Ettie was a bit nervous as we found out later that it is only the first dive that an instructor will accompany you and the rest you're on your own - unless of course you were just getting certified. But Ettie found her partner - a russian gent that had over 200 dives. As for me I was not diving due to my vertigo issues it was a no go so I was along for just snorkeling. My group of snorkelers was small and funny enough two others also had the same issue as me and another was just ill. We were a pathetic bunch when you think of it now but I was still the strongest going out on my own to swim instead of opting to take the boat to the locations. I needed the exercise and swimming in the Great Barrier Reef well that is a once and a lifetime opportunity.
Ettie enjoyed her dives and I enjoyed my snorkeling although a little jealous of not seeing a shark or turtle up close it was a great time.
The gang on the boat was just as grand. I had my smoking buddy and my area that was called my own on the ship - I even feel asleep for an hour there one night! There were a couple of other Canadians - one from TO and another from BC - the Cdn crew was onboard so look out. Many of the others were from England, Spain, Belgium, US and I'm sure others places but my memory is not that good to remember at this point in time.
After 3 days we returned to Cairns and headed back to our hostel for some relaxation and too meet the group later at one of the pubs in town to party. We had a night we started at the pub eating and drinking we got very rowdy when we were then taken to a club down the street. G-d I danced all night long and as you can see took some crazy pics of us all. Goodbyes were sad as they always are but it was time to move on...
Next stop the Daintree and Cape Trib...
